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Money – evil or blessing?
As a Christian, I hate talking about money. I remember walking into a Roman Catholic church years ago. My girlfriend at the time was Catholic. And lucky us, the priest preached about giving to the congregation. We came back two weeks later and heard another sermon about giving money to the church. Not just a little.…
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Just do the right thing.
If we whittle down our faith, we are left with two base ideas: what we believe and what we do. There is nothing more traditional in Christian faith than arguing over which one is better. Betting on God. Blaise Pascal made my favorite case for belief. Unlike most apologetics, which argue the case for God’s…
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Can we build a wall? Refugees, immigration, and hospitality.
I crossed our northern border into Canada often in the mid-2000s. As an American student at a Canadian seminary, I remember the border patrol finding that idea confusing. “Why would you go to school there?” Growing up in a border state, going to Canada was simple and easy. We’d flash a driver’s license and go…
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I’m going to go find God in the woods.
I find God in music and conversation. I’ve never found anything divine in doctrine. But once in awhile I find conversations about doctrine can be holy. A big part of ministry today is spiritual rehab. For those suffering from Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome and those fleeing a toxic world of discipline and sin management. Or the abuse…
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Is Jesus cool with MMA? Self-defense and the gospel.
I’m not sure what Jesus would think of modern sports, but I know the Prince of Peace doesn’t dig on violence. And considering his critiques of Rome, I’m guessing mixed martial arts isn’t his bag. Any fights in cages where people come to watch people pummel each other would probably be too Roman and not enough…
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If we’re all getting raptured, then we’re cool with styrofoam, right?
A classmate tried to argue that trees are replaceable. And in a certain, very specific way, he was right. But in so many other ways, he was just plain wrong. When many of us talk about humanity’s relationship to creation it’s like that. There is an element of truth in it, but… It also reveals how irresponsible…
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Getting Things Done – The cult of hard work and faith like a business
Full disclosure: Keeping myself organized is not my spiritual gift. You know those articles about the creative people with the messy desks? They’re written to make me feel better about myself. But I’ve come to believe that a Christian obsession with being together, organized, and effective is actually dysfunctional. I’m not a total slob. Just…
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Of Serial and Mercy
Serial, the most listened to podcast in history debuted two years ago. It was just the sort of unlikely cultural phenomenon to bring new people into a medium they didn’t know existed. The podcast. A radio show which doesn’t need a radio. No FM or AM frequencies or radio carriers. All you need is a computer,…
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