This version of this blog originally appeared on The Green Room. Tim Keller’s son works as an urban planner in New York City. By virtue of his job, he attends a number of neighborhood meetings in which major public works projects are discussed, vetted, and more. He notes that if a neighborhood has a high … Read more
Being Civic Minded (1 of 2)
Ten weeds, and I was done, a Mt Athos’ reflection
This is one in a series of blogs reflecting on a pilgrimage to Holy Mt. Athos in the summer of 2016 while on sabbatical. My hiking buddy, Chris, and I were spent, down to the last ounce of energy, done. We had had a grueling day of hiking up and down a trail that had 1,000-1,500 feet … Read more
7 Traps for Pastors Living in a Bubble
I just concluded a three month sabbatical graciously and generously offered by my elders. Half way thru I realized how refreshing and odd it was to be outside my church bubble. As pastors we live, breathe and breathe-more the life of our faith community. We get so sucked in to our own echo-chamber and perspective, … Read more
Do I Worship My Work?
Similar to CS Lewis’ description of Jesus, I will be the first to confess that this summer of sabbatical hasn’t been safe, but is has been good. I wasn’t safe from challenging insights, difficult experiences, or God’s Word cutting to the core. Yet, it has been good in that I am stronger, healthier and renewed … Read more
Should Apple Cooperate with the FBI?
In the debate over the FBI’s order for Apple to unlock Syed Farook’s iPhone, one hears two distinct starting points. One school is suspicious of evil corporations. Corporations using their deep pockets and nation-state jumping to avoid being accountable, paying taxes and protecting their shareholders’ profits put the common good at risk. Our cultural zeitgeists … Read more
Exilic Discipleship
Exilic discipleship. That’s a new term to some. (Okay, most.) You can take the term, however, sociologically or soteriologically. (“Ok, Case, enough with the confusing words…”) Here goes… Soteriology is the study of salvation. Soter is Greek for savior; Logos is word. Words on the savior. Soteriologically, or in the sense of our salvation as … Read more
American Christians Welcome All Faiths
This editorial originally appeared in the Orlando Sentinel on January 7, 2016. With religious refugee policy playing a role in this presidential primary season, let us revisit an essential American tenet established by colonial settler Roger Williams. By 1636 Williams had had enough of John Witherspoon’s Massachusetts Bay Colony (current day Boston) where religious conformity … Read more
Calvin’s 12-Step Program
John Calvin is the man. I love, love, love some of his quotes which are so sobering and needed in today’s materialistic, consumeristic glut of American culture. He writes in his Golden Booklet, “…a true Christian will not ascribe any prosperity to his own diligence, industry, or good fortune, but he will acknowledge that God … Read more
Jesus or Business: The Hope of the World?
Jay Steinmetz responded to the summer riots in Baltimore with an editorial in the Wall Street Journal entitled “My Baltimore Business Problem.” He offers a soft one-two punch to the regulatory environment which makes offering jobs in blighted parts of the city difficult. Business, he argues, is the way to prevent riots by instilling dignity, … Read more
The 31-Day Bible Plunge
I have been increasingly moved by the reactions of First Pres-ers to this idea: the Bible is not some mish-mash of random sayings, bits of wisdom, stories of ancient characters, and beautiful poetry. The Bible is actually one cohesive story from Genesis to Revelation, from the Garden of Eden to the City of the New … Read more
