“I felt sorry to the 400 some fellow churches and colleague pastors who remain in the denomination,” Lee added. “In some ways, our decision to leave the denomination was an easy one. I think the other Korean churches that decided to stay in the denomination and bring reformation from within made a more difficult and... Continue Reading

While Catholicism presents a “linear” framework in which the Christian journeys in progress toward holiness, Lutheranism posits a “dialectic” one which precludes any self-perfecting tendencies. In this view, “Christians make no progress in righteousness; they simply return time and again to the word that announces pardon, a word that invites and elicits faith.”    As... Continue Reading

I say this, even though I grieve with you; even though I pray and long for your health and strength; even though I do get weary and overwhelmed sometimes.  But what it all comes down to is this: When I vowed “in sickness and in health” I wasn’t just saying words.  I know that health... Continue Reading

God’s truth and the grace of Christ are not qualified, far less nullified, by our feelings. However we might feel, however desperately wretched we might be, if we have believed in God’s Son and are resting the whole weight of who we are on Him alone, we are the most blessed and privileged of beings... Continue Reading

“The judge has not shown much regard for the legal merits of Davis’s claims, and it’s far from clear that she’s chosen the right venue for her complaints. But this is a political fight as much as it is a legal one. Increasingly, religious conservatives fear there will not be space in public life for... Continue Reading

“Pastor-theologians in the early church used the ancient Rule of Faith to provide the parameters for understanding the theological realities that are part and parcel of the gospel, and to identify the God of Israel with the Father of Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things with the Redeemer of the church.”   Kevin Vanhoozer:... Continue Reading

“Kinnersley was born in Gloucester, England, the same hometown as Franklin’s friend George Whitefield, the greatest evangelist of the eighteenth-century revivals. As a three-year-old, Kinnersley came with his family to Pennsylvania the same year, 1714, that Whitefield was born.”   James Delbourgo’s A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders: Electricity and Enlightenment in Early America offers a remarkable... Continue Reading

Colbert’s reasons for believing are actually quite logical. He loves the world and feels grateful toward it (these are the same premises he mentioned in the GQ article from a couple of weeks ago), and as a result he chooses to direct that gratitude toward an entity he calls God.   Stephen Colbert is talking about his... Continue Reading

Throw out the word “secret.”
Explain the difference between a secret and a surprise. Surprises are joyful and generate excitement, because in just a little while something will be unveiled that will bring great delight. Secrets, in contrast, cause isolation and exclusion. When it becomes customary to keep secrets with just one individual, children are more... Continue Reading

Samuel Rodriguez founded the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which claims more than 40,000 Latino evangelical churches as members. He’s also on the board of the National Association for Evangelicals and a fierce advocate for immigration reform…. To me, immigration reform is not a political issue. It’s the very future of American evangelical Christendom, so... Continue Reading