QUOTABLES: John Calvin on the Word of God

“Let the pastors boldly dare all things by the word of God. . . . Let them constrain all the power, glory, and excellence of the world to give place to and to obey the divine majesty of this word. Let them enjoin everyone by it, from the highest to the lowest. Let them edify…

John Calvin the Preacher

We’re honoring the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation at MainStreet this month by exploring some of the key figures. Last week we focused on Luther, and I preached a portion of a Luther sermon. This week we’re meeting John Calvin! I can’t think of a better place to turn to learn about John Calvin and…

Naked & Embodied Words

In our digital age, many (if not most) the messages we receive throughout the week come stark naked — i.e., disembodied.  I’m finishing up my first doctoral thesis paper today, and exploring the power of and need for “embodied teaching” in the church and “embodied words” in our lives as a whole. We get sprinkled with text…

Boomers, Millennials & Bible Study

I was reading a piece today in Christianity Today (October ’17) about how Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) is trying to reinvent themselves to reach more millennials. This widely respected Bible teaching ministry birthed just after WWII is almost 60 years old, and is struggling to get people under 40 to attend. I found the following very…

Texts for Taming the Tongue

I compiled a sampling of sacred texts below that can help us be more loving and wise in our interactions on social media. If only all Christians would seriously consider these words before they send off that tweet or make that comment on a friend’s post. These are just a few of the hundreds of…

Social Media & The Sermon on the Mount

WWJT? “What would Jesus Tweet?”  I’ve been asking this question this week as I watch people wax bombastic on their Facebook pages or Twitter feeds. There’s a lot of shouting past one another and very little listening (not to mention loving). Strong opinions abound while grace and civility are in short supply. So, how might…

Greg Boyd, Apologetics & The Case for a Christian Movie

Do you ever wish you had a time machine so you could go back to relive various moments a second time? I’m not talking here about moments you regret and wish you could “do over.” I mean going back to moments that seemed so ordinary at the time, but in retrospect you wish you would…

Dylan & Denominationalism

In November 1979, while I was 4-months old and sucking down baby milk, Bob Dylan was getting his first taste of the milk of newfound faith in Jesus Christ.  Dylan was about to shock the world and confuse and offend most his fanbase with his first tour as a “born again” believer. His next tour…