Beware systems and identities that need: 1. A Strongmanand2. A Scapegoat There will be no end of violence when these two exist. They legitimate and fuel each other. Jesus demonstrates how demonically futile the Strongman/Scapegoat mechanism is in his death and...
Remember all those Sunday school lessons, Vacation Bible Schools, retreats, mission trips, and worship services? Their purpose was to help shape and mature us as Christ followers so that now we can demonstrate what it looks like to be people of peace, grace, love, and...
The values, priorities, and character traits Jesus calls for in what's known as The Sermon on the Mount don't align well with much of what drives Americanized Christianity today. Merciful? Pure in heart? A thirst for righteousness? Hardly. Peacemakers? Willing to...
There is a dignified nobility in humankindWe know it when we see itNurse tenderly caring for your loved one in the hospice house as she travels toward the great beyondPolitician choosing integrity, knowing full well he won't be elected againPastor remaining true to...
One thing healthy religion does is challenge us. I don’t mean the strident castigations of the street preacher or even the social justice rally-er. Great traditions excel at the soft challenge, the friendly nudge, issued predominantly through the mode of story....