Can't Breath

“I can’t breathe,” is the statement that has been heard around the world through mass media and social media.  A statement exclaimed from the now deceased Eric Garner as his life was been choked away from him.  It’s simple.  When we can’t breathe, nothing else matters.  And this is the sentiment that is pervading every level of our society from pundits to the poor.  It’s unfathomable to think that the value of a person’s life can be taken with such minimal regard.  Just as unconscionable is how polarizing this and many other examples that we've been inundated with since the Trayvon Martin’s case.  The invention of camera phones and social media brings the stories we've only heard about to life and that cannot and should not be ignored.  As it stands, many have decided to pick a side. 

Revisiting the “Whole Gospel”: Toward a Biblical Model of Holistic Mission in the 21st Century

Review of Jean-Paul Heldt's article

I wanted to share some thoughts about an article I recently read by Jean-Paul Heldt, Revisiting the “Whole Gospel”:  Toward a Biblical Model of Holistic Mission in the 21^st Century.  Heldt introduces a statement by Speer, “evangelization is nothing less than the good news in action.  Thus, mission is generally bound up with the message of salvation, and so in order to understand the nature of mission we need to come to terms with the terminology of salvation.

Rob Bell and Andrew Wilson Debate Homosexuality and the Bible

Andrew Wilson debates Rob Bell on same-sex marriage, how to interpret Scriptures regarding homosexuality, and what culture has to do with it.

Why We Need the ‘Hood

In a previous article I talked about some lessons I’ve learned during my short tenure of being a white church planter in an all black ‘hood. My wife and I are taking this thing one day at a time, taking each learning experience as it comes.

There have been many glorious days, like when a good friend comes to the Lord. There have also been many trying and difficult days, like when a person you love gets locked up; or when chaotic stresses press in, and when the unhealthy obsession with ministry pounds, like an angry mistress on your marriage’s door.

Americans Love The Bible But Don't Read It Much, Poll Shows

By Caleb Bell
Religion News Service

(RNS) More than half of Americans think the Bible has too little influence on a culture they see in moral decline, yet only one in five Americans read the Bible on a regular basis, according to a new survey.

More than three-quarters of Americans (77 percent) think the nation's morality is headed downhill, according to a new survey from American Bible Society.

Dan Kimball: When 'Theology' Gets in the Way

I am not someone who cries often, but lately I have found myself emotionally moved to the point of tears several times.

What is causing such a strong emotional reaction? The rhetoric and tone some Christians use when they differ with others on theology or ministry methodology. I am not talking about major doctrines of historical orthodoxy. When such foundational teachings are compromised, we are instructed to defend the faith, teach correction, guard doctrine (1 Tim. 4:16). I also love robust arguments and fun discussions about our differences as evangelicals.

Breaking Out of The Christian Ghetto

Unbelievable, I said to myself, surveying my office. I had just been hired by a Christian organization, a place as close to paradise as I could imagine: no profanity, no off-color jokes, and no tales of drunken weekends. Having worked in the secular marketplace for more than 12 years, I now breathed in the wholesome air like a person getting a second chance at life. Could it get any better than this?

As it turned out, things became a little too good. I quickly settled into a routine of work, church, family and friends all Christian. I often felt a twinge of guilt when I thought of Lynn, a non-Christian co-worker at my former job. She had opened up to me about her personal problems, and I had befriended her and shared my faith with her.

Who's the pastor?

Review and insight from We Have This Ministry by Samuel Proctor and Gardner Taylor

In an age of declining youth and young adults desiring to be a part of organized religion, the church must evaluate what has caused this precipitous decent.  We must take a hard look at those who are charged with and aid our spiritual growth, the pastor.  Of course the pastor doesn't get all the blame, but he/she is the spiritual leader or undershepherd of congregations across the US and beyond thus necessitating the need to look at these spiritual leaders.  In The Last Dragon (click HERE to reminisce/remember), Sho'nuff asked Bruce Leroy the question, "Who's the Master?"  But Bruce was unwilling to acknowledge that Sho'nuff was the master.  Why?  Could it be that Sho'nuff did not exhibit the character of a master?  I also believe that Bruce Leroy realized that being the master wasn't about him, but those he cared about.  So I ask the question, "Who's the pastor?"

What will cause the great falling away?

"At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.¹²Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:10)

I bet you have some great friends, I know I do. I believe they would drop everything to be there for me just as I would for them. Local churches are full of groups that consider themselves close. Yet Jesus says in the end times that MANY of these “friends” will betray and hate each other.

What We Can Learn About Preaching from 'Parks and Recreation'

For the moment, the sitcom seems to have forgotten to be funny. Or to be thoughtful. Or that I might even be watching.

Russell Moore [ posted 10/25/2012 ]

There aren't many television situation comedies left, and one of the last standing is NBC's Parks and Recreation. This show has succeeded so far with its creative and fresh writing, along with a talented ensemble cast of likable characters. I happened to catch a new episode last week though, and clicked it off.

The show was culture-warrior preachy, almost like a throwback to a 1970s Norman Lear sitcom. The more I thought about it, the more I realized there's something we ought to pay attention to about public discourse.

The episode was about an outbreak of sexually transmitted diseases among the elderly in a Pawnee, Indiana, nursing home. The show's lead character, councilwoman Leslie Knope, takes on the mantle of educating the elders about preventing STDs with condoms, and is stymied by a Religious Right activist and her stereotypically and flamboyantly gay husband. It turns out there is a law forbidding anything but abstinence education in Pawnee.

UnCHURCHED

Unplugging from being "churched" for a "Tru REALigion"

To quote 2 Chainz on the Understatement track, “Real recognizes real, and you don’t look familiar!”  Today’s society is looking for authenticity from the “faithful.”  In other words, has there been an expungement of the sermon by our lifestyle?  Have we been guilty letting our sermons outrun our character?  A lack of authentic “faithful”, in my opinion, has contributed to the growing number of disinterested individuals in religion.  I suggest that “REALigion” begets the notion of transparency and the ability to connect with people without the false pretense of having it all together.  It’s heretical to portray a life that is so far removed from our former lives.

God In America: The Black Church

In the fall of 2008, newspapers, talk shows and blogs exploded with news that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the African American minister from Chicago's Trinity Church, had denounced the United States with inflammatory language: "God damn America!" Wright's most famous parishioner was the leading Democratic contender for the presidential nomination, Barack Obama. Trinity was Obama's spiritual home -- the place where he had found religion, where he was married, and where his daughters had been baptized. Rev. Wright, a former Marine with a Ph.D., had served as his spiritual mentor.

While many white voters seemed surprised, puzzled and shocked by Wright's angry rhetoric, African Americans were less so. Obama seized the moment to deliver a profound meditation on race in America, a speech titled "A More Perfect Union." Tracing the deep historical roots of racial inequality and injustice, Obama put Wright's anger into historical context. In very personal terms, he also described his experience at Trinity:

Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

The Bonds of Freedom

There is paradox in the Christian understanding of what it means to be free.

No single word resonates with Americans and millions of others quite like freedom. A television commercial announces that buying a certain automobile or flying with a certain airline will make you "free." People celebrate their country's independence with songs of "freedom" on their lips and ringing in their ears. Politicians, businesspeople, advertisers, salesmen, military leaders and recruiters—all know how to use "freedom" to attract attention and draw interest. Few words are so common while carrying so much weight.

The word is also found throughout Scripture and Christian tradition. Everyone raised in Sunday school knows "the truth will set you free" (John 8:32) and "[i]t is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Gal. 5:1). Freedom is not just an American or humanitarian theme; it's also a gospel theme.

'No Religion' Is Increasingly Popular Choice For Americans: Pew Report

Sarah Garrison grew up Catholic, but today she does not consider herself part of any religion. Yet as someone who meditates and prays every day to the "God here in our hearts," she would never call herself an atheist or agnostic and thinks church can play a positive role in society and individual lives.

"Some people need [religion]," said Garrison, 26, who works as a training coordinator for an online news company in Moline, Ill. She mentions her older sister, a Catholic nun, who "couldn't be happier" with structured religious practice.

According to a new report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Garrison has plenty of company in her spiritual beliefs and practices.

Is Your Church a Cruise Ship or Aircraft Carrier? 10 Ways to Find Out

Recently my friend Emily told me she visited a church so big she needed a map to get around.  Coming from a relatively small church that meets in an elementary school, she was astounded at this sprawling church campus. The facility housed a restaurant, coffee bar, lounge, escalators, and multiple worship spaces, each with high-tech sound equipment. In the lobby massive concrete columns rose up three stories into a glass atrium and sunlight streamed in to illuminate the hip and modern architecture.  But the strangest thing, she said, was that this colossal building, filled with largely affluent congregants, sat in a crowded urban area in a poverty-stricken neighborhood.  As far as she could tell, no one from that neighborhood was present. The church reminded her of a cruise ship docked in a third world country!  The walls even had round, fishbowl windows, driving home the cruise ship effect.

The Preacher and The Emcee….

The emcee is but one element of Hip Hop, but this one element has become the most influential component of Hip Hop. Ironically the emcee began as the sidekick to the DJ. These days that equation has almost been completely flipped it almost appears that the DJ is either a sidekick or completely forgotten about.

LOL (Love Out Loud)

A review of Jean-Paul Heldt's, Revisiting the “Whole Gospel”:  Toward a Biblical Model of Holistic Mission in the 21^st Century.

I wanted to share some thoughts about an article I recently read by Jean-Paul Heldt, Revisiting the “Whole Gospel”:  Toward a Biblical Model of Holistic Mission in the 21^st Century.  Heldt introduces a statement by Robert Speer, “evangelization is nothing less than the good news in action."  

Unconditional Movie

Samantha Crawford's life is a storybook life: she’s happily married, she lives on a ranch where she keeps her beloved horse, and the stories she’s told and illustrated since childhood have become published books. When her husband Billy is killed in a senseless act of violence, Sam loses her faith and her will to live. 

The Climax (Authentic Worship Part 2)

How do we know that we’ve reached the climax?  An aspect of the climax/worship one must consider in this tension is that “Worship…is not only the public acts we do as a gathered community [or private times of worship], but our very way of day-to-day life.”   

The Climax (Authentic Worship Part 1)

The object of people’s worship may be religious, material, ideological, or any number of things.  This is possible since worship, in its general sense, has to do with ascribing worth, and dedicating one’s self and resources, to someone or something.  Christians are not necessarily set apart from those who worship Mohammed, Buddha, or capitalism, etc., because of their acts of worship or their level of devotion.  Instead what sets true Christian worship