Christianity

A place for us to talk.

"Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush burns with the fire of God."

Now that warmer weather is finally on its way, the summer planning begins. Here come the family vacations, backyard BBQs, trips to the beach, church picnics and long, sunny walks with the dog. This warmer weather also means you can finally get around to t

Thank you to Jenell Williams Paris for this post about her new book, The End of Sexual Idenity. An adolescent boy feels confused and ashamed about a same-sex sexual encounter he had. A married woman is considering divorcing her husband because she has f

In honor of Earth Day tomorrow, we present this lovely meditation from Lisa McMinn, author of the book Walking Gently on the Earth. Here she reflects on the rhythms of life on their small farm, Fern Creek. In the Pacific Northwest we’re still in th

When Clouds of Witnesses, the new book by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom, appeared on my desk recently, I was intrigued by the premise: an up-close look at seventeen Christians from Africa and Asia who lived remarkable lives of faith and leadership. I scan

When my friend Greg Bowman speaks, I can count on him to shoot as straight as a west Kansas highway - even when I may not like what he says. We all need people like that, right? So I listened closely when Bowman, a close friend for more than a quarter ce

Lately we’ve had several exciting opportunities to support our authors by attending conferences across the country. Here's a snapshot of just three of the most recent events. Big Tent ChristianityIn February, online print publicist Adrianna Wri

Greg writes: Like you I found it strange/disturbing that the code name for bin Laden was supposedly Geronimo. Here is the real story. "Back at the White House Situation Room, word was relayed that bin Laden had been found, signaled by the code word "Geron

... from friend and musical collaborator Tracy Wispelwey, reviewed here.

Good moral advice for May 21sters.

Here's the Q: I think your chapter challenging the approach of reading the Bible as a constitution is likely the most important chapter for Christians in the U.S. to read. Do you have any practical advice for those of us who value the library approach b

http://eerdword.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/review-of-wesley-granberg-michaelsons-unexpected-destinations/ Wes Granberg-Michaelson is one of the finest people I've met in my journey through life. He's a gifted spiritual and organizational leader and on top o

[This feels like old news now ... but is an expansion of a piece I wrote a few weeks ago. The input from Randy Woodley below deserves ongoing consideration, and that's an understatement.] Like a lot of people, I've expressed ambivalence about the bin Lade

Friday, May 13 Exodus 12: There are four features especially to be noted about this important text, which interrupts the narrative sequence in order to place the whole into a more theological and liturgical context: First, the paschal lamb is...

How do you look past the inner-city statistics and see the people behind the numbers? For Leneita and her family, it means moving into the neighborhood.  http://www.blueskygreensky.com/2011/05/sucked

Some will argue that freedom of religion guarantees the ability to express faith whenever, wherever we want. And honestly, few Americans want to see limits on free speech. But a very real struggle occurs when coworkers start jockeying to set the station

To all those who wonder if they can work at something they really love, check out this profile of a few people who are doing it against the odds. http://davewritesright.blogspot.com/2011/05/in-defense-of-bookstore-

The pressure mounts. Deadlines loom. Long nights, poor eating choices, and little exercise all fuel the fires of discontent. The evenings get shorter, and the weekends bleed into the weekdays. Most of us can keep this pace for a short amount of time,

Jeanne Damoff mothered a son through his strong-willed years and watched him develop into a leader. Then, tragedy struck their family. Years later, Jeanne reflects on her calling as a mother and what it means to t

Do you have a vision that you just can't shake?   It might be a new job, a project or ministry. It might be just the thing this world needs. But the only problem is that you are dwelling on the risks – the downsides, a

I recently read a short book of lectures delivered by Michel Foucault in the 1980s. The topic of his lectures was the ancient Greek practice of fearless speech, or parrhesia. What does parrhesia mean?  Foucault notes 5 basic meanings of parrhesi

Bart Ehrman has written another book.  It’s called, Jesus Interrupted.  You can read a short article about Ehrman and the new book, an excerpt of the book, and listen to the NPR story here.  I have not read the book; let me be clear a

As promised to John Doyle, who recommended the book to me without having read it himself, here is a review of ‘The Lost World of Genesis One’ by John. H. Walton. It does not have much to do with core OST concerns, but has a lot to do with John

If ever there was a book whose time has come, this is it. Drawn against the backdrop of the banking crisis and the U.K. M.P.’s expenses scandal, the prodigious pen of Tom Wright presents a biblical case for the development of ‘virtue’ as

I recently watched a short web-interview with Richard Dawkins on the Washington Post website. The piece was entitled: “Divine Impulses: Richard Dawkins on “the arrogance of religious persons”. I want to make a quick observation. Let

Many Christians argue that syncretism is a problem for believers today.  Blending Christian and non-Christian practices is a bad move.  For instance, Denny Burk recently argued that Christians should not observe Ramadan with Muslims an

i think i killed real live preacher i didnt mean to i thought resigning as the pastor of covenant baptist church would be its own thing i thought it would remove something from my life that had become hard heavy too much i thought i could just cut that l

Though I have no plans to write in this space as Real Live Preacher, while I'm deciding what's next for me, I will post links to other writing that I'm doing. I have an essay at the High Calling Blog Network today about why I needed to stop preaching and

In 1989 my wife and I arrived in San Antonio, fresh out of seminary, where we graduated together with identical degrees. We came because Jeanene had been hired as a chaplain in the Baptist Health Care System. I was making plans to pursue further education

panjat pinangEach year on their country’s Independence Day, people in the villages of Indonesia take part in a tradition known as Panjat Pinang. Nut Trees, which tend to grow straight and tall, are cut down and erected in villages with prizes hanging from

Capsicum Annuum Aviculare has had many names over the centuries. The Aztecs called it Chili Tecpintl, which meant flea chili. The name morphed over the years into dozens of variations: Chiltepin, Tepin, Chili Tepin, and Chili Pequin, which is what people

Last week I wrote about my wife and I making plans to take our children on a series of spiritual field trips to worship with other traditions. We’re very excited about our little project. Sunday was our first field trip, and we headed for Saint Sophia, a

I wanted to take a moment and share some links from other bloggers. Blogging can become white noise and much legitmage content can be lost as we tend to scan through all various forms of communication that seem to hammer us each day! These post are the on

Usually I’m very comfortable making decisions.  As I lead H.E.L.P., I have to make decisions everyday.  Usually these decisions are made quickly and concisely.  I know our vision and strategy and what we’re trying to accomplish, so the decisio

I just started reading Leadership Is Dead: How Influence Is Reviving It by Jeremie Kubicek. This book was recommended by my good friend Brandon Hatmaker. He also has a review on his blog. Some quotes to ponder: “True empowering leadership can be rev

Great video, make sure you watch it till the end. Credit:Dominic BoudreaultHT: Scott Hodge

I was recently invited to a dinner with an official from the White House. The purpose of this meeting was quite simple, to discuss how the government and church, social entrpeenuers and non profits can work together to improve our world. The government of

There are some blogs that I actually get excited to read. These blogs have a few common themes: They add value to my life, my work and my passions. They help equip me to become better at certain aspects of life. (ex.business, tech, marketing, leadership,

What a title! The creative people at Cornerstone Festival have taken my three seminars and put them into ONE session that I will be giving 3 times. Now that will be a challenge! They have also used the "emergent" word...

There are almost 300,000 domestic workers (maids) in Hong Kong and almost all of them are from either Indonesia or the Philippines. This morning in Hong Kong I preached at a church for Philippino maids and we had a blast....

Imagine 150,000 Christians descending on a single city for a few days of celebration, teaching, music, food and talk. It's absolutely HUGE! Its the size of 7 Greenbelt Festivals. I'm talking about Kirchentag. Kirchentag is German for "Church Day", the...

Now is the best time to start blogging. Really! Darren Rowse has just released the Probloggers Guide to Your First Week of Blogging. Its a great little guide to getting started and developing some rhythms of writing and posting which...

Hey, if you happen to be in Hong Kong this weekend [yeah . . . sure . . ] then come and hear me speak at: Shepherd Community Grace Church, 10 Anchor St, Hong Kong. Sunday at 2pm.

John Stott is 90 today. What a man! What a life! Say happy birthday to him here.

This is a parking space for my "Kingdom Sightings" columns from Christianity Today magazine.

No, this isn't about athletics at Humboldt State University or Hardin-Simmons University or Helmut Schmidt-Universität. It's about our family - Al, Ellen, Josiah and Elijah Hsu! Go team!

The thoughts and musings of a suburban Christian on life, books, Christianity and culture.

Writing as Christian Proclamation in Contemporary Contexts

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I wonder how they figured it out! Matthew 24:42-44  So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his hous

Mordecai didn't give into pressure. Esther 2:21-23  During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22 But Mord

Paul was ready to share. Acts 25:23-27  So the next day Agrippa and Bernice arrived at the auditorium with great pomp, accompanied by military officers and prominent men of the city. Festus ordered that Paul be brought in. 24 Then Festus said, “King

Goliath thought to himself "I got this" 1 Samuel 17:4  Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! 5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail w

If he had a Facebook account, would you be on God's friend list? James 2:23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God Isaiah 41:8&nbs

What if social networks came a few thousand years earlier?  Would you "follow" Jesus? Would you keep following when things didn't look so good?