Back on May 1, 2022, Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, posted an article in Decision Magazine titled, “The Eternal Peril of Progressive Christianity.” In this article, Graham expressed many poignant statements about the progressive Christian movement…
Choosing the underdog
Growing up, I was short and stocky, which made me a less-than-prime candidate for athletics. In seventh grade, I wanted to play football like my friends. I was too small to be a lineman and too slow to be in…
What I learned about Polish hospitality toward Ukrainians: There but for the grace of God
I recently had the opportunity to spend a week in Wroclaw, Poland. The original intention for my trip was to teach a spiritual renewal retreat for church leaders over a three-day weekend. The retreat was a planned partnership between The…
We need more but different churches
The number of church closures continues to rise. According to a study published by Lifeway Research last May, about 4,500 churches closed their doors in 2019 while only 3,000 churches were started. This is a shift from 2014 when Lifeway…
Who do you say that I am: ‘Jesus’ or ‘Christ’?
“Jesus Christ, Superstar, do you think you’re what they say you are?” A memorable lyric from the 1971 Broadway musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. And also a poignant question for today as American Christians seem to gravitate…
Learning to expand the table by becoming an ally
Recently, I was sitting at the local ice cream parlor with my wife and some friends when in walked another family we all knew. My friend Joe immediately got up, went over to an unused table and began to move…
Six ways to survive the fall of evangelicalism and the rise of emergence
Fall is my favorite time of year, and this year I find in it a metaphor for the current identity crisis within the evangelical church. Just as the leaves fall from the trees, so it seems that evangelicalism is falling…
87 steps toward becoming an ideal team player on the quest for social justice
One of the most insightful books on business management and human resources that I’ve read in the last five years is Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues. Lencioni makes compelling arguments…
Writing your own name: Self-identification in a world of stereotypes
Countless times over the years, I’ve attended a meeting or seminar and upon entering the building and picking up my packet of pertinent documents, received an adhesive label that said, “Hello, my name is.” In the space below, I was…