I love my church. In my mind, it’s as close to a perfect church that I’ve ever been a part of, and I feel so fortunate to be a part of it. When I try and describe it, I feel like all I have are buzzwords: real, authentic, genuine, community. But it’s true. There is […]
The Brokenness of Humanity In July of 1942, Major Trapp was informed that his Reserve Police Battalion 101 had the task of rounding up the 1800 Jews of Jozefow, Poland. Only the men were to be relocated, the women, children, and elderly were to be shot on the spot. The men of the battalion were […]
When I travelled to New Zealand, I had a fixed amount of money, about a month’s worth, to live on until I found work. I was fresh out of college, with a degree and a confidence to do anything I set my mind to. I pounded the pavement, I interviewed, I spoke with store owners, […]
I am broken. I know, deep down, I am selfish, proud, and arrogant. It is hidden behind a veil of civility and etiquette. Culture has taught me to mask my brokenness. We are all broken, no matter how we conceal it or deny it. I do not mean this to be an emphasis of our […]
I don’t mind the secularization of Christmas. As United States culture trends increasingly secular, it makes sense that holiday traditions would become more so as well. In fact, the greater distinctions we draw between true aspects of Christianity and cultural traditions, the better we will be able to articulate the truth of Christ. What do […]
Sometimes Christians get things backwards. We see obedience as evidence of love for God and pursue it, believing it will prove our love. The problem is God wants our love first. Obedience flows out of that. Love for God is a gift of His grace. We cannot muster up love under our own volition; we […]
I already wrote about our sin nature, and our need to focus on “killing” it. The Christian scriptures speak of this notion of “dying to self” as the means to ridding ourselves of our sin nature. It is important to understand that we cannot dispense of our sin nature on our own. It is the […]
Sin, depending on your denomination, is either a popular or skirted subject within Christianity. Some are quite intent on making sure that we are all well aware of its existence in the world, and in ourselves. Others seem to want to avoid it at all costs. Regardless, Christian scripture returns to it regularly and it […]
I have talked previously about “Christian culture” and probably alluded to it being a different entity than “Christianity.” I’d like to elaborate more on what I mean. Let us define “Christianity” quite broadly as following and submitting to Jesus as the Christ and the Son of God. This definition holds certain common and identifying characteristics […]
I want to be an outlier.