Pursuing a holistic expression of Christian faith that is true to the Bible and applicable for today’s world.
“Can You Spare Some Change?” For years, I’d drive to my urban office. After parking my car, the area’s homeless would often accost me. My goal was avoidance. And when that didn’t work, to minimize contact. I didn’t want to help others. “Can you spare some change?” I’d shake my head as I made a […]
Consider the Real Prerequisites for Obeying God I once met a guy who wanted to work in broadcasting. So he went to college. In his four-year degree, taking some forty classes, guess how many applied to broadcasting? Just three. While having secondary benefit, his other three dozen plus classes were not preparing him for the […]
Do We Read the Bible with Preconceived Notions? Last Sunday I challenged us to examine our faith practices, using the Bible as a foundation to confirm or refute the things we do in church (and in life). This way, we can consider our traditions and remove those that don’t withstand biblical scrutiny. The problem is, […]
Why Do We Do What We Do? I have a compulsion that irritates people, especially in religious circles. I ask, “Why?” I need to know why we do the things we do. What reason is behind them? Is there a biblical justification? Or is it a manmade tradition that has become meaningless ritual? For example, […]
Always Winter and Never Christmas In C. S. Lewis’s classic book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the land of Narnia is under duress: it is always winter and never Christmas. As winter drags on this year, I feel the same way. In Michigan, we enjoy all four seasons and in about equal proportions. […]
In further contemplating last week’s post about being spiritually militant—of fighting evil in the spiritual realm—the word jihad comes to mind. Jihad, originating from Islam, has some specific meanings and one that is more general: In a literal sense, the idea of a holy war repels me. The various inquisitions and crusades, primarily during the […]
We Are on the Winning Side and Can Tell the Devil Where to Go This is my second and likely last post about music from my past. First, I blogged about “I Scream Sunday” and today my topic is Stryper’s “To Hell with the Devil.” This heavy metal tune stirs up a passion inside of […]
As a Word Artist, I Create Art with My Words I’ve never called myself an artist, in large part because I think I’m one of the most uncreative persons on the planet. I’m good at building on the work of others and adept at making something that flows from logic or order, but when it […]
Beware of Using Labels “Are you Arminian or Reformed?” The man’s question surprised me. He seemed sincere, and my answer was apparently important to him, but it perplexed me. Besides, I just met the guy. “I don’t know.” And I didn’t care. I’m sure he thought me as evasive or dismissive or pagan or perhaps […]
Consider How You View and Approach God Two weeks ago, in my post Don’t Make God Boring, I mentioned my dislike for an area of study called systematic theology. Systematic theology is a theological discipline that attempts to present God and Christian faith in an organized and logical structure. Some people have dedicated their entire […]