Category Archives: Theology

Back Porch Eschatology Is The Best Eschatology

While grilling some chicken last night, Jackson brought me his Bible. (He wanted a “real” Bible the other day, rather than a “kids” Bible, so we stopped and let him pick one out.) He had been reading Genesis 1 and … Continue reading →

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Daring Faith: The Glory of the Cross

At the height of the Nazi regime, while millions of Jews were being killed in the extermination camps, mimeographed pamphlets denouncing Nazi tyranny were being distributed across Germany – leaflets written by a group calling themselves “The White Rose.” These … Continue reading →

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Daring Faith: Living the Prayer of Jesus

In his 2016 book entitled Be Light, author Samuel Rodriguez tells the following story: In 1957, a graduate student at Columbia University named Gordon Gould had been working with “pumping” atoms to higher energy states so they would emit light. … Continue reading →

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Daring Faith: The Holy Spirit

It was the first day of school for Dan Lear’s three kids. In a scramble to get his boys to class on time, the Seattle lawyer wound up parking in a space he probably should have avoided. “There was a … Continue reading →

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Daring Faith: I Was Blind But Now I See

In 2013, I made a choice to believe in the resurrection. Two years earlier, my father-in-law, Alan Shates, was diagnosed with ALS, a disease for which there is no known cure. As we watched this disease slowly strip Alan of … Continue reading →

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Creation Care

Today our family drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s our first visit to the park since the wildfires ravaged the area last fall, claiming the lives of more than a dozen people and causing property damage and … Continue reading →

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Daring Faith: Born Again

In August of 2010, Judy Rivers of Logan, Alabama went to her local bank to open a new account. As the clerk input Rivers’ personal information, everything seemed to be going smoothly, but then the woman behind the desk stopped … Continue reading →

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Daring Faith: Word

One word makes all the difference. Marketing experts preach the importance of putting the customer in the present. They say you need to help the customer imagine themselves actually using your product in the here and now. So when you’re … Continue reading →

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Daring Faith: “I Faith”

Maybe you’re familiar with the game “Truth or Dare.” It’s a silly game that pits truth-telling against some kind of “dare.” Well, we can think of the Gospel of John as containing both truth and dares. John draws out the … Continue reading →

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A Theological Reading of “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts”: Coke bottles

Toward the end of Neil White’s gripping memoir, “In the Sanctuary of Outcasts”, he records another encounter with Ella. With his release looming, White was lamenting to Ella his lack of transformation. He writes, “I had decided I needed to change, … Continue reading →

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