American Christianity

Over the past six years, I’ve been playing culture-war-catch-up with American Christianity. Just when I figure out what everyone is yelling about, another bit of drama blows into town like so much tumbleweed. I really need a flowchart just to keep up with it all.

The sign reads, “Jesus can free you from sin!” In days gone by, I would have rejoiced in a billboard with Jesus’ name on it. I would have cheered that someone mentioned “sin” in their marketing of salvation. Today, I am asking why we are using billboards to market salvation…

With the invasion of American corporate culture into the church, there arises confusion about the church elder, who is often mislabeled “pastor,” or worse, “lead pastor.” There are two offices in the local church: elder and deacon (1 Tim 3; Titus 1). The men of God, appointed by the Holy…

Everyone does what is right in his own eyes, when it comes to ministry in the American Church. There is a cavalier individualism, coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit of, “God told me to do this.” …

Last week, I came across an image that sparked a reflection on a lot of the trauma I experienced as a child. It’s trauma that lingers in my life, and it’s trauma that I discovered a whole lot of other people share. Well, I posted about my trauma and how…

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, political prisoner and Soviet whistleblower, told the Russian people to “live not by lies.” As the Russian people grew more and more concerned about Soviet propaganda, he wrote, “And it is not every day and not on every shoulder that violence brings down its heavy hand: It demands…