One of the great lessons I’ve carried from NT Wright is to see heaven and earth in a far different relationship than what I believed growing up. Heaven is not “up there” and earth is not “down here.” They are two different dimensions of God’s good creation.
Read moreThe fluke
The title grabbed me. “Is Jemar Tisby’s best selling book about racism a fluke?”
Jemar Tisby’s first book is called The Color of Compromise and it is hard hitting. He gives an unvarnished look at the American church and its complicity all through history when it has come to slavery and racism. When George Floyd’s murder happened, his book flew off the shelves. It hit The New York Times bestseller list.
Is this a breakthrough moment or a “one off”?
Read moreBe anxious for nothing
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
I have walked with Christ for decades. I am still learning and revisiting ares of my life that need the work of the Spirit. Anxiety is one of those areas. Things I cannot control, I develop anxiety rather than trust. This is why Paul connects it to prayer.
Read moreCitizenship
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ… (Phil. 3:20)
I am here on a passport and visa. This world is not ‘home.’ I represent a place I’ve never been yet the reality of that place dwells in me.
All that matters
Notes from Philippians 3
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Phil. 3:7-11)
Read moreNotes on redemption
A few notes jotted down on the plan of redemption from NT Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope.
Redemption isn’t scrapping what’s there and starting from a clean slate. When I read passages talking about a “new heaven and new earth” that was the mentality I had. The old earth (where we live currently) would be burned up and something new would replace it. That isn’t redemption.
Read moreA step back from the brink?
This week was a whirlwind of activity with the SBC annual meeting in Nashville and a narrow “win” for the leadership of SBC going to the least offensive candidate. (He is actually a good man and I am familiar with his work in racial justice in the Mobile area.)
It was a tense week watching conspiracy theories and bad information flow into a meeting, and then taking a breath as the SBC decided, for the moment, to not plunge totally into an abyss of at least the appearance of Christian nationalism. Even if it’s a step back from the brink, it’s still clear that a good strong wind could take care of that in quick fashion.
Read moreSomething missing from the Gospels
I am working my way back through NT Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope, and it is bending my mind all over again. How I used to think about heaven and eternal life was transformed by this book, and I need this refresher.
Wright has the reminder for me that the New Testament witness isn’t about believing in Jesus so that when we die we get to go to heaven. Strangely enough, that is completely absent from the gospel narrative.
Read moreThe church may be a mess and Christ is beautiful
The Church is a very human institution and this week is a very human week in the American conservative (white) church. I am thankful for voices like Tish Harrison Warren and her encouraging words of hope.
It may look tough or bleak:
Read moreCreating a passion for Scriptures
I have had a lot of fun interviewing different people about their love for Scriptures and how that impacts their lives and ministries. This conversation was no exception.
