Politics and Culture
What do conservatives do after Roe? We need to focus on helping families – USA Today
Now 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…
Read MoreA New Season and a Time to Build
Today 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…
Read MoreWhat Are You Building?
Too 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…
Read MoreWhy Is Our Activism So Mean?
From 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…
Read MoreHow to Keep Your Friends In An Election Season
I 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
Read MoreHow to Navigate the Election at Work
Perhaps 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…
Read MoreWhat The Bible Says About Working for Religious Liberty
In 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…
Read MoreChurch Unity and The Presidential Election
We’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…
Read MorePolitics and the Pandemic
USA Today published my latest oped on politics and the pandemic. Here is an excerpt: We are learning more and more about the virus every day and our responses are getting smarter and more targeted. And our best and brightest minds are working feverishly to develop vaccines and treatments to hold back this deadly contagion…
Read MoreWhy Words Matter to God
It’s a bit ironic that the human race’s descent into darkness began with the serpent’s own twisted misrepresentation of God’s words of instruction to His image-bearers. Words, after humanity’s fall into sin, can now be used either to injure or inspire. This is why King David prayed that the words of his mouth be “acceptable”…
Read MoreJames K. A. Smith on the importance of the dinner table
I’m reading through James K. A. Smith’s excellent new book, You Are What You Love. I highly recommend this book. Here are some of Smith’s thoughts on the formative power of families eating dinner together: For example: never underestimate the formative power of the family supper table. This vanishing liturgy is a powerful site of formation. Most…
Read MorePentecost, Pastoring and Intentional Friendships
Here are three of my latest articles: “So You Want to Make Disciples?” for In Touch Conversions usually result from deliberate, genuine friendship building. This involves intentionally inserting ourselves in environments where unbelievers are present. It includes leveraging our natural human talents to find common ground and build friendships. It requires patience, not trying to “close…
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