He could feel the heat from his torch as the fire light licked away at the darkness around him.
His heart raced in anticipation as his plot was about to unfold.  He chose this night because it was the feast of the passover.  This had always been an important festival, but since the Jews were once again in bondage those radicals enjoyed the though of breaking free from their western occupiers all the more.  While they remembered and celebrated their bloody victories after their Egyptian exile he had stolen away …

From time to time, in my reading on various topics, I have come across the term civil religion—or, more specifically, American civil religion. Although I have had a general notion of what these terms were referring to, it was only this past week, in relation to various articles (here, here, here, and here) I read commenting on the Glenn Beck “Restoring Honor” Rally, that I decided to do a bit of research and find out exactly what civil religion and American civil religion are. The fruits of my investigation have …

In the late 1989, my wife and I were in the process of appointment as Foreign Mission Board (now IMB) missionaries. I was planning to do what they called TEE (theological education by extension). The students did not come to the professor, but the professor would come to the students. My job would have been to go out to do theological training where people lived.
Frankly, I think that sounds like a much better way to do theological education than the way that we do it. I …

So, there I was writing up the definitive post on the Lord’s Supper and modern ecclesiology when my wife came down and said our guests are coming in an hour and I still need to go out and buy chicken.  The post is not ready.  But then I had a thought.  I just spent two weeks on a training event paid for by Southern Baptists maybe someone would like to know what we did and are doing?  Well, maybe.  If so, below is our strategy blueprint.  Feel free to critique …

I am frustrated.
I could be just plain mad, but that would mean that I am not exhibiting the self-control that is part of the “gift” the Spirit shares. I have laid my burdens down with my Lord, and He takes them – but that does not mean I am not still frustrated, for I am hopelessly still made of flesh. Pray for me, and I will for you.
I am frustrated that many in Christian circles “don’t get it.” And this goes double for many Southern Baptist bloggers.
Now don’t get too …

I recently listened to the audio book version of The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. I had heard very little about it at the time. My wife had heard people discussing it on the radio, but since I don’t listen to Christian radio that much, preferring instead to listen to music or audio books on my mp3 player, I was basically in the dark on what this hole actually was.
Richard Stearns is the president and CEO of WorldVision, an organization that sets up booths with orange-colored banners at …

A Common Blight in the American church is selfishness. And from this selfishness, a certain form of ecclesiology will emerge quickly and stubbornly. This form of church arrangement is more prevalent today than ever before and it begs the question of why? Why does an ecclesiology materialize from the acts of its constituents and not from a deliberate well thought out corporate plan? It seems to be understandable that the deliberate act of constituting a church with an agreement by democratic processes to form bylaws, and a …

The argument in this letter reflects the tone of those seeking to gain legitimacy as a minority within a larger group. Apologetic approaches from the times and places where Christians are in the majority take on a dramatically different tone. The former arguments demonstrate that Christianity seeks to redeem the community through identifying common goals, lives, values, etc. The latter arguments are more focused on demonstrating the theological differences and uniqueness of Christian belief, values, culture etc. and calling the lost world to be part of that movement.