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A subversive approach to a subversive parable [From Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43] On the surface, the story reads quite clearly—maybe a little too clearly. If you’re a regular church attendee…
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"So, you speak in tongues?" What one Comedian doesn't get about Pentecostalism
“So, you speak in tongues?” This was the first question John Safran, one of Australia’s leading comedian-provocateurs, asked a young Christian peace-activist and preacher. Why? The conception of Pentecostalism embedded…
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I’m Done Dating Jesus Online
By Kurt Willems
© 2010 Sammis Reachers , Flickr | creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Maybe you’ve seen the commercials for the various online dating sites. The latest claim is that 1 in 5 relationships begin on…
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Verse a day makes for a good year
By Kay Campbell
Source: The Huntsville Times/Kay Campbell At about 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 20, 2012, sitting alone in the quiet and clean Taco Bell in the shadow of the new Sparkman…
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Drive-Thru Prayers to Drive-In Church: Is Religion Lost?
Author and theologian Diana Butler Bass shared a video recently about where she saw for the future of the church. She shared an interesting story about a priest who went…
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Let Them Eat Cake
That’s what she said. It wasn’t out of malice or even hard-heartedness that Marie Antoinette supposedly uttered these now infamous words, but out of a barnacled ignorance that grows and…
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Beyond the Culture Wars: A Faith of Our Own
By RLC Editor
The first President I remember is Bill Clinton. To be more specific: Bill Clinton’s second term. I’ve heard spectacles of the House Republican takeover in 1994 and stories of the…
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Beyond Bootstrap Success Stories
Few things are more offensive to those committed to the “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” philosophy than the message that “the race is not to the swift, nor…
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The Church and the New Civil Rights Movement
Richard “Dick” Brogan was a personal friend, and he was one of my heroes. Dick was a white Mississippi Baptist minister who worked tirelessly to build relationships between whites and…
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Sixty Percent
Sixty percent is a supermajority, who took time out of their busy schedules, who needed to make a statement, who wanted to leave a legacy, who knew exactly how and…
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The politics of having faith and serving in government
By Aaron Graham
It breaks my heart today to see how often politics shapes our faith, rather than faith shaping our politics. Over the years the church in America has become so biblically…
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Kony 2012 and the Golden Rule: How Do 'We' Tell 'Their' Story?
By Kent Annan
How should we tell stories about people we’re trying to help? Individuals, churches, missionaries, and nonprofit groups should ask this regularly. The answer is inextricably bound to the very justice…
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The Disease of Building Theology in the Theoretical
By Jon Huckins
I love and am enlivened by intellectual stimulation, specifically in relation to the integration of theology and ethics. In many ways, I feel that I am hardwired for this stuff.…
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Patriarchy, Pop Culture, and Pornography
Several years ago, I read “The DaVinci Code” to see what all the fuss was about. It was nothing special—a fast-paced novel with interesting, if inaccurate, historical details woven in—but…
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Wounded Healers & Healed Healers: Physician Heal Thyself
There is a slight problem with most of us that really want to make a difference and help. We’ve got a lot of our own issues! It’s definitely a catch…
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You Can Help George Win a Van
One year ago this week, as the birds were hatching on our porch and the rose bush was in full bloom, our friend George was shot, just four blocks up…
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Reduce, Reuse, Repent: Earth Day Revival Amuses and Transforms
By Will Braun
We had gathered, the faithful and the curious, 300 strong, for an old-fashioned tent revival meeting with a newfangled “consumption sabbath” twist. The blue-robed gospel choir — which had warmed…
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See you on the other side Chuck Colson (VIDEO)
Chuck Colson died on April 21. Colson worked with Nixon and went to jail over an obstruction of justice charge (interestingly enough, for attempting to defame the Pentagon Papers). But…
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Can we have a Rational Conversation about Guns?
By Morf Morford
How many more shootings, local or national, do we need? How many more school shootings do we need before have anything like an adult conversation about these playthings of death…
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Taking “Jesus Christ” Out of the Bible
A new translation of the Bible called “The Voice” (no, Cee-Lo makes no appearances in this one), published by Thomas Nelson, has created quite a buzz. The discussion is not…
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I Try to be Non-Partisan
By Tony Campolo
Red Letter Christianity tries to maintain a non-partisan posture because we believe that Jesus is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. We believe that to cast Jesus in the guise…
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Oh Yeah! Connecticut Abolished the Death Penalty
THIS JUST IN… Big news. Connecticut abolished the death penalty yesterday. Only 33 more states to go. It’s time we stop killing people who kill people to show that killing…
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What does Jesus think about Homosexuality?
By Derek Flood
Is homosexuality a sin? It’s an age-old question, and there are people on both sides of the debate, each quoting their Bibles. How do we know who’s right? What would…
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What To Do About “Radical Feminist Nuns”
It’s not exactly headline-worthy news that many Catholics actually hold personal beliefs that don’t line up with church doctrine. It does get a little more interesting, however, when an umbrella…
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Practicing Resurrection: Turning Vacant Lots Into Gardens in Philadelphia
“What’s that?” one of the kids asked, with big gleaming eyes. “That’s a firefly” I said, with a smile, realizing it was his first firefly-sighting. “Why does it glow like…
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The Truth of Success and Failure
“I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor…
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PregMANcy: The Video
This is a funny little trailer my son, Mattias, and I put together to tell folks about my new memoir on fatherhood, family and faith called “PregMANcy: A Dad, A…
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Trayvon Martin – Race, Guns, or Pride?
By Dan Martin
The killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman earlier this year has brought out the usual political punditry. Everyone “knows” the “real” reason Martin took a bullet, even though they…
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Should This Family Be Illegal?
A decade ago, when we moved to Walltown and were getting to know our neighbors, my friend Andy Marin moved to Boystown in Chicago. Like me, Andy is an evangelical…
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Speaking Out Is Complicated (And So Is Staying Silent)
For 24 years of my life, I was a church planter and pastor. At the beginning of those years, I would have gladly called myself an Evangelical. But those years…
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A Moderately Conservative Case for the Defeat of NC Amendment 1
As soon as my husband accepted our friends’ offer of an “Another Family Against the Amendment” yard sign in January, I knew exactly how it would play out. The corrugated…
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"The land is mine" (the importance of Leviticus 25:23)
As the debate rages within Christianity over what the Bible teaches about economic “fairness, ” a key chapter to peruse is Leviticus 25, which introduces the concept of the year…
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The Gospel Shell Game
By Morf Morford
Photo: FlickR/Still Burning Have you ever known anyone imprisoned by a cell of their own making? Perhaps we all do it to some degree, but some do it to the…
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Young Adults: Forget Church, Follow Jesus
Two recent articles grabbed my attention, partly because they resonate quite a bit with the pieces I’ve written about Why Young Adults Leave Church. It’s also interesting to me that…
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"Does once saved always saved apply even though he became an atheist?”
By Kurt Willems
Source: staytondailyphoto.com I stand at the graveside of a young student. Fifteen years old. Dead in an instant. Skateboarding on a foggy night and a car that never even saw…
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Offensive Jesus?
Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes. I’ve made plenty. I’ll make plenty more. And in the future, when i err, I’d like to err on the side of grace. We’ve…
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God's Word to Evangelicals…Through Brian McLaren
By RLC Editor
A stone’s throw from Starbucks – Joe, homeless and a dead ringer for blues singer Robert Johnson, tells Wheaton College freshman Wendy Gullivan that He is God and has a…
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True Meaning of Easter Lies in its Beauty, Not its Violence
By Kay Campbell
Springtime bursts on us with a flourish of daffodils, a hallelujah of dogwoods, and a vesper of leaf buds. A rainbow materializes to transform an evening commute into a highway…
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The Problem With the Tebow Easter Extravaganza
I didn’t see Tim Tebow’s Easter Sunday appearance in Texas. For one, it’s in Texas and I’m not. Plus I kind of have a standing gig on Sundays. But more…
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The Love in Resurrection
By Tony Campolo
At Calvary, we see what the power of Satan can do. We observe the demonic nature of political and religious power infused by evil. The Roman governor and the Hebrew…
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The Love in Resurrection
By Tony Campolo
At Calvary, we see what the power of Satan can do. We observe the demonic nature of political and religious power infused by evil. The Roman governor and the Hebrew…
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The Easter Surprise: Celebrating the first day of a new kind of week
By Kurt Willems
When you are small, the wonder of an Easter egg hunt is exiting. But as you grow older, the awe of the experience begins to fade. I remember a particular…
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It’s Friday…But Sunday’s Comin’! (VIDEO)
By Tony Campolo
My most popular sermon undoubtedly is, “It’s FRIDAY…But SUNDAY’s Comin’!” I’ve preached this story for decades now ever since I first heard it preached in my home church in Philadelphia.…
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Jesus, the Ham of God
By Morf Morford
How did we go from the Passover Lamb to the Easter Ham? It’s a complicated, not very pretty story, central to modern religious identity and, for those reasons, tucked away…
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Letter From a “Demon Possessed” Woman
It’s interesting how certain patterns emerge in our lives sometimes. Part of it, I expect, has more to do with awareness than actual coincidence, like when I start seeing blue…
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Hungry for Virtue
Christian responses to The Hunger Games have run in one of two directions. Some see the trilogy as a powerful critique of violence and the role in plays in contemporary…
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Pigeon Monday
By Roy Goble
To Order Cheap Cialis day is Pigeon Monday. Or at least that’s what I call it. Hopefully I’ll start a new trend. It would seem that Jesus had something against…
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Blue Like Jazz: I Was Donald Miller (w/ INTERVIEW)
I was Donald Miller. Once upon a time, a lot of us were. Some of us still are. I, too, grew up in the church. Then it hurt me. So…
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Lent: My Hypocrisy, To Dust?
By Kent Annan
“From dust you were formed, to dust you shall return.” Those are the Ash Wednesday words. Ashes were rubbed in a cross on my forehead. Maybe on yours too. I…
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Is the Church Saving Souls and Losing Students?
Recent data suggest that African American and Hispanic males are the primary victims of the nation’s dropout crises. According to the Schott Foundation for Public Education, only 41% of Black…
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Hero of War: “Rise Against” Violence or Lose Your Humanity
By Kurt Willems
© 2006 | “We Could Be Heroes” | TheGiantVermin | Flikr Many of us dream of becoming a hero. To be the one who saves the day. To know what…
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Bullies R Us
By Morf Morford
Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes…
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Four Reasons I Came Back to Church
I’ve written a couple of pieces lately that have gotten a lot of attention about why younger people tend to walk away from church. If you haven’t seen them yet,…
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Hoodies, Skittles and a Mother's Nightmare
I have a son. He is 12 years old. He is handsome, sweet and kind-hearted. He has a great sense of humor, is a good student, a sports fanatic and…
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Showing Jesus the Door
Feet stuffed into women’s pumps and skirt obligingly hoisted to reveal a mottled backside, Leslie Cochran presided over Austin’s parade of oddballs for over fifteen years, their undisputed Queen. Leslie…
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The Tale of Two Shootings
Back in the day, my college mid-term and final exams often had an essay question that began, “Compare and contrast…” We were asked to show our knowledge of what we…
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Worship, Evangelism and “Earning the Right” to Invite
Those of us who are involved in church are well-trained to invite people to worship. We find ways to bring up in conversation how great our music is, how compelling…
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Indicting Violence: A Pacifist Review of "The Hunger Games"
By Marty Troyer
75 years after the end of the world, reluctant teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen brings it to an end yet again. Welcome to The Hunger Games, a trilogy dripping with the weight of…
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The Dark Side of Kony 2012: Look in the Mirror
Most folks are at least somewhat familiar with the “Kony 2012″ phenomenon by now. Millions have become captivated by the story. But by and large, no one knew a thing…
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Understanding the Criticism of KONY 2012
By Derek Flood
The viral video Kony 2012 has over 80 million hits on YouTube, and has become an internet phenomenon. The video is an artfully crafted and emotionally moving plea to stop…
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It's (Almost) Illegal to Feed Those without Homes in Philadelphia
On March 14, 2012 Mayor Michael Nutter announced a plan to ban “outdoor feeding” in the City of Philadelphia. In effect this would make it illegal to share or distribute…
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God's Word to Democrats – An Interview with Brian McLaren
By RLC Editor
No one enjoys being told bluntly, “you’re wrong.” It’s a statement that, even when surrounded by certainty, must be conveyed and expressed with grace, tranquility and, sometimes, a little humor.…
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When a System Demands our Allegiance Away from Christ
By Jeremy John
When I am faced with dishonesty and fraud on a systemic scale, I ask questions of God. But as I trace the origins of injustice, I am directed back towards…
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An Opportunity for Justice: Israel and Palestine
By Tony Campolo
Recently I was in Palestine/Israel as a speaker for a conference sponsored by the Bethlehem Bible College entitled “Christ at the Checkpoint.” The Conference was designed for Palestinian Christians and…
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Four More (BIG) Reasons Young Adults Quit Church
There has been a surprisingly positive response to the article I published earlier in the week called “Seven Reasons Why Young Adults Quit Church.” And as I noted, it was…
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An Unholy Wall in the Holy Land
I just returned from Bethlehem, and brought this nativity scene back as a gift. It’s a beautifully hand-carved nativity made from the olive wood distinct to the region. But you…
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Seven Reasons Why Young Adults Quit Church
From time to time I revisit the question: why are young adults walking away from religion? Although the answer(s) vary from person to person, there are some general trends that…
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A Nonviolent Response to Joseph Kony
Armed with the power of social media, some young North American activists set out this week to take on one of the most violent rebels in the Great Lakes Region…
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An English Teacher Looks At Rush Limbaugh
By Morf Morford
I teach English, writing and public speaking at the college level. There are three key principles of communication; to inform, to persuade and to entertain. Effective and memorable communicators will…
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Of Janis Joplin and Christian Women (Owed to Being Unladylike)
I was three-years old the first time I heard Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz” on the radio. In 1971, Dad (though not a fan of rock and roll) thought it quite…
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Christopher Hitchens, Diana Butler Bass and the Third Great Awakening
Everyone who calls me to speak somewhere, it seems, wants me to address the issue of declining church membership, and particularly how to connect with younger adults. The problem is…
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Whose Kingdom, Which Lord? Jesus & Nationalism, part 5 (Concluding Exhortations… Native Americans as Victims of Nationalism)
By Kurt Willems
This is part five of a five part series on Jesus and Nationalism. It reads as one fluid written sermon so you may want to read the rest of the…
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Whose Kingdom, Which Lord? Jesus & Nationalism, part 4 (When Two Empire's Collide)
By Kurt Willems
This is part four of a five part series on Jesus and Nationalism. It reads as one fluid written sermon so you may want to read the rest of the…
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Whose Kingdom, Which Lord? Jesus & Nationalism, part 3 (Give to Caesar What is Caesar's?)
By Kurt Willems
This is part three of a five part series on Jesus and Nationalism. It reads as one fluid written sermon so you may want to read the rest of the…
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Whose Kingdom, Which Lord? Jesus & Nationalism, part 2 (Caesar Augustus and Empire)
By Kurt Willems
This is part two of a five part series on Jesus and Nationalism. It reads as one fluid written sermon so you may want to read the . I hav…
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Whose Kingdom, Which Lord? Jesus and Nationalism, part 1
By Kurt Willems
The next several posts are going to be in the form of a written sermon. I have never spoken this sermon but figured I would use the blog to get…
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Persecution and Epistemic Closure
Epistemic closure is a recently defined philosophical term that describes someone who is so thoroughly encased in the echo chamber of their own ideology that they are completely immune to…
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I Know Your Works
By Morf Morford
I live in what is known as earthquake country. It’s a fairly common sight to see an exposed cliff-side with a diagonal line exposing an ancient earth fracture, where one…
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If It’s Armageddon, Do I Have To Do My Homework?
My son, Mattias, was in a religious school in town for a while for preschool. We knew going in that their beliefs did not align in a lot of ways…
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The Power of Being a Partial Bible Christian!
“By calling ourselves Red Letter Christians, we are alluding to those old versions of the Bible wherein the words of Jesus are printed in red. In adopting the name, we…
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Jesus for Prez
Last Monday was Presidents day. So I tweeted, ‘Jesus for president.‘ on my facebook wall, and with several followers on twitter, this generated some discussion. Some were in support of Jesus…
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Foreclosure Resistance, A Prayer
By Jeremy John
Oh Lord, save your servant who trusts in you. –Psalm 86 A prayer lifts up from the city, like the smoke of incense. A single prayer, in the myriad of…
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Loving Like Jesus: Views and Reviews
I ran across two items recently, one innocent and sweet, the other not so much. The first is a brief exchange between two characters in A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh.…
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Worship and the Poor: Moving Beyond Belief
By Chris Lahr
We’ve all seen “the sign” at sporting events. For some reason, of all the Bible verses in Scripture, John 3:16 is the most commonly quoted. Throughout the NFL world this…
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When Dreams Meet Reality: Life in Intentional Community
By Jon Huckins
After years of being a youth pastor, I remember the time I came home from yet another event that required endless administration, energy and resources and asked myself, “Is this…
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Can I Let Go of What I Really Want…(VIDEO)
By Kent Annan
…so I can find what I really need? I want a Burger King Bacon Double Cheeseburger. I want U2’s “Achtung Baby” blasting my ear drums. I want to drive as…
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Mardi Gras – For Baptists
It’s been almost 26 years since I left Louisiana with my parents, and I still really miss the Mardi Gras season. Mardi Gras is one long, enormous party – in…
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Like Religious Freedom? Wear Ashes on Wednesday!
There’s been a lot of talk about religious freedom over the past couple of weeks. Whatever side of the story you believe, Christianity has taken a hit both from people…
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Sometimes I See
By Morf Morford
Sometimes I see That flickering light, Sometimes I feel The earth in motion, Or maybe it’s a stillness Beyond stillness.
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Jeremy Lin and The “Messiah Formula”
No, he doesn’t go down on one knee every time he nails a dunk or a perimeter shot. And as far as I know, he’s not building any hospitals in…
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Occupy Nonviolence: Not Flesh and Blood
Amid the recent police violence in Oakland and the sure temptation of some protestors to resort to violence, I wrote this little reflection inviting all Occupiers to a renewed commitment…
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A Year of Self-Reflection and Growth: Are You Ready for Community?
By Chris Lahr
In the past fifteen years there has been a shift towards community that was not even part of most people’s vocabulary before. Fifteen years ago, I did not hear people…
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Is There Such Thing as a Good CEO? (VIDEO)
Check out this story about Haruka Nishimatsu, President and CEO of Japan Airlines, one of the biggest airlines in the world. He takes public transportation, shares an office with co-workers,…
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We Are Christianity: An Open Letter to Frustrated Christians in the United States
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, My name is Bruce Reyes-Chow and I too am a Christian. I am also a Presbyterian minister, a husband, a father and a Democrat.…