Music has been and can continue to be a powerful tool in the transmission of wisdom. Like no other mode of communication, music has the power to transcend the spoken word and relate what is being said to the emotional and spiritual self in addition to the rational self. … More Wise Music
If people could open up my mind and peek into my thought-world, they’d find an amusement park full of wild ideas rising and falling like rollercoasters, a hyper-colored circus full of spiritual insights roaming like elephants a under the big tent, and outside the box ministry visions shooting across my mind like clowns out of a cannon. … More A Mustard Seed Future For the Church
We so easily become bound by a common social status or style of music rather than by Jesus’ word, table, or cross because in a free market the customer, rather than Christ, is king. … More MLK on Pandering to Religious Consumers
Today we are watching our nation’s Capitol, the great symbol and center of our democracy, be stormed by protestors, while our Congressional leaders hide behind locked doors, and the sitting president hides behind his twitter account. These are unnerving sights to behold and a frightening moment for our democracy. As Christians, what are we to … More A Call to Prayer & Repentance for the Soul of our Nation
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” -C.S. Lewis … More When Moderation is the Enemy
“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow” (Tozer). … More When the Spirit Builds the Church
It is important to love one’s neighbor — but in America, individual freedom is often more prized than biblical admonitions. … More Wearing Masks, Loving Neighbors & the Mark of the Beast
The Book of Jonah is a Sunday school favorite, yet hidden beneath its cartoon like drama lies a very scathing socio-religious warning—a warning aimed at the people who would claim to be on “God’s side.” … More Shipwrecked 2: Jonah and the Despised Other
How can children of a wandering Aramean whose holy vocation is to “be a blessing to all nations” be comfortable with rhetoric so passionately America-focused? How can citizens of an “others-first” Kingdom rally around such an “us-first” platform? … More A Wandering Aramean Was My Father
This week’s service honors Father’s Day, Keri’s birthday and Conversation #3 on Racial Righteousness with a message by Pastor Jon Tyson of Church of the City, New York, on Jesus, power and privilege. … More Conversation #3: What About White Privilege?
It’s time for the Body of Christ to grow up. Like a refrigerated teething ring given to an infant cutting her teeth, I have offered Paul’s ‘Body Metaphor’ for the church to chew on as we seek to become One Unified Body of Many Ethnic Parts. … More It’s Time to Grow Up
The “Love Poem” in 1 Corinthians 13 is often pulled out of context and read at weddings. When applied to racial division and ethnic differences in the local church, its doubly explosive! … More Seek the Greater Gift of Racial Sensibility
This is the task of the church today: for Christians of all ethnic and racial backgrounds to receive those of different backgrounds as a gift to broaden our perspective and deepen our love as we learn to not only understand each other’s experiences, but enter into each other’s pain and, God willing, to learn how to suffer in solidarity with them. … More Giving Greater Honor to Minorities
Paul emphasizes our mutual interdependence in the Body which, when applied to race/ethnicity, offers some of the following revolutionary and far-reaching principles for racial healing and cooperation in the church. … More An Intoxicatingly Beautiful Unity-in-Diversity
In the age of Trump, Christian leaders and committed followers of Jesus know deep in their bones that a kind of “melting” needs to take place if the message and mission of the gospel is to bear fresh fruit in a culture where so much is rotten. … More Beyond the Melting Pot
I’m grateful for the wise and courageous leadership of our Conference Superintendent Mark Stromberg. These are some words from a recent letter to churches and pastors. The ministries in which you are involved matter. The manner in which you conduct yourselves also counts, as it is noticed by others and either reflects well on your … More Wise Words for Church Leaders
Anyone interested in a sample of my academic work, here’s a full essay on race and ethnicity in the ancient world and today. (I shared a few sections a few weeks back.) Dr. Dennis Edwards said of it, “This is great, dare I say prophetic!” Unfortunately, the formatting and footnotes did not transfer to the … More One Body, Many Ethnic Parts
In his ongoing series on American Idols, this week Skye Jethani is taking on the idol of patriotism in his “With God Daily” devotional. This clarion call and challenge has been a key concern of mine. Keeping the church’s identity and witness distinct from national agendas and partisan politics is essential for the mission of the … More America is Not the Chosen (Skye Jethani)
Richard Halverson, the former chaplain of the United States Senate, summarized church history this way: “In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centered on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next, it … More The Idol of Celebrity (Skye Jethani)
Repost from 2018. Happy Valentine’s Day! While many will rely on Hallmark’s card writers to find the perfect words to say “I love you” today, some Christians might reach back to the famous “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13 read at many weddings. Yet, the man who wrote these words would probably find it quite … More Your One True Love
This is an excerpt from a much longer essay I wrote called “Royal Scribes in the King’s Court: Ancient Education & Christian Discipleship” published in a little book of essays called “Life in King Jesus’ Colony” from my doctoral studies. I hail from good Lutheran stock from the Midwest (Minnesota) where we shared … More Political Discipleship in the Christian Colony
“Are you confused about life, don’t know what’s going on? Walk up the street to a life with meaning.” Jesus was a wise sage, steeped in the ancient wisdom of the Jewish Scriptures, who formed a community of learners who welcomed his message. His message offered a new Way to be human, an alternative Way to … More Walk Up the Street to a New Life
When it comes to how followers of Jesus ought to engage in politics, I’m an Anabaptist. Anabaptists believe in following Jesus’ radical ethic laid out in the Sermon on the Mount, and keeping the church separate from earthly power and politics. Here’s Greg Boyd, another Anabaptist thinker, giving 12 reasons to keep the kingdom of God … More Gotta Keep ’em Separated (Greg Boyd)
The United States has a love affair with Eros; I’d say our society as a whole is worshiping at the temple of Eros — and not just once a year. Consider the numbers… … More Love, Marriage & Singleness at the Apocalypse
“Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” -Jesus My politics actually haven’t changed all that much over the years. When I go to the polls every two or four years to give “caesar” my opinion on how best to run this particular “kingdom of the world” called America, I still … More Church & Politics: A Jesus-Shaped Approach
Jeremy Berg 