The crisis of Western and Christian culture: Christian Idolatry, Part IV

There are many reasons why American Christians have been reacting the way they have when it comes to their political and social behavior and responses, but I think one reason stands out from the rest: Christians (more broadly, conservative Americans in general) feel like their way of life is under attack. I’d say that, based […]

The crisis of American Christianity: Christian Idolatry, Part III

This is the third post in a series on the connected crises of American society, culture, and Christianity – please read the first post here and second here if you haven’t already. The American Christian crisis is connected with both culture and politics, and what I mean when using the word “politics” is: the way […]

The three American crises of Christianity, culture, and government: Christian Idolatry, Part I

I have been struggling to write anything for the last several months. The thoughts in my head I’ve wanted to share have been noisily rattling around, but I’ve been wrestling with despair and concern that whatever I write is going to be misunderstood. We are living in a wild and dangerous time in America for […]

A Christian voting reminder

I have some thoughts to share as a Christian as we in America brace for the results of another presidential election. First, while it’s true that the writers of the New Testament had no direct familiarity with voting as a way of running a civil government (and therefore Paul’s admonition in Romans 13 to be […]

Seeking authentic church

I’ve mentioned several times over the years how I’ve struggled with (and have now reached a point where I’m pretty tired of) “doing” church like most Americans do. What I mean by that is I have a hard time with how most American worship services are structured and how the different aspects function. As I […]

I’m Sorry: My mistakes as a church planter

If your experience as a Christian isn’t a humbling one, you might be doing it wrong. Over the many years now I’ve been journeying with Christ and the Church, the most consistent single theme that seems to resurface for me are the varieties of ways I’ve been wrong: I’ve been wrong about how spiritually and […]

“I Love Jesus, but I Hate the Church”

Man, can I relate to this sentiment. I’ve had a rocky relationship with a handful of churches. Several of my friends have been abused in a variety of ways by different ones – emotionally, relationally, spiritually. Physical abuse by churches is often plastered on the news. Many (maybe even most) churches are broken. When we’ve […]