Everything That Rises

Today I went to a certain Christian bookstore to pick up some communion wafers (yes, wafers. NOT those little chick-let-Jesus-crackers), and they were giving away free samples of "The Celebration Cup." I've heard rumors that these sort of things existed, so I thought I'd take one and check it out. I have to say, it makes me hate those little plastic cups we Baptists use even more! So here's the thing itself, unopened. Note the card listing the ingredients. The body of Christ broken for you...? The bubbles are real--as is the gross, brownish color. And here's the whole thing disassembled (?). Am I wrong for being somewhat grossed out? I realize that I may be a wee bit more sacramentally inclined than many Baptists, but I think this is taking things too far. Should communion be "made easy"? After all, aren't we remembering/reflecting/celebrating/experiencing the crucifixion and death of the Son of God when we gathe...

Why the Church needs Women…especially in leadership. (This is in response to Rachel Held Evans’ call to respond to John Piper’s words.) So it’s been popular lately for certain evangelical “celebrities” to go on the offensive with their so-called “masculine” approach to Christianity. They claim that God intended the Church to have a “masculine feel.” They claim that Scripture clearly teaches that men—and only men—should hold positions of leadership within the Church, that wives should submit to their husbands, and those men should submit to the men who lead their congregations (often without question), and then those men are ultimately submissive to God (who is of course the biggest man, who can bench press two city buses while chewing tobacco and kicking someone’s @$$ with his tatted leg). While there are an overwhelming number of people who support this point of view, I have to be honest, I can’t stand it! While those who tout this point of view and spout a handful o...

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