Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
‘Doctor Strange’
Comic book-based movies continue to pour forth from Hollywood. The newest addition is "Doctor Strange," a film about a character that does not use traditional superpowers to fight evil. Doctor Strange (Benedict...
Tuesday’s Ballot Measures Brought Moral, Ethical Shifts
Numerous important ballot issues were largely unnoticed in the media's coverage of Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. Voters across the country offered their take on legislative ideas, particularly affirming...
Divine Help for Our Divided States of America
The presidential campaign has left our country scarred, angry and polarized. The United States is anything but united right now. So how should followers of Jesus respond to this? Jesus said you will know his followers...
November 11, 2016
The Rage of White, Christian America (New York Times) The Evangelical Reckoning Over Donald Trump (The Atlantic) Evangelicals, Family Values, and the Rise of Donald Trump (Huffington Post) An Open Letter to the...
Taking Seriously Trump’s Call to Work Together
President-elect Donald Trump offered positive statements after his victory. "Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our...
Why Your Church Needs to Support Your Public School
I have always believed in the importance of public education as a necessary component of a healthy and vibrant country. This is not a criticism of my friends and peers who work at religious schools. Nor is it a...
Putting Leaves of Encouragement on Our Branches
We're building a tree at our church. It's not a big tree. It's actually pretty small, but it's the perfect size to serve as the centerpiece of our communion table. In fact, you can't even quite call it a tree yet. It's...
November 10, 2016
Evangelicals Back Donald Trump in Record Numbers, Despite Earlier Doubts (Wall Street Journal) White Evangelicals, Catholics and Mormons Carried Trump (National Catholic Reporter) Why Some Fear This Election's Lasting...
Is Your Church Culture Creating New Pastoral Leaders?
One specific conversation nearly always emerges in my interactions with churches across the country. With furrowed brows and a worried tone, they ask, "Where is the next generation of pastoral leadership for churches...
Protestants, Catholics Move Toward Closer Communion
For the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Oct. 31, 2017, will be a significant date on the calendar. Declared by the German parliament a nationwide public holiday, the day will bring to a close the EKD's celebration...
November 8, 2016
White Men and Evangelical Christians Keeping Trump Afloat (NY Times) Election Exposes Widening Chasm Among Southern Baptist Evangelicals (Christian Examiner) 'Vote or Pick Cotton': Alabama Pastor Says Sign Not Racially...
After Election Day Eruption, What Do We Do Now?
Writing this on the eve of Election Day at the end of the home stretch of the most contentious and bizarre election season in my memory feels a bit like one of Jesus' first followers trying to write a gospel on...
Healing Words Needed After Harsh Political Campaign
I stopped posting on social media about the presidential campaign a few weeks ago because I didn't trust myself. I had not taken sides, but I was beginning to get angry and wanting to say mean things, to use unkind...
This Election Season, Some Mouths Need Good Bar of Soap
Name-calling and "cussin'" were bad things my grandparents, parents and teachers told me not to do. My grandmother, Ada, once took a chunk of Ivory Soap ("99 44/100 pure"!) in her hand, held it less than a half-inch...
When Refugees’ Lives are Disrupted, Planning Matters
The last bus has left the refugee camp in Calais, France, known as the "jungle." Closing the camp has reminded me of a second curse of today's world (the first is too few people doing important jobs): our apparent...
Male Headship vs. Mutual Submission in Marriage
Nowhere is the difference between the static and the dynamic views of the Bible more evident than in the ongoing evangelical debate regarding roles in marriage. The traditional view, called the complementarian view,...
November 7, 2016
Falwell on Radio for Trump Heading into Home-Stretch (Roanoke Times) Evangelical Leader: I'm Voting for Hillary Clinton Because of Her Emails (Christian Post) Michael Medved, Conservative Christian Radio Host, Suffers...
Interfaith Households Growing? Depends on Your Definition
The number of "interfaith" households in the U.S. is growing, according to a recent Pew Research Center report. The title, "One-in-Five U.S. Adults Were Raised in Interfaith Homes," piqued my interest. In a strong...
Using the Latest Tools to Communicate the Gospel
Rick Warren recently described how Saddleback Church has changed its outreach and evangelism strategies over the years. When he first graduated from seminary, computers were large, slow machines used by very few...
November 4. 2016
San Diego Catholic Church Flyer Says Voting for Democrats is a Mortal Sin (NY Daily News) 500 Interfaith Clergy and Laity Answered the Call to Stand With Standing Rock (Episcopal Digital Network) Why Understanding...
Join in 500th Anniversary of Protestant Reformation in 2017
Martin Luther tacked his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg's Castle Church on Oct. 31, 1517. That bold declaration triggered the second major split within Christianity. The first came when the Catholic Church and...