Imaginatively Missional
In April 2024, our television and mobile screens were filled with images of long-range ballistics glowing in the night sky over Jerusalem. A barrage of missiles had been launched directly by Iran from hundreds of miles away into Israel. In the tense moments where we waited for spectacular images of destruction across a land considered …
I often find myself wondering what kind of world our grandchildren will inherit. While war wages in Ukraine and Gaza, riotous protests in Nepal, increasing violent murders in the United States, I wonder, will their world be one marked by peace, justice, and human flourishing—or one scarred by violence, fear, and a church that has …
In 2016, when Donald Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States, a significant number of evangelical Christians, especially evangelical nationalists, rallied around a curious biblical parallel: Isaiah 45. The passage describes the Persian king Cyrus as God’s anointed instrument to accomplish divine purposes, even though he was not part of God’s covenant …
In the first century AD, the Roman Empire was not merely a political powerhouse; it was also a stage for a deeply intertwined system of civic loyalty and religious devotion. One striking example of this is what appears to be the pedestal of a statue in the upper gymnasium of Priene, an ancient Ionian city …
In 1988, my best friend asked me to join him on a clandestine mission to smuggle the Jesus Film into Afghanistan. As our departure grew near so did our excitement. Backpacks, camping gear, thousands of dollars in cash, and 500lbs of film equipment boarded a plane for Karachi, Pakistan as did two young and idealistic …
Much has been written in recent days about "white evangelicals" and there is just as much emotion conjured up when seeing the term. Those on the political right are often offended by the moniker as it attacks their truncated theological heritage. Those on the political left use it as a power word against a theologically …
Continue reading "Are White Evangelicals Really the Problem?"
The imagery and symbols are clear. Church and state have never truly been separated in the United States. From its inception, the marriage of religion and politics has been a powerful force to unite pundits around political ideologies. It doesn't matter if the ideologies are conservative or liberal, invoking faith during an inaugural address or …
Continue reading "Seven Sins of American Evangelical Civil Religion"
Sitting on the credenza behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office is the bust of Latino civil rights leader César Chávez. Other leaders of the movement decorating the most powerful place on the planet—Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Robert F. Kennedy—give a clear signal to the 46th US president’s agenda for America. Among his …
Continue reading "Hang On! It’s going to be another bumpy four years!!"
On January 6th while the 117th Congress gathered to certify the 2020 election, an individual who identifies himself as Crazy Cripple filmed a group marching on the street toward the US Capitol. At about the 2 minute mark in the video, the group stops to pray. Ahead of the prayer, someone announces, “If you’re on …
Jesus was often counter-cultural. He upset a lot of people because He would frequently break the status quo and do the will of His Father (Matthew 12:50) instead of “following the rules” society had established. On the heels of the vice presidential debate and the “super spreading” event that caused the hospitalization of the president …
It is sometimes refreshing to look back in Christian history to be reminded once again of those events upon which we stand. Where we are today did not occur in a vacuum or in isolation from the past. In a very real sense, the past shapes who we are in the present and reminds us …
I believe in God's sovereignty, not in a fatalistic way or a double predestination one. Rather, God superintends His creation in such a manner to ensure that His will is completed. The Book of Revelation gives us a picture of the completion of that will: And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you …
Continue reading "The Lesser of Two Evils and God’s Sovereignty"
If you have been following the news regarding Grace Community Church and its pastor John MacArthur’s battle in the courts of California, you might be thinking this is one of those complex issues confronting Christian churches across the country. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com The claim that California is prohibiting the freedom to worship …
With less than 60 days until the 2020 presidential election, who would Jesus vote for? Both evangelical Democrats and Republicans would no doubt claim He would vote for their candidate. Even more, both sides would argue that their political party best represents the values of the Kingdom of God. Admittedly, there are those who see …
During the course of my research for When Evangelicals Sneeze: Curing the American Church from the Plague of Identity Loss, I came across many comments about evangelicals. Some of them were from evangelicals in other parts of the world talking about American evangelicals. Some were evangelical Democrats talking about evangelical Republicans and vice versa. Others …
You hear many pastors and theologians attempting to interpret the Book of Revelation in light of what is happening in our world today: Plagues, racial riots, a political antichrist, and the list could go on. It's to be expected, after all, we generally think the end times is about us. Right? Our desire to know …
Continue reading "Plagues, racial riots, and a political antichrist – The Time is Near?"
In the fourth century, the North African theologian, Augustine, understood the New Testament to teach that sometimes violent coercion of heretics and unbelievers was acceptable to ensure a Christian nation. He wrote, “You also read how he who was at first Saul, and afterwards Paul, was compelled, by the great violence with which Christ coerced him, to know …
Over the month of December, the American political environment opened an opportunity for many to discuss – perhaps debate or argue is more apropos – the merits of the moniker “evangelical.” There are valid reasons for such conversations as we’ve seen an expression of evangelicalism in America that seemingly gives more attention to the social …
An aphorism attributed to the first century BC Roman orator, Marcus Cicero, goes like this, “Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to be always a child. If no use is made of the labors of past ages, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge.” During his time, the …
Continue reading "How the politics of Jesus informs the politics of the 21st century church"
The reaction to Mark Galli’s editorial in Christianity Today reveals how polarized the current political climate is in the United States. Some question his motives and others wonder what has taken so long. There are as many loud evangelical voices of dissent as there are of support for Galli’s call for President Trump’s removal from office. The …
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