It has really been helpful for me to think through these questions and remind myself where my allegiance lies, what is really true, and who is in charge of this world.
All tagged culture
Barna State of the Church 2020 and the Next Generation
The fact is the church sits in the middle of a world needing restoration, and our next generation sits in the middle of the church.
The Importance of Intentional Experiences
Providing a chance for people to talk with, work alongside, and listen to people different from themselves can aid in spiritual, emotional, and cognitive change.
Introducing the What We Really Think It Says Bible (Now in Imitation Leather)
Hello there. Have you ever tried to read the Bible and actually do what is says?
The Transformation of Don Quixote
I often wonder if the modern church is an adaptation of Christianity. Has the church modified Christianity in such a way that it does not look like the original masterpiece?
“The Abstinence Teacher” by Tom Perrotta
Perrotta is one of the more astute observers of modern American mores and the tensions that arise when neighbors’ ideas of right and wrong come into conflict. (Fiction)
Trust
We live in an age of distrust, which has profound implications for the church as an institution, for us as people, and for leadership.
“Snow” by Orhan Pamuk
It has much to say about the ongoing conflict of the secular world with the world of religious conviction. And it certainly might cause you to rethink how you have viewed that conflict and what its future might be. (Fiction)
Renewal Begins: Another Congregation’s Journey
Church revitalization is quite possible when a congregation acknowledges that, without the work of the Spirit, there is no future for us.
Developing Community
We do not see individualized, compartmentalized faith modeled in the New Testament.
The Bill of Rights
How does my understanding of myself as an American citizen with these guaranteed rights inform my view of gospel living?
“The Plot against America” by Philip Roth
Roth takes seriously how nationalism, nativism, race hatred, and fear of the other can turn dangerous and then deadly. (Fiction)
“The Corrections” by Jonathan Franzen
It is a long, sprawling family drama, which is actually a straightforward accounting of a dysfunctional family coming together for one last Christmas. (Fiction)
Beyond Red and Blue
How ought people of faith to think about these matters? Do we have an obligation to enter into political space at all?
Interpreting Texts, Interpreting our World
I fear that we’ve buried our noses so deep in our texts, that we have forgotten that we have a mission in the world.
Lift up Your Eyes
Once in a while, something comes along that shakes up that little world of mine, and I am forced to lift my eyes to the larger world—the one God sees all the time.
White Noise (Part 1)
The problem with the idea promoted by comments like “I’m color blind” is that the idea does not communicate what we white people may think it does.
The Subject of Our Fears: Finding Faith in an Anxious World
The hope of Christianity embraces a world of hopelessness. Ours is the most real hope of all, because death sits at its center.
A Church that Relates to Culture: Discovering a Fitting Spirituality
We need to seek to be a church that relates to a culture that is trying to fit their spirituality into their own story and past.
Snapchat Prophets
Christian teenagers have a message from the Lord for the church, and they have truth bursting from their souls about morality that it would behoove the church to hear.