Posts
The Purpose of the Church
Category: General
Tags: Church, Kingdom Living
Topics: The Church
Unlike most social groups, the relationships forged in the body of Christ are not ends in and of themselves. Rather, Christ calls us to unite with other believers for a unique purpose: to grow in,…
Dismembered: The Church and Individualism
Category: General
Tags: Body of Christ, Church, House Churches, Individualism, Western Assumptions
Topics: The Church
Those God has saved are called to be the church, not go to church. This distinction is vitally important. The church consists of all those who entered into the new covenant that Jesus inaugurated by…
The Problem with “Church”
Category: General
Tags: Church, Constantine, Politics, Power
Topics: The Church
Many people think of church as a religious building people attend once a week to sing, hear a sermon, take an offering and perhaps participate in the Lord’s Supper (or “take Communion”). Many refer to the…
The Universal Experience of the “Spiritual”
Category: General
Tags: Angels, Demons, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
Humans have from prehistoric times generally assumed the reality of spirits who transcend our physical existence. Outside of post-Enlightenment western intellectual culture the belief in spirits is almost universal. Whether conceptualized as spirits of nature…
Angels and Spirits in a Secular World
Category: General
Tags: Angels, Demons, Spiritual Warfare
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
This week, we’ve been thinking about why we should believe in a spiritual realm in a world shaped by secular thought. One argument that supports the belief that spirits are real is the oldest, most…
Jesus and the Reality of Spiritual Warfare
Category: General
Tags: Demons, Jesus, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
In yesterday’s post, we discussed how challenging it can be to believe in the reality of a spiritual realm in the modern world. Today, let’s look at how Jesus’ ministry relates to this spiritual reality….
4 Reasons to Believe in a Spiritual Realm
Category: General
Tags: Angels, Demons, Spiritual Warfare
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
For the last century, a large number of theologians and church leaders have claimed that the biblical view of spiritual warfare—where there is an actual realm where angels and demons exist—is no longer believable. The…
Lighten Up: How to Move Through Fear
Category: Lighten Up
Tags: Fear, Lighten Up
Are you struggling with fear over a new challenge? Here are two simple techniques that might help you to get past it. Have a great weekend everyone! Video credit: Emily Pereira on The Huffington Post
Do the Gospels Promote Anti-Semitism?
Category: General
Tags: Anti-Semitism, Gospels, Jesus, Religious Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Over the last couple of weeks we have been looking at various passages from the Gospels that have been used by some to argue that Jesus condones violence. Here is a link to each of…
Why Didn’t Jesus Denounce Military Service?
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Military, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
A common objection to the claim that Jesus and the authors of the New Testament were opposed to all forms of violence is that neither Jesus nor anyone else speaks out against it. When soldiers…
Help Us Name Our Connecting Site!
Category: General
Tags: Connecting, Kingdom Revolution
As most of you know, there is a fledgling kingdom movement that is rising up around the globe today. It is a post-Christendom, neo-Anabaptist movement that I’ve sometimes described as “a Jesus-looking God raising up…
As We Remember MLK
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Martin Luther King, Racial Reconciliation
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
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…
Lighten Up: Learning from Kids
Category: Lighten Up
Tags: Forgiveness, Kids, Kindness, Lighten Up
Our football team in Minnesota (the Vikings) lost in the first round of the playoffs last Sunday in a most heartbreaking way due to a missed field goal. The kicker (Blair Walsh) has had to…
Did Jesus Instruct Us to Arm Ourselves?
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Kingdom Living, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Verse: Luke 22
Over the past few posts, I’ve been dealing with the passages that are frequently used to argue how Jesus condoned violence. One of these takes place just after the last supper and just before Jesus and…
Jesus Came to Bring a Sword?
Category: General
Tags: Conflict, Jesus, Non-Violence, Peace
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Verse: Matthew 10
Jesus said: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). Some, both modern scholars along with church leaders…
Lighten Up: Imperfect People
Category: General
Just in case you were wondering if God could use you. Video credit: RightNow Media
Why Did Jesus Curse a Barren Fig Tree?
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
While no one argues that the NT advocates violence explicitly, many allege that some passages reflect violent attitudes toward outsiders, and especially toward non-believing Jews, while others detect an element of violence in some of…
Violent Parables?
Category: General
Tags: God's Character, Jesus, Non-Violence, Parables
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Some try to argue that Jesus did not make loving enemies and refraining from violence an absolute mandate. They make their case on the basis of several passages from the Gospels. The first concerns the…
Was Jesus Unloving Towards the Pharisees?
Category: General
Tags: Enemy Love, Jesus, Love
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Some claim that Jesus spoke to religious leaders in ways that did not reflect the love of the cross. In his climatic encounter with the Pharisees in Matthew 23, Jesus’ words were undeniably harsh. He…