One of the often debated, talked about and yet avoided issues within Christian theology is giving, often called tithing. Lately, I have heard increased questions about this in our ever changing world where there is constant demand and competition for charitable dollars. Often, Christians talk about the 10% tithe based on passage(s) from the Bible […]
The longer I am in ministry, the more that I gain from the book of Acts and the more I find myself modeling life, ministry and church after it. I have also found, that the biblical number of three is a solid one and that thinking in threes has become incredibly helpful for me The […]
The truth is, that whether we are Christians or not, but especially if we are Christians, we are being discipled and formed in some way. As Christians, we should be discipled and formed through the scriptures, relationships and Jesus. The reality is that today, in the United States most people are discipled by their cable […]
Recently, when I was in India training pastors, I had a young man come to me and quiz me on theology. He must have asked at least several hundred questions. They were on all the controversial items from politics to end times and biblical interpretation. He clearly had a more narrow view and also seemed […]
In our church, we are preaching through the book of Romans and today we came to Romans 14. My colleague, Dan Bellinger did a fantastic job with this passage. As I have reflected on his message, the old hymn, Just Give Me Jesus comes to mind. The chorus, ‘you can have the whole world, just […]
I confess that I am both a theological nerd and a theological cynic. I have no problem with people that think differently than I do and while I love a good theological dialogue, I never feel the need to get into a fight over theology. The diversity of thought within Christianity is a gift, especially […]
I do not know a single person who always loves change of all types. Sure, I say I enjoy change, but the truth is that I really only enjoy change I create, see coming, like, control, or benefit from. Its hard to enjoy change that is unexpected, painful, disrupting and full of conflict. The church, […]
Recently I have been in a situation where I have had to talk a lot about suicide and the theology around it. Its not something we should have to be talking about, but the world is not as it should be. There is a theological view within Christianity that claims that anyone who commits suicide […]
People and the relationships we have with them are one of the greatest gifts that God will ever give us. I have shared this at almost every funeral that I have performed for more than a decade. We often lose sight of that and neglect that in the midst of busyness, conflict, fear, and a […]
We live in a fear based culture without question. The church has become a fear based organization much like the culture. Fear is not a Biblical value. It may seem like one, but the number of times the Bible (and Jesus) tell us not to fear is hard to count. Sure, the Bible references the […]
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