Ah, another Advent. The pressing question is: are we ready? Or maybe the pressing question is: do we even care? Our United Methodist Church can’t seem to be bothered with preparing for a Savior; we are too busy focusing on divisive issues of morality grounded in abominable biblical misinterpretation and […]
I will move this to “best books” in a week or two, but for now, I want to add Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age to my list of books I believe every pastor should read. This book came out in 2007 and I am embarrassed to say that it took […]
From the Gospel According to Bob 12:21-34 “Then, they went aside to a quiet place, and in the shade of a sycamore tree they rested. Jesus spied a wall covered in vines, heavily weighted down by wild grapes. Taking one, he placed it in his mouth, and an ecstasy came […]
If God is unity and totality, and all things come from God and all things are under the command and control of God (God the ground of ALL being), then how many sides does God have? An infinite number or one? And if infinite — including all sides with no […]
I wonder which Jesus we are hoping for this year? Your initial reaction may be, “hold on, there’s just one Jesus!” to which I would reply “you haven’t been paying attention.” Even in scripture we have no fewer than four accounts (canonical) as well as dozens (non-canonical) that offer us […]
Advent rolls round once more, and the Christmas season (which marketers think started sometime around Halloween) takes center stage. Carols and decorations, candy and cookies, presents and get togethers all take on the festive holiday cheer. And, if we’re lucky, glimpses of Jesus might still emerge from time to time. […]
I am a reader, and proud of it. I rarely spend less than 3 hours each day reading, and I mean books, not just emails, articles, blogs, letters, ads, magazines, Post-It® Notes, etc. On days off, I read more like 6-7 hours. I am an eclectic reader. There are few […]
Two recent conversations (frustrating each in their own way) set me to thinking about the current landscape of Biblical and theological dialogue, debate, argument, and discussion (choose what works best for you). In my opinion, we are spread across a spectrum of four main perspectives: At the left side of […]
There is one phrase I hear that just drives me crazy when it comes to the Bible: I don’t interpret scripture; I just read it and do what it says. Basically, this is a false statement intended to end discussion by claiming that the person speaking has a crystal clear […]
I was driving up to Appleton, Wisconsin the other day for a meeting and I tuned into a Christian radio station, where a very passionate young man was teaching a Bible study. His topic was “God’s Absolute Truth,” and he was making a case for there being one absolute, indisputable, […]
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