Mingling in the throng at a local charity event a few months ago, I seemed to get a prompting from the Lord: “Go talk to MC (Minnesota Celebrity).” I obeyed the prompt. But as I started across the room toward MC, he immediately disappeared into a crowd of other celebs. Darn, must not have heard that prompt correctly. I said …
The Five Thresholds of Conversion
In their excellent little book, I Once Was Lost, Doug Schaupp and Don Everts talk about the stages or “thresholds” that people go through on the road from unbelief to belief. This is important for Christians as we share the faith with others. Many secular persons have a lengthy process in front of them to find Jesus. The thresholds represent …
In Evangelism, Climb Out of the Boat . . .
In my prior post I suggested that when it comes to the business of evangelism, we Christians don’t “bring Jesus” to others. We’re not salespeople. Rather, we’re detectives, investigators. Our job is to discern what God is already doing in the lives of those around us, then get involved. But how? How do we participate in this work of God? …
God Gets There First
A kindly man in my neighborhood, Gene, has not spoken to me, nor I to him, in 25 years. Our disassociation is not due to any animosity I’m aware of but, most likely, to simple neglect. Recently, things changed. Gene traversed the vast chasm separating us – our back alley – to initiate contact. He came to tell me the …
Naming Jesus
I met John at a golf tournament, and at some point in our four-hour tour of 18 holes together, we talked religion. This always happens. I bring it up in one form or another by mentioning church, prayer, hymns, Bible, religion in the media, etc. On the 7th hole he asked what I do for work. The easy reply is …
Slippage Part 5 of 5: Is the Ancient Faith Dismissible?
In my prior post I shared about Sean and how his new found progressive religion reshaped the entire faith of his upbringing. Here is my response to Sean: Since traditional Christianity was no longer relevant to Sean – and even seemed to block the pathway toward his ideals of justice and compassion – he merely dismissed it. But it seems …
Slippage Part 4 of 5: How Sean Lost His Faith (or most of it)
In my last post I noted how the dismissal of biblical social ethics regarding gender, sexuality, and religious pluralism is often a result of ignorance. Leavers too often believe the media/cultural hype about the Bible and the “institutional church.” Thus, there is a bandwagon effect of rejecting parts or all of Christianity. But another group of critics is more …
Slippage Part 3 of 5: Injustice and the Bible
In my prior post I made the observation that emerging progressive thinkers are often motivated by 21st century notions of compassion and justice, which the Christian tradition, they say, does not support. Examples would be the unjust treatment of women, LGBTQ, and persons of color. As a traditional Christian, I share these concerns from within a biblical framework. But is …
Slippage Part 2 of 5: Observations about the New Progressives
In my previous post I wrote about the common practice these days of moving from conservative to progressive on a variety of theological and social issues. A list of such issues might include gender and sexuality, Jesus as a historical figure, the resurrection, religious pluralism – and the doctrines of universal sin, salvation through Christ, and hell. A sampling of …
Slippage Part 1 of 5: Progressing Out of Traditional Christianity
It’s fairly common these days to hear the noble declaration, “I can no longer hold to [the Bible, Christianity, traditional stance on social issues, miracles, etc.] in good conscience. “I used to be so certain of these matters. But I can’t keep up appearances any longer. I need to be true to myself and to the oppressed. The truth of …