Posts
The Kingdom of God ≠ Political Activism
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Kingdom Revolution, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
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…
7 Ways to Join the Kingdom Revolution
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Kingdom Revolution
Topics: Following Jesus
In the previous post, I introduced in short form the call to participate in the kingdom revolution that Jesus began. What does this mean for us today? Let me offer seven ways we are called…
Kingdom Revolution
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Revolution, Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
Topics: The Church
To properly understand an action, you need to interpret it in the light of the social context in which it takes place. For example, if we were to hear about a white male offering his…
Covenant vs. Contract
Category: General
Topics: Faith & Doubt
Here’s another video clip that came out of Greg’s interviews with Travis Reed from The Work of the People. Is your faith covenantal or contractual?
Lighten Up: Bruxy Bloopers
Category: Lighten Up
Tags: Bruxy Cavey, Lighten Up
https://youtu.be/pwV4WTR0nWw We love it when preachers have a well-developed sense of their own silliness.
God’s Church is Not “Pretty”
Category: General
Tags: Authenticity, Church, Community, Honesty, Love, Truth
Topics: The Church
This week we’ve been looking at various aspects of what it means to be the church. Today, I want to address the paradox of how the church can be both beautiful and ugly at the…
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…