Essential Worship
Perhaps we shouldn’t applaud being called “essential.” A government with the power to designate us as “essential” also has the power to designate us as not.
Treating Costco Like My Church
Some people wanting to reopen their church amid coronavirus restrictions say churches should be treated like Costco. So, I decided to test this theory out. What if my church service could operate like a Costco?
The Masked Samaritan
As a child, I imagined the bandits who beat and robbed the man in Jesus’s parable about being a good neighbor wore masks. Now, I’m pretty sure the Samaritan who helped the man was the one really covering his face.
Gambling with Our Lives
As states across the country shut down non-essential businesses in March and April, debates started about what should count as essential. But one unessential business apparently remained open as “essential” across the country: state lotteries.
Don’t Let Governor Jephthah Sacrifice Innocent Lives
Governors across the country recently started lifting coronavirus restrictions even as health experts warn it’s too soon to reopen. With the rashness of the biblical Judge Jephthah, many governors push ahead with their plans even though it means sacrificing lives.
The Danger of Succumbing to Our History
Last week, Southern Seminary President Al Mohler sparked controversy as he reversed course and endorsed President Donald Trump’s reelection. But should we really expect anything different from a man who continues to affirm the theology of slaveholders who damned people to hell on Earth just
Living in Post-Easter Pain
Easter came and went over the weekend, and we find ourselves in much the same place as if nothing changed. But, what if Easter isn’t the end of the story? What if life's victory over death has begun, but isn’t yet complete?
Faith as a Plague Passes Over
A common temptation in reading the Bible is to put ourselves in the sandals of the good guys. While it’s good to be inspired by the faithful characters in the Bible, if that’s the only roles we see ourselves playing, we miss a more accurate
Spring Without Easter
There’s a famous line in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe where a character laments that because of the White Witch’s rule over the land of Narnia, it is “always Winter but never Christmas.” But, what about a Spring without Easter?
When We Get Our Crisis Backward
In the disorienting last few days, it feels our society is reading Exodus 32 backward. We’ve started with a plague, moved to inappropriate revelry, and now seek to worship a statue of a cow.