Tag: Christianity

No More Mr. ICE Guy

January 7, 2026

Nothing can provoke anger quicker than mercy, when it’s directed to the wrong kind of people.

Marking the church’s Year of Jubilee, Pope Leo XIV invoked biblical language calling for kindness to migrants as human beings made in the image of God. There’s nothing the least bit controversial about this. It’s what the Bible says, what Christians have always believed, what official Catholic teaching makes explicit. Some people didn’t like this. … More No More Mr. ICE Guy

Beware of ICEy Conditions

December 18, 2025

I’m a pastor in a multiethnic denomination of immigrants, where my brothers and sisters are being terrorized by ICE raids and growing hostility and fear caused by this administration’s rhetoric and tactics. Our immigrant churches are half empty on Sundays, as families are afraid to leave their homes. No presents are under the tree, and cupboards are growing bare as they are afraid to go shopping. … More Beware of ICEy Conditions

Blessed Are The Emotional Wrecks

December 2, 2025

I don’t remember what I preached that Sunday, but I do remember standing in front, holding back tears and weighed down by grief. My message invited us to de-sanitize the Christmas story, strip away all the sentimentality and remember that Advent is the good news that Jesus stepped down into our darkness in order to take the suffering and grief of countless heartbroken parents onto Himself, and to bring comfort to those who mourn … More Blessed Are The Emotional Wrecks

If I Stand

November 20, 2025

This has been my “life song” since college, since I gave my life to Jesus. It’s the song I have told Keri to have played at my funeral someday. It’s by Rich Mullins, a fellow ragamuffin for Jesus. Still, I’ve never really stopped to ponder the lyrics and why this song speaks to my heart. … More If I Stand

What’s in a Name?

October 3, 2025

Mike Glenn discusses the ongoing debate within the Southern Baptist Convention regarding the role of women as pastors, criticizing the fixation on church titles. He argues that such disputes detract from the church’s real mission: engaging with the community as missionaries. In contemporary society, he emphasizes the importance of being proactive in spreading faith rather than worrying about titles. … More What’s in a Name?

Righteous Hunger

September 24, 2025

Politics often awakens a hunger to win: To argue. To feel superior. To prove them wrong. But Jesus invites us into something deeper: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” That kind of hunger doesn’t ignore injustice. Rather, it fights for what is good and true. But it fights with humility, not hostility. It seeks restoration, not revenge. It builds up, rather than tears down. … More Righteous Hunger

Feeling Weary? You’re Not Alone.

September 3, 2025

The kids are back in school! Now a strange silence fills the house after our three kids all get on the same bus this year at 7:30. In this stillness, my contemplative soul can breathe again and find space conducive to creative pursuits. But in the stillness and quiet, many of us can also feel and hear the deep sigh of weariness that broods just beneath the surface. … More Feeling Weary? You’re Not Alone.

Looking for the Living Among the Dead

August 5, 2025

We celebrated the life of my Uncle Gary a couple weeks back. I was privileged to participate in the service, along with my kids and other grand nieces and nephews. Peter and I led us in some hymns, and we performed “Go Rest High On That Mountain” (without breaking down, somehow). I shared the sermon and am including the script here for anyone interested. … More Looking for the Living Among the Dead

Vacation Reading

July 11, 2025

The author shares insights on three impactful books: “Van Gogh: The Life,” which deeply explores the artist’s troubled psyche; “Blood in the Tracks,” highlighting the overlooked Minnesota musicians behind Dylan’s masterpiece; and Dallas Willard’s new “The Scandal of the Kingdom,” revealing the transformative significance of Jesus’s parables in contemporary life. … More Vacation Reading

20 Years: The Irresistible Revolution

June 20, 2025

I want to share some reflections on 20 years of ministry in my hometown. I have told the story of launching the Revolution teen ministry in Mound many times, but I have never mentioned the book that I led teenagers through that laid a foundation for that ministry and lit a spark for the brand of Jesus-shaped Christianity I have pursued and taught over the past 20 years. … More 20 Years: The Irresistible Revolution

Driftwood

June 2, 2025

This nature reflection discusses the dangers of living a life of spiritual drift, likening it to driftwood tossed by waves. It emphasizes the importance of having purpose and direction in life through faith in Christ and the Church. The analogy highlights community strength versus individual aimlessness in navigating life’s challenges. … More Driftwood

A Woke Pope?

May 30, 2025

The election of the first American pope, Leo XIV, and getting to hear the pope speak into our politically idolatrous Christian landscape in plain English, is going to be revealing. I dare say “apocalyptic” in the literal sense of deeply revealing. He’s not going to line up on Team Blue or Team Red. He will speak for Team Jesus, and be labelled Woke for following the historic social teachings of the Catholic church. … More A Woke Pope?

Discipleship on the Emmaus Road

May 20, 2025

The discipleship journey, explored here in Jeremy’s exposition of Luke 24:13-35, emphasizes companionship, compassionate listening, and the cruciform life. Jesus walks alongside disciples, fostering spiritual maturity through shared experiences and conversations. Ultimately, true discipleship leads to recognizing Christ’s presence, partaking in communion, and joyfully sharing the transformative gospel with others. … More Discipleship on the Emmaus Road

Babylon in America

May 19, 2025

This sober undressing of some of the hidden realities behind our nation may offend, and if it rattles our bones to see this earthly nation critiqued by the Bible, that might indicate we have made it an idol. Revelation is an ‘apocalypse,’ and that word means to pull back the curtain on the uglier realities that prefer to stay hidden behind the shiny surface. Revelation is an invitation to political resistance, not End Times speculation. … More Babylon in America

Unmasking Babylon

May 8, 2025

Revelation is not a key to unlock some future prophecy timeline; it’s a key to understanding our current times, unmasking true allegiances and calling Christians to follow the Way of the Lamb while resisting the ways of Babylon. Today, my teacher, Scot McKnight, posted chapter 5 of his timely book, “Revelation for the Rest of Us”, on his Substack. Read. If. You. Dare. … More Unmasking Babylon

The Alabaster Jar

March 19, 2025

As long as I can remember, I’ve always been quietly breaking things—breaking customs, breaking gender roles, and, one day, breaking an alabaster jar. History remembers me sitting quietly at the Jesus of feet, but a first-century woman taking the posture of a male disciple was a loud and revolutionary act in my day. A quiet person is not always a compliant person. A gentle spirit is not necessarily a tame spirit. … More The Alabaster Jar

Response to a Friend’s Political Question

February 21, 2025

A friend seeks advice on how to navigate a relationship with someone whose politics deeply alarm them. His answer warns against falling into two different (opposite) “ditches” – the ditch of fusion with erroneous political ideas and the ditch of “cutting off” relationship with people you have deep disagreements with. … More Response to a Friend’s Political Question

A Word On Immigration

February 7, 2025

I belong to a multiethnic body of believers called the Church of Jesus Christ. I was baptized into this new family, and I don’t get to choose and select who my siblings in Christ are. The waters of baptism are more binding than the blood running through my veins and any artificial national borders. “When one part of the body hurts, we (should) all hurt” (1 Cor. 12:26-27). … More A Word On Immigration