In the past weeks I've read Christian "influencers" urging the faithful to abandon "blue" states for "red" and cities for the rural life. But this often fear-based effort is an attempt to choose which neighbors we will love rather than choosing to love the neighbors we have. Jesus is Lord of, present in, and on mission in a city of millions as much as in the shire. And having served in both, I've also met the devil in both as well, I assure you. We are on mission in both and are called to fidelity in both. Retreat from or to either isn't an option.

Cultural Christianity isn't the same thing as Nominal Christianity, Christendom, or even Christian culture. Cultural Christianity is simply shorthand for the "philosophical canopy" of shared virtues that permeates a society & is passed along via certain texts & truths. The societal rejection of the virtues that the Faith celebrates, teaches, and encourages, necessitates a new unifying canopy. This really is revolutionary activity. But which canopy should replace it? Fragmentation in Western society (broadly considered) or the US in particular

Peter stepped over the threshold of Cornelius' house into the promise God's mission. The boundaries of God's mercy were wider than Peter imagined. He did this because Christ had already stepped over the threshold of eternity to eat with unclean people, inviting us to his feast. The Gospel of Grace triumphed over the boundaries of people. In an effort to repudiate what is bad and preserve the good, some still try to rebuild the walls and create a false "us vs. them" dichotomy, which denies the wide embrace of the Gospel.

You can't simply pray about a kid being gunned down because he rang the wrong doorbell. It's going to take more than prayer. God doesn't do what he's commissioned us to do. He's entrusted work to us, empowered us for the work, and is with us in the work. But the work to be done - ...is nevertheless our work. Prayer doesn't transfer the work back to God. Prayer invites his grace to accompany us in our work. Work without prayer is practical atheism; prayer without work is presumptuous theism. Prayer is work, but it is not the only work to do but rather...

Fiery trials certainly contribute to who we become but also reveal who we already are. Crises are apocalyptic - they reveal as they transform. This is true for persons, families, congregations, and even nations. The crisis of the past few years... ... has permitted a revelation of the US church so that it can be transformed. We can expect continuity and massive discontinuity, collapse & renewal, and mercy amid judgment. What's been revealed is both beautiful and ghastly. The beautiful must be preserved...

Like Christmas, revivals are special seasons of celebration & renewal. They don't last. Theyre not designed to do so. They're not the norm. For the believer or church to grow in continual renewal requires the ordinary means God has given us, not just unusual seasons of mercy. These aren't juxtaposed but instead compliment one another as graces from on high. The preaching of the Gospel and the reception of the sacraments in the communal worship of God's people may sound a tad boring in comparison with the thunder and lightning of an awakening, but...

Dear Lord, please send revival only to us and those of whom we approve, and by means we can affirm. Lord, please don't send rain on the liberals or the woke, nor Lord, on the Methodists or Pentecostals. Lord, we do need reviving but it needs to be for us, look like us... ... and confirm us in the prejudices you have entrusted to us. Please don't act in a way that subverts our understanding or makes us embrace people whose theology we find marginal, deplorable, or nonsensical. Lord, please revive only people who agree with our politics. Only then

In Ecclesiastes, we learn from Solomon that he found three guarantees - uninterrupted cycles of life, death no matter what in the end, and standing before God in eternity. Everything else is in a state of unpredictable, uncontrollable sorrows, joys, and madness. This is... ... true of pleasure as well. Famously, Solomon pursued pleasure as well as power and wealth. Rabbi Rami Shapiro wrote, "Solomon didn’t leave anything to speculation. He didn’t interview the wealthy, he became wealthy. He didn’t ponder the promiscuous, he became as legendary...

Jesus' last miracle before his crucifixion: he healed a man wounded by one of his followers. Then he healed the apostle who wielded his weapon in anger. The wounded man’s name was Malchus and his ear was severed from his head by Peter, who believed it was his duty to save Jesus. When the Church wounds the world in a misguided effort to defend itself and Jesus, it reduces the capacity of people to hear the Gospel. Judas sought to destroy the mission of Jesus through his betrayal. Peter sought to defend the mission of Jesus through violence.

There's an internal time machine we've all been given: memories to take us back and dreams to take us forward. They are both beautiful and troubling, inspiring and humbling, arriving freely but costing dearly, especially the dreams - if we embrace them. Seeking first the Kingdom is the greatest quest of all, and the most costly. The word we trust is also the word that tests us until it comes to pass. It mocks us and humbles us until it finds its fulfillment in ways we could never foresee. Psalm 105

What happens in worship this Sunday is of infinitely greater consequence than what happens in voting booths next Tuesday.

“The crisis in the U.S. church has...everything to do with giving up on the faith and discipline of our Christian baptism and settling for a common... ... generic U.S. identity that is part patriotism, part consumerism, part violence, and part affluence.” ~ Walter Brueggemann

So just to make sure there’s no lack of clarity: if you think that what happens this Tuesday in the election in the US is more important than...

US Christians camped out in Barca loungers with a coke & pretzels, watching 40 hours of non-stop editorializing masquerading as news, and then reaching for the remote while they muse on how their terrible persecution must mean the end is nigh is straight up eschatological crazy. Where is the Fed or State Govnt threatening to throw you in prison, torture and/or execute you, for your faith? Take away your Bible? Forbid you to hold the faith? They’re NOT??? Oh. They’re simply making sure that all citizens have the same liberty of conscience you do? Oh.

The more I ponder the 'seven mountains' nonsense, NAR, and other variants of dominionism, the one common thread in their exegetical folly is a misunderstanding of the Biblical word 'nations.' They interpret it in modernist state terms rather than what is intended - the goyim... ... the non-Jewish peoples of the world. "Disciple all nations" isn't a command to take political control of the world. It is a commission to take the good news of Jesus to all: the Savior ALREADY HAS authority over all and offers mercy to all people everywhere. His dominion...

All the Christian leaders tweeting about how great the newly minted leader of Italy is should slow their chariot. Her party, with deep roots in Italian fascism, may prove to be less than desirable. Wrapping fascism in God-talk doesn't make it less evil. theatlantic.com/international/… Now, just weeks before the 100th anniversary of the March on Rome—the October 1922 event that put Mussolini in power—Italy may have a former MSI activist for its prime minister and a government rooted in fascism. In the words of Ignazio La Russa, Meloni’s predecessor as...

Encouragement for Pastors who feel like they've got nothing left to give, the message isn't coming together, and the power is out:

"Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for his names sake" Rom 1:5 Fellow prisoners of hope, you have been given "Grace to Bring About" the outcome for which you've been called. Not only has grace saved you, it has also empowered you to actually bring to fruition the mission on which you've been sent. Overwhelmed? Opposed? Slandered? Exhausted?

One of our greatest needs today is for the grace that leads us to pray and to do so fervently and effectually. Jesus taught us to pray so that we would not 'lose heart' and these are the only two alternatives. We can pray, or we can lose heart. We can pray or be trapped... ...in anger, fear, isolation, hatred, or anxiety. These imposters run rampant within us but are sent packing when we pray. This is especially true when we pray with others in community. May we each find the worshipping, petitioning community with whom we can pray today

Lloyd-Jones observed that a preacher never accused of being antinomian might not be preaching the Good News strongly enough. Today, if one’s never been accused of being “woke” it’s worth wondering whether that pastor is actually dealing with the Bible’s words on justice & love. Some of the finest Gospel communicators I know are accused of being woke simply because they affirm the entire Gospel reality that reconciliation w/God creates a new relationship w/others, & the apostolic & prophetic call to care for the poor & welcome all is essential truth.

"...the PCA has major rifts within it. Brothers and churches are regularly in conflict over a broad
range of issues. The question before us is not simply 'What view of subscription should we adopt?' but
'Will any view of confessional subscription solve our disunity problems?'" That wasn't written last week. It was written by @timkellernyc in June of 2001. Keller goes on to point out that the subscription issue, while important, isn't at the root of the conflicts. These arise more from culture & our response to it than from dogmatic convictions.

Earlier today, @DavidAFrench published a column on the connections between extremist pentecostal & charismatic prophetic movements and some of the outrageous Christian nationalist rallies seen there. He noted @charisma_news as a sponsor. I haven't seen it in prob 15 years & was ...shocked to see its partisan stance when I looked it up. Here's just one excerpt from its pages - "While more than 700 people have been arrested in connection with the January 6, 2021 peaceful rally opposing the stolen 202 election..." That 2021 typo was theirs, not mine.

Hymn for this morning-

Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord:
unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
tender to me the promise of his word;
in God my Savior shall my heart rejoice. Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his name:
make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
his mercy sure, from age to age the same;
his holy name the Lord, the Mighty One.

This isn't news, but some churches are in trouble - whether realized or not - because they're following a model requiring that they exist to satisfy the appetites of causally connected consumers instead of making resilient disciples transformed by the cross to embrace self-denial The approach isn't about contextualization, being missional, or belonging before believing. It's not about Kingdom hospitality that welcomes all as we would welcome Jesus. It's about a posture of pleasing people rather than pleasing God. Rather than loving God supremely so people