Growing up in North Alabama, I remember going through specific routines in the event of an emergency. I doubt there was a kid who did not know why or when you need to stop, drop, and roll. We were trained in protocols in the event of a tornado, calmly lining up in the hallway and securing our heads from potential debris. We knew how to exit the buildings in case of a fire in a single-file line to safe zones outside. All of these procedures were responses to various kinds of potential disasters we could encounter while in school. Now what, do you think, are the possibilities that I as a kid in elementary school would actually need to follow through on those drills? How often would a tornado tear through our building? How often would a fire consume the classrooms? Hardly ever, if at all, rig...

One of Jesus’ most vivid and powerful illustrations for the believer’s relationship with him is the vine and branches. Just as branches can only bear fruit if they abide in the vine, so the only way believers can glorify the Father through fruitful lives is by abiding in Jesus. The teaching is found in John 15, where Jesus prepares his disciples for his imminent death and departure, by instructing them about their calling and mission as his disciples, and emphasizing their absolute dependence on him. As Jesus says in verse 5, I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Unpacking the metaphor This picture is a rich metaphor that needs unpacking. The vine is Jesus, while we (believers, disciples...

Several states in the U.S. are now considering legislation that would provide explicit protections to citizens whose consciences will not allow an endorsement of same-sex marriage. The bills vary by state, as do the prospects for legislative passage, but the key issues remain constant. Millions of American citizens are facing a direct collision between their moral convictions and the demands of their government. The cases are now piling up. A wedding photographer in New Mexico, cake bakers in Colorado and Oregon, and a florist in Washington State have all found themselves in this predicament. Each now faces the coercive power of the state. They are being told, in no uncertain terms, that they must participate in providing services for same-sex weddings or go out of business. The bills now ...

I was raised American poor. I call it American poor because the brand of poverty I lived through pales in comparison to some of the 3rd world poverty I’ve seen firsthand in India, Colombia and El Salvador. But, by United States standards, my family was poor. Although we qualified for food stamps my mom refused to take advantage of them. She felt in some weird way that this would be admitting defeat and stealing from the government. Although she should have gotten alimony from at least one of the four marriages she had experienced in her relatively young life, she didn’t get any. Our family experience was filled with deadbeat dads (whom we never saw), hard work and pressing bills. To add insult to a high possibility of injury my mom, brother and I lived in one of the highest crime rate area...

There possibly isn’t a more complex yet important topic as race as it relates to the Word of God and the church. To understand our differences and why they are good, we must first understand our origin. Because of the sin of partiality and pride, it is problematic for some to truly believe the idea of racial equality. But this equality isn’t a man-made, modern, social justice theory. We aren’t arguing for something unjust. Rather, the equality of people originated from God. J. Daniel Hays wrote a compelling book, From Every People and Nation, addressing the biblical theology of race. In it he explores the origins of race and ethnicity, looking at current-day definitions, stereotypes, and poor biblical interpretation, reevaluating the concepts, and expounding Scripture. For him, and for us,...

What Culture Is Made Of The three “ingredients” of culture are truth, goodness, and beauty. Truth deals with facts, with the way things are. Goodness speaks to what is morally right, or the way things ought to be. Beauty relates to what is pleasing and to what can be imagined. It’s no surprise that Christians are lovers of truth and goodness. After all, Jesus himself said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). Meanwhile the Scriptures are filled with clear words from God about what is good that is to be emulated and upheld, as well as what is evil that is to be avoided and restrained. When it comes to beauty, however, the church has a bit of a rocky relationship. We seem unsure of its role and importance in the Christian life. We’re apathetic about beaut...

American culture is fascinated with celebrities. American evangelicalism, as a subset of American culture, is too. For some reason, there remains a persistent belief that the public testimony of a well known athlete or entertainer will be more effective than that of a regular Joe. I’ll concede that for the value of gaining attention, a high profile name works better than an unknown. People will watch, for example, Mark Driscoll interview Russell Wilson because he is a pro quarterback who won a Super Bowl. I get that. And whenever a clear word of testimony about Jesus Christ is given, I rejoice. What concerns me is the tendency to think that having someone like Russell Wilson give his testimony is more powerful than a regular Joe. The thought seems to be that since Russell Wilson, or some o...

When I first started hearing about the ministry of Steven Furtick, I thought someone was describing a character from Doug Wilson’s novel Evangellyfish. Here is the quintessential rock-star pastor replete with narcissistic reflection and a following that will jump when he snaps his fingers or when he bites his lip under the glow of stage lights (see here and here). It seems Furtick is not too unlike Wilson’s fictional character, Johnny Quinn: And at one point in the church’s history there might have been a handful of people disturbed by this kind of thing in the church, but they had all died and gone to heaven quite a number of years before. Frankly, none of these people cared about it now, apparently having better things to think about. But Johnny still agonized over su...

God is perfect; he lacks nothing. God is holy; he is set apart and wholly separate from sin. As with many of God’s attributes, he desires to communicate perfection and holiness to his creation. So he did. Lucifer, an angel of God’s, did not get enough of God’s perfection and holiness. He wanted it all. He rebelled against God and lost all of what God gave him. He became God’s nemesis – renamed Satan. Ever since, Satan wishes for holiness’s ruin. He elicited the fall of Adam and Eve, depriving them of holiness. He continues on his rampage against holiness. He wants our help; he wants co-conspirators. And humanity is altogether too quick to comply, but that’s our nature. God’s enemy employs five methods to ruin holiness: relativism, tolerance, contextualization, liberty and legalism. Relativ...

Apart from an active faith in God’s sovereignty and grace, it’s easy to throw up our hands and adopt a “What’s the use?” mentality. If it’s going to be so hard to make really significant improvements, what does it matter if things deteriorate a little further? This sort of faithless attitude could apply to the “house” that is our life, or the “house” that’s the regular environment in which we live and work. We could all come up with lots of good reasons to remain passive. The problems seem too numerous, and many seem too large. You see yourself as one little person, in one little place, at one little moment in time, and it just doesn’t seem logical that you could make any difference at all. To be specific, let me propose three arguments that we all tend to make at one time or another that ...

Few people have anything approaching an articulate philosophy—at least as epitomized by the great philosophers. Even fewer, I suspect, have a carefully constructed theology. But everyone has a worldview. Whenever any of us thinks about anything—from a casual thought (Where did I leave my watch?) to a profound question (Who am I?)—we are operating within such a framework. In fact, it is only the assumption of a worldview—however basic or simple—that allows us to think at all.  What, then, is this thing called a worldview that is so important to all of us? I’ve never even heard of one. How could I have one? That may well be the response of many people. One is reminded of M. Jourdain in Jean Baptiste Molière’s The Bourgeois Gentleman, who suddenly discovered he...

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) That’s Peter’s direct and simple instruction to a church of “pilgrims” or “sojourners” scattered throughout the world, suffering persecution for righteousness’ sake. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” The Action Cast all your anxiety. Anxiety is not meant to be held onto. It’s not a treasure or a keep-sake. Anxiety is not a bosom friend or a comfort toy. Anxiety is an enemy. It’s an enemy to a sober mind. It’s an enemy to peace. It’s an enemy to faith. Anxiety chews at the roots of the plant of faith and life until, having eaten away the root system completely, it leaves us like stalks stuffed into fertile soil but with no way of gathering nourishment and nutrients. Dishonest Christians pretend the...