Currently Browsing: Blog
A new law took effect on July 3 in Virginia which made it illegal for a 13-year-old girl to get married. It applied to 13-year-old boys as well, but the reasons that the law was needed was mainly because of the exploitation of girls. According to a Washington Post report, from 2004 to 2013 more than 4,000...
1st in the series, “Religion, Rites & Rituals” First Baptist Church, Frederick, Maryland, July 17, 2016 “I’m interested in God, but not religion.” It’s a phrase we hear over and over again, but what does it even mean? Is religion simply something we created? A tool for controlling and dividing? Some...
Jesus summarized the entire Law in two statements: Love God with your entire being, and love others as if they were part of your entire being. Israel put the most effort into showing their love for God. That commandment came first, and it formed the core of their religious practice. “Hear, O Israel: The...
I first met Dr. Bruce Hopler twenty years ago when he came to Maryland as the founding pastor of Cornerstone Community Church. We have been friends and colleagues ever since, even when he moved out of state to pursue other callings. He recently received the Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Seminary, and now...
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” This is one of those statements that is familiar even to people who don’t know the Bible. It’s commonly used to support the proper and separate roles of government and religion and that it is our Christian duty to...
Shohoiya Yokowai was a Japanese soldier on the island of Guam during WWII. When American forces landed, he fled into the jungle and found a cave in which he hid for 28 years because he was afraid of being captured by the Americans. He learned that the war was over by reading one of the thousands of...
Closing Loopholes to Protect Our Girls
What Makes Something Sacred?
The 1 Thing You Can do to Love God
Talking Points for the White Pastor—Guest Post
Taxes and Tithes: A Fresh Look
Prisoners of Fear
Welcome!
I am a lifelong student of the Bible, and have been a pastor for over twenty-five years. My desire through this blog is to help people see things in the intersection of Scripture and real life that they might have missed. The careless handling of the Bible is causing a lot of problems in our churches and our culture--and is literally turning people away from the church, and, sometimes, God. I hope to treat Scripture with the respect it deserves, and, even if you don't agree with what I say, give you some insight.
Feel free to leave a comment. I promise to respond to you. All I ask is that you be respectful in your comments. 
Connect with Me