Tim Tebow: The Mile High Messiah
You don’t have to be from Colorado these days to hear about the so-called “Tebow Mystique.” An adoration for the new Denver Broncos quarterback that borders on hero-worship or even idolatry, the praise he ...
Soundgarden, John Mayer, Bowling Alleys and Advent
My eight-year-old son, Mattias, just recently had his eighth birthday, complete with a magician, bunnies, doves, party favors, sugar, balloons, cards, effusive attention and – of course – gifts.
S...
Preacher or False Prophet
My first job in a church was as a music minister. I loved the senior pastor I served with, as did the congregation we faced every Sunday morning. He taught me a lot about worship, preaching and how to connect...
Emmett Till to Herman Cain: It’s No Longer About Civil Rights
In August, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till, and African-American, was killed for reportedly flirting with a white woman. He was beaten, his eyes cut out of his head, and his lifeless body was dumped in a ...
When You Say “Sin, ” What Do You Mean?
I wrote a piece recently that appeared here on the Red Letter Christians site, and the discussion that followed in the comments section was particularly interesting to me. The article considered the Biblical...
Was Jesus a Bigot? He Did Call a Woman a Dog
One of the biggest barriers to helpful, healthy conversation about the Christian faith seems to revolve around fear. What if I don’t know something I should and others find out? What if I ask a question that m...
From Prosperity Gospel to Disparity Gospel?
I’m not going to spend too much time or energy expressing my disdain for Prosperity Gospel, the kind of ministry by the likes of Joel Osteen that preaches about how Jesus wants you to be rich. Actually, it’s ...
Anwar Al-Awlaki: Eye For an Eye, or a Third Way?
I've been reflecting on the recent killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, an Al Qaida leader operating from Yemen, by American forces. A friend asked me if the fact that al-Awlaki was American-born had any impact on how...
Living Into a New Story
My wife, Amy, and I just got back from a quick trip to Las Vegas for my 40th birthday. I jumped off a 109-story building, we did the zip line down Freemont Street, watched a couple of shows, ate too much f...
Trolls, Avatars and the Convertible Effect
I remember when I first learned about the atrocities of the Holocaust in school. I could not imagine the type of person who could do such things to another person. I remember one particular story about an SS So...