We Can’t Judge and Love Simultaneously

I love Greg Boyd’s proposition that we can’t judge (condemn) and love people at the same time. Obviously many Christians feel a very strong compulsion to condemn sin. Where does this come from? Probably two places. First, much of the Old Testament stresses holiness in the form of outward signs and actions. If people don’t understand how to view scripture in light of Jesus and instead see the Bible as our rule book / manual / encyclopedia, then there’s a higher probability of mis-applying this first portion of the Bible. In this article, Greg points out a second reason people look at the Bible this way. At some point we received the simplified gospel that Jesus came to deliver us from our sins. I believe this became popular among Continue reading →

Spiritual Growth

  • I believe that spiritual growth is a journey, and the journey is not always straight forward.
  • I believe that spiritual transformation is a slow, gradual process, measured more in terms of years rather than days and weeks. (So be patient.)
  • I believe that spiritual growth happens best when we are continually, repeatedly reminded of God’s perspective (a.k.a. a kingdom and biblical perspective) on us and the world.
  • I believe that relationships are one of the primary contexts for growth. This is in part because relationships are one of the best sources for encouraging us through the challenges of life and for reminding us of the truth of God’s perspective amidst these challenges.

Conclusion: Have a community in which you engage Continue reading →

Ministry Segregation

I’m noticing that many churches gender segregate their adult small groups. I wonder if this is because the average adult church goer is assumed to be married (and, because marriage seems to be a prerequisite for ministry, this is also the perspective from which the organizing pastor is making decisions). I suppose church members are assumed to live closely with a member of the opposite sex (because of being married), but have more limited opportunities to build closer friendships with members of the same sex. (The Christian fear of sex may well also influence this decision.) I can see the reason and value in this. However, as a single adult who subsequently does not live closely with a member of the opposite sex, I want to find a place to Continue reading →

Book Review: Surprised by Hope (N. T. Wright)

I had heard good things about the book “Surprised by Hope” by N. T. Wright. I previously read his book “Simply Jesus” and thought it to be good. So I put “Surprised by Hope” on my reading list. It is a bit lengthier than the average book. However, it is the most important book I’ve read recently—I could hardly recommend “Surprised by Hope” highly enough.

Wright presents a paradigm of Christianity which, while biblical, has often been clouded or lost through centuries of western theology. Wright clears away the clutter and explains the central importance of Jesus’ resurrection as understood by the early church and the Bible, and why it’s important for both our present and future.

This review has been challenging to write. The ideas Continue reading →

Book Review: Courtship in Crisis

I believe Thomas Umstattd Jr. has written an important book in “Courtship in Crisis“. Umstattd effectively answers the concerns which Joshua Harris brought up in the infamous book, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”. Similar to that book, “Courtship in Crisis” has two main parts: a problem and a proposed solution. The main problem Umstattd addresses, and the perspective he previously held to, is the type of courtship (“modern courtship” as Umstattd refers to it) which Harris proposed in “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”.

While I was not immersed in quite as conservative a culture as Umstattd, I wasn’t too far from it either. I hadn’t personally gone as far as holding to “modern courtship” as the only way to go, however my beliefs were in many ways Continue reading →

Taking America Back For God

I will confess to you that I honestly don’t have a clue what it even means to say, “Take America back to God”. I hear that a lot—all the time, more and more on the radio and television. And every time, something inside of me turns. I’m really wondering when the golden age of America was, when we were a nation under God—hallelujah—God was being glorified. Was that before, during, or after we loaded five to six million Africans on cargo ships, shipped them over here and the three million that survived we enslaved and beat for two-hundred years. Was that the golden age? I’m a little confused on this—someone help me out. When God was really being glorified… Was it before, during, or after we came over here, declared that this was our Continue reading →

Review: Rob Bell Everything Is Spiritual Tour

I saw some of the Nooma videos in the past and have heard about the controversy surrounding some of his books, but apart from this, I haven’t been overly familiar with Rob Bell. I heard he was going to be speaking in Nashville and, after some debate, decided it would probably be interesting enough to go. Unfortunately though, I was disappointed.

I’ll start by saying, from the little I do know about Bell, I imagine his purpose with “Everything is Spiritual” may be to give people who aren’t fond of religion and Christianity but are still interested in the spiritual and open to the supernatural, to give them a way to find space where these could possibly exist within a (somewhat) scientific view of the world.

In any case, the way I Continue reading →

Questions of Interacting With Differing Beliefs

This post is part of the July 2015 synchroblog which invited bloggers to write about “Gay Marriage”.

Due to the “hot topic” nature of this subject, I’ve written quite a few times about homosexuality already. In this post, I want to try briefly and (hopefully) clearly state some of what is important to me in regards to this issue. After this, I will pose some related questions.

I do not care greatly which side of this issue a person is on. What I do care significantly about is how people handle their differing views. No matter which side one is on, it is all too easy to start believing that those who agree with you are the good people, and those whom disagree with you are the bad (if not evil) people. I reject this assumption. I care Continue reading →

Religious Trauma Syndrome

I expect this topic to be controversial. I have observed that at times people confuse a criticism of something done in the name of Christ with a criticism of God himself. But this fails to recognize that we are imperfect, and that we can make mistakes and do the wrong thing even when we are try to do good. This ought to keep us humble.

A came across an article in my news feed recent, “Religious Trama Syndrome“. This article inspired the present post.

I am passionate about this topic. My passion, as I’m coming to recognize, it for a healthy church (collection of those who are in Christ) and healthy Christians. I want to see Jesus displayed in all his majesty on earth. But to the degree the church is un-healthy, we’re pushing people Continue reading →

How Understanding the Gospel Affects One’s View of Homosexuality

I began to respond to a comment my cousin Jeremy made in response to my recent blog “The Surprising Reason I’m Not Celebrating Homosexual Marriage“. He says:

Doug, I really like your approach, but it’s hard to draw a line between what the Bible teaches, and what we think it teaches (i.e. our interpretation). You can too easily take that to the extreme of not acknowledging that it teaches anything, because everything becomes an optional interpretation, so I can make the Bible say whatever I want it to say. Then I’m asked to accept everyone’s interpretation as being just as valid as the words themselves, even when they are practically contradictory. Still, I agree with most of your points.

I certainly feel the tension captured in the Continue reading →