Living Together: Racial Reconciliation is a Christian Imperative

In my last post I wanted to point out that either elation or despair by Christians over the election of Donald Trump indicated that a person had probably put their hope for the future of our country—and perhaps the world—in someone other than Jesus. That is not to say that the election doesn’t have...

The Scandalous First Apostle

A One-Question Bible Pop Quiz: Who was the first apostle? If you said Peter, you’re wrong. If you said John, you’re wrong. If you said any of the original 12 disciples, you’re wrong. They were disciples, but they didn’t become apostles until after the resurrection when they were sent—apostle means “one who...

Persecuted—or Just Whiny?

A few years ago I attended a pastor’s roundtable luncheon with about a dozen other pastors. We would meet 3-4 times a year, have fellowship, enjoy a nice meal in a private room at a nice restaurant, and then have a discussion on some topic related to the contemporary church. This particular luncheon was a...

Why Different Doesn’t Matter

What distinction was Paul trying to make between the Law and faith in Romans? For years it was assumed that the Law was about earning your salvation while faith was about receiving it by grace. But Israelite religion was never about earning God’s favor—that favor was given to them through God’s choosing of...

Easter & Passover: A History of Bigotry

Sometimes when I start to write something it takes a life of its own and sends me in directions I didn’t intend to go. This is one such blog. It started out as an article for Easter morning, but my research led me to some things that fundamentally altered where I was being taken—dark things that needed to...