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 […]

Our heavily-wooded neighborhood makes for a delightful daily aviary drama. Blue Jays and Northern Cardinals populate our backyard. They serve as tragic reminders to this Cub fan of Joe Carter, Bruce Sutter, and Lou Brock. But their brilliant colors are simply stunning against the rich green of the bushes and our massive maples. Goldfinches dash across […]

I return every once in a while to the relationship of faith to obedience.  Daniel Kirk bangs this drum regularly, too. To my mind, there can never be enough voices emphasizing that these are nearly synonymous for Paul and not at all in opposition. In his essay in Four Views on the Apostle Paul, Luke […]

There is much that I’ve seriously appreciated about Luke Timothy Johnson’s essay in Four Views on the Apostle Paul.  In the following paragraph, he stresses the cosmic character of salvation and rightly places the salvation of individuals within larger frames of reference.  I think he’s saying something very important here, but I’m not entirely sure […]

For our Galatians course this fall, we’ll be reading and critically engaging Lou Martyn’s landmark commentary.  I’m looking forward to some lively discussions and new discoveries as we work through it together. Here’s what Richard Hays had to say about Martyn’s work: In sum, Lou Martyn has written what I take to be the most […]

I am enjoying the new Four Views on The Apostle Paul, edited by Mike Bird.  I’ve found especially interesting the essay by Luke Timothy Johnson, who sums up his essay with this: In his most sustained reflection on the nature and task of the church, Paul proposes that the role of the church is to […]