Chaplainmike

I’m worse than Bill Maher

You know what? Reading this really makes me angry. I read this, and I’d like to be one of those offended Christians. Call Dobson. Call Roy Moore. Tell the guy off for insulting Christians. All that yap. But you know what? I’m worse than Bill Maher. Lots worse. I stand in the shadow of theContinue reading “I’m worse than Bill Maher”

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery:” A theological reflection on the Gospel of the scapegoat

Today’s lesson in my AP English IV class was Shirley Jackson’s well-known short story, “The Lottery.” Many of you probably read this story in your senior year of high school. From the standpoint of a teacher, “The Lottery” is a winner because it’s great art and a great starter for discussions. It is a simpleContinue reading “Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery:” A theological reflection on the Gospel of the scapegoat”

Comment Spam-be gone!

I want to thank BHT fellow Phillip Winn for some MT wizardry that once and for all rids me of the plague of comment spam that has decimated this site. The price to pay for peace in the neighborhood is small: you must preview comment posts. Press two buttons instead of one. Let me alsoContinue reading “Comment Spam-be gone!”

To Know We’re Not Alone

It was 1973, a year before my high school graduation. I was sixteen, a young preacher-boy at a revival meeting at a church in our community. I remember the tiny church being packed, but I don’t remember anything about the service, or the sermon or the preacher. I do remember something that happened at theContinue reading “To Know We’re Not Alone”

Contemporary Worship and “The Walnut Street Epiphany”

“Yesterday, in Louisville, at the corner of 4th and Walnut, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, ofContinue reading “Contemporary Worship and “The Walnut Street Epiphany””

Contemporary Worship and the Walnut Street Epiphany

A Contrarian Manifesto for the Church Growth Debate

I have been in a lot of debates about the current worship and church revolution known as the seeker-sensitive, Purpose-Driven church. I’ve stated my case, taken on the other side, and come back to argue the same issues again and again. Today, I felt as exhausted with this discussion as a person could feel. SoContinue reading “A Contrarian Manifesto for the Church Growth Debate”

Greatness and The Passing of Uncles

My uncles are almost gone. Uncle Charlie’s cancer has returned. My Uncle Joe is nearly blind. My dad’s last brother no longer knows anyone, and you’d never know he was once the seemingly indestructible pastor of my youth. Slowly, they are growing older. Too rapidly, they are going away.

Subcultural Spirituality or “I know he’s a Christian because I saw it on his bumper sticker.”

One of the axioms of my critique of evangelicalism is this: methodology creates theology. By this I mean that when evangelicals have adopted particular methods, such as the evangelistic sales pitch or the powerpoint designed sermon, they will soon develop an accompanying theology, generally morphed in the direction of justifying and spiritualizing what they areContinue reading “Subcultural Spirituality or “I know he’s a Christian because I saw it on his bumper sticker.””

The Drug War Out My Window

One day last week, the government helicopters flew so low over our little village in eastern Kentucky, they shook the house. For most of half an hour, they buzzed around the three creeks that come together into a river right below us. They are looking for drugs, as they do every summer. This is partContinue reading “The Drug War Out My Window”