In 2015, highly esteemed Princeton political philosopher Michael Walzer published The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions. The title itself immediately arrested me, as it crystallized a current intuition of mine. I believe the United States and several…
The Supreme Court’s politicized decision on abortion will do nothing to help churches thrive
As if the American church isn’t divided enough, it appears we’re about to roll back the clock 50 years on abortion rights and throw more jet fuel on the culture war bonfires consuming our congregations. For some churches and pastors,…
We are the coalition of the unwilling
Back in the 1970s, church growth experts fell in love with the “homogenous unit principle.” “People like to become Christians,” Donald McGavran noted, “without crossing racial, linguistic or class barriers.” The pushback was immediate. If the gospel is all about…
7 signs it’s time to move on
As a full-time pastor for more than 25 years, I’ve never been without employment — until now. In December 2021, I stepped down as the senior pastor of my church without another ministry position or job of any kind. Leading…
It’s the culture, stupid
In the politico world, all eyes were on Virginia last week. Despite obsessing over every pattern in the tea leaves left from the expended campaign strategies and discernible in the exit polls, one striking finding was almost entirely missed by the…
In the spirit of Dr. Seuss …
Theodore Geisel has just made the news For words that he rhymed in inappropriate cues. The Left said “It’s cute, but too racist and rude — We can’t expose our kids to the slightly-so-crude.” Archaic his pictures, picturing gender and…
‘The Critique’ versus ‘The Heroic Narrative’ defines the debate in America today
In 2015, 37% of Republican voters told pollsters that “colleges have a negative effect on the United States.” By 2019, 59% of Republicans said they believed that. Among non-white voters, educational level had no effect on political preference in the…
Deconstructing the crisis of Christian colleges and the culture wars
In one of her first public appearances as Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos delivered a speech at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference and established herself as a fixture in the culture wars. Her brief remarks began with swipes at…
There are two Americas, and they are not on speaking terms
Sioux City, like most towns in the rural Midwest, went heavily for Trump in 2016. It was there that the Republican candidate claimed he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue without losing votes. Many of the Sioux Center residents interviewed…