I recently heard a friend say that going to an Al-Anon meeting was like going to church. This person talked about what it was like to be able sit together in such broken love. I’ve heard others talk or write about what it is like to walk into other12 Step meetings where they immediately feel […]
Some of King David’s last words were a challenge to his son. To Solomon, who would inherit the throne, he said, “Take courage and be a man” (1 Kings 2:2 nlt). What was this father saying? What did his son hear? Just as importantly, what do we hear in those words? Thousands of years later, […]
“Why Men Hate Going to Church” by author David Murrow stayed on my desk, unread for a long time, because it looked like an overstatement. But then I started reading and was intrigued by his suggestion that, of the world’s major religions, only Christianity seems to have a problem getting men. His assessment is that […]
Spent time over the weekend with two books that looked at the spirit of masculinity and femininity in the church from two different perspectives. One of these books, written by Denise George, is titled What Women Wish Pastors knew and is subtitled “Understanding the Hopes, Hurts, Needs, and Dreams of Women in the Church. The […]
Can the authority God gives be misused? The question may seem, at best, like a no-brainer. How else can we explain corruption of power or the evil things people do in the name of God? But I’m increasingly convinced that it’s important to carefully weigh the difference between God-given authority, strength, power, and freedom. Here […]
Over time, we all come across ideas that change the way we think about ourselves. For me, one of those thoughts is that a well-lived life is more like a symphony than a solo. The point takes nothing away from a solo. I love hearing Willie Nelson sing “September Song,” or LeAnn Rimes do her […]
Some of the most gruesome events of the Iraq war involved the beheading of enemies by terrorist cells. Yet long ago, David did it to the Philistine giant, Goliath (1Samuel 17). The Philistines later beheaded King Saul and hung his headless body on the city wall of Beth Shan (1Sam 31:9). John the Baptist suffered […]
I’m convinced that there are few callings more honorable or difficult than that of a pastor-shepherd. If we think the relationship between husband and wife is problematic, imagine the complexity involved in the relationship between church congregations and their spiritual leaders. Interestingly, the New Testament likens both church and marriage to a body and discusses at […]
Seems to me that if appointing anyone to the church office of elder or deacon– man or woman– would significantly divide the church over whether such an appointment was forbidden by the Bible, the better part of wisdom is to avoid such action until the church can act with unity. The New Testament is clear […]
The conversation we began yesterday about women and the Bible shows how many of us are trying to understand the intent of God for gender-based roles in the home and church. Together we have seen how followers of Christ divide over the interpretation and application of statements made by the Apostles Paul and Peter in […]
