TweetI recently ran by this video, put together by The Foursquare Church, and wondered how much it hits home with my generation. As you watch this video, do you find yourself shouting in agreement with the ideas implied, or do you push back against them? I’d love your thoughts, because I want to think more [...]
Posts under ‘Church Culture’
When the Church Sets the Bar
TweetThis is a post I wrote up months ago to save for a rainy day. It came to mind because I’ve been thinking a lot about culture lately. I hope it encourages you. Andy Crouch says that the Church has historically taken four negative stances toward culture, and conveniently, they all start with the letter [...]
C.S. Lewis on Masturbation
TweetI haven’t written much on sexuality in this blog mainly because I know there are so many great voices in the Church already weighing in on it, and don’t feel I have much of anything original to add (and maybe because my mom reads this too). But seriously, if you haven’t yet, check out places [...]
Can Worship Be Too Emotional?
TweetI hope you’re perplexed by the title question. It’s a hard one. You may have heard a similar one: “Can worship music be too emotional?” but I find this broader question much more crucial (and interesting). It seems that there’s been a strong suspicion of emotion in American Christianity for as long as there has [...]
Doing Accountability Part III: A Confusion
TweetAs you know (from Part I), I can struggle to feel responsible for “fixing myself” as it relates to my sin. I spent most of Part II trying to convince you and me that God has a much better path to righteousness that involves a lot less exasperation and a lot more dependence. Jesus rebuked the [...]
Doing Accountability Part I: My Baggage
TweetI confess that “accountability” has been a bit of a taboo word for me until recently. Months ago, if you caught me on the right day, you could tell me that you were were going to have an accountability time with your small group, and I would have had an internal response that sounded something [...]
Security with God: Asking Big
TweetMost of the things I’m going to write about here I learned from my extraordinary fiancé, Jessie. These are things I’ve just begun to understand in the last two years, and most of that learning was the direct result of her boldly speaking into my life. So if you have questions about this, she’s probably [...]
Security With God: Poetry and Dancing
TweetI want to ask you a question: Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Now, if that question gets you wondering if I spend my weekends as a middle-aged white man on a street corner handing out tracts from the 90′s, I’m sorry to disappoint you. But I’m just a regular guy. The reason [...]
Strengths and Dangers of the Charismatic Movement: Hearing Voices
TweetWhen I started hanging out with Charismatics, something that struck me very quickly about them that looked quite different from many of the believers I grew up around was how much patience and effort they showed to listen to the Holy Spirit in everyday conversations, prayer, or counseling times. I think the foundational belief of [...]
Strengths & Dangers of the Charismatic Movement: Name-It-And-Claim-It
TweetAs many of you know, I’ve been spending a lot of my recent months with believers from many different churches who are significantly more “Charismatic” than those I grew up around. I strongly believe God brought me into this company to stretch my understanding and experience of his character in news ways that would take [...]