I think we must also come to grips with two polarizing truths: God is a warrior, but one who fights on behalf of true justice, righteousness, and shalom, which often stands in sharp contradiction to what we call by the same name.
All tagged politics
Debating without Demeaning
We can follow the example of our Lord Jesus. We can model his humility. We can talk about others the way we want to be talked about. We can refrain from judging, from being hypocritical. We can use discernment. We can lead with love, remembering that each one of us was made in the image of God.
Jesus and The Powers
Wright and Bird ground their response in Jesus’ primary message about the kingdom of God. They argue that in a time of fear and fragmentation, amid carnage and crises of various kinds, Jesus is King and Jesus’ kingdom remains the central object of the Church’s witness and work.
Book Review: Josh Ross’ Coreology: Six Principles for Navigating An Election Season Without Losing Our Witness
Ross’ principles are valuable and speak to the pastoral heart Ross holds towards Kingdom-people. Ross desires to remind Kingdom-people of the calling of God and the imagination of Kingdom-living available to each person in light of that calling.
Why I – But Not Necessarily You – Will Not Vote
On a deeper level, I am not convinced that as a Christian my mission is to save America. I accept that my mission is to save Americans, not America.
How to Be Pastoral in a Rancorous Political Season
In the current election season I have felt a pressing need to address the people of God and urge them to speak and act in a way that represents Jesus.
Where Is Your Citizenship?
Our hope and our expectations are in Christ and from Christ. Above all else, the Gospel shapes our lives—our identity, our character, our actions, our interactions, our priorities.
Musings on a Flag
Our one clear allegiance is to God and to God’s agenda in the world, not to media agendas, political rhetoric, or social movements that paint themselves with some Christian hues in an effort to access the power of human kingdoms.
Reflection Roundup: Unfriendly Homeostasis
Beware of the lure of calm waters. Not every minister must be a “whitewater adrenaline junkie,” but paths toward missional goals often contain obstacles ministries must leverage.
Reflection Roundup: The Limitations That Myths Impose
Faith is the space between doubt and certainty; amid fear and self-assuredness lies trust in power, our knowledge of whom is but a dewdrop in the ocean.
Needing the Eyes of Elisha
We must do a better job of learning to see how God is at work. We aren’t called upon to wage war in the way of the world. It’s not all up to us. We don’t need to fight fire with fire.
Reflection Roundup: All Is Prayer
Unity with God means moving through the world in constant communion: every bit of news, each conversation, every gaze met, offered up in prayer.
Reflection Roundup: Adding Value
Remember the song, “Make new friends and keep the old; one is silver and the other’s gold”? All are precious partners in God’s mission.
Reflection Roundup: Trust Is the Antidote to Panic
God’s image is presented to the world through the people of God, who use all available resources to meet the needs of the world because that’s what God does for us.
Reflection Roundup: Joining
Our ultimate powerlessness levels the human playing field yet serves to unite when we courageously join God’s movement, continually willing to dance the faithful steps of contemplation and action.
Reflection Roundup: Honest and Curious
Liminality: it’s the ultimate “are we there yet?” And in fact, we’re not. If we’re honest, we’ll admit we don’t even know where there is, exactly, and lead with the spirit of contentment enjoying the missional pit stops with God while holding the destination loosely.
Reflection Roundup: “The Gift of Unhurried Time”
Ask, seek, knock. Pray those bold prayers and there will come a day when God’s responsiveness comes tumbling after you. Expectantly wear sturdy shoes every day of your life lest you be bowled over by the love of God.
The Long, Slow Death of the Christian Peacemaker
As U.S. Christianity becomes increasingly polarized, those in the dip of the canyon between the two sides are being slowly bludgeoned to death by the rocks meant for the other side.
Reflection Roundup: Unbounding Imagination
Where do we locate the intersections of truth and love within this world? This week, theology and practicality meet in ways that will stretch us all.
Reflection Roundup: Crisis Prioritizes Care
How might we feel sorry in ways that reveal the flood-to-cross character of God, and reflect this to the world around us?