I’ve mentioned previously that one of the tasks of Christian teachers and pastors is to continue to shape the imaginations of Christian communities by creatively capturing gospel realities through new and faithful expressions. When we use the same old speech patterns to speak of Christian realities, those realities become less and less compelling.  We lose […]

I’ve been discussing passive-aggressive relational postures on and off for the last few weeks.  It’s worth lifting up the hood on this basic relational orientation because it is so pervasive and so subtle. Many Christians are self-deceived into imagining that passive-aggressive attitudes and behaviors are somehow closely related to cruciformity and humility. But they most […]

A personality profile once indicated that I tend to judge others on their verbal skills.  I’ll admit it.  I am indeed highly attuned to others’ facility with words. As I’ve indicated previously, this can be a problem for me since my sole engagement with radio and television has to do with sports.  Listening to former […]

Rep. Todd Akin’s comments about rape last week ignited a firestorm.  His ignorance of female anatomy and human reproduction, and his insensitivity to rape victims caused great offense. There is much I’d like to say about many aspects of this discussion, but I’ll make just this one point: If I were a policy-maker in power […]

When you think of the Apostle Paul, what sort of contemporary job or career or social station do you imagine him occupying? Do you see him as an executive person, an administrator?  Does he wear business casual, shop at a department store, play golf, drive a sporty 4-door car, and live in a leafy suburb? […]

  I’ve been blogging inconsistently over the last month or so.  This is partially because I’ve been moonlighting for the U.S. Department of Inclement Weather (c’mon, no one gets that movie reference!?). Over the past few weeks, however, I’ve been posting about passive-aggressive relational strategies.  What’s frustrating about passive-aggressive postures is that a person can […]

Referring to preaching and teaching, a wise pastor once said, “don’t always be the hero of your own stories.” That was great advice. When I was younger, I heard so many anecdotes and illustrations from preachers and teachers that were unrealistic or highly embellished.  I remember hearing one preacher talking about a conversation he had […]

I’m nearly finished with The Poisonwood Bible and am beginning to read it slowly.  I dread the prospect of a good story’s end. Good stories don’t necessarily teach tidy lessons.  Lame stories and sermons do that. Good stories open the world to us and they open us up to ourselves.  They cast fresh light on […]

I don’t follow the national political scene as closely as some, so I may have missed earlier pieces, but I encountered today for the first time this election season an article asking the question, Is this the dirtiest election in history? C’mon, we ask this every four years. It usually comes about mid-August, the slowest […]

I’ve been exploring some of the dynamics associated with passive-aggressive postures.  For a variety of reasons, such ways of relating are common among American evangelical church cultures. Such relational postures seem acceptable because they give one the illusion that one is being humble, even cruciform (being shaped by the cross). As Jamie commented a few […]