I Can Love Jesus Without Going to Church
I hear this a lot these days: "I can love Jesus without going to church." I suppose you can. But you won't get very far. If you're one of those people, don't tune out. There's something you need to hear. When I was in college, I saw a tshirt that said, "Jesus is not a religion." I loved it. I thought it was so perfect. That's right, Jesus not a religion! What a revolutionary thought!! It was that mindset that set me down the path to the version of Christian "spirituality" I sported for many years. I loved to say
Like a Good Little Christian
I used to be a good little Christian. I knew all the Christian-ese. I had a few key scriptures memorized. I did all the things good Christians do - I read my Bible pretty regularly, I went to church every Sunday, I listened to worship music in my spare time, I memorized popular Bible verses. I was really good at acting like a good Christian. And I counted it all as merits in my honor. I was doing a God a favor, I guess. I used to think that there were levels of Christianity. Growing up in church, I was
Dangerous Bible Games
It has been fascinating reading the comments you are writing on the posts I've made about Phil Robertson and the Duck Dynasty debacle. I love reading all the different perspectives, yes, even the ones I don't agree with. But I have seen a recurring theme among many of the comments as well as other articles I am reading, whether they are from Christians or non-Christians - and it's a problem that needs to be addressed. We play dangerous games when it comes to Christianity. In my view, there are two main games we play that are both destructive and damning.
I Blame God for Phil Robertson
I fear we need to gain a little perspective on the subject of Phil Robertson vs. the entire homosexual community. I've heard a lot of people clarify their stance on the subject with phrases along the lines of, "it's not what he said, it's how he said it." Perhaps we need to have a little reality check. Phil Robertson is an uncouth, backwoods redneck (self-proclaimed). His beard is longer than my hair. His idea of comfortable clothes includes camouflage pants and a camouflage shirt. His idea of Sunday fancies includes camouflage pants and a black shirt. His idea of interior
The Bible is For Bigots (and Other Christmas Stories)
Wow, the web seems to have blown up in the last 24 hours over the whole A&E Networks vs. Phil Robertson debacle! It seems everyone has a distinct and polarizing opinion on the subject. In case you're unaware entirely, Phil Robertson, the father of the family starring in the A&E show Duck Dynasty, said (in a nutshell) in an interview with GQ magazine that he believes homosexuality is wrong because the Bible teaches that it's wrong. And what a hullabaloo that created! People are shouting from their virtual mountain tops on either side of the debate. "Christians are haters!" "Stand
To Santa or Not to Santa: That is the Question
It's that time of year. When elves are being mischievous on shelves. When reindeer are flying around shopping center rooftops. When an old man can somehow see when I'm sleeping. He knows when I'm awake. He knows if I've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake. (That's the only reason to be good, after all.) I don't ever want my kids to grow up thinking Christmas is all about Santa, or Santa's birthday (thank you, Bart Simpson). I know lots of families who wrestle with faith versus culture this time of year. I've read many blogs on
Record Cold, a Dead Heater and a Miracle I Didn’t See
"The worst ice storm in years!" "The coldest weather DFW has ever seen this time of year!" "Icemageddon!!" "Icepocalypse!" These are just some of the phrases floating around social media and local news over the past few days here in Dallas/Fort Worth. It has been the coldest, iciest weather I can remember in DFW. It started on Thursday with freezing rain and sleet, coming down in droves, for a solid day. And here we are, Monday morning, and about 2% of it has melted. Literally entire freeways are shut down. People have been stranded on the highway for days. No