Everything That Rises

Here's a link to the manuscript of my sermon for the second Sunday of Advent, "Peace while Waiting": http://a-good-sermon-is-hard-to-find.blogspot.com/2011/12/peace-and-waiting-second-sunday-of.html

I wonder what they were saying about the coming of the messiah in the synagogues of Judea leading up to the first century. Were the rabbis preaching in front of giant, billboard-sized scrolls outlining the "Seven Signs of the Messiah's Appearing"? Did artists busy their brushes painting great images of a conquering king, his sword flashing in the blazing sun as he drove out Rome and all his enemies before him? I wonder, if they had been able, if folks would have produced dramatic motion pictures outlining every detail of the arrival of their idealized version of the Messiah. Would authors have written captivating volumes of fiction describing scenarios surrounding the Messiah's arrival that would have sold millions of copies? Would they have produced DVD series outlining the major prophecies of Isaiah and Hosea concerning the nature of the Messiah? I wonder if they had ever even imagined that he might arrive in a manger-as a baby born to an unknown woman. I don'

In case you haven't heard, Pat Robertson has done it again. No, he didn't blame a recent natural disaster or terrorist attack on pro-choice politicians, homosexuals, or  deals with the devil . Rather, in what I hope was perhaps an attempt at providing genuine counsel, Robertson  responded  to a  700 Club  viewer's question about a friend who had decided it is alright to see other people since his wife has Alzheimer's and no longer recognizes him. Robertson went on to answer the viewer's inquiry by suggesting that the man divorce his wife, after having secured her care, because she has experienced a "kind of death." Now there have been all sorts of responses to Pat Robertson's words over the past few days, many criticizing his response and some coming to his defense. I, however, can't help but think about what kind of testimony these sorts of "controversies" make to those outside of the Christian faith. Sure, those of us on the more prog

For any of you who may still be following this blog, I have also started blogging as a Key Voice blogger for Day1.org . You can find my first post here . CPT

(I thought that title might get your attention.) Here's a list of recent "signs of the end times": 1. Earthquake in Japan that damaged nuclear power plants. 2. Tornadoes ripping through the South. 3. Flooding in other parts of the South. 4. Droughts in Texas. 5. Osama Bin Laden was killed with a shot to the head (it's likely he'll be back from the dead soon, so stay tuned to Fox News and TBN (maybe occasional shows on the History Channel) for the latest on the Anti-Christ). 6. Abortion is legal. 7. Rob Bell wrote a book about heaven and hell. 8. Do I need to keep going or have I "scared the hell out of you" yet? I suppose I could quote all manner of Bible verses backing up each of these "points" to prove that we are indeed living in the "end times," but what would be the point in that? Apocalypse-loving Christians have been shouting from pulpits and soap boxes that we live in the "end times" for generations. They've poin

This is a re-post I thought might be appropriate in light of recent events in the "evangelical" and "emergent/emerging" world (and I just don't have the time at the moment for a new post). Hell. The word "hell" is mentioned only 13 times in the Bible (that is the New Revised Standard Version of the Old and New Testaments, excluding the Deuterocanonical books, for those of you keeping tabs). Eleven of those times it is in fact Jesus who speaks the word, which is the Greek word Gehenna (if you'd like to learn more about Gehenna and the history behind the word, you can click here). To give you a sense of perspective, while the word "hell" is translated some 13 times in the entire Bible, the word translated "poor" is used some 25 times just in the four gospels of the New Testament (of course in both cases this excludes allusions to the ideas of hell, poverty, etc.). Hell has been the topic of some of my more "theological"

Hey folks, I'm starting a new blog for sermon manuscripts. You can check it out here .

I've been feeling like a tightrope walker without a net lately. As many of you who read this know I'm a Baptist, though not your ordinary Baptist in the South (and by no means a Southern Baptist). I tend to believe that the ecclesiological organizationof the Baptist tradition (i.e. congregational governance, autonomy, etc.) is more in line with the freedom and equality found in the gospel. I believe that the true mark of a Christian is a real, living, and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I also believe that those who claim such a relationship are called to spread the gospel to unbelievers throughout the world. With that being said, one would think I'd have no problem fitting in with my Baptist brothers and sisters. Ah, but how fooled we all are to think that the beautiful simplicity of unity in Christ is enough for unity in kingdom work. While I strongly believe those thing I've already mentioned, I also believe that women have an equal opportunity in the shari