Chaplainmike

Is Megachurch Culture Part of the Problem?

I really hope Tullian doesn’t do what Driscoll has done, and get back into ministerial work within the next month or two. He needs to stay home and mend relationships with his family and repair the damage done. He needs to mend relationships with those people who really looked up to him. I also think heContinue reading “Is Megachurch Culture Part of the Problem?”

“Touch Me, Lord Jesus”

Yesterday, I was with a black family in the city after their loved one passed. The spouse wasn’t home at the time, and the other family members didn’t want to let him know until he arrived, for fear it would affect his driving on the way. When he did get home, he was shaken andContinue reading ““Touch Me, Lord Jesus””

Forgiveness: Should it be the first word?

Historically, black churches have nurtured the politics of forgiveness so that black people can anticipate divine justice and liberation in the next life. This sentiment shaped non-violent protest during the civil rights movement. A belief that displays of morality rooted in forgiveness would force white America to leave behind its racist assumptions. But Christian orContinue reading “Forgiveness: Should it be the first word?”

Merton on Contemplation (1)

The curious state of alienation and confusion of man in modern society is perhaps more “bearable” because it is lived in common, with a multitude of distractions and escapes — and also with opportunities for fruitful action and genuine Christian self-forgetfulness. But underlying all life is the ground of doubt and self-questioning which sooner orContinue reading “Merton on Contemplation (1)”

Sundays with Michael Spencer: June 21,2015. Father’s Day Edition

From CM: This is one story I always think about around Father’s Day. Thank you, Michael. • • • When I was twelve years old, my father bought a small aluminum boat, just enough for two people to use for fishing in the local lakes. He put it in our backyard. It had a tinyContinue reading “Sundays with Michael Spencer: June 21,2015. Father’s Day Edition”

Saturday Ramblings, June 20, 2015

Hello, friends, and welcome to the weekend. Ready to Ramble? First, some good news for the Democrats: Donald Trump and Donald Trump’s hair are running for the Republican nomination (despite having by far the most unfavorable ratings among his own party of any nominee in recent history). Official campaign slogan: “We Shall Overcomb.” His ramblingContinue reading “Saturday Ramblings, June 20, 2015”

Pete Enns: 4 thoughts about the Bible as a “human book”

Christians confess the Bible as “God’s word,” which means (among other things) that God had something to do with the production of it–though, the honest person will admit, we don’t really know nor can we adequately articulate what that “something” is, and calling it “inspiration” or “revelation” is simply assigning a milti-syllable word to that unknown process.Continue reading “Pete Enns: 4 thoughts about the Bible as a “human book””

Mark

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? • James 2:5, NRSV • • • We stood and sat on a quiet green spot at the cemetery under sunny blueContinue reading “Mark”

Damaris Zehner: My Dysfunctional Relationship with God

My Dysfunctional Relationship with God By Damaris Zehner Have you ever been in a dysfunctional relationship? Of course you have. They are part of the sad reality of life in this world. I’ve been in several. Most, I’m happy to say, were ones I was able to walk away from once I recognized them forContinue reading “Damaris Zehner: My Dysfunctional Relationship with God”

Just in case you’re wondering . . . mission

Just in case you’re wondering . . . I believe in Christian mission. One of the greatest debts I owe to my evangelical background is that it gave me a heart to serve others. To be sure, I have often been critical of evangelicalism’s priorities in the ways it goes about serving, and I haveContinue reading “Just in case you’re wondering . . . mission”