Culture
My Surprising Experience with Glenn Beck
Finally Hearing Beck So, believe it or not, I went and heard Glen Beck speak live this past Saturday night. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that over the last couple of years, I’ve become less focused on politics and more focused on ministry. I’ve also grown disinterested in the shouting, debates, and…
Read MoreTo the Church: You Will Prevail – Eighth Letter Project
I submitted the following letter to The Eight Letter Project. It’s a letter to the North American Church: Dear Church in North America, I write to you at a time of severe duress, when many are beating you up. You’re the object of endless handwringing inside your walls. Much is being written and said about…
Read MoreSpare Me the Outrage
Of course the whole world was caught up in this goofy flag-burning story. As of Thursday night, 5 pm Central Time, it seems God has allowed this to be redeemed for His purpose. I hear the pastor is flying to NY and there is some sort of agreement that the mosque in NY will be…
Read MoreTony or Rex
If you play sports, you just accept that there is a certain amount, well, actually an enormous level of testosterone. I spent a lot of time in the locker room, even in a Christian high school, and remember conversations I wouldn’t repeat at the dinner table. Guy talk. I was fortunate to have a Christian…
Read MoreA Response to Bruce Baker on the Ground Zero Mosque
Since I posted my opinion on the Ground Zero mosque, I’ve had conversations with many well-reasoned Christians who have come down on both sides. And I read a very articulate editorial by STan Guthrie of Breakpoint. Stan’s point essentially is that resisting the building of the mosque at its exact location is within the preview of American…
Read MoreImmigration and Evangelism
Perhaps there is no hotter topic than the subject of immigration. If you want to turn a really nice dinner party into an ugly brawl, just stand up and give your views on immigration. Yes, you will have ignited a verbal war. Judging the emails, Facebook entries, and Twitter chatter, Christians are talking a lot…
Read MoreChristians and a Responsibility to Truth
Two news stories, one in the evangelical world and one in the political world, remind us that while Christians have a responsibility toward truth and grace, we don’t always uphold that. Ergun Caner is a professor at Liberty University and was, until recently, Dean of the School of Religion. I didn’t get too deep into…
Read MoreIn Praise of Starbucks
Last night I had a rare night to just relax. The kids were in bed early, Angela was out to run errands, and I had the TV remote to myself. So I flipped around and finally settled on a biopic on CNBC done by the Biography Channel. The story of Starbucks, in particular, its chairman,…
Read MoreHating on the Church
It has become rather fashionable these days for Christians to hate on the church. Almost every day, a new book is put out by someone who is disolutioned with, has a lengthy critique of, and has a new solution for the church. But I wonder if it is spiritually and intellectually easy, and I dare…
Read MoreGuess What? If it’s Online, It’s Live
I have over 1,000 friends on Facebook now and a growing number of Twitter followers. The world is much different now than it was even five years ago. We’re all social; we’re all sharing stuff with our little tribes. I don’t think this is a bad thing and these tools are incredibly useful in getting…
Read MoreJust Call Me Dad
I have to admit that before I was married, I really didn’t enjoy kids. Its not that I didn’t like them, but the sounds of crying babies and snotty-nosed toddlers and sugar-addled adolescents just didn’t get my juices flowing. But something happened on December 31st, 2004. For the first time, I was no longer a…
Read MoreCan We Stop Bashing the Church Now?
This is an early preview of my Crosswalk Column for next week: If I had a dollar for every Debbie Downer book on the American church, I’d make Warren Buffet look like a poverty-stricken college freshman. It seems every single day, Christian pollsters, pastors, authors, and just ordinary folks are telling us that the American…
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