Evangelical Compromise: Mitt Romney and Liberty University

As some of you know, I have spent the past year working on my MA in Religion through Liberty Seminary.  I’m an online student, so I haven’t had to visit the campus.  But I graduate this May, and Liberty makes no distinction between online and traditional students.  Thus, my commencement is exactly the same as [...]

Survive or Thrive

Growing up Pentecostal I always held intellectually to various aspects of Pentecostal doctrine. Of course most notably were the doctrines that distinguish Pentecostalism from other theological camps. Among these doctrines are our beliefs about Baptism in the Holy Spirit (BHS) with initial physical evidence (IPE) of speaking in tongues (SIT). And of course this leads [...]

Tuned To An Out-of-Key Piano

Yesterday my mother was helping my little sister tune a guitar. I know very little about tuning instruments. I know there are knobs you twist on the top of a guitar, but beyond that I’m pretty useless. There’s also a key, not a literal key. But a key that sort of sets the standard for [...]

Critiquing Rob Bell’s Analogy of the Trampoline Spring

As I have made very clear many times, I am not supportive of the Emergent Church in regards to their attempts at remaking Christian doctrine.  Even so, I try very hard to read books by the leaders of the movement so I can fully understand it.  Rob Bell isn’t truly Emergent, but he is incredibly [...]

Book Review of the Week: Why Revival Tarries

It would be possible for me to list several books that have dramatically shaped me, especially as it relates to my spiritual development and growth. Some people say, “Well we only need the Bible, why read anything else?” To that I would reply the Bible tells us God has given teachers to the Church so [...]

Velvet Elvis: A Review

Imagine if upon completion of the Mona Lisa everyone just decided art was finished. Imagine if we said “this is the best painting ever, so we’re just going to stop here”. Obviously that would be absurd. In the world of art we have to keep creating, keep stroking, keep mixing colors. So, says Rob Bell, [...]

Christianity’s Outrageous Claims

“If the spiritual view of the world is the correct one, as Christianity boldly asserts that it is, then for every one of us heaven is more important than earth and eternity more important than time. If Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; if He is what the glorious company of the apostles [...]

Engaging the Emergent Church Part 2

Before I deal with the content of the next chapter of  Stories of Emergence, I want to voice a complaint I have with the emergent church as a whole.  I’m sure we’ve all heard exaggerated stories about spiritual happenings in the mainline Evangelical church… to borrow from Steve Furtick those stories that are like “I [...]

Engaging the Emergent Church Part 1

As the Facebook fast goes on, I find myself less motivated to write.  It’s easier to write on Facebook when I know I can garner a specific audience.  With this, however, I’m throwing my thoughts out there not knowing if anybody at all will read. At any rate, today I began reading Stories of Emergence, [...]

Drastic

This was originally written and published on Facebook, but it applies here as well: Sometimes I look at the model established by Biblical characters and just wonder… Think about it, some of these people went to incredible lengths to advance the Kingdom of Heaven. These men and women took drastic action in obedience to God [...]