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Do We Understand the Times?
I just finished my first Stanley Hauerwas article. I have heard his name for quite awhile but had never ventured into any of his writings. I finally linked to one and read it. Normally when I read such intelligent pieces having a dictionary by my side is helpful. Even that didn’t help. I understood the words. Individually. When he put…
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Popularity of Mysticism
Who woulda thunk it? This Ross Douthat column in the New York Times reflects on the popularity of so many mystical practices, but it has its downside. We are dabbling in so many things, we are diving into nothing. We are not fully entering into ANY of the practices, so we might think we are mystics, but the proof is…
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Verses that blow me away
We are working through memorizing Scripture as a church. The set we are on right now covers some of the attributes of God. Today our passage is Rom. 11:33-36. I am blown away by the depth of this passage. Paul is so overwhelmed with the majesty and wisdom of God and I can almost feel it when he writes these…
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Harmon and the Grace of Jesus
I will simply link to my wife’s blog about Harmon. God bless the memory of this dear man.
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What is My History?
I am attending my first Society for Pentecostal Studies meeting, mainly because it is on the campus where I teach. The event has been a good one for me. The sessions have been a learning experience. I am keeping track of big words I need to look up later. 🙂 A plenary session I attended has challenged my thinking in…
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Intellectual Dishonesty
As I teach Old Testament and New Testament at a college level, at I am continually amazed at how little “Christian” students know the stories. This presents a question I simply want to ask and see if there might be any discussion: Is it intellectually dishonest to say you are a Christian and then never read in full the sacred…
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Narcissicistic Christianity
I admire people who write well, and say things I try to say. When I write them it’s just not very fluid. This post on “Jesus and me broke up” is outstanding. It encapsulates my thoughts on what is going wrong in American Christianity. We have a Christianity that isn’t about Jesus. It’s about “me.” There is a power that…
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Influence
One thing that simply cannot be underestimated in our lives is the influence of others. People only WE may know, but can change the course of our lives. They won’t make the cover of Time magazine, or be on American Idol or Oprah. They simply lived life and you were better because of them. The world will never hear of…
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Compassion and Conservative Christians
Who knew? Obviously, no one had any idea “conservative” Christians could be compassionate… that is until someone like the New York Time officially recognizes that, hey, conservative Christians actually do some good! Okay, NOW, conservative Christians can be considered as compassionate. (It was like the media “discovering” Pentecostals in 2006, the 100th Anniversary of Azusa Street.) Nicholas Kristof gives a…
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Hard Work and Determination
I am reading a book with my church staff about the “Me Generation.” It is a study, with some very funny sharp opinions, about our current generation. There are some very admirable things about this current generation. One thing I was admittedly surprised about was they seem to have high goals. The downside is they don’t seem to want to…
