Is American evangelicalism the standard by which all world Christianities are to be judged? Good grief, I hope not.  We're a mess. A couple of years ago, someone on a podcast--I think it was Peter Enns--said that American Evangelicalism had failed because it attempts to unify believers around a particular set of doctrines, expressed in … Continue reading American Evangelicals and World Christianity

NT Wright now argues that Romans 8.28 should be read, "God works together with those who love him for good in all things." (Cf the RSV, "in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.") This verse then completes the idea of 8.26-27, that the Spirit … Continue reading Wright on Rom 8.28

More thoughts on our current political crisis: If you have ever painted with a brush, regardless of what you were painting--a wall, a house, a watercolor, a model car--you know that there are different widths of paintbrushes, and that choosing the right width for the job is really important.The paintbrush that is appropriate for painting … Continue reading Two Paintbrushes

I don't normally get misty-eyed about the way the church in America has changed since my childhood.  Being a fifty-something white guy, I know that I am especially vulnerable to "Good Old Days Syndrome", and I work really hard to avoid making those kinds of judgments.  Further, we are extremely prone to confuse our faith … Continue reading How Evangelicalism Has Changed (Olson)

Disconnected thoughts on Christian moral decisionmaking, with something to frustrate everyone: Should Christians be on the side of the protesters or on the side of the statues?  Should Christians say "Black lives matter"? If you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, then the basic question in decision making is "What would Jesus do?"  Right? If you … Continue reading Moral Decisionmaking 101

Yesterday I asked, "How does grace make us disciples?" The question arises from my discussion of Titus 2.12, where Paul says that grace "trains us to reject ungodliness ... and to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly." (my translation) I can think of several ways that grace makes us disciples.  You can probably … Continue reading How Grace Makes Us Disciples

Let’s dissect Titus 2.11-14. For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God … Continue reading Grace & Discipleship

Yesterday I said: “Hope” in the Bible is not just something wished for.  “Hope” is something you live into, something you aim your effort, your living, your prayer & fasting toward. Let's talk about the difference between wish and hope. Wish: let's say that I want the Cowboys win the Superbowl.  Can I do anything to make … Continue reading The Role of Hope in Discipleship

We make disciples by living life with people, accompanying them through days and weeks and years, all the while directing their gaze to Jesus and what he is doing in their lives. Like Paul in Titus, disciplemakers live "to further the faith of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that builds toward … Continue reading We Make Disciples