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Willing to hear
In our very divisive day, it is pretty much understood we won’t listen to each other anymore. My prayer today is that we not harden our hearts toward God. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! (Ps. 95:7) Lord,…
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The chilling effect of the power of the gospel
I have taught, preached, and led in a way over the past decade or so that has tried to prepare me and my church for the cultural shifts and the challenges of living out a gospel that will sometimes have consequences. I never taught it in a way where someone just doesn’t say, “Merry Christmas” to us and we cry,…
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How to spot a cultural stronghold
1. Pick a hot button topic: Abortion, gay rights, gun control. 2. Make a position on it concerning funding, backing, etc. 3. Watch for vitriolic responses. CAUTION: If the vitriolic response seems to come too easily in your own case… you may need to check inside as well.
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We wake up to the 1980s and the Cold War
I went away for a couple of days and come back to the 1980s? Two views (among many) take an extended look into what has gone wrong.
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Real persecution actually exists
It is my hope that the following statement offends just about everyone who regularly reads my blog, because I have something BEYOND that to which we need our attention drawn: For evangelical Christians and gay rights folks in America, here is the stark truth: none of us know persecution. The current broohaha over the Arizona bill concerning businesses and serving gays…
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Thomas Jefferson and OPEN Education
I am revisiting an old documentary on Thomas Jefferson and was reminded of his design for the University of Virginia. He didn’t want any matriculation or granted degrees. He believed people should come and learn. They would leave when they felt they had an education. Leave it to an administrator to goof that up.
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Masters and Experts
A current thought I am stirring around: Don’t strive to be an expert in something. Instead, strive to be a master OF something. The question I bat around is this: If I am an expert in something, is it just knowledge? (Such as an expert in Church History.) If I am a “master” of something, it’s beyond knowledge. I think…
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Mind and Soul
With one foot squarely in the ministry world and another foot barely in the academic world, I am constantly challenged by our “either/or” thinking. I may be wrong about the world truly being “both/and.” Maybe it’s not. Maybe you have to be either uber-smart… and an academic who is very capable at writing, but not very capable at other forms of communication……
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There is a good side to fear and shame?
Why yes, yes there is. As an adjunct professor dealing with students who blow by assignments without getting them in and expecting me to take them anyway… or to say they loaded them up on the class site… and a week later “notice” it didn’t load up… YES there is a “good” side to fear and shame. We have coddled…
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I dream of a day when we quit ranking sins
It’s not about particular sins. It’s about SIN. It’s about our rebellion against God. It’s about our desire to be our own little gods. But when we are in our own little rebellions, we feel better about pointing out someone else’s “worse” sin. I pray for the day, just in my own life, when I’m done to ranking sin. 9 So what…
Category: Culture
