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You never know the day your life will change—or the person who will change it. For me, her name was Om Hassan. I was 23, an American soldier…
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Letter from a Young Evangelical to the Muslim World
By Aaron GrahamSalaam aleikum, shalom, and peace be with you at the end of your holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of a reflective and solemn moment for Americans on…
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The New “War” on Terror: 9/11 and Jesus’ Approach to Enemies of the State
By Kurt WillemsThis past week I was invited to speak at a youth event, which had servanthood and commissioning as its focus. It was organized by three youth pastors that are all…
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Moving on the Block: What White People Can Do About Racism
By Chris Lahr“What white people can do about racism” as a blog series is not so much a “how to” manual to end racism, as much as it is a reflection on…
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Take A Walk on 9/11
By Bart CampoloAs the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, many of us are wondering how best to honor the many victims of that tragedy and its aftermath. Here in Cincinnati, my wife…
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What Does Hip-Hop Tell Us About Faith and Society?
Last week, Rev. Michael Waters wrote a post entitled “An Odd Future for Faith In Hip-Hip.” In the piece Rev. Waters asserts that “I am increasingly troubled by certain contemporary…
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What My Muslim Friend Taught Me About Jesus
By Jon HuckinsAli is my good friend and one of my hero’s. He has taught me so much. Let me tell you about him. Ali grew up a Shi’ite Muslim in Iran.…
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"Grace"less Christianity
A church called Point of Grace in Iowa that was renting off-site office space to a day care center has taken a rather radical turn. Ironically, it appears they’re offering…
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Is Salvation Through Faith the Core of the Gospel?
By Noah EcholsMany will argue the core of the gospel is found in Jesus claiming that we can only attain salvation through faith in him. After all, Jesus did say that he…
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Joy's Shadow As New School Year Begins
By Kent AnnanMy daughter attended her first day of kindergarten today. A poignant milestone dressed up in an exceptionally cute plaid jumper. My wife and I thought we were pretty cool with…
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Anti-Gay?
I was sitting at the edge of my seat, anxiously waiting for Hybels to make his announcement. As a former Starbucks partner (the internal terminology used for employees) and manager, the…
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Hurricane Irene and the Wrath of God
“Do you think God sent Hurricane Irene?” a young man asked me with a curious look in his eyes that was as innocent as it was pensive. My mind flashed…
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The "God" of the Gut: Animals, Faith & Gluttony
By Kurt WillemsJesus fished with his disciples. Jesus multiplied a few fish into enough to feed a village. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, fell into a trance in which God said:…
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Confessions of a Failing Radical: Challenges of Walking the Way
By Matt AnslowThis post was inspired by an amicable challenge set forth by my friend Simon Moyle, a peace activist and worthy Twitter followee, in the comments section of a recent post of…
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We Are All Illegal
We are all illegal aliens in the kingdom of God granted entry only by the amnesty of Christ’s blood. That is the strange foundational truth of Christianity. There is nothing…
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The Great White Hope? What White People Can Do About Racism
By Chris LahrI attend a congregation called, Iglesia del Barrio (IDB), which translated into English means “church of the neighborhood.” The congregation is made up of predominantly Puerto Rican folks who have…
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With Morbid Silence: Christian Denial in an Age of Economic Disparity
By Erin EcholsWhether it is in our passionate recitation from the one line of the one Martin Luther King speech we’ve actually read or the long clap that followed our now President’s suggestion…
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The Face of Privilege in Hard Times
Every industry is getting hammered by the recession, but small nonprofits are getting hit especially hard. I’ve been working mostly by contract for nonprofits for the last eight years, and…
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Hell on Earth and the Kingdom of God
By Greg DillIn 2008 I had the opportunity to serve the poorest of poor. There is a people group in Honduras known as, “the people of the dump” who literally live, eat,…
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Coming Out of the Theological Closet
By Kurt WillemsI’m told that coming out of the closet involves risk on the part of someone who identifies with the LGBTIQ community. How will my family and friends respond? Will I…
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Jesus the Breadmaker
“Look daddy, ” my two-year-old daughter said on Sunday, pointing to the communion table, “Jesus gave us more food again.” I don’t write nearly as much about little Zoe as…
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"A Trumpet Now Sounds" & "An Unspoken Leap"
A TRUMPET NOW SOUNDS A trumpet now sounds A horn now beckons For all to break free From Babylon The word has been sent From the most holy mountain And…
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The Majority Needs Diversity More Than The Minority
By Chris LahrA couple months ago I was at a one-day conference on raising money and sustaining your sport’s club. Working with Timoteo, a flag football ministry in Philly that mentors young…
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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 PerdueIf 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 HaddadMany 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 LahrSeveral 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 JanzenAlmost 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 AnslowMany 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 CampoloOK, 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 HuckinsConfession: 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 LahrOne 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 WillemsSomething 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 EcholsHere 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 CampoloThe 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 GobleThere’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 Hesscialis 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 LahrReligion 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 MarinI 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 AusburnAs 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 HaddadSummer 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 OkoroLast 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 JanzenI 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 MarinI 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 LahrWhen 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 BraunMost 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 WillemsIt’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 CampoloUntil 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 CampoloI 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 KellyIt 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 HaddadHave 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 CampoloShe 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 CampbellSaturday 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 WillemsGuys 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 CampoloI 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 CampoloThey 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 WallisLast 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 WillemsThe 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 HybelsIn 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 CampoloMany 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 HaddadPlato 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 WillemsI 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 WallisToday 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 HybelsNo, 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 HaddadIf 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…