Beth Felker Jones discusses the challenge Christians face in the U.S. amidst current political turmoil. It paraphrases the Barmen Declaration to emphasize the need for the church to uphold its identity in Christ against nationalism and false doctrines. It calls for unity, faithful leadership, and a rejection of ideologies that compromise the gospel. … More Jesus, Not Nationalism
You might have expected public celebrations of the birth by crowds of enthusiastic well-wishers; messages of goodwill from kings, queens and emperors, movers and shakers; religious leaders, political power-brokers, and wealthy benefactors. What you got was a child-killing death squad sent at the command of a vicious despot, and refugee status in a foreign land. Why this way? … More Why this Way?
As much as I despised these inner voices and nagging feelings, I also found strange comfort in their familiarity. I could hardly imagine life without them running amuck and filling my soul’s courtyard with 24/7 parties of gloom. I figured it was better to feel something “living” inside my soul, than to feel nothing at all. So I embraced an inner life full of brooding thoughts, bubbling resentment, and emotional turmoil. … More Elizabeth’s Inner Tenants
The Third Sunday of Advent Here’s my 1st-person imaginative monologue of Joseph and his blue-collar faith. I’m not sure why you have included me in this series on contemplative spirituality. Contemplatives are typically thought to be monks and nuns found in monasteries, men and women who have left ordinary life to pursue a life of … More Joseph: Blue-Collar Contemplative
“The obviously well kept secret of the “ordinary” is that it is made to be a receptacle of the divine, a place where the life of God flows.” These words from Dallas Willard get to the heart of my meditation this coming Sunday as I get into the character of Mary in our “Contemplative Christmas” series. I am delighted … More Receptacles of the Divine
Here I sit on another Thanksgiving week, trying to put into words what God has been doing among us and through us as this past year. Once again, I humble myself and admit my utter dependence God and his people to raise a modest salary to continue this ministry. I don’t like it, but humility is a Christian virtue and crucifying one’s ego a worthy spiritual practice. … More Giving Thanks!
Tony Campolo came into my life twenty years ago and I am forever grateful for his voice that has called generations of Evangelicals to lean into the Red Letters of Jesus instead of opting for partisan politics. This past week I rediscovered him, picking his book off my shelf to prepare for a class only to hear that he died yesterday at age 89. Here’s a tribute. … More Tony Campolo: Red Letter Evangelical Dies
An Open Letter from evangelical leaders emphasizes that most American evangelicals possess nuanced views on immigration, supporting neither open borders nor mass deportation. They advocate for the dignity of all individuals, the need for secure borders, and the preservation of family unity, urging political candidates to reflect these values in their policies. … More Open Letter: Evangelical Views on Immigration
I just left the ballot box and have officially exercised my democratic right and privilege in the 2024 election. As a follower and representative of Jesus, I wish His Kingdom values and the fruit of the Spirit were on the ballot with little ovals to fill in. But they are not. Or are they? … More Character on the Ballot
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a hero of mine, on my Mt. Rushmore of Christian influences. His legacy is being hijacked and twisted for political purposes. The Bonhoeffer family has recently spoken up and sent a letter signed by 86 family members to Eric Metaxas saying: “We are horrified to see how the legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is…being distorted and misused…” … More Bonhoeffer’s Family Confronts Eric Metaxas
I’m playing a lot of music these days – funerals, fundraisers, senior homes, and picking in the basement. Sometimes I hit record and perhaps I’ll share them here on Saturday mornings. Here’s a first take, rough cut (partial) cover of one of my favorite political songs in these days of confused allegiances. Feel free to skip my singing and just read the lyrics. … More #SaturdaySong – “The Kingdom of Jesus”
Pastor Mike Glenn emphasizes the challenges of navigating political discourse within churches during an intense election year. He urges believers to prioritize their relationship with Jesus above politics, reminding them they represent Christ as ambassadors. Ultimately, Glenn argues that the Kingdom of God transcends earthly elections and calls for faithful Christian engagement in societal leadership. … More Pastors and Politics
I want to commend to you the “Evangelical Confession 2024” as a helpful guide for Christians this election season. It emphasizes allegiance to Jesus over political ideologies while encouraging love, truth, unity, and recognition of every individual’s worth. It outlines Biblical principles that reject fear, division, and manipulation in political discourse, aiming to position the Church as a prophetic witness of God’s reconciliation and love in a divisive world. … More Evangelical Confession 2024
A family I know and love was rattled recently to get a note from someone they considered a longtime friend suggesting that the family was going to hell. The cause for the impending brimstone was not that the family denied the faith, embraced some heresy, or adopted some unrepentant life of immorality. At issue was that the family did not support a presidential candidate.
… More To Hell With the Election (by Russell Moore)
In this 4th of July episode of Theology in the Raw podcast (which was recorded on May 1st), Preston Sprinkle talks with Shane Claiborne about the conflict in Israel-Palestine, student protests on U.S. university campuses, and various things related to patriotism, nationalism, and the gospel. Good food for thought for Christians trying to keep their allegiances straight. … More Should Christians be Patriotic?
On Isaak’s 11th birthday I want to share a lesson he is helping me learn about tough love vs. tender love. A strong person is described as “tough as nails,” which has me thinking about the One who took the nails for me. Those nails couldn’t have pierced the skin of Iron Man, Super Man or the Incredible Hulk. Their bulletproof exterior would have bent the nails in half and kept them from harm. That’s Ford Tough; that’s strength “like a rock.” But that’s not Christlike strength. … More Tender Love is Toughest: Happy Birthday, Isaak!
My kids are learning to play the piano. While we could have had them watch YouTube instruction videos, we signed them up for private lessons. Once a week they sit side by side at the piano, Miss Liz “taking them by the hand” and tailoring lessons to their skill level and needs, manipulating their fingers, correcting and encouraging, addressing their questions and meeting each student where they are at. This reminds me of Jesus and discipleship. … More Parables and Private Lessons
Let’s dig into Genesis 3, a text ripe and juicy with deep insights. Humanity, estranged from God after disobeying, feels exposed and fearful, hiding from God. But God seeks them out, asking where they are not for location, but for the state of their souls. They are covered in grace, as God clothes them, revealing His relentless pursuit of His wayward children. … More Evening Breeze in the Garden
Politics are dividing our churches like never before. Preston Sprinkle’s new book reminds us that the first-century church was not an apolitical gathering, where Christians left their Roman politics at the door. It also wasn’t a place where Christians mounted a Roman flag next to—or above—a Christian one. Church was a place where God’s plan for governing the world was revealed, where one could witness what it means to follow the Creator’s design for human flourishing. … More Exiles: The Book We’ve Needed
I like this image of walking into nature, sauntering in search of Holy Land—our own enchanted forest, a private Holy of Holies by a bubbling brook, a stairway descending from Heaven where we sense God’s angels among us. Like Jacob awakening from his wilderness dream in Gen. 28, we go sauntering in hopes that God will use nature to rouse us from our spiritual slumber and make our trail the gate of heaven. … More Holy Ground
As much as Evangelicals talk about having a personal relationship with Jesus, many of us in practice have more of a personal relationship with the Bible. Does God stand wild and free behind, above, beneath, and around the text, poised to pounce and prod us by the Spirit? Or, like Thomas Jefferson, do we stand over the text, combing it for principles we admire, while denying the presence of the supernatural? … More The Untamed Word
The “truth” has always been a slippery thing, easily manipulated, easily spun, misplaced or lost in the couch cushions of public discourse. The atomic, bone rattling, earth-shaking radioactive Truth Bomb of the ages is that since the incarnation of the Word, all human ideas, arguments, concepts, abstractions, formulas, presentations, editorials, principles, etc. of “truth” must now stand before and buckle its knees in the presence of the Truth Incarnate. … More Truth Bomb
We walked into the travel agency and nervously picked through the brochures on the wall, each advertising exotic destinations filled with sun and ocean-scapes. We were teenagers dreaming and scheming about our senior trip that spring. After much deliberation and bargaining with our parents, me and my five best friends were preparing for a spring break cruise together in the Caribbean. … More Jesus, Travel Agent
If I’m being honest, my heart has been condemning me quite a bit lately. My heart desires to honor God by living a life of love and acting in ways worthy of Christ. But I keep falling short. I keep missing the mark. This week’s lectionary text brings us into a section of 1 John that is equal measures reassuring and unsettling. … More Ease Up, My Heart
Recently a very popular pastor came under public attack, lost numerous speaking invitations, and had his radio program canceled. What was his sin? He counseled a grandmother to attend her trans grandchild’s wedding. The pastor himself is extremely conservative on matters of marriage and sexuality, and his theological position on these issues has not changed. … More Fundamentalism’s Folly (Skye Jethani)
Jeremy L. Berg 