I’ve been writing about the Good News, what it is and what it does. So it caught my attention when I saw online a tweet (an X?) by Mark Driscoll. In it, he writes, “The Good News isn’t good news without the bad news.” He said so quote-tweeting (quote-Xing?) another pastor, Greg Laurie, whose tweet you can see here. I disagree with Mark Driscoll often, and I disagree with him here. Is it possible to have the Good News without... Read more
Last time, I answered the question, “What is the Good News?” Today, I’d like to answer a different question: “What does the Gospel do?” News can be interesting. News can also be boring. If I turn on the news and the story is about something that interests me, I’m sticking around to watch. If the story is not something that interests me, I’m flipping channels. We skim over the newspaper or our news feeds or apps until we see something... Read more
What is the Gospel? What is the Good News that this blog purports to be about? Let’s find out! Gospel Background The word “Gospel,” which means “Good News,” does not come to us from a vacuum. The word has a background, a history. It was used for other purposes before Jesus’ followers began using the word to describe their teaching. In Isaiah 52:6-7, the prophet Isaiah writes this: Therefore my people shall know my name; on that day they shall... Read more
Do evangelicals hate women? I don’t think they do, but is evangelical teaching often harmful to women? You bet! If you have missed the first three posts in this series, check them out here, here, and here. If you want more “Good News, Everyone” content, join me on Facebook. “I’ve Done Something Wrong” When I was a youth pastor, my wife had a conversation with a teenage girl in which she said, “I think the Bible is sexist and God... Read more
Normally, I would have already written two or three blog posts this week. I usually try very hard to have at least two every week. As you may have noticed, I have not posted since last Friday. There are several very good reasons why. I’ve been doing some extra pastoring. What is it like being a pastor? Well, let me tell you. The Pastor’s Life I’m a pastor. Being a pastor involves wearing a lot of hats and being able... Read more
Oh no! Is that the youth pastor heading up to the pulpit? You have worked really hard to invite your neighbors to church. Your neighbor does not know Jesus but is curious and is spiritually seeking. You’ve invited them to Easter, Christmas Eve, even the time you had a solo in that morning’s special music. They never came. Finally, one day, they agree to attend worship service with you. How exciting! You get to the sanctuary early to save them... Read more
If you missed the first two installments of my reflections on the Parable of the Lost son, click here and here. I had a math teacher in high school, Mr. Brown, who was well known as the funniest teacher at our school. He always had a joke for us, most which ran off the rails toward the end as, we were told by another teacher, he realized that he couldn’t tell that joke at school. One day in class, he... Read more
Caring for the poor and hungry has always been an emphasis with Christianity and is a major theme of Christian Scripture. What does the Bible say about the poor? A lot, actually. Old Testament Law Caring for those in need was a major theme of Old Testament Law. Israel, God’s people, were expected to look out for those in need and care for them. They were to create a society in which generational poverty would not exist and debts could... Read more
If you missed part one of “What is an Evangelical, Anyway?” I discussed the Modernist-Fundamentalist divide which saw half of the American church move in the direction of modern science and philosophy and the other half retreat with their high view of Scripture and the supernatural into seclusion. This is important; their withdrawal from the world helped spark a new movement which would come after World War II: the neo-evangelicals. In this series, at least at this point, I am... Read more
When I close my eyes and think about home, certain things come to my mind. Home is that beautiful old Tudor on Jenkinson Court in suburban Chicago. Home is shooting buckets in the driveway behind it or zipping down the bike path toward my friend’s house or popping over to Shirl’s for a chocolate ice cream cone. Home is turning on the radio and hearing Pat Hughes’ voice calling the Cubs game that afternoon. Home can be geography, a place... Read more
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