Month: October 2018

[This sermon was originally delivered years ago but updated in light of the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA.]

“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25)

A couple of years ago, I ran into a woman in a local coffee shop right after yet another mass shooting had resulted in the tragic loss of several innocent lives. She commiserated with me, offering that having to preach about such things must be a nearly impossible task. And yet, as awful a task as it is, that event and others like it are part and parcel not only of the world in which we live but the gospel’s relevance and significance to everyday life.

This past Saturday our nation once again was visited with yet more sickening, malevolent violence. Continue reading “The Tragic and the Gospel”

I recently came across a link to the satirical Christian website, The Babylon Bee, which directed me to this clever tongue-in-cheek headline: New Study Suggests Arguing About Politics Is Most Effective Method Of Evangelism.

Under the heading was a mock news report that begins: “A comprehensive study by LifeWay released Tuesday, confirms that arguing vigorously about politics is still the most effective way for Christians to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.

“The results indicated that an overwhelming majority of new converts to Christianity were convinced to give their lives to Christ after suffering defeat in debates over policy positions or specific politicians. Continue reading “Diversity and The Herd of Independent Minds”

I’ve been away from blogging for several months now. Did anybody notice? Well, perhaps you did since you happen to be reading this now.

In any event, I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of our nation and the church’s relationship to it. The histories of both are, of course, inextricably intertwined.

As contemporary culture struggles clumsily to make sense of our world, the mainline churches continue daily to prove their astonishing and ever-burgeoning irrelevancy.

This same Protestant church, which for most of our history was integral in forming and defining us as a people, both personally and corporately, has now all but lost touch with its roots and the people it once served. What once bound and informed a great nation now flails and founders, ineptly and inconsequentially. Continue reading “Running on Empty”