Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues

The Politics of Jesus, Part 2

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Even in the midst of politically-troubled times, we are called to preserve the radical uniqueness of the kingdom. This, after all, is what Jesus did as he engaged the first century world with a different…

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The Politics of Jesus

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Many are so conditioned by the mindset of the world that they can’t even envision an alternative way of affecting society and politics other than by playing the political game as it is done by…

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Christianity and American Politics

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Greg was recently featured in Missio Alliance’s Seminary Dropout podcast to share his thoughts about the role of Christians in American politics. Today we’re sharing part 1 of that conversation. What is the role of…

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Kingdom Reconciliation is Not About Politics (But it is Political)

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In the broader culture, the social and political discussions about racial reconciliation are usually focused on people’s rights and privileges as a means of making the world a fairer place. The criteria such efforts at…

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The Coming Kingdom & Racial Conflict

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In the book of Revelation, we see a glimpse into the future. John says he saw,  …a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne…

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Why Racial Reconciliation Matters

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In Psalm 72, the author prays for a day when “all kings” would “bow down” to God’s anointed and when “all nations” would “serve him” (vs. 11). At this time, the Psalmist continues, God’s king…

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Reversing Babel

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Several generations after the flood, we read in Gen 11 how humans were still living in one locale and had one common language and culture. Then someone came up with the brilliant idea that they…

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Black Lives Matter, the Police, and Spiritual Warfare

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Christ calls us to stand for a different kind of kingdom and this requires that we think in different ways about the violence that is gripping our country. In this short clip from Greg’s sermon…

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Listen and Learn: A First Step Toward Reconciliation

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Jesus Christ is not just the Lord, Savior and Messiah of the Jews: he is the Lord, Savior and Messiah of all people. Through Christ a kingdom is being established that tears down tribal walls…

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Grieving

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I woke this morning to the news of the shooting death of Philando Castile by a police officer just a few miles from my home. He was pulled over because he had a broken tail…

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Jesus’ Different Kind of Nation

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God called Abraham to form a unique nation by which “all peoples of the earth will be blessed.” The unique call of the descendants of Abraham was to become a nation of servant-priests whom God…

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Women, Leadership, & the Bible

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Neither reason nor experience supports the notion that women cannot be gifted to exercise the highest levels of spiritual authority. There is simply no rationally discernable connection between a person’s gender and their natural ability…

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Some Thoughts on Women in Ministry

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Throughout the testimony of Scripture, we have examples of God tolerating many things that are far from ideal in order to gradually transform the world in the direction he intends for us. For example, God’s ideal…

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Revolting Against Classism

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All fallen societies and religions have a tendency to rank people according to class. All have ways of separating the insiders from the outsiders, the holy from the unholy and the more important people from…

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Willing to Bleed

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What does salvation have to do with social justice? Greg turns this often-politicized question on its head in this video by The Work of the People.

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The Kingdom of God ≠ Political Activism

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Given the centrality of following Jesus’ example, it is vitally important we not only notice that Jesus was a revolutionary (see post) along with some ways that we can join his revolution (see that post…

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As We Remember MLK

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If you’ve never read Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, you should take the time to do so. He wrote the letter to leaders of of the white churches in Birmingham in response to…

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Christena Cleveland on Practices for Sociological Imagination

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Christena Cleveland recently sat down with Tod Bolsinger (Vice President for Formation and Vocation at Fuller Theological Seminary) to discuss the intersection of privilege and leadership. You can find a series of short videos capturing different aspects…

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Is America Uniquely Favored by God?

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The tendency of wealth to entrap people in greed has been confirmed in numerous studies. Research has consistently shown that, generally speaking, the more people have, the less percentage of their income they tend to…

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Guest Post: Is Hell the Center of our Faith?

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My husband Andy and I had been living in the slums of North India for over a year by the time we returned to one of our sending churches for a visit. We met with…

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