How did Christianity grow from a small group of Jewish Jesus followers to become an official religion of the Roman Empire in less than 300 years? Come to ancient Asia Minor to explore how.
Category Archives: christianity
Advent in the Midst of…
I’ve had a hard time with Advent this year. With all that’s going on in the world, it’s been hard for me to celebrate the expectation of the birth of the Messiah.
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
The word “love” is loaded with cultural nuance and expectations that don’t always translate between langauges. Hebrew has a couple of words that English Bibles often translate as some form of love. In doing so, they obscure something essential about God’s character.
Joseph the Just
Even though Joseph says nothing in the Gospels, his actions—even before the angel’s appearance in his dream—provide an important lesson about justice and righteousness.
Out of Tune
There’s a disconnect between what we sing in worship and the worship music of the Bible. Why does it matter and, maybe more importantly, what does it say about us?
Breaking Down Walls
The community of believers form a sacred and holy space. When we understand that the community of faith is a dwelling place for God’s spirit, our differences and disagreements should pale compared to the Eternal living among us.
The Deconstruction Zone
Intense biblical study creates tension. The Bible invites us to sit in that tension, to ask questions, and engage the text. But sometimes the tension becomes so great that it fractures the foundations of your faith. There’s a term for this. Deconstruction.
Does the Old Testament Matter?
While most Christians would probably affirm that the Old Testament is important, have we unconsciously “unhitched” ourselves from it? Historically, when the church has “unhitched” itself from the Old Testament, heresy, anti-Semitism, and un-Godly behavior soon follow.
And Your Little Dog Too!
No matter how you slice it, Jesus’s encounter with a Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 is downright rude. Perhaps there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
Has the Cross Lost its Shame?
Has the cross lost its shame? Do concepts like honor and shame mean the same to us as they did in the ancient world of the Bible? I think there are some real differences and the implications for discipleship are significant.
Stepping into the Jordan 