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Black lives still matter
Let’s get this out of the way: Yes… ALL lives matter. Absolutely, positively, every one. But each of us know when there are those neglected and there is a sense of, “Does MY life matter? Is anyone seeing?” That is why, from time to time, we lift up a particular part of society to try and emphasize, YES… YOU matter! This…
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Why NOT take Jesus with you?
For the day, for your job, for the conversations you have, for the problem you need to solve at home… why not take Jesus with you? Paul says this about Jesus: in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. 2:3) The One who made everything “probably” actually knows everything. He really does know how to make things work. Dallas Willard…
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Speaking to the dry bones
Our church has been in the process of selling our building over the last several months. A journey that began almost a year ago is about to take a tremendous step up. Last June the Lord gave me the idea in prayer to sell the building and take the proceed to invest in a new place, including a coffee shop.…
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Attitudes in apologetics
In The Allure of Gentleness, Dallas Willard leads the reader in a path I wish I had offered to me when I was a teenager. I grew up with the concept that apologetics was winning the argument. My “rightness” would overwhelm their “wrongness” and then they would somehow just bow to Jesus. Over the years I have adopted more of what Dallas…
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Stop defending the Christian faith
“I’m not hear to defend the Christian faith; the Christian faith defends me.” — Dallas Willard My task, as to apologetics, is to simply bring truth. It doesn’t need “defending.” Faith doesn’t need to chalk up a “victory” after the debate. Where I am in faith is where I help people. Where I see people struggling and see how God…
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Apologetics isn’t about being “right”
I am back to Dallas Willard’s book, The Allure of Gentleness, and find myself challenged yet again by his careful words. Apologetics for Christians isn’t about proving we’re right. We’re not saved because we’re “right.” We’re “right” because we’re SAVED. It’s about grace stepping in to show what is right. That’s why so many churches have “Grace” in their name. Not many…
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Can these bones live?
The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He…
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The new scarlet letter
Immediate qualifier: I don’t know the first thing about Duggars or TLC or any facts of the old case against one of the Duggars. But with the charge of molestation and the vehement blog post titles I see on my Facebook feed, I think once again to the issue of child molesters and how we handle it as a country.…
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The gentle apologetic
There is no way to contain my joy in getting to read more words from Dallas Willard. I am so thankful his daughter is putting together his notes and lectures. This latest book is called The Allure of Gentleness, and takes up the cause of living out the apologetic of Christianity rather than simply trying to engage in and win an argument.…
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The Allure of Gentleness
I received Dallas Willard’s latest book today. It is so refreshing to know his work can continue. This one is on apologetics and approaching it with gentleness instead of a combative attitude. It is classic Dallas. Big quote so far: We need to be able to deal with doubt lovingly, helpfully, and especially without ever scolding or shaming anyone for…
