Book Review: The Spirit of the Disciplines

The Spirit of the Disciplines is a book written by Dallas Willard. I admit, it’s not what I had expected. I’ve previously read “Celebration of Discipline” and thought that this book would be similar. The books both have to do with spiritual disciplines but diverge from there. Richard Foster (author of Celebration of Discipline) examines

The Key to the Driscoll Controversy

Controversy regarding pastor Mark Driscoll has come to a head recently. The responses to this generally fall into one of two categories in my mind. I believe there is an important, key difference between the responses. I think this difference is worth examining because it can help us understand how to respond in other situations

Evangelicalism’s PR Problem: Private Love, Public Condemnation

I recently read a book written from a conservative Christian perspective. The authors’ spend much of the book warning of their perceived dangers of liberal / progressive ideas. I admit I was surprised that their solution to all this was a call to love people. Though I don’t directly share their point of view, I

Problems With Focusing on Sin

I once heard a preacher in a sermon briefly mentioned the corresponding dangers of legalism and license (or sometimes referred to as libertinism). The latter is the fallacy of thinking we have freedom to act any way we choose because of God’s grace and forgiveness. It seems as though this preacher understood legalism to be

Secret Church Review and Problems of Focusing on Sin

Secret Church is an annual event put on by David Platt and his church in Alabama. The event is promoted widely and simulcast to groups meeting across the U.S. and world. Some friends of mine had participated before and organized a viewing locally this year. So I joined them. It was scheduled for a single

Truth Is Not a Process, Belief Is

Update: I submitted this blog to the “Bridging the Divides” syncroblog. I feel the following concept is important for having respectful dialog with those with whom we disagree. We all have beliefs about various things. This is fine. However, some people expect everyone to agree with them. Or in other words, they expect everyone should

Book Review: Hearing God (Peter Lord)

Allow me to get straight to the point—I really liked “Hearing God” by Peter Lord. I was not familiar with Lord before reading this book. However, of the several books I’ve read on the topic of listening to God, this is definitely my favorite so far. Lord gives the most information and practical advice out

I Am Hurt By Christians – World Vision Aftermath

The events of this week have left me nearly speechless. I’m just now trying to figure out what to possibly say. I have a couple of main thoughts. First, I’m hurt by how Christians have been acting. Granted, the behavior is nothing new. But it has been brought poignantly into focus this past week. The

The Cross and Christian Community

Frank Viola recently shared an article and an audio message on the same subject. I believe the material is excellent and needed, so I wanted to highlight it here. Viola talks about the key role the cross plays in the development of Christian community. I’d recommend checking out both resources (linked above), though if I