iPhone or Incarnation? It’s hard to engage both.
Consider doing something radical: put down your smartphone and be truly present with another human being.
Thanks for your help, Siri. But what about that human connection?
What happens as our artificial intelligence devices become “smarter” the more we use them? Will they crowd out or confuse our ability and will to make uniquely human connection, to build authentic community?
The new soft charismatic cooperation
The luxury of writing off large swaths of Christian churches or denominations based on minor doctrinal disagreements disappeared once we entered post-Christendom full on. Now, as a minority voice in culture, we are looking for friends wherever we can find them.
Breaking out: crossing the lines of old denominational structures
When done from an unhealthy place, these new alliances have the ring of old retailers like Sears or Kmart who can no longer compete in the marketplace of ideas. But when done out of conviction about the needs for the unity of the church in responding to an increasingly indifferent post-Christendom society, they strike me as creative, inventive and hopeful.
Looking for clues to thriving faith communities in a post-Christendom church
What characterizes a sort of Western “underground” church doing well within a larger context of the church having been pushed to the margins of society?
When can I say ‘stupid’? If it’s directed at people, never.
It is OK for followers of Jesus to address incomplete, poor or dangerous ideas as stupid. But it is never OK to decide that a person is of lower worth based on their I.Q.
Three cheers for the power of awe
“Religion” derives from the same word as “ligament.” It is ultimately a connecting force and, with no divine object or mysterium tremendum, our experiences of awe are ultimately self-referential and delusional.
Spending money brings happiness. But what kind of spending?
Let’s start with a little perspective: we write and read this column from the vantage point of being the most insanely wealthy people in the history of the human race.
Where does your church fall on the ‘Grit Scale’? Its success may depend on the answer.
If grit is that important, why is it so elusive? Why do so many in our day lack the perseverance to tackle problems that exceed their current skill set? Is it a simple matter of impulse control? Distraction? Character flabbiness?