By Robert Gelinas
March 9, 2010
In his latest book, Brian McLaren calls the church to a deeper and broader vision of the gospel that makes room for contemporary issues of justice and reconciliation. But has the controversial author gone too far this time? PLUS: Keep reading to find out how you can receive a FREE copy of McLaren's book, A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith.
After my 13-year-old's jarring confession, I talked to other youth about their impressions of God, the church, and "Christ vs. Christianity." I quickly discovered that my son was not alone in his doubts about the integrity of adult Christians.
If race, as many agree, is a social construct, why are Christians so good at holding on to it as a way to define, describe, and divide ourselves?
"Integration" and "diversity" do not express God's purpose for reconciliation deeply enough. What we need is a fresh paradigm that declares our new culture in Christ.
As fans get ready for the eagerly awaited Michael Jackson concert film, an African American pastor reconsiders the Black church's dubious embrace of the King of Pop.
But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
This week the U.S. Census Bureau released data showing that in 2008, the number of children living in poverty increased by 750,000 to 14.1 million. This is the biggest increase in child poverty since 1992.
When I read this I felt a pit in my stomach. In the wealthiest country that the world has ever seen, over 14 million of its most vulnerable citizens are coming to age in the midst of poverty.
Let me begin by asking a simple question: What Bible translation do you use and why?
As a pastor and wannabe theologian, I own, read, and use countless Bibles and various translations. My bookshelves are filled with everything from the KJV to The Message. A couple years ago, I made the switch to the TNIV (Today's New International Version) as my primary Bible for devotional reading. Prior to that, I was using mostly the NIV and NRSV. My pastoral staff at Quest Church (and even our denominational tribe, the ECC) also began teaching from the TNIV as part of our ongoing commitment to exegetical preaching. So, I was very disappointed to read yesterday that the TNIV will be abandoned and written off as a "mistake" by its publisher, Zondervan.
"He who sings prays twice." -- Saint Augustine
"What's going on?" -- Marvin Gaye
The soundtrack of the 1970s still speaks to us. Life, as many had known it, was rapidly changing back then. A generation had found its revolutionary voice and was confronting oppression domestically and abroad. Disenchantment with status quo Americanism had sparked the nation's social consciousness. And from the center of this whirlwind emerged a cry for deep justice.
Panhandlers and beggars seem to bombard us in the city. They wash our windshields at stoplights and then come to our windows expecting payment. They cling to ragtag cardboard signs and approach us with forlorn faces. Some are missing limbs. They sit in wheelchairs holding dirty cups. Some are in obvious need. We can tell by looking in their eyes that they truly are blind or hungry or ill.
What should we do?
During the end stretch of last year's heated presidential race, Barack Obama was tagged by some as a "socialist" for his controversial tax plan, which called for a system of redistribution of wealth. Now, with President Obama's equally controversial vision for universal health care taking center stage in the political arena, the "socialist" label has surfaced again. But what some Christians view as a dangerous slide toward socialism, others see as a needed step toward a more biblically just health-care system.
Without taking sides in the political debate, we want to explore this issue of biblical justice vs. socialism. To help bring clarity to the subject, we went back to a 1993 book from the pioneering evangelical social activist John M. Perkins. In Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development, Perkins lays out a broad vision for incarnational ministry, which includes both spiritual and economic outreach. In this excerpt, he challenges believers on the importance of social justice and explains how it differs from manmade economic and political systems.
Debates on our national system of providing health care are raging in political and corporate offices around the country. Traditionally, however, churches and faith centers have been the sites of healing, health, and wholeness for a community.
