This year Starbucks, which acknowledges Christmas with elaborate store decorations, special edition tree ornaments, holiday music in its stores, and a seasonal coffee called “Christmas Blend,” is drawing the fire of the defenders of Christmas by unveiling it’s red 2015 holiday cup which features the green Starbucks logo, but no other Christmas imagery. The culture […]
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Christians, Please Stop Embracing War
January 29, 2015 
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Part of American Christianity has planted its flag in the issue of war. Defending America’s use of violence, and subsequently all actions carried out by the American military, has become a matter of patriotism as well as devotion to God. This past week Fox News’ commentator, Todd Starnes, in response to criticism of the film American […]
Continue reading Review of 2014
December 31, 2014 0 Comments
Here are a few things that many of us took in in 2014. These items are things that I thought were significant, impacting, or just fun. Serial Early this year many people were predicting that podcasts were on the decline. Then at the beginning of October Serial appeared, and changed the world. Serial was a weekly […]
Continue reading Naughty or Nice and Christmas Warriors
November 19, 2014 1 Comment
Every year the American Family Association releases the Naughty or Nice List. This is a rating of the level to which American retailers acknowledge Christmas. Companies on the Nice list are considered “Christmas-friendly.” The Nice list includes Ace Hardware, JC Penny, and Target among others. The Marginal list includes Starbucks and Best Buy. The dreaded Naughty […]
Continue reading Ebola and the Politics of Fear
November 16, 2014 0 Comments
“This deadly virus has acquired a death toll of nearly 5,000 individuals worldwide. In order to successfully control this outbreak, community engagement is KEY.” That is an excerpt from a letter which I received this week from my Republican representative to the state congress of Virginia (a state which has had not even a rumor of Ebola). Most […]
Continue reading Does Christianity Justify Bad Behavior?
September 10, 2014 0 Comments
It seems that every few years there is a spate of scandal surrounding a handful of influential Christian leaders. These controversies are rarely handled with the grace and respect for the victim that I believe Jesus would exhibit.
Continue reading The Power of the Weak – A Review of David and Goliath
October 27, 2013 0 Comments
I am often amazed to find more alignment with what I consider to be the way of Jesus in “secular” writers and thinkers than in the leaders of the Christian world. David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell is a book that demonstrates that the subversive way of Jesus is not a lifestyle that only exists within the […]
Continue reading Same Love
September 7, 2013 0 Comments
I recently heard an interview with a Christian musician who was talking about the way we affect people in society through the music and art that we create. He mentioned the way Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ song Same Love is having a huge effect on young people and their attitudes toward gay people. I found that […]
Continue reading Lincoln
November 26, 2012 1 Comment
Lincoln is nearly a perfect film. From the opening scene until the last moment it is compelling, emotional, beautiful, and sophisticated. Lincoln tells the story of our sixteenth president’s struggle to end slavery in the United States. The film’s focus is the passage of the thirteenth amendment. The characterization of Abraham Lincoln in this movie is without […]
Continue reading The Word of the Lord for You
July 8, 2012 0 Comments
A review of The Word of the Lord to Evangelicals by Brian McLaren It has been a very long time since I was kept awake late into the night because I simply could not put down a book I was reading. Last night I began The Word of the Lord to Evangelicals at about 11pm and I could not stop […]
Continue reading Red Letter Politics
April 17, 2012 0 Comments
A review of Red Letter Christian by Tony Campolo Red Letter Christians is a book about a Christians response to political issues. The title refers to the red letters used for the words of Jesus in many Bibles. Dr. Campolo implores his readers to follow the red letters of Jesus rather than aligning our political views […]
Continue reading Blue Like Jazz
March 15, 2012 1 Comment
Several years ago I read two books that completely changed the way I understand the Christian life. The first was Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, and the second was Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. Blue Like Jazz is a bit like of a collection of essays that together tell the story of the authors journey of faith. […]
Continue reading Moneyball & Change
February 6, 2012 2 Comments
There are a few types of movies that I don’t like: movies about animals, movies about babies, slasher movies, and movies about boats. There is another type of movie that I don’t want to like, but I just can’t help it: sports movies. How can you not get fired up by We Are Marshall, Remember […]
Continue reading Pyro-Theology of Insurrection
February 3, 2012 0 Comments
A review of Insurrection by Peter Rollins I really do not know how to describe this book. It is a book like few others that I have ever read. It is certainly not simply informational, but it is an experience. The title is intended to connect the concept of Insurrection with resurrection. The book offers a radical understanding of […]
Continue reading Jesus & Presidential Politics
December 31, 2011 0 Comments
A review of Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne & Chris Haw If you watch television news at all, you should know that the presidential election is quickly approaching. Potential candidates are wrestling for the top spot, pundits are speculating, and the rest of us are trying to sort though the exaggerations and hyperbole to discern who we […]
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Read Excerpts of Persecution Complex
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Christians & Russia
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Protest=Love
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Being Thankful Improves Your Life
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News Feeds and Itching Ears
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Invested in Fear
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Politics and Duty
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Separating Jesus from the Rules
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Will God Pour Out Judgment on America for Affirming Gay Marriage?
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Did God Sink the Titanic?
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Brittany D: Grateful for sharring this...
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Carol Flaningam: I honestly wonder if the Holy Spirit looks on this...
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Ken M: Take love, unity, and service for Christ and other...
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Are American Christians Persecuted? It’s Complicated. (a book review) – thoughts, prayers & songs: my journey from self-absorption to doxology: […] Habitat For Humanity and works to extend...
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Drake: I'm totally on board your overall assertion, but w...
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