I'm sometimes asked why my theology sounds political. The assumption being that theology and politics are two separate areas and are better off in their respective corners. Except theology has never worked like that.

We often try to "spiritualize" stories and narratives so that we can separate theo...

One of the most common phrases Christians love is "the Bible is clear." I often hear Christians talk about how they "just read the Bible for what it says." The implication is that their conclusions from the text are the obvious—and only—conclusions in which to arrive.

One of the (many) problems wit...

"We all have three voices: the one we think with, the one we speak with, and the one we write with. When you stutter, two of those are always at war." John Hendrickson

I don't personally deal with stuttering, but John's insight about our three voices hits on something any communicator knows well. W...

We're fresh off celebrating the resurrection of Jesus this past weekend. I shared a message on the question the angels ask at the tomb: "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5). A lot of people are looking in the wrong places for God to move these days. As I reflect on the state ...

My friend Andrew DeCort recently wrote an article in which he used the phrase "the trauma of survival." He was writing about the attacks on Iran and our country's obsession with power over others through violence. Here was the sentence in which the phrase jumped out to me:

The dear people of Iran

...

There's a significant difference between a cross on a shield, a cross hanging on the wall, and a real-life cross used for crucifixion. The first is an image to rally a fight, the second is an image to provide comfort, and the third is an instrument of suffering. And it turns out that the way we see ...

The name John Piper has, for years, been entwined with deeply conservative Christian theology and practice. He's an eighty-year-old Reformed Baptist theologian at the opposite end of the spectrum from me both theologically and in practice. I once quoted him in a positive way, and it literally snowed...

Is the Church more like a team, or a family?

If your church experiences have been similar to mine, you've likely heard far more talk of the church as a family. It implies something holistic, that we are together in a deeper sense. Especially when used in terms of salvation and inclusion, this image...

Admittedly, I'm not a fan of country music. I often think of Bob Newhart's joke about it: "I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for those who like country music, denigrate means to 'put down.'"

I don't even know who Charley Crockett is. But I recently saw a qu...

When was the last time you heard the phrase "All lives matter?"

My wife and I noticed we don't hear it as much these days, and couldn't remember the last time we'd seen it (although I still see numerous U.S. flag stickers with a blue line).

It was only a few years ago that the phrase "All lives ma...