Simul justus et blogger.
About the authorOne of the hardest lessons of adulthood for a young, theologically-minded Christian is recognizing that it is possible both to be right about an issue in the wrong way or to be wrong about an issue in a right-seeming fashion. We can be like Saul of Tarsus, catechized thoroughly in the seminary of Gamaliel, yet … Continue reading Is Galatians 2 About Race?
Author’s note: This article is cross-posted on Founders.org. There is a real, positive trend in evangelical churches (as unlikely as that statement seems as an opening for an article). “Missions” is no longer seen, by and large, as “from the West to the rest.” Christians are thinking beyond simply crossing arbitrary geopolitical borders and are reflecting upon … Continue reading The ‘Critical’ Threat to Mission
Every now and then, much like a bad Disney animated sequel planning committee, the Left overplays its hand pushes a narrative so hard and far that it breaks under its own weight.
Author’s note: This article is cross-posted on Founders.org. The so-called culture war is largely a battle over the dictionary. Control the language, control the conversation. Bible-believing Christians know that words have meanings. We are shaped in our spiritual lives, after all, by a Book—by texts. Given this reality, it is alarming how quickly buzzwords fall … Continue reading Whatever Happened to Mercy Ministry?
Last Friday, after two and a half years as foster parents, my wife and I finally adopted our five-year-old son. Surrounded in the courtroom by loved ones, fellow church members, and case workers, we felt the weight of paperwork and legalities dissolve away, replaced by peace in our veins and tears in our eyes as … Continue reading Three Ways Our Adoption Enriched Our Understanding of the Gospel
Prolegomena Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted. Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”? But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; … Continue reading My Take on the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel
We live in an unfortunate cultural moment where only the small things matter, yet the big things don’t. We fastidiously strain out the gnats by burning Nikes and boycotting burgers while swallowing the camel stampede of national infanticide, sexual immorality in every direction, and materialistic hedonism as the driving impulse of life. Within evangelicalism, this … Continue reading Why Your Joy Depends on God’s Hate
Well, it’s Wednesday, and the radical left, the Christian right, and every political permutation in the middle can finally all agree about something. Unfortunately, it’s the germane observation that no one can agree about anything. “Post-truth politics” now has its own Wikipedia entry. Some blame the way we’ve taught history for the breakdown—others blame the … Continue reading Two Ways to Live in a ‘Post-Truth’ World
A few months ago, I wrote on the fact that we as evangelicals tend to baptize mediocrity in the water of false humility. By contrast, God calls us to a kind of Christ-exalting, cross-carrying striving for excellence and achievement for God’s glory and the good of others. Since this is a lesson worth learning more … Continue reading Holy Ambition, Part Two
If you would, indulge me in a test of your knee-jerk reflexes. What rises in you when you read the command submit? Hostility? Ambivalence? Don’t decide too quick; sometimes surrender is sweet.
