Jesus Manifesto: Review May 31, 2010

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola have thoughtfully written their newest book, Jesus Manifesto, in an “ancient devotional tone,” seeking to “show the difference between invoking the name of Jesus in vain and using His name in a way that reveals His beauty and honors His person” (introduction, p. xx). They explained that the purpose of [...]

Jesus Manifesto: Introduction May 31, 2010

I’ve been working my way through Leonard Sweet and Paul Viola’s book Jesus Manifesto. So far, I’ve read a lot of great insight calling the church back to seeing and savoring the sovereignty and supremacy of Jesus Christ. I’ll be posting some of my favorite quotes as I continue. From the introduction, pages xix-xx, Sweet [...]

What is a conversation? May 20, 2010

Recently I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have an ongoing conversation. I am not talking about someone giving a monologue and shoving a philosophy or a theology down your throat, but I am talking about where people willingly engage each other honestly. Let me be quick to say that I [...]

Theological Question 1a: Does God Love Everyone the Same? March 27, 2010

I think it will be interesting and relevant to discuss certain important theological questions from a Biblical standpoint.  As this post suggests, I intend to write a few blog posts on each topic, the first being “Does God Love Everyone?  If so, does He love everyone in exactly the same way?”.  Just to give a [...]

How hard should we fight against porn and other sexual immorality? June 11, 2009

“I take the TV out of my hotel room at night and deposit it with a co-worker. I bring home the receipts from my trips and ask my wife to verify that no pornographic movies were purchased. I put a filter on my notebook computer, which would send an email to my wife if I [...]

There is hope for the porn addict. June 10, 2009

I was planning on jumping right into discussing the things that I’m struggling with right now, but I realized that doing so would not do justice to God and the work that He has been doing in me over the past five years, and so I’m going to share a little bit about what the [...]

Things that are too tough for me. [Introduction] June 9, 2009

It’s so easy to talk about objective issues that don’t affect or challenge the way I live. I figure it’s about time to address some of the things that I struggle with and that I simply can’t do right, since I definitely don’t want to come across as one who thinks that he’s perfect and doesn’t need any help from anyone. That’s simply not the case. This series will hit a number of issues that are of personal relevance to me (and hopefully expose my sinful humanity), but I’m going to start with the foundations of why these issues are issues. Therefore, this introductory post will be applicable to all of humanity whereas the following posts will focus on what I personally am wrestling with (though others undoubtedly will share some of my struggles).

Part of this idea comes from something Derek Webb said in his “Intro to I Repent” from his “The House Show” album:

“[The best thing that could ever happen to you] is that your sin would be literally exposed in the five-o’-clock news. Your deepest, darkest, most embarrassing sin. The one you work the hardest to hide, would be broadcast on the five-o’-clock news. Best thing that would ever happen to you… Because I am so weary, I am so tired of having to hide my sin from people. Of deceiving people about who I really am–I’m tired of it!”

Are men and women created equal? June 8, 2009

In his book, Freedom and Boundaries, Kevin DeYoung says that through the first few chapters of Genesis, we can see that God created mean and women “equal in worth, dignity and honor.”  Just because the complementarian perspective doesn’t allow for women to be ordained to positions of authority over men doesn’t mean that the reasons [...]

“This is going to cause division in the church!” June 7, 2009

It’s not uncommon when Christians respond to discussions and debates over controversial issues with an objection such as, “This issue is so controversial.  Isn’t it just going to cause division in the church?”  Doesn’t this go against Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21, where Jesus prays that “[those who believe in Him through the Apostles' word] [...]

Did God design women and men with any inherent differences? June 7, 2009

Since a recent post of mine secondarily brought up the question of how women should be involved in the Church, I thought it would be good to follow it up with a post specifically on that issue.  What should Christians do when our culture says that gender roles are simply social constructs?  What does God [...]