FRUSTRATION NOT THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE It is common for people to say that life isn’t like the movies. Love stories don’t usually end happy ever after, crime often goes unpunished, the underdog regularly gets pummeled. Mike Cosper adds, “Nerds seldom take off their...
THE HERO’S JOURNEY HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO The song “Holding Out For a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler was written over 35 years ago for the soundtrack to the 1984 film Footloose, and it has had tremendous staying power. It has been featured in countless TV shows, movies, commercials, ads...
STORIES OF ROMANCE THE ORIGINAL LOVE STORY Our culture has a fascination with love stories. Tim Keller writes, “The human longing for true love has always been celebrated in song and story, but in our contemporary culture it has been magnified to an astonishing degree.”[1] Even...
HOW CAN WE PRACTICE EVANGELISM? We spent a lot of time last week talking about what evangelism is, why we struggle with it, and the need for us to “plan to stop not evangelizing.” This week, we are going to focus on some specific practices and attitudes that will aid us in our...
WHAT IS EVANGELISM? One might expect that evangelical Christians would not need to spend a lot of time on this point. Evangelicals have long been known, and rightly so, for their emphasis on evangelism. So, it would be reasonable to conclude that there would not be any disagreement regarding...
BUT I ONLY BELIEVE IN SCIENCE Neuroscientist Steven Pinker in his book Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress, makes the rather bold claim that science has demonstrated that all of the belief systems of the major world religions are “factually...
ISN’T RELIGION BAD FOR PEOPLE? Religion in our culture is often presented as a dangerous thing for individuals to cling to. Some see it as a cause of anxiety, relational strife, ignorance, and intolerance. As one blog post claims, “Religion is like a slow poison, and just as poison...
IS THE WORLD REALLY LOSING ITS RELIGION? (Or is it just Michael Stipe?) It is commonly supposed that as the world becomes more economically prosperous and educated, religious belief will inevitably wane. Some have even written songs and delivered impassioned speeches picturing a...
LEARNING TO LOVE | SESSION FOUR INHABITING THE GREAT STORY: THE FORMATIVE POWER OF LITURGY Stories form our identities and give us a sense of place. “They stir our imaginations and help us to experience love, betrayal, hatred, and compassion that might be otherwise...
LEARNING TO LOVE | SESSION THREE WHAT THE HECK IS WATER? LEARNING TO EXEGETE OUR CULTURE In 2005, David Foster Wallace was invited to deliver the commencement address at Kenyon College. He began his speech with a parable that went like this: “There are these two young fish...