When we gathered with Midtown Christian Community, I would sometimes open our services by reading a brief word of welcome that functioned to remind us of our identity.  Like some psalms, this is how Ephesians 1:3-14 functions within that letter, which was meant to be read aloud during worship.  It shaped the identity of the churches to […]

In several recent posts I stated that the gospel calls people to repent and obey Jesus.  Following Jesus by enacting new patterns of life is the instantiation or embodiment of faith. This doesn’t sound right to many evangelicals.  It sounds legalistic.  It sounds like I’m putting the demands of the gospel up front, whereas we’re […]

Last week I began drawing to a close some thoughts I’ve been developing over the last two months.  Today I’ll conclude this discussion, though related themes likely will continue to ride just beneath the surface of much of what I write on this blog.  Just to make things explicit, however, some conclusions and implications in thinking […]

I’ve been thinking this week about the importance of hope for a community, and the necessity of community to sustain hope.  A community must be compelled by a hopeful vision in order to flourish.  And when hope diminishes for individuals, the sustaining power of the community can restore that hopeful vision. This is beautifully depicted in […]

Lord, You have always given bread for the coming day; and though I am poor, today I believe. Lord, You have always given strength for the coming day; and though I am weak, today I believe. Lord, You have always given peace for the coming day; and though of anxious heart, today I believe. Lord, […]

When evangelicals consider spirituality, they place a high priority on spontaneity, equating it with authenticity.  Especially when it comes to prayer we are largely resistant to anything planned or intentional.  “Ritual” in prayer and worship is something of a four-letter word for us, usually preceded by the adjective “dead.” I once asked an undergraduate class how they […]

I’ve dipped into the new NIV for one reason or another recently and I must say that I really like it.  I’ve typically cited two passages in classes to highlight certain inadequacies of English translations.  The updated NIV nails them. The first is 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.  I use this text to point out that English […]

In a recent conversation about the relationship of divine and human action in salvation, someone used the following analogy.  This person was trying to demonstrate that salvation is pure gift and demands passivity from human recipients.  The magnitude of the gift is so overwhelming that any human involvement in the salvation transaction diminishes God’s glory. He […]

My posts since early August have been working toward what I’m calling the grammar of the gospel.  It’s something I’ve been thinking about for quite a while, it rides just under the surface of debates in Pauline studies over the last three decades, and has much to do with Scot McKnight’s new book, The King Jesus […]

I’m taking up a few more considerations this week with the aim of getting to grips with the grammar of the gospel.  A misconstrued gospel grammar relies upon setting Judaism over-against Christianity as a religion of legalism wherein God’s grace must be supplemented by works. Though very common, I don’t think this depiction of Judaism […]