The utility and morality of orthodox Christian social beliefs can be debated. But according to Christian teaching, it is licit, perhaps even mandatory, to withdraw and walk away—“shake the dust off your feet”—rather than violate one’s conscience or become corrupted by the world.   We’ve all heard of the idea of a general worker’s strike.... Continue Reading

I love pastors. I love their hearts. I love their commitment to God and to the churches they serve. I also love new pastors. It is fascinating to hear their thoughts after they have served as a pastor for a year or two. I have assembled some of those thoughts in the form of direct... Continue Reading

In fact, prior to the 1920s, all stripes of white Protestants who were in the mainline churches were Progressive in politics and had no trouble with Prohibition, opposing Roman Catholicism, or censoring American letters. It may come as a surprise to learn that “evangelicals” were Progressive.   Readers may be hard pressed to figure out... Continue Reading

“The Court of Appeals ruled that the District Court was correct when it applied neutral principles of law. Under neutral principles, the court bases its decision in neutral, secular principles, looking at official documents such as property deeds and state statutes.”   On July 18, the Minnesota State Supreme Court denied the petition from the... Continue Reading

The growing popularity of nondenominational identity is the result of two trends: the decline in the number of Protestants overall, as more Americans eschew any religious affiliation (becoming “the nones”), and shrinking denominations themselves.   Ask an American Christian what type of church they belong to, and you’re more likely than ever to hear the... Continue Reading

“If politics is not and never has been the center of my life in church, why would I leave my church (for what else can “leaving evangelicalism” typically mean?) because lots of self-identifying evangelicals, including some at my church, voted for Trump?”   The election of Donald Trump has elicited a great deal of frustration... Continue Reading

Many ministries within the local church fail to thrive or even collapse altogether because the leader of that ministry is an eager doer but reluctant delegator. When there is a difficult situation or when a key person fails to show up, her first instinct is to just do the task herself. This may be a... Continue Reading

According to the CCLI database, “The Wonderful Cross” was written by Chris Tomlin, Isaac Watts, J.D. Walt, Jesse Reeves, and Lowell Mason. By doing so, Tomlin, Walt, and Reeves have hijacked Watts’ poetry (Mason composed the tune, HAMBURG), added a very minimal contribution of their own, copyrighted it, and have proceeded to financially benefit from... Continue Reading

In whatever sense people may or may not view Jesus as a “liberator”, as does Cone, He is first and foremost the Liberator of human beings from the bondage of sin through His propitiatory death on the cross (Rom. 6:10; 1 Jn. 3:5). It is this spiritual liberation that the Black Church – and the Church universal – must again... Continue Reading

The panelists like CAP’s Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative Vice President LaShawn Warren dismissed any Judeo-Christian objections to abortion advocacy. “There are conservatives who will raise a few biblical passages primarily from the Book of Jeremiah and Job about reproductive healthcare,” yet the “Bible has very little to say about abortion.” The “trained theo-ethicist” Leonard concurred that the “Bible didn’t say... Continue Reading