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Mercy Not Sacrifice

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August 2017

August 12, 2017

How Satan Wins in Charlottesville and Elsewhere

Last night, a group of white nationalists carrying tiki torches took over the UVA Lawn...

August 11, 2017

The spiritual discipline of backing down

As I write this, the world has been taken hostage by a high-stakes game of...

August 08, 2017

Is it un-Christ-like to drag a famous theologian online?

I got in trouble this weekend for a Facebook post in which I expressed regret...

August 03, 2017

How AA defines holiness

The entry in AA's Daily Reflections for today says, "Our real purpose is to fit ourselves...

August 02, 2017

How do I preach the gospel at the #1 party school in the country?

It's official. The Princeton Review has declared Tulane University the #1 party school in the...

July 2017

July 23, 2017

When Jesus’ garden becomes a monoculture

I have been a gardener for many years. And I hate weeds. In Louisiana, the...

April 2017

April 27, 2017

The narrative that’s destroying United Methodism

There’s a narrative circulating around United Methodism. It goes something like this: if preachers would...

April 21, 2017

The debate that’s older than Paul’s letter to the Galatians (#NoSuchLaw)

The United Methodist Church faces a major flashpoint next week when our Judicial Council meets...

March 2017

March 01, 2017

My ashes are my promise to resist sin (Ezekiel 9:4)

It's no secret that the mainline church would prefer not to talk about sin. That's...

January 2017

January 24, 2017

Five #AlternativeFacts of toxic Christianity

While government officials have always distorted truth, the Trump Administration is the first to openly...

January 10, 2017

I would have settled for a field goal

Before I was ever a writer, I played football. I love the game. It's one...

January 04, 2017

How did defenders of absolute truth become post-truth ideologues?

A crucial part of my conservative evangelical upbringing was learning about the difference between “absolute...

December 2016

December 28, 2016

Why I hate the word “content”

I usually hate words whenever they become trendy, whenever it seems like people are saying...

December 22, 2016

Rogue One and the kingdom of God (spoiler warning!)

Spoiler alert! Everybody dies in the end. It’s true about all forms of life in...

December 03, 2016

What if they’re the ones who know Jesus better than we do?

What if they’re the ones who know Jesus better than we do? What if they...

November 2016

November 28, 2016

The two prayers we can pray

It seems like now would be a good time to go back to the basics....

November 26, 2016

Maybe Glennon Melton is good for evangelicals

Popular Christian author Glennon Melton got divorced and started dating a woman. And the evangelical...

November 22, 2016

Resisting Satan in an age without integrity

My wife Cheryl has integrity. I often make fun of her for it. When she's...

November 20, 2016

I’m with the people making sanctuary

The only positive thing about the last two weeks has been the sacred space I've...

November 02, 2016

Hats off to the Hatmakers for taking up their cross

Jen Hatmaker is a tremendously popular author among evangelical Christian women. She and her husband...

October 2016

October 26, 2016

I’m tired of auditioning to be your pastor

I'm pretty good at being a pastor. It's my favorite thing to do. When I've...

October 07, 2016

Let’s start an inclusive evangelical campus ministry network!

Time just ran an article about InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's witch-hunt against LGBTQ-affirming staff-people. Not staff-people...

September 2016

September 29, 2016

How do you teach thirst at a school where everyone drinks?

You have to learn how to be thirsty. And until you’re thirsty, you cannot really...

September 27, 2016

To the ones who never say yes

You will never be inspired If you refuse to be breathed into If you always...

September 18, 2016

My seven salvations so far

There is nothing more anxiety-inducing about growing up Southern Baptist than the obsession with having...

September 12, 2016

An open letter with 12 honest questions for the Wesleyan Covenant Association

Dear Wesleyan Covenantal Association, First of all, I'm not afraid of you. I don't think...

September 10, 2016

Five things I would tell my suicidal 21-year old self

Since it's International Suicide Prevention Day, I wanted to share some reflections about my suicide...

September 03, 2016

Five reasons why taco trucks are America’s salvation

When Donald Trump's surrogate infamously declared that there will soon be #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner unless somebody stops...

August 2016

August 26, 2016

Christians should be creating safe spaces, not ridiculing them

Well, the University of Chicago has been all over my feed lately because of a...

August 18, 2016

American exceptionalism (a poem inspired by Ryan Lochte)

You know that we're the only real democracy; Other countries are corrupt; They don't have...