Faith Improvised

The Christian church is the people of God that live into the full range of reality as it is. It is broken and at the same time beautiful. And while we’ve been caught up into God’s saving reality, its fullness isn’t here yet. In Mark 2:19-20, Jesus alludes to this paradox for his disciples. Jesus […]

I’ve been giving some thought to Paul as a pastoral theologian (or maybe a theologically-oriented pastor, or, more likely, a pastor who theologically interprets community conflict and offers counsel in accordance with resurrection realities). At any rate, this passage in N. T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God struck a chord: Paul was a […]

I arise today Through the strength of heaven; Light of the sun, Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind, Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth, Firmness of the rock. I arise today Through God’s strength to pilot me; God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye […]

Cross-bearing Lord, Come to all those places where the power of death would hold and force its way and say a redemptive word: Where there is human wreckage, like those precious children of yours bombed out and foreclosed; Where refugees and immigrants wonder where next they will sleep and if anyone wants them anymore: Where […]

I’m doing some work on the unity of God’s people in Paul’s letters while also preparing a discussion on the significance of the Lord’s Supper for this Sunday. While reading this morning in N. T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God, this section jumped out at me. The Lord’s Supper should be a moment […]

O God, who before the passion of your only-­begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and […]

A few weeks ago I posted Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words about the ideal church. It doesn’t exist, it’s idolatrous to pursue it, and it’s an ultimately oppressive quest. We were discussing the first generation church in class today and noting how Luke tells the story in Acts. He writes of the sharp dispute between the church […]

I’m enjoying Ronald Osborn‘s excellent new book, Death Before the Fall: Biblical Literalism and the Problem of Animal Suffering (IVP Academic). Its title explains the book’s basic thrust. Before exploring the possibility of animal suffering and death before the fall in the last third of his work, Osborn critiques a reading of Genesis 1-2 that demands […]

U2 appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s first night hosting The Tonight Show earlier this week. They played “Invisible” on the roof of 30 Rockefeller Center and then performed “Ordinary Love” acoustically in the show’s studio. I’m working through several New Testament texts on gospel inclusion, and running through my mind over the last few weeks is […]

Luke’s Gospel is filled with eating.  There are 19 meals in Luke, 13 of which are unique to his account.  If you love to eat, Luke is your Gospel! Meals are occasions for Kingdom dynamics, for the experience of redemptive realities. They are occasions for healing and hospitality (9:10-17; 10:5-7) for fellowship and celebration (13:29), […]