• On June 8, 2008 by

    Evangelical Manifesto

    On May 7, 2008 an Evangelical Manifesto was published in Washington D.C. by a consortium of Evangelical thinkers and leaders. It is addressed not only to Christians and Evangelicals but to American citizens of all faiths and no faith. I would describe it as an attempt to re-identify, re-position, and perhaps re-energize Evangelicals in the contemporary American landscape. Most importantly though, I would say the Evangelical Manifesto is an an attempt to untangle American Evangelicals from the apparatus of partisan politics — something I have come to feel increasingly passionate about.

    Here’s my take on it.
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  • On May 24, 2008 by

    I Was Once So Sure


    I Was Once So Sure
    (An Autobiographical Poem)
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  • On May 12, 2008 by

    Books

    I’m regularly asked about the books I read.

    Some people think I preach vocationally. There is truth to that, but there’s more truth in saying I read vocationally. There’s a sense in which I read books for others. I graze in the field of books and give the milk of sermons. John Wesley said, “Read or get out of the ministry.” I agree. Yes, reading is a big part of what I do. I don’t loan books for the same reason a mechanic doesn’t loan tools. Books are the tools of my trade.

    Recently several serious minded Christians have requested that I give them a recommended reading list. I don’t feel like I can come up with a one-size-fits-all reading list; things vary too much from person to person. What I can do is comprise a list of the ten books which have most influenced me in the past two years — the literary equivalent to my recent blog on Music.

    So here it is: The Ten Books That Have Most Influenced Me In The Past Two Years
    (No reviews…just a list with a few comments.)
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  • On May 7, 2008 by

    Heaven (in 75 words or less)

    A magazine asked me a question.

    How do you get to heaven?

    Please answer in 75 words or less.
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  • On April 28, 2008 by

    Music

    “Without music life would be a mistake.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

    I love music. I’m a music nut. My life has a soundtrack. I listen to music everyday. Lots of it.

    Here are my top ten favorite albums from the last two years (April 2006 — April 2008).
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  • On April 26, 2008 by

    Manifesto

    In an age where Christianity is distorted by
    Hollow consumerism,
    Shallow pragmaticism,
    Narrow fundamentalism,
    And selfish individualism,
    We seek a more authentic Christianity:
    By choosing to be radically centered on the cross of Christ,
    Always exploring the mystery of God,
    Enriched by being an eclectic church,
    And actively participating in Christian community.
    All of this is part of the revolution of the Kingdom of Heaven,
    Which is made manifest in personal and global transformation
    Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
    Amen.

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  • On April 21, 2008 by

    The Mark of Cain


    Thinking out loud.

    Sitting on my deck thinking. Thinking.

    What am I?

    A human being?

    Yes. But what more can be said?

    A pastor?

    This is what I do, but not really what I am.

    To cease vocation is not to cease being.

    What are you?

    A human too.

    A Christian?

    Perhaps, but that reflects a religious choice.

    Can we come closer to the essence of being?

    Can we be more basic?

    What are you?
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  • On April 18, 2008 by

    Hope of Glory

    Christ in you the hope of glory.

    Colossians Chaper One, Verse Twenty-Seven.

    Seven words. All but one monosyllabic. Simple. But what does it mean?

    CHRIST…YOU…HOPE…GLORY


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  • On April 14, 2008 by

    The Jesus Movement


    I keep copies of two historic Time magazines in my study.

    One is the famous 1966 Time asking the question: Is God Dead?

    The other is from 1971 reporting on: The Jesus Revolution

    Following up on my Revival? blog, here are some thoughts on the Jesus Movement.

    Modernity’s 300 year Enlightenment Project ended badly. Not only did it result in the abandonment of Utopian dreams brought on by the Holocaust and Hiroshima, it also inserted Nietzsche’s assertion that God is dead into the postmodern world, at least in the form of a question: Is God dead? In keeping with what Nietzsche was really saying, the question is intuitively understood in the postmodern Western world as — Is Christianity still relevant?

    The Jesus Movement was the answer.

    April 8, 1966: Is God Dead?

    June 21, 1971: The Jesus Revolution

    The Jesus Movement was the first postmodern revival and as such is a kind of prototype for what I’ve taken to calling unrevival.
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