If we look at the world around us and think that there is no way that we could ever find unity in Christ with our political opponents, or people who frighten us because they come from half a world away.
All in Culture
I Hope She Stays
We need her leavening influence to grow into the kind of community that more fully embodies the Jesus Way. Churches of Christ need the leavening of those like her.
Pick a Side
It is in these times when it is most imperative that I remember my true calling as a Christian – to love each and every person as Jesus does.
A Lesson to Learn Before the Next Election
When the next election comes, it may be bitter and divisive. The candidates and their policies will not reflect Jesus. That is how the world works. Remind your people it will be okay. Set the example.
Electing to Follow Jesus: Prophets of Justice and Mercy
We’ll take a look at the gap between perception and reality, the difference between the state’s job and the church’s, and how justice and mercy shape Christians’ prophetic stance.
Electing to Follow Jesus: Strangers in a Strange Land
One of the fundamental stances we take during an election year (and any year) is that of being strangers in the world. We are strangers in this nation, this culture.
What If God Does Not Want Your Candidate to Win?
My King rules today, he will rule after the election, and his will is going to be done no matter who wins. I do want people to know Jesus. And I trust God to do whatever necessary to make that possible.
Electing to Follow Jesus: How to Be a Loser
One of the prevailing sins of American churches is that we claim God can give security in this life, though we have no right to offer such security.
Electing to Follow Jesus: The Gospel of Peter vs. the Gospel of Jesus
You may assume you believe and live the Gospel of Jesus. It would be a bad assumption to make, because we are all so likely to misunderstand and mishandle the gospel that Christ is putting into us.
Electing to Follow Jesus: Claiming Our Baggage
We never come to a conversation without baggage. Name it and claim it--you have baggage, too. We're always dragging our stuff with us, and that’s expected, but revealing it saves trouble along the way.
Clean and Unclean: A Contemporary Christian Conversation
Richard Beck explains the often-irrational reactions to things (and people) we perceive as "unclean."
Preaching When Words Are Cheap
We are now utterly inundated by insincere, dollar-faced words, to such an extent that we can’t always distinguish between words of authenticity and the words of a sales pitch.
How to Be Pastoral in a Rancorous Political Season
In the current election season I have felt a pressing need to address the people of God and urge them to speak and act in a way that represents Jesus.
Evangelism by Fearlessness
“Practical” isn’t the way we make decisions in the Kingdom of God. We follow a Lord who did the impractical and died on our behalf. And he tells us to take up our cross and follow him.
White-Colored Glasses
Stop talking and listen. And God willing, we will give a better answer than Cain: “Here they are, I see and I hear my brother and sisters.”
When Did "Friend" Become a Verb?
I want to awaken us to the need to preserve the special quality of the noun friend. What follows are some thoughts on how a friend is not the same as friending.
Black Rage: A Contemporary Christian Conversation
Steven Moore shares his personal experiences and perspectives on Black rage and the complexities of being followers of Christ amid racial injustice.
Held Hostage
If the Republicans lose, it will be because the party was held hostage by…the party. A party out of touch with the very people who could help them survive.
Knowing What Is Best
The fact that there is an ethical dimension to Christianity is undisputed. The dispute regarding ethics lies in how that dimension relates to salvation.
Tug of War
Jesus followers have found themselves on both sides of this social argument. Unsurprisingly, our bickering hasn’t brought peace to any part of the situation.