How to Think About Cooperation
March 11, 2023What lines should Christians draw when it comes to their allegiances? How do we understand primary, secondary, and tertiary issues? I wrote about this at length in my forthcoming book, Agents of Grace which drops May 9th but I wanted to present this here because the way we cooperate with each other is increasingly a topic of conversation among Christians. First, I think we should be aware of a concept called “theological triage.” It’s a newish term, coined by Dr. Albert Mohler, that describes a not-new idea: Today’s Christian faces the daunting task of strategizing which Christian doctrines and theological issues are to be…
Continue ReadingA Church That Moves The World
February 20, 2023In a widely read piece for The New York Times last year, conservative writer Nate Hochman chronicled a new trend: politically active conservatives who nevertheless eschew organized religion. “This campaign is also distinctly different from the culture wars of the late 20th century, and it reflects a broad shift in conservatism’s priorities and worldview. The conservative political project is no longer specifically Christian.” But followers of Jesus, while still involved in the conservative political project, should still be specifically Christian. While we may be co-belligerents with those who might agree with us on certain issues but don’t share our gospel commitments, we must be cautious…
Continue ReadingNow that the nearly 50-year struggle to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to pass laws that recognize the unborn has proven successful, where does family-based conservatism go from here? The Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe comes at a time when the conservative movement was already debating what it believes, as the unsteady three-legged stool of robust foreign policy, social conservatism and economic freedom has been knocked over in favor of the burgeoning populism of the New Right. Those debates will undoubtedly continue, but I’d like to suggest that we are in a moment when shaping our policy…
Continue ReadingWhy I’m Hopeful About the Evangelical Movement – USA Today
November 11, 2021In 1976, the cover of Newsweek declared that, with a presidential election that featured the born-again Jimmy Carter, it was the “Year of the Evangelical.” Forty-five years later, the news media fascination with my spiritual family has not abated. From the heady days of 2004, when once again evangelicals were crowned a defining political force, to this moment when a cottage industry of books laments our influence, the world has looked in on us and we have looked in on ourselves and have asked a perennial question, “What is our future?” In one sense, this is a question born out of a variety of factors owing to…
Continue ReadingA New Season and a Time to Build
October 26, 2021Today it was announced what is next for me and my family. I’ve accepted a position as Director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I’ll also be serving as assistant professor of faith and culture at Texas Baptist College. I’ll continue to write for World Magazine as a columnist and contribute to USA Today. It’s a bittersweet moment. The bitter is the fact that we are leaving our home in Tennessee and moving to Fort Worth. We have absolutely loved Nashville, as it has been our home for eight years. We love our community and our church at Green Hill,…
Continue ReadingPassing The Plate In a Digital Age
September 28, 2021I saw an offering plate before I was even old enough to attend church. My father was a lay elder and church treasurer. This usually meant I got to stay and play with my friends long after the services were finished, because Dad was counting the offering. The offering plate is as indelible in my mind as any image from over four decades of attending church—that smooth wooden bowl with a felt liner that got passed down the row every time we gathered for worship. I also remember watching my father help pass the plate on Sundays and hearing my…
Continue ReadingWhat We Learn from Peter’s Epic Fail
April 6, 2021One of the most poignant scenes in the Easter narrative was written by someone who was not there, but who investigated the claims of the Christian movement and was able to paint for readers an agonizing scene of shame and betrayal. Luke, a medical doctor by trade and commissioned to chronicle the Jesus movement, zooms in on the ashen visage of Simon Peter as he utters his final denial of Jesus. Alone among the gospel writers, Luke captures Jesus’ slightly turned face, his eyes catching one of his most loyal lieutenants in his worst moment. Simon Peter seemed the least likely to feign…
Continue ReadingWhat Are You Building?
March 8, 2021Too often our politics is one of mere deconstruction. Our advocacy is less about building coalitions of support to advance human flourishing or to advocate for a vulnerable people group but is instead a kind of performative activism. This is why often the fights we see play out in the public square are less between opposing ideas but between people who, on a political Venn diagram, actually agree with each other. Building something takes hard work and ingenuity and patience. But online purity tests, launched with memes and snark, are easy. Today, our politics, our “speaking out” is not really…
Continue ReadingWhy Is Our Activism So Mean?
March 6, 2021From the time I can remember, I’ve been an avid follower of the news. When I was a kid the news came in two ways. It showed up every morning at the foot our driveway in the northern suburbs of Chicago in the form of three newspapers: The Chicago Tribune, The Daily Herald and The Chicago Sun Times. And the news showed up on the radio, as I listened to the WGN Radio or WBBM Newsradio, the all-news station, and sometimes at the top of the hour on Moody Radio. We didn’t have a TV. I also subscribed to magazines like U.S. News and World…
Continue ReadingHow Pastors Can Combat Conspiracy Theories
February 19, 2021It came as a text from a very close friend: “Did you know Mike Pence is part of a global human trafficking ring?” I didn’t really even know where to begin. I know people who have worked closely with the former vice president and repeatedly vouch for his character and integrity. What’s more, if a conservative vice president was leading this vast global criminal enterprise, certainly media outlets, especially hostile ones, would have reported it. There have always been conspiracy theories in human history because human history is full of conspiracy and evil. Sin has marbled its way so thoroughly…
Continue ReadingWhat do Christians Owe a President?
February 3, 2021If you count my incoherent thoughts as a toddler, I’ve lived through the administrations of seven presidents and am now approaching life under the administration of a new one. On January 20th, former Vice-President Joe Biden put his hand on the Bible and took the oath of office to become America’s 46th President. Times like these are good opportunities to refresh ourselves on a Christian’s responsibility to the government. Read more: (photo source: Wikipedia commons)
Continue ReadingResisting the Pharisee Temptation on Social Media
January 8, 2021From COVID to racial unrest to a divisive political election, there was no shortage of ways in 2020 to trust in ourselves and look down on everyone else. Brands are quick to remind us they’re on the side of science, against racism, and want us to vote. And our social platforms are like modern-day temples where, like the Pharisee, we can clarify multiple times a day that we are not like those grifting public servants. Even at home, we are not immune to displaying our creeds on lawn signs. For Christians, there is value in letting the world know where we stand, declaring…
Continue ReadingAs 2020 careens to a close and we limp into Christmas season, most of us aren’t feeling very jolly. It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but we’re just hoping to make it through December. Preferably with a vaccine. Few us thought last year when we celebrated the season, that in a year this strange word called COVID would upend so much of our lives. And even as the virus began to spread, none of us thought pandemic Easter would turn into a Corona Christmas. And yet here we are. It’s been a rough year. Natural disasters. A global…
Continue ReadingWhy It’s Okay To Cheer on Good Economic News
November 5, 2020This year has been gut-wrenching for many on almost every level: a global pandemic sweeping through our country has left well over 200,000 dead and many other sick, the restrictions many states have enacted have left many others without work, especially those who labor in the service and hospitality industries, and political and social unrest has roiled the country. The headlines every day are rarely encouraging. Many pastors and church leaders are leading from a position of uncertainty, especially economically. While many of our ministries have stabilized because of the faithful giving of Christians, still we are nervous about future…
Continue ReadingHow to Keep Your Friends In An Election Season
October 31, 2020I recorded this video for Lifeway Voices on keeping your friends in an election season. I give four reasons: 1) Determine not to let politics be a litmus test for friendship. 2) Listen to those who disagree 3) Look beyond the election 4) Take the long view
Continue ReadingHow to Navigate the Election at Work
October 14, 2020Perhaps you haven’t noticed, but we are in a divisive election season, perhaps one of the strangest and nastiest in recent memory. Politics is dividing people in churches, families and even in workplaces. But it doesn’t have to. As God’s people, we should model for the world what it looks like to love and get along with those who think differently than we do, to be both courageous and open-handed, convictional and humble at the same time in neighborly love. So here are three warnings for employees as we head down the home stretch of this election. 1. Don’t lose…
Continue ReadingWhat The Bible Says About Working for Religious Liberty
October 14, 2020In America, unlike many places around the world, people of all religions can, for the most part, practice their faith freely without government intrusion or invention. This is a blessing that we often overlook and, at times, forget we enjoy. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world worship God under threat of death. They gather in secret, in homes, in caves, sometimes underground at great risk to their lives. In America, we not only can gather freely, but we have access to a flood of spiritual and theological resources. We have Christian schools, parachurch ministries, mission agencies,…
Continue ReadingChurch Unity and The Presidential Election
October 14, 2020We’re living in one of the most divisive years in American history, with a raging pandemic, racial tension and a contentious election. When I talk to pastors, they’re grieved at the way brothers and sisters in Christ are so divided—grieved at the way people are talking to each other and about each other. So how do pastors lead people through this season? I can’t say authoritatively how every pastor should lead in their own context, but here are three broad principles: 1. ADDRESS THE MOMENT A temptation for pastors in this moment is to never mention politics or the moment we’re in.…
Continue ReadingHow Podcasts Shape Our Preaching
September 18, 2020Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend may seem like odd preparation for preaching. But I’ve found the podcast to be a helpful elixir as I get out of the world of sermons, commentaries, books, and conferences to think about engaging with people on Sunday. In his conversations with other comedians, Conan gets into the pathos behind entertainers’ acts and the hard work it takes to produce a simple laugh. I was struck, for instance, by Ray Romano’s admission that his father’s refusal to give him approval is what drove Ray to try so hard to get laughs, and by Howard Stern’s description…
Continue ReadingWhat I’ve Learned About Work from Working At Home
September 10, 2020For most of my career, I’ve gone to the office. There is something to the ritual of getting dressed up, leaving the house, and reporting to work. My father didn’t do white-collar work, so I never saw him grab a briefcase, but I did hear him stir in the early morning hours before hearing the garage open and his work van pull out of the driveway. I’m glad my kids were accustomed to seeing me leave to go and do what we are created to do: work, create, and innovate. But this pandemic has forced us into new rhythms, hasn’t…
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