Anger or Acceptance
Most American Christians realize our cultural context for ministry has changed dramatically in the past few years. The emotional response among many believers is anger—at the culture, media, politicians, Christian leaders, etc. This anger expresses itself in diatribes on social media, personal confrontations, and even militant protests. Anger like this is often driven by fear—in […]
Same Old, Same Old
We are facing serious problems today like pandemics, moral foundations vanishing from higher education, and economic difficulties brought on by global events. Prominent Christian leaders have spoken poignantly and passionately about these issues. On pandemics, one leader wrote, “It disturbs some that the power of this disease attacks our people equally with the heathens, as […]
Sportswashing
A new term—sportswashing—has been coined to describe using sports to legitimize questionable individual or organizational behavior. The emerging LIV Golf tour is the latest controversial example. LIV Golf is funded by the Saudi royal family and pundits are besides themselves with self-righteous indignation about the moral bankruptcy of this organization and how everyone associated with […]
The Rule of Law and Roe v. Wade
In a blog in November 2021, I wrote, “Respect for the rule of law is a foundation stone for a healthy democracy. This respect begins with the cop on the corner and extends to decisions made by the Supreme Court. Without respect for the rule of law, anarchy and vigilantism will eventually rule the day.” […]
Get Ready
The leaked Supreme Court brief which may preview a coming decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has sparked protests at Catholic churches, vandalism of Catholic Church facilities, and threats to disrupt worship services and other church events. These actions by pro-choice activists are designed to intimidate Catholic Supreme Court justices and convince the Catholic Church […]
Defining a Caring Community
Baylor University recently chartered Prism, its first LGBTQ+ campus organization. As reported in a university publication, Matt Burchett, assistant dean of philanthropic engagement and senior director of student activities, indicated Prism fulfills part of Baylor’s mission to create a “caring community grounded on its Christian commitment, leading toward the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community on […]
A Prediction Fulfilled
When Gavin Newsome infamously declared same-sex marriage legal in San Francisco in 2004, one of my predictions was that decision would lead to a complete redefinition of marriage and family in the United States. Sadly, that’s a prediction being fulfilled in one generation. Consensual non-monogamy—or “CNM,” because every movement needs its acronym—is the name for […]
Healthy Culture
In his book, The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle defined organizational culture as “a set of living relationships working toward a shared goal.” This is a value-neutral definition. When the living relationships are unhealthy and subset groups of people have their own shared agendas, culture is created—but not the kind of healthy culture needed for organizational […]
Christian Unity
Over the past few months, Christian unity (or the lack of it) has been at the forefront of my thinking. One particular verse has captivated me. In Colossians 3:15, the Bible mandates, “And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts.” The word translated “rule” means […]