-
All the shouting and we forget something
We’ve just gone ballistic. Between World Vision and the Supreme Court case with Hobby Lobby, we’re just plain nuts. I’ve done all I can to just read and evaluate and pray… but we’re just going nuts. As I sit here watching Facebook and Twitter just explode with anger (as it did yesterday with the first World Vision decision), what has been lacking is…
-
How to spot a cultural stronghold
Originally posted on Apprentice 2 Jesus: 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. ?
-
Learning to chew on the Word
It’s that evil word so many evangelical/fundamentalists don’t like: meditation. Simon Chan in his book, Spiritual Theology, reflects deeply on the need for scripture meditation. We are given too quickly to analysis in our Western mindset. We see a text and think one of two things: “I need to do a word study and historical background and cultural background and literary analysis on…
-
Prayer of Self-Examination
“One of the great neglected duties of the Christian life is self-examination, and maybe self-examination is neglected because it is so humiliating an exercise.” — William Barclay
-
Abusing prayer
Even with our technological advances, we can still be tempted with the ancient practice of magic in our prayers. Magic is trying to manipulate natural or supernatural powers to serve our purposes. The self stands at the center of the universe, not God. Modern technologists are the successors to pagan magicians. The magical attitude exists among technologically minded Christians as…
-
The preaching of the Word
The priority needs to be given to the public reading of Scripture. We need to systematically read the Scripture in public. The story needs to be impressed into our collective memories. “If the sermon follows some form of lectio divina (in which the whole of Scripture is read over a period of time), we are more likely to avoid the habit of…
-
Missing theology
One of the least developed areas of theology in the evangelical church is ecclesiology. We just don’t quite know what to do about this whole concept of the Church. We know about “local church”… maybe. We are so bent on “me and Jesus” and those who theologically agree with me 100 percent… the whole idea of “church” just doesn’t get…
-
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,…
-
Legalism on the left and right
Kevin Bacon did a reprise of his famous “Footloose” dance on the Tonight Show. It’s always fun to poke fun at the fundamentalists and jeer the stupid rules they had, or have. I had them growing up, and I can poke fun with the best of them. What is just as hilarious is to watch this video and see the…
-
Baseball in Cricket Territory
I now know why my friend Mark Stevens has given up Facebook for “Lent.” No spiritual reason. He is studying up on the greatest game ever… BASEBALL, because the Dodgers and Diamondbacks were playing in Australia to open up the MLB season. He has finally come to the light… and we rejoice!
