I’m so weary of a cloistered Christianity of privilege, one that feels itself entitled to comfort and ease, one that wields absolute power and cries “oppression” when it cannot have all of it. I’m exhausted from daily encountering a Church that still works to...
Among the worst failures of evangelicalism has been the damage done to people’s opinions about Jesus himself. Evangelical leaders wanted to be understood as speaking for Jesus, and unfortunately, many have accepted that claim and therefore rejected both them and their...
The word faith is often understood as accepting something you can’t understand. People often say: “Such and such can’t be explained, you simply have to believe it.” However, when Jesus talks about faith, he means first of all to trust unreservedly that you are loved,...
Our obsession with being right in our eschatological and theological arguments is an idolatrous impediment to sharing the gospel (which is meant as good news for all people in the here and now). The fear-induced pressure for us to somehow “save” people from a...
This generation isn’t leaving the church because they disapprove of Jesus. They’re leaving because they’re convinced that the church disapproves of Jesus! from Not In It To Win It
"They follow the Lamb wherever He goes" (Revelation 14:4). You’re looking at one of the clearest definitions of discipleship in the whole Bible. Our mission first and foremost is to be Jesus followers. Unless we do that, little else matters. from The Heart of...
The great heresy in American popular religion is the notion that “religion is a private affair,” a secret contract between the believer and God. This individualistic heresy makes Jesus into a close, personal friend who listens, comforts, sustains, confirms, agrees,...
If Jesus wanted a Christian nation, he would have established one, but he didn't. He established the church. Whenever we Christians forsake our call to be the church for a "Christian empire," the results are always catastrophic. We are called to be the church, not an...
Our Christian religion is being co-opted for the sake of power and control over our culture. Where Jesus chose to save us by his grace and mercy, Christianity is being used to coerce and control people into conformity. This is what it looks like to take Christ's name...
Actual followers of Jesus don’t want compulsory Christianity for anyone.