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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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Myopically Mothering My Own as Mission?
Within evangelical culture, many mothers of young children have received a blanket assurance that “motherhood is mission.” Maybe when a mother was leaving a job she loved, or wiping human…
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Really!?! Men are the Spiritual Head of the Home?
By Joe Perdue
If you’re like me, you’re a fan of Saturday Night Live. Granted, I usually tune in more during election years than other times, but the show is always good for…
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Jesus, Bombs, and Ice Cream
I was in Baghdad in March 2003, where I lived as a Christian and as a peacemaker during the “shock-and-awe” bombing. I spent time with families, volunteered in hospitals, and…
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"Women Should Remain Silent"?
By Mimi Haddad
Many of us were raised in churches that taught that women should be silent in the church because of the teachings of Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:34. When we read…
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What if Jesus Meant All That Stuff?
To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been…
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Like Fish Out of Water. . .What White People Can Do About Racism
By Chris Lahr
Several years ago I was taking an Evangelism class at Asbury Seminary. We had a guest speaker come to our class who was an anthropology/ missiology professor. I was immediately…
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"What is Truth?" in the Midst of Tsunamis and Radioactivity
By John Janzen
Almost six months have passed since the earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan, ending the lives of over 20, 000 people. Reconstruction efforts move steadily forward, even as concerns about…
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Ending Poverty with Global Christianity's Phantom Trillion
In the ’90s, Keith Olbermann was part of a flawless thing called SportsCenter. Even though the political commentary and overall style he’s developed since then isn’t everyone’s cup of tea,…
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Let's Talk About Sex, Baby! (. . .and Consumerism)
By Matt Anslow
Many Christians are very critical of contemporary sexual culture, and rightly so. But what is the worldview behind this culture of so-called sexual liberation? Perhaps, by directly attacking modern ideas…
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9/11 Walks: Remembrance through Reconciliation
By Bart Campolo
OK, so imagine you had this great idea to help people all over the world to do something really meaningful on 9/11/11 and just four weeks to pull it off?…
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Fatalities of Prejudice
By Jon Huckins
Confession: I often fall victim to stereotype and blind prejudice against those outside of my cultural, religious or ethnic circle. I believe many of us have allowed the polarizing and…
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Do Christians Believe in Democracy?
Do Christians believe in democracy? It’s a question we don’t often ask. We often think the answer is an obvious yes. For many people, believing in things like Christianity, democracy,…
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Hiroshima and the Transfiguration: A Meditation
It must be one of the extraordinary accidents of history that the first atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, which marks the annual Feast of the Transfiguration for Roman…
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The Myth of the Melting Pot: What White People Can Do About Racism
By Chris Lahr
One thing I know about white people is that we like results (or as Larry the Cable Guy often says, we like to “git er done”). Another thing I have…
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I'm Done With Living Like A Christian
By Kurt Willems
Something happened last week. I went on a retreat with an amazing spiritual director / teacher named Jan Johnson. By the end of our time together I realized that I’m…
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Hipster Pharisees
By Erin Echols
Here in the suburban South, new churches sometimes seem like a dime a dozen with many church plants meeting anywhere from shopping centers and warehouse buildings to schools and homes.…
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An Imaginary Law: the SBC Approach to Undocumented Immigrants
By Tony Campolo
The Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, and pretended to develop a guide for law and/or legislation concerning undocumented immigrants. As one political commentator pointed out,…
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Ayn Rand is the New Jesus: Dave Ramsey’s Gospel of Self-Reliance
As our leaders battle over the budget crisis in Washington, Christian finance guru Dave Ramsey has started a movement called the Great Recovery that is described as “a grassroots movement…
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Forgetting the Poor?
By Roy Goble
There’s a passage in Galatians 2 that has always intrigued me, so this week I’m going to share three posts on the topic. This is from The Message translation of…
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The Great Church Search
By Jason Hess
cialis for sale34″ />A long time ago people would attend the house of worship that was in their neighborhood, our orthodox Jewish brethren still do. But our culture of customization…
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The Pollution of Racism: What White People Can Do About Racism
By Chris Lahr
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the…
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Shocked About New York Gay Marriage
By Andrew Marin
I saw on the news the other day that on the first day of LGBT couples having the right to get legally married in New York, the New York City…
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No More War! Australian Peace Activists Protest Unwinnable War
By Kate Ausburn
As the 28th Australian soldier was killed in Afghanistan, four Christian activists were arrested during a peaceful blockade of the secretive Swan Island military base in Victoria. News of the…
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One Flesh, One Purpose, One Rank
By Mimi Haddad
Summer is the season of weddings! Many of us will have the pleasure of celebrating with family and friends as they join their lives as husband and wife. Though we…
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Obama Visit Challenges 'African Woman' Stereotype
By Enuma Okoro
Last month on her official trip to Africa, Michelle Obama gave a speech of encouragement to 76 young sub-Saharan African women participating in the U.S.-sponsored Young African Women Leaders Forum…
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C.S. Lewis Should Be An Evangelical Reject Too!
By John Janzen
I am one of the ones who, after reading Kurt’s post on evangelical rejects, felt even more at home [link: article and follow-up]. Coincidentally, I read the post the day…
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Illusion of the Emerging Church
One of the difficulties I think we will encounter in this conversation is – we have lived with the illusion of the “Emerging Church”. Just like those who are defending…
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An Understanding of Radical Love
By Andrew Marin
I am a Christian, so I know love. I know love because I am loved. Unconditionally. I know what love is supposed to look like and feel like. I know…
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The Next American Revival
When the gospel connects with a person’s deep need, conversion happens. Every evangelical knows this. When the gospel connects with society’s deep need, revival happens. Sometimes we forget this. But…
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Are You Colorblind?
By Chris Lahr
When it comes to talking about race, I hear a lot of white folks proudly mention that they are colorblind. Not in the since that they are vision impaired but…
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Does God Really Prefer Men?
cialis online without prescription“131” height=”203″ />Two-thirds of all Bible believing Christians are women.[i] And women have always been on the forefront of Christian missions. In fact, the ratio of women…
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Shane Claiborne on Rupert Murdoch: Bible Mogul?
By Will Braun
Most people know now that Rupert Murdoch presides over the News Corp media empire, and that he is fighting for his reputation after being forced to sink his scandal-laiden British…
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Isaiah 2 and Two Sides of God's Judgment
In this year’s battle between Rob Bell and what has been playfully described as “team hell, ” God’s judgment has come under serious scrutiny. Both sides of the debate seem…
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Sign My Petition for a Constitutional Amendment to Ban Divorce!
By Kurt Willems
It’s time to ban divorce. That’s right, I said it. We need to protect the sanctity of marriage by following the New Testament teaching of Jesus that couples are not…
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Why We Are Drawn to Harry Potter Theology
It’s been 13 years since the first Harry Potter book landed on store shelves and provoked some Christian conservatives to begin voicing opposition to J.K. Rowling’s world of wizardry. “Let me…
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Being Poor Is A Lot of Work
By Bart Campolo
Until very recently, I had no idea how hard it is for some of our friends just to find somewhere to lay themselves down to sleep at night. I knew…
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The Slightest Taste of Homelessness
I’m a little annoyed with Groupon. You get caught up in these daily deals, and you throw down before you think things through. So here I am, sitting around miles…
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Increased Demons in the Middle East
By Tony Campolo
I recently read an article which spoke glowingly of the uprising of people in the countries of North Africa. Referring to Tunisia and then especially to Egypt, there were positive…
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8 Inspiring Movies About Social Change
Ah the joy of watching movies in the summer! Of course, there are a number of summer blockbusters coming out that will woo crowds to the theaters, but with the…
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Start of the Season: A Flotilla for Peace
By Kathy Kelly
It looked like a scene from an opera. Massed in the doorway and second floor balconies of a quaint building in Athens, facing a magnificent view of the Parthenon, Spanish…
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Trying Not To Say The L Word: Red Flags, Red Letters and Black Letters
Earlier than I would have preferred this morning, in order to scurry home and shuffle my son off to day camp, I took a sweaty summer walk with a friend.…
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Boys are Warriors and Girls are Princesses?
By Mimi Haddad
Have you ever visited your local Christian bookstore as an exercise in gender studies? Notice as you walk down the “women’s” aisle how all the books take on shades of…
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A Desperate Need for Imagination
The world is desperately in need of imagination. I will never forget the words of an Iraqi doctor I met while I was in Baghdad as a peacemaker in 2003,…
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Find Your Own Calcutta
By Tony Campolo
She was small in stature but she stood head and shoulders above the rest of us. Her life and her message affected the way we view the poor and highly…
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Friends Across Borders
By Kay Campbell
Saturday evening, I ran alongside the river of people – The Birmingham News estimated 2, 500; I’d say more – that stretched 11 blocks through the streets of downtown Birmingham.…
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This July 4th, Let's Celebrate Inter-dependence Day!
Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of us all being bound up in an “inescapable web of mutuality.” He talked of how we have encountered half the world by the time…
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A Sentient Nationalism
It often feels as though I live my life between worlds. I am a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. My mother is French Canadian, my father Italian…
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Just Jesus and Unjust July 4th – Why I Don’t Celebrate Independence Day
By Kurt Willems
Guys are stupid. Add explosives to the equation and the idiocy quotient increases exponentially. Such was the case every 4th of July during High school. A group of about 20…
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Is Diversity Becoming Destructive?
By Tony Campolo
I am committed to diversity. I believe that we all benefit when we interact with people of other cultures, other races, other sexual orientations, and other religions. There is much…
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Could A Decline in Numbers Bring New Hope to Southern Baptists?
Although I’ve never been a Southern Baptist, I have a special place in my heart for them. I experienced a teenage, under-the-stars spiritual experience which occurred at a Baptist camp…
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Baby Smiles and Life Truisms
By Tony Campolo
They say a smile is a baby’s first “human response.” It’s smiling that makes the child more than an animal. Despite what some animal lovers might say, animals don’t smile. …
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Does Sunday School Have A Future?
Sunday school. It was one of the main reasons I enjoyed church as a child. As a young adult, it sometimes still is. But there’s a conversation brewing: Does Sunday…
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Did I Just Tweak Jesus' Nipple?
“Jamie, can I ask you something?” Jimmy, our homeless friend, was being unusually cautious with me. We were sitting in our living room, gathered for our weekly potluck and worship…
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The War Must Not Go On!
By Jim Wallis
Last evening, President Obama made his long-awaited announcement on beginning withdrawal of the 103, 000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. The president announced that 10, 000 of these troops will be…
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I'm Not A Fan of Hallmark Holidays
I am not a fan of the Hallmark holidays, people. These are the ones invented by retailers to guilt me into buying stuff. I’m thinking about Mother’s Day and Father’s…
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I’m Quitting Facebook to Join Faithbook Because My WWJD Bracelet Told Me To
By Kurt Willems
The end of the age has come. No, not the rapture, but the end of Facebook. There I said it… finished. As of today, I am shutting down all Facebook…
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Is Revivalist Spirituality Still Relevant Today?
I made my first trip to the Greenbelt Festival in the UK last summer. After years of hearing about how there’s nothing like it in the U.S., I arrived at the Cheltenham Racecourse where some…
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My Search for the Truth About the Middle East
By Lynne Hybels
In 2008, as I heard the increasing public rhetoric of hostility emanating from the Middle East, I found myself wondering what Jesus would say and do if he were here…
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Reconnecting Spiritual Practice, Evangelism, and Justice
By Tony Campolo
Many Christians are questioning whether evangelicals care enough about trying to change the political and economic institutions of our society so that they will provide equal justice for all of…
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A Father's Day Reflection
It’s daunting for me to even begin writing about Fathers’ Day … I’ve often said that fatherhood is probably the most meaningful experience in my life, and my debt to…
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Christian Authenticity
I think it was my friend Karen who turned me on to Jamie’s writing. I was hooked by the title of her blog: Jamie – The Very Worst Missionary She…
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Tweens, Laryngitis and Prophetic Sopranos
Have you ever known a girl who seemed vibrant and fully alive, at ages 7 and 8 and 9, who then went “underground” as she entered adolescence? Shakespeare’s Ophelia, smitten…
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Ideas Have Consequences
By Mimi Haddad
Plato said ideas rule the world. All action begins with an idea. Paul said, “Take every thought captive to Christ (2 Cor 10:5). “Ideas have consequences and some ideas can…
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You Might Be An Evangelical Reject If. . .
By Kurt Willems
I wish it were otherwise, but, unfortunately it’s true. Everything within me resisted this realization. But, the time has come to admit it: I’m an Evangelical reject. The more I…
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What Would Jesus' Commencement Speech Say?
When young people graduate, they’re often told to follow their dreams. Change the world. After all, the sky’s the limit. But what if you don’t know what you want to…
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Pentecost Sunday and Another Manic Monday
This past weekend Christians around the world celebrated one of our holiest holi- days – Pentecost. Pentecost meaning “fifty days” is celebrated seven weeks after Easter (hence the 50), and…
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Pentecost: The Coming of the Wild Goose
By Jim Wallis
Today is Pentecost. For 50 days, a group of 120 followers of Jesus waited. Their teacher, for whom they had left all they had, was now gone. Judas, one of…
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The Equality of the Sin That is Killing Us All
Buy cheap viagra soft” width=”185″ height=”166″ />This week Duke University’s Center for Reconciliation is hosting its annual Summer Institute. I realize that sounds a little fancy schmancy, but I promise…
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Babies: Born This Way?
I was recently quite disturbed by this story of a couple in Toronto who have refused to divulge the gender of their recently born child, who they named Storm (how…
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"Oh Say Can You See": Learning to Disagree in Love
The two authors of this blog post have been having a good conversation over the past six months and thought it might interest others as well. First, though, it seems…
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No National Anthem at Goshen College: Decision Reversed!
When Goshen College, a Mennonite-owned institution, announced their decision to play the US national anthem at select sporting events in spring 2010, thousands were disappointed that a peace church institution…
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Love Wins
By Lynne Hybels
No, I am not submitting a belated entry into the heated conversation about Rob Bell’s latest book. I haven’t read Love Wins, so it would be inappropriate for me to…
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Is Women's Leadership in the Church a Primary Issue?
By Mimi Haddad
If you are concerned about the question of gender and Christian faith you have probably heard someone say, “Yes, the woman’s question is important, but it is not a ‘primary…
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Is the Quran Divinely Inspired?
Here’s the Q: I will keep this short and to the point. I am a devout Christian and will stay that way. But, I am also exploring Islam and trying…
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A Question of Civility: Why We Can’t Resist the Urge to Compare someone to Adolf Hitler?
I recently read in Mental Floss magazine (a mag for the hard core trivia lover) of an attorney and writer named Mike Godwin who noticed a disturbing trend in online…
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Celebrating 1, 000 When One Matters
If I asked you to think about 384 million people, would you be able to find an image in your minds eye? If I tried to get you to visualize…
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Loving Muslims in a Fear-Filled World
By Tony Campolo
More and more we are going to have to deal with Muslims and it becomes increasingly difficult to know just what to do and what to think, given the ongoing…
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The Emerging Church Brand: The Good, the Bad, and the Messy
First, I want to say I do not want to discourage those who have found renewed hope in Jesus and the Church through “emerging church” conversations and circles. And I…
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A Possible Compromise on the Gay Marriage Controversy
By Tony Campolo
President Bush once said that marriage is a sacred institution and should be reserved for the union of one man and one woman. If this is the case — and…
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Beer at Church?
By Tony Campolo
I found a church in England, not far outside of London, in a very densely urban community, a congregation that took up every seat in the sanctuary. What’s more, they…
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The Natural Disaster of Empathy Overload
By Kurt Willems
I once heard Pastor Shane Hipps (an expert on media technology and marketing) describe a consequence of globalized media. He talked about how as humans, we are designed to empathize…
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Betrayal on Capitol Hill
By Tony Campolo
As Congress struggles to create a budget, I have a need to cite an instance where both the Democrats and the Republicans betray their constituents. The Democrats have claimed to…
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Greater fairness for one group means greater fairness and opportunities for all (Fear Not)
By Kay Campbell
This spring, I have been studying, really studying the U.S. Constitution, a document that I cannot help but see as fundamentally inspired. My guide for this is Richard Beeman’s excellent…
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The Gift of Tears
Several years ago, I was speaking at an event. It was a large secular audience, so I gave my mostly secular talk (you can see a version of that here).…
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Dumpster Divers on a Mission to Stop Waste
[Editor’s Note: This article is provided by Jarrod McKenna but in fact was written by Malcolm Quekett of the Western Australia] It is just past 9pm and Geoff Bice emerges…
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The R-word, The N-Word and The Book That Should be Burned
“Can someone say the word out loud, so that we all know what we’re talking about?” I asked. A hand slowly went up. Then another. “Retard?” one ventured hesitantly, as…
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Rapture Rebel
With the recent headlines, is it any wonder why the world may think that Christians seem to always want to run or hide or take the easy way out? When the “rapture” prediction,…
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The Rapture IS Coming TOMORROW: May 21, 2011
By Kurt Willems
I grew up in church. Not a typical middle class, white picket fence, awkwardly perfect church goin’ family situation, but in church nonetheless. Most of what I recall from those…
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My Thoughts on Sojourners, Coalition Building, and LGBTQ Rights
On my personal blog, I traced my journey on the issue of homosexuality and explored the challenges of coalition-building. It’s from this place that I’ve been reading about the recent critique…
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Actualizing the Kingdom on Earth
By Tony Campolo
The church today is enthralled in a movement that believes in a commitment to create a just and loving society in which we can fully actualize the Kingdom of God…
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A Real 'Senior' Prom
By Tony Campolo
I have a friend who’s one of the great speakers of our time. His name is Guy Dowd. Several years back he was awarded the honor, by the President of…
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Osama bin Laden and the Lamb Who Was Slain
Like just about every other American, I can tell you where I was, what I was doing, and how I heard the news on that September day. But that’s not…
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PAPA Fest 2011 is Happening!
Some of you are aware and some are not… another summer gathering is in the works – PAPA Festival 2011 on June 16-19th. Past gatherings in 2006 and 2008 went…
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Save the Date: The Return of Christ?
By Tony Campolo
Although the Second Coming is a certainty – Christ will return, and the kingdoms of this world will then become the kingdom of our God – Jesus himself said that…
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Sweet Revenge & Bitter Sounds of Calvary Love: West & Smiley on Obama & Osama
“You and I are legatees of Martin Luther King, and really we need to say quite explicitly, as Christians, we are going to be viewed as anti-American, anti-patriotic. Martin Luther…