3 “Through Lines” of Contemporary Culture and How Living Churches Probably Shouldn’t Respond

Recently I was speaking at a church on the topic of cultural engagement. It's a huge and complex topic. It's also, understandably, a controversial topic. It's controversial for a few reasons. First, there are often very controversial issues at stake, issues related to politics, sex, family, entertainment, education, and wealth to name just a few....

I Kissed Deconstruction Goodbye

Joshua Harris got me dumped in college. Kind of. Harris had written a book in 1997 called "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." This was the apex of weird 1990s evangelical purity culture. Honestly, I don't find a lot that is objectionable about fostering a culture of holiness and purity - it certainly beats the alternative which...

Is Baptism a “Bullseye Belief?”

Monday (7/12) was the launch of my first book in partnership with Renew.org. I was honored and humbled when they asked me to write the third volume of their "Real Life Theology" series of books. It is a series designed as a sort of catechism for young disciples and for those who are involved in...

what is essential

2020 has introduced us to new vocabulary of words and phrases. Asymptomatic. Exponential spread. Social distancing. Non-pharmaceutical intervention. Contact tracing. Anosmia.* We also have been reintroduced to old words in new packages. Sometimes the new package disorients us and makes us wonder if we ever really knew what the word meant. One of these words...

my people

My friend and preacher, Mark Christian, made a refreshing confession yesterday. In the midst of a sermon on hope and trust, he admitted that his emotions, particularly anger, are living just beneath the surface lately. He said he just feels angry and frustrated all of the time. It made me so happy. Not because my...

day 8

How's everyone doing? Today was a day of firsts for a lot of people in Southwest Missouri. Because many of us were on Spring Break last week, today many kids began schooling at home. Based on what I saw on Facebook and in my own house, there were decidedly mixed results. I'm not going to...

day 7

I will admit that I have always been an online church curmudgeon. I recognize that there was an element of the church even in the New Testament that was "virtual." When early leaders like Paul wrote letters to the churches, these letters were intended to be substitutes for their physical presence. The Church, however, is...

first church of the technopolis

I took a few days before writing this post because 1) whatever-I'm-busy-you-don't-know-my-life and 2) because I didn't want to be just another blogger-dude™ dunking on Judah Smith. I wanted to have something more interesting to say other than "Judah Smith is a more upbeat Rob Bell with weirder classes and cooler friends."** **Relax. It's a...

on being political

This is my third and final post on politics and theology. There is so much more to be said about the topic, and Google knows that there are so many who have said so much more about the topic. It seems to me that much more than three posts on any topic might open me...