Do you know the Cory Asbury song, "Reckless Love"? Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God It chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still you give yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God. About a year ago, I … Continue reading Why I Love “Reckless Love”

I have come with one purpose To capture for myself a bride By my life she is lovely By my death she's justified I have always been her husband Though many lovers she has known So with water i will wash her And by my word alone So when you hear the sound of the … Continue reading Saturday Song: The Church (Derek Webb)

Had a long, wonderful conversation with a brilliant young New Testament scholar this morning, Rafael Rodriguez of Johnson University.  (Rafael is "young" because he is younger than me.) He is doing important work reading the Bible historically, but also exploring how the Bible (properly read) should inform life, faith, and practice in the church today. … Continue reading What’s Your Primary Orientation?

Since at least the Reagan era, Republicans have treated most serious ideological differences as the moral equivalent of war. This has been especially true since the ascent of Newt Gingrich. We see this in the battles over abortion, the Culture Wars, Obamacare, gun rights, etc., ad nauseum. What does it do to us when we … Continue reading The Moral Equivalent of War

David French wrote a column about THE SCENE in The Morning Show.  He says some important things here about the American church's response to the whole #MeToo thing, and an opportunity that we may be missing. (I am reposting the whole thing here, because I can't figure out how to link to it at TheDispatch.com.  … Continue reading David French on The Morning Show and #MeToo

(Regardless of which side you're on.) There is a religious war raging in America today.  A kulturkampf ("culture war"), if  you will.  The war is between supporters and critics of traditional values.  It was officially declared at some point between the elections of Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Bill Clinton in 1992. The Carter election … Continue reading Why Your Side Is Losing the Culture War

I have said that the text should shape the sermon, and the outline should rise out of the text.  What does that mean in practice?  What does that look like? Let's use a text that many readers are familiar with, Genesis 1, and use it as an example. When I look at Genesis 1, I … Continue reading Example of Text Shaping Sermon

On 14 December, a little girl died.  Her name was Olive; she was two years old.  She was the daughter of Kalley Heiligenthal, a worship leader at Bethel Church in Redding CA. Her mother took to social media to ask that people pray with her for her daughter to be raised from the dead.  For … Continue reading God, Who Raises the Dead

Warning: incoherent rambling about government to follow: Let me explain how conservatives and libertarians have normally seen the relationship between government and business.  (I believe this particular analogy is an update on a debate that Hamilton and Madison had, once upon a time.) Some people think that the government should be like the referees in … Continue reading Government & Business: Referees or Coaches?