Category Archives: Challenging conventional doctrine

“Speaking of Jesus – The Art of Not-Evangelism” by Carl Medearis (book review)

This is a review, but mostly a recommendation, of Carl Medearis’ book Speaking of Jesus – The Art of Not-Evangelism.  I’ll get to the review in a minute, but I’ll start by saying up front:  seriously, this is a book you should buy and read.  If you’re a Christian who’s interested in evangelism, you should read it.  If you’re sick to death of Christians trying … Continue reading “Speaking of Jesus – The Art of Not-Evangelism” by Carl Medearis (book review) »

Book Review — Red Letter Revolution by Shane Claiborne & Tony Campolo

When I first heard that Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne were doing a book on Red Letter Christianity, I was pretty excited.  I have a great deal of respect for both men, and while I don’t always agree with either, I think their prophetic voice in the church is beyond any reasonable dispute.  So I actively sought a review copy of the book, and the … Continue reading Book Review — Red Letter Revolution by Shane Claiborne & Tony Campolo »

Book Recommendation: The Word of the Lord to Evangelicals (Brian McLaren)

Brian McLaren has recently come out with three little fiction e-books:  The Word of the Lord to Evangelicals, The Word of the Lord to Republicans, and The Word of the Lord to Democrats. I heartily and without reservation recommend The Word of the Lord to Evangelicals to everyone who reads this blog.  It’s a wonderful little parable in which we follow Wheaton College student Wendy … Continue reading Book Recommendation: The Word of the Lord to Evangelicals (Brian McLaren) »

Why I Don’t Accept the Nicene Creed

In Scot McKnight book The King Jesus Gospel, which I reviewed a little while ago, Scot issued an interesting challenge: “I have always encountered people who boldly announce to me that they are ‘noncredal’ and even say ‘I don’t believe in the creeds’ because of their next words: ‘I believe in the Bible.’ I respond with one question, and I think I ask this question … Continue reading Why I Don’t Accept the Nicene Creed »

Heaven is not a Destination but a Way of Life

The concept and ideas around heaven is one of things that has been hijacked and subverted from its original understanding. I once heard N.T Wright eloquently say it like this: “heaven is great but its not the end of the world.” Unfortunately most Christians believe that heaven is simply a destination and that death then heaven is what eternal life means. Of course there is … Continue reading Heaven is not a Destination but a Way of Life »

Tom Wright on the Creeds

Tom (N.T.) Wright recently gave a lecture at Calvin College that I appreciated very much.  In it, he drew attention to an important issue I’ve written about here before: the over-simplification of faithfulness to Christ that takes place when creeds and statements of faith occupy a central position.  I know my own position is more extreme than Wright’s…he suggests putting the creeds in their rightful … Continue reading Tom Wright on the Creeds »

I Know What I believe AND I know Why I believe it

On Facebook recently I shared an article by Rachel Held Evans on Facebook. It was a great article with a simple desire to point out that asking tough questions about the text is not a slippery slope to faith abandonment. The sharing of this article sparked a dialogue both online and offline with a number of people which got me thinking and led to the … Continue reading I Know What I believe AND I know Why I believe it »

Of Gender and Leadership

On her blog, Rachel Held Evans has just issued a challenge to Christian men, to respond to John Piper’s recent pontifications on God’s having given Christianity “a masculine feel.” I suppose it will come as no surprise to most of my readers that I take neither a conventional “egalitarian” nor “complementarian” approach to the issue. Rachel is absolutely right to call Piper out on this. … Continue reading Of Gender and Leadership »

The King Jesus Gospel – Book Review

Scot McKnight’s latest book The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited, is a worthwhile read and I commend it to all who believe that the message of Jesus is, can be, or ought to be genuinely “good news.”  McKnight has done an excellent job of analyzing what Jesus and the first-century Apostles meant when they spoke of the “gospel” (gospel being derived from … Continue reading The King Jesus Gospel – Book Review »