From Roger Olson's blog: I am very interested in studying the mores and norms of contemporary American Christians today (2019) compared with what I know they were fifty and more years ago. Let me explain one example of where I think contemporary American Christianity, especially evangelical Christianity, has nearly totally forgotten a biblical principle that … Continue reading Olson: We Have Forgotten the NT’s Teaching on Strong and Weak

If Christians want to "win" the culture war, then they should fight it the way Jesus fought it. Follow his example. Obey his teachings. Quit trying to get out of carrying his cross. (This is where the myth of "Christian" America is most pernicious, it makes us confuse the kingdom of this earth with the … Continue reading How Christians Can Win the Culture War

Timothy Miller, writing about deep depression & suicide, reflecting on the suicide of his friend, journalist Blake Hounshell. Some people wear the love of their kids on their sleeves, and Blake was one of those people. Last June I was delighted and rather floored when he came to cover my book eventwith his kids in … Continue reading “The Mystery of Suicide” (Tim Miller, The Bulwark)

(A follow-up to https://plstepp.com/2023/01/21/fighting-a-culture-war/) What does the culture war cost us? The culture war makes us hateful. To justify our hatred, we convince ourselves (or allow others to convince us) that the people on the other side are not humans created in God's image for whom Christ died. We convince ourselves that they are evil … Continue reading The Cost of the Culture War

Life is precious, and God is good. That's all I've got today.

I hope you have watched HBO’s We Own This City, a companion piece to The Wire. It was flawed, not of The Wire’s stature, but still powerful. There’s a pivotal scene near the end between cop turned professor Brian Gabler (played by Treat Williams) and crusading DOJ attorney Nicole Steele (the amazing Wunmi Mosaku): BRIAN … Continue reading Fighting a (Culture) War

It depends what you mean by "equity". "Equity" has traditionally been interchangeable with "equality", "the quality of being fair and impartial." But in the past decade, "equity" has taken on two different meanings, one bad and one good. The bad meaning: "equity" = equal outcomes. This approach assumes that inequality of outcomes between groups is … Continue reading Is “Equity” Good or Bad?

In the church leadership world, "Technique is emerging as the new idol." (Nate Bush) In a half-baked post the other day, I complained about how churches today prefer gimmicks and silver bullets to the slow, hard work of transformation by the Spirit. (Actually, I wish I’d said it that well the other day.) Lo & … Continue reading Making Technique an Idol

For years, I have been thinking about planting a church. Understand: I’ll be 60 years old before too long. NO ONE wants a 60 year old church planter. So this is probably nothing but a thought exercise. (I actually kinda-sorta planted a church once. It was perhaps my life’s greatest failure. It began as a … Continue reading If I Planted a Church … (pt 1?)