The religious landscape of the United States is undergoing a massive cultural shift. In September 2017, the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) released the "single largest survey of American religious and denominational identity ever conducted." According to the study, in America: 43% self-identify as "white and Christian," compared to 81% in 1976. 24% self-identify as…
Continue reading ➞ The Future of Religion, or Why Church Needs to Change
On December 4, 2015, Jerry Falwell, Jr. - the president of Liberty University - stood in front of 10,000 Christian students and faculty members during a weekly chapel service and said, "If more good people had concealed [handgun] carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in." Falwell was referencing the terrorist…
Continue reading ➞ A Biblical Case for Christian Nonviolence
Was Jesus a conservative? A liberal? If he could, would he have voted Democrat or Republican? Would Jesus have even voted? Would he have had anything to do with modern politics, at all? Or is there more going on in the Gospels? Are we even asking the right questions? I think the answers to these…
Continue reading ➞ The Flag and the Cross: The Religious Seduction of Politics and Power
During Super Bowl XLVII, the Coca-Cola Company set the internet on fire. The one-minute ad titled "It's Beautiful" aired during the pregame commercial break, and by the end of the night, public response to the ad quickly outpaced interest in the game itself (a 43 - 8 blowout win for the Seattle Seahawks against the…
Continue reading ➞ Scandalous Grace in an Era of Moral Outrage and White Supremacists
About a year and a half ago, I changed how chose which books I read. Prior to my decision, I read books purely for knowledge - reading became a way to obtain intellectual insight into the mysteries of God and faith. And I soon found myself losing the joy of reading. Because reading became a…
Continue reading ➞ Eight Books That Will Blow Your Mind and Challenge Your Faith
Our stuff is killing us. The average American home includes more than 300,000 individual items. Our closets average 103 individual items per person, even though we only wear twenty percent of our wardrobe with regularity. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Americans collectively spend more than $1.2 trillion on nonessential goods. The…
Continue reading ➞ Less Is More: Reclaiming Christian Simplicity from the American Dream
Despite near-limitless opportunities for connectivity, millennials are finding themselves in a world of increasingly dire social isolation. Popular television shows like Friends, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and New Girl depict modern urban life as an endless parade of zany misadventures, unannounced visitors, and group hangouts. No one is ever bored. No…
Continue reading ➞ Love at the Table: The Gift of Hospitality in an Era of Isolation
Have you ever been embarrassed by something in the Bible? Or wished the Bible just left some stuff out? And I'm not talking about a hard teaching on money or a convicting verse about orphans and widows, but one of those passages that makes you pause and go, "Uh-oh." Like, you're chugging along on your…
Continue reading ➞ The Good Book, or How I Learned to Stop Defending and Love the Bible
Instrument of Mercy 