When an idol begins dissolving in your hands, do you clench tighter, or do you let go, look up, and grasp something truly stable? American Christians are facing a watershed moment. Any presidential clout we hoped to regain in this election is slowly proving to be a mirage. Elect Hillary Clinton, and we sanction a … More The Nation and the Kingdom: Re-enchanting the Political Mind
What will it take to convince “evangelical” promoters, defenders, and supporters of Donald Trump that their ongoing support for a wicked, perverse, arrogant, scandalized, Christ-professing man is systematically dismantling their current integrity and their future witness? I almost never blog or tweet about politics or political candidates. But with the candidacy of Donald Trump, far more … More What Will It Take? Donald Trump and His “Evangelical” Supporters
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship has hit the news over the past 24 hours after TIME Magazine published a response to the organization’s recent decision to clarify its theological standards on sexuality and request that disagreeing staff come forward for removal. This is a significant move by a significant ministry. With British roots dating to 1877 and American roots dating to 1941, … More InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Standing for Holy Love
They just keep coming. Now it’s rabbi-counselor Shmuley Boteach and actress-model Pamela Anderson joining the growing outcry against pornography. Their joint Wall Street Journal article, “Take the Pledge: No More Indulging Porn”, arrives like an amateur medic rushing into a graveyard to inform the deceased that death is dangerous for us. The article is generally laudable. The timing … More Trailing the Prophets: Pornography’s New Firefighters and the Church’s Prophetic Witness
Every seven days a rebirthed humanity, inflamed with a shared Spirit, gathers around a common table to hear the true story of the world. Church isn’t merely steeples and Sunday School classes, pulpits and pews, praise bands and bulletins. The church is a risen and rising humanity of ex-corpses and ex-slaves testifying to the Messianic … More Ode to the Church
This morning our nation awakens to the second official holiday of the year: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Our other federal holidays include New Year’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day (in most states), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Our kids have no school, my son will attend a midday birthday party, and … More Let Justice Roll: White Americans, White Christians, and the Martin Luther King Holiday
Juggling takes practice. It’s not easy to keep three things moving between two hands. Without some level of ambidexterity, a lot of things will be hitting the floor. American public discourse is rarely ambidextrous. In a society saturated with click-bait, sound bites, and hashtag activism, public dialogue often proves unable to keep even two things mentally … More Two Things at Once: Polarized Public Discourse and the Mosaic of Intellectual Maturity
The man who regularly speaks without a burden should stop speaking until he finds one. Or one finds him. Until our lives have weight, our words will have none. And until we bear a burden, our lives will be weightless. Burdenless lives produce weightless words. A man’s burden tells us who he is. It tells us … More The Burdened Life and the Weighty Word
When evangelicalism turns to books, our functional motto is: “The newer, the truer.” We stir our hearts with fresh devotionals, hone our skills with modern ministry manuals, deepen our discernment with cultural exposés, and study our Bibles with contemporary commentaries. When it comes to the freshly published word, we have an embarrassment of riches. But our … More The Apostolic Fathers: Holmes’ Text and Wallace’s Lexicon (Review)
I have four kids, ages 6, 6, 7, and 8. They’re at the prime of kidness, and I love it. They’re also growing, though, and while I’m thrilled with their growth, I simultaneously bemoan it. My wife often reminds me that each stage of their lives will bring us joy. It’s a good reminder, and … More It’s Not Complicated: Kids Are Great
In 2014, get weird. You know how you sometimes wonder if you’ll die having given your threescore and ten years to the status quo, having worried too much about being normal and accepted, having spent days and weeks and months looking laterally instead of vertically, having trusted your fears too much and your dreams too … More Get Weird
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s been said that the intellectual life, or the thinking life, is nothing more than a mind awake. And who in their right mind could bear to live as a mind asleep? To think is one of the highest privileges humanity possesses. Made in God’s image to … More A Mind Awake
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to make this regular request: “lead us not into temptation” (Matthew 6:13a). Perhaps because “temptation” sounds so ominous, believers and non-believers alike typically view it as a noticeable, passing, one-time event. We certainly see these types of temptations in the Bible: Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1-7), Jesus in … More Temptation Is Bigger Than You Think
The landscape of higher education is undergoing a seismic shift. What’s the future of teachers after the shakedown? What will the teachers of the next generation need to look like and prioritize? Dan Dumas, Senior Vice President for Institutional Administration at Southern Seminary, recently shared four observations with a classroom of prospective teachers. Dumas has … More Teachers of the Future: Advice from Seminary Leader Dan Dumas
When the pastor closes in prayer, the service ends, and the congregation is dismissed, what’s the first thing you say about a great sermon? One thing I hear (and say) far too often: “That was a great sermon.” “He did a great job.” “He’s a great preacher.” These are ways of communicating our conviction over the message … More A Great Sermon or a Great Savior?
I’m glad I’m not famous. I’ve never worried about the possibility, but now and then I eyeball the perks from afar. Something about status, influence, and attention attracts the human psyche. It’s easy to envy the dominant athlete, the stunning actress, the chart-topping artist, the powerful mogul, the soul-moving preacher. “Man, I’d really love to … More Glad I’m Not Famous
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