After the Western ideal of unlimited freedom, after the Marxist concept of freedom as acceptance of the yoke of necessity, here is the true Christian definition of freedom. Freedom is self-restriction! Restriction of the self for the sake of others.
At the heart of our faith stand not a preoccupation with our own welfare and comfort but the concepts of service and of sacrifice as shown in the life and teachings of the one who made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant.
Ask any Mexican, any Puerto Rican, any black man, any poor person - ask the wretched how they fare in the halls of justice, and then you will know, not whether or not the country is just, but whether or not it has any love for justice, or any concept of it. It is...
As the father of two girls (now also grandfather of three), I have cringed listening to some preachers and teachers in the church make perfectly good points while using solely male pronouns during their exposition... There are, indeed, “hidden figures” in our...
It dawned on me that there’s a difference between doubting God and doubting my understanding of God. Would I be able to doubt my understanding of God while simultaneously trusting God beyond my understanding? In a strange way, that question for the first time in my...
There's something unholy, unrighteous that happens when you combine this concept of whiteness and white supremacy with Christianity... In the Bible it says any addition to the Gospels negates the Gospels--it's no longer the Gospel. When you add this gospel of...
Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept.
Often hell is portrayed as a place of punishment and heaven as a place of reward. But this concept easily leads us to think about God as either a policeman, who tries to catch us when we make a mistake and send us to prison when our mistakes become too big, or a Santa...
If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. from Letter from a Region in My Mind
Some growth experts…have said those who pursue blended styles merely take turns “insulting different segments of the congregation.” But we believe otherwise; blended styles are the result of shared sacrifice and spiritual maturity. Traditional congregations committed...