When a small group of members at Hayes Barton Baptist Church claimed the Raleigh, N.C., congregation was sliding from its Baptist moorings into the arms of the “emergent church” movement, their agitation threatened the congregation’s stability and forced deep self-examination. Hayes Barton…
Brian McLaren: It’s time to re-write pro-war hymns
Brian McLaren, a leader in the emergent church and postmodern Christian movements, has rewritten Onward, Christian Soldiers, which he said reflects a disturbing pro-war theology. For decades, activist, author and pastor Brian McLaren has helped redefine American Christianity in his…
Baptist takes multisite feature to churches looking for ‘good preaching’
By Jeff Brumley One of the most pressing needs of struggling churches — good preaching — has inspired a Baptist pastor to launch a company providing a streaming sermon service. “This is something I have been thinking about for years,” said Jim…
Christian news site scrubs Islamophobic opinion
I opened Facebook this morning to read this headline, “Why I Am Absolutely Islamaphobic”. I clicked the link and read the opinion piece by Rev. Gary Cass and was disgusted by what I read. I posted the Charisma News article on my Facebook page only…
Debating doctorates in a missional world
By Jeff Brumley Brian McLaren is recognized as one of the most influential shapers of progressive Christian thought and has revolutionized the way many conceive and practice evangelism, church planting, worship and spiritual formation. Yet McLaren, who is closely associated…
They shoot preachers, don’t they?
In his book Don’t Shoot, criminologist David Kennedy identifies a disconnect between a criminal justice system built on the notion of personal responsibility and the fact that gang bangers think and behave as members of a group. You can’t reduce…
Preaching peace in a timid church
When ministers are afraid to speak prophetically about peace they fail to be a voice for the Prince of Peace. At the 2012 William Self Preaching Lectures at the McAfee School of Theology, “Preaching Peace in a Crumbling Empire,” Brian…
CBF and the emergence Christianity movement
Last week I attended the Emergence Christianity event in Memphis featuring Phyllis Tickle, Brian McLaren, Nadia Bolz-Weber, and others. The emergent crowd is an interesting group, with lots of diversity: age, denomination, and plenty of piercings and tattoos if not…
The edgy Christian media startup you need to check out
More and more, Christian media outfits try to create their own social media platforms to get noticed. However, a new edgy social media startup, “Sogo” is taking a different route on social media to get their message out. Sogo describes…