A groan went up from the class. It was time for the second major test of the semester, and our professor repeated what she had said prior to the first exam. “You are responsible for the required reading, and that includes all illustrations, their descriptions, and all footnotes.” That meant that every place where ink […]
“Opposition inflames the enthusiast, never converts him.” -Johann Fredrick Von Schiller Disagreement is a common everyday experience. We all come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences. We have talked to different people and visited different places. We were raised by people with their own unique beliefs and each teacher we’ve ever had […]
Lent is a time of reflection, specifically a time to examine our limitations, our brokenness, and our failings. Its purpose isn’t to create shame or drive us to depression, but to awaken us to reality, and to the all-encompassing good news of Easter and God’s good grace. An important thought to consider during Lent is […]
My first Ash Wednesday experience came via drive-thru. God bless the Presbyterians. It had been a long week. My nephew and I had gone to fill a prescription. I had hoped to participated in an Ash Wednesday service this year, but circumstances had made it impossible. Winding back through downtown we passed by a local […]
The definition of determinism is that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. Christian determinism and Calvinist schools of thought would say that the external cause is God. While I disagree with some of the tenets of this philosophy, I will have to admit that I have felt […]
While studying at seminary, I attended a local church. I enrolled in an evangelism class they offered that would study a curriculum and then go door to door in surrounding neighborhoods. The thought of it terrified me. I am an introvert by nature, and the idea of going to a stranger’s home unannounced seemed incredibly […]
Life is filled with ups and downs. There is always a new mountain to climb or a new challenge to face. However, when we feel that we’ve finally come to a puzzle too complex for us to solve, we panic and start to search. We search for new skills to develop. We look for new […]
The final post in this series focuses on the question of how ministers are able to get their congregations and people watching on TV to give enough money to buy jets and million-dollar homes for the minister. To understand the answer to that question, we have to understand a shift that has happened in many […]
I ended my last post with a question. How are so many Christian leaders able to get people to place their hopes on things that God has never directly promised them? Prosperity ministers are able to convince us that God has promised us things that He hasn’t promised by preying on our normal desires. Of […]
In his 1858 U.S. Senate campaign Abraham Lincoln quoted Jesus in a speech by saying that, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. That statement is as profound as it is simple. It was as true for America during that time as it was when Jesus spoke those words to religious leaders almost 2000 years […]