Read part 1 of ‘Redefining Radical’

Consider who is celebrated in most churches. Typically it is the person who is engaged in “full time Christian work”–the pastor or missionary, or people who pursue social causes that result in a big and measurable impact. (Who isn’t talking about William Wilberforce these days?) Similarly, those who behave like pastors or missionaries periodically in their workplace, neighborhood, or perhaps on a short-term trip overseas are praised for these actions. But a church will rarely, if ever, celebrate a person’s “ordinary” life and work.

For example, Andy Crouch tells about a pastor he met in Boston. The pastor recounted the story of a woman in his congregation who was a lawyer for the Environmental Protection Agency. She played a vital role in…

Many churches focus on providing a compelling worship experience. The desire is to attract people to an excellent production where they can sing, learn, and leave feeling renewed. For decades we’ve called this approach “seeker-sensitive.” But does that sensitivity have limits?

News reports broke last week about a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy being removed from Elevation Church for being a “distraction” during the Easter service. The boy’s mother said, “Easter Sunday he got all dressed up, got ready to go, no small feat with a kiddo like him.” But, according to the report, after the opening prayer inside the sanctuary the boy voiced his own kind of “Amen.”

“We were very abruptly escorted out,” the mother said.

Following the incident, the boy’s mother contact church leaders with…

“How radical do I have to be?” the suburban mom asked. She had recently read a number of Christian books decrying the self-centered nature of much of the American church. The authors had apparently had enough of the consumer orientation of their congregations. As a remedy, each of the books calls readers to live a counter-cultural life of radical sacrifice and mission. The books, while inspiring, left this woman feeling “exhausted.”

“I totally agree with the their assessment of the church. We are too self- centered,” she explained. “But how radical is enough? Should I sell my house and car? It is wrong for my kids to be attending a private school? Do I need to move oversees and work with orphans? I want to really experience the…

How do you define success? It goes without saying that those committed to Jesus Christ and his purposes in the world ought to define success differently than other people. After all, Jesus himself refused his culture’s narrow view of success; in fact he regularly clashed with his own disciples about it. While they were excited by growing crowds and political power, Jesus reminded them that “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). Faithfulness to the Father led Jesus to defy the crowds and accept the cross.

A lot has been said about the danger of putting church growth and effectiveness ahead of all else. Gordon MacDonald calls this temptation missionalism and powerfully explains how younger…

Over the last few years I’ve had the pleasure of being a guest on “PrimeTime America,” a program on Moody Radio hosted by Greg Wheatley. numerous times. Greg is now hosting a new program called “Inside Look” on Saturdays where he goes much deeper with a single guest for an hour. On Jan 15 I was his guest. The first half of the program focused on my background and a discussion of big trends in the church today. The second half was an exploration of my upcoming book, WITH: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God. Listen to the interview on the “Inside Look” website. (Some versions of Firefox may not play the audio file.)

Read Part 1 of “Why Interfaith Cooperation?”

Reason 2: The Church Needs It

Since Constantine became the Emperor of Rome in the fourth century, Christianity has enjoyed a privileged position in the West. But that is no longer the case. Over the last 100 years, Europe has become almost entirely post-Christian and North America is on the same heading. As Christianity loses cultural dominance, we are seeing some segments of the church launch into tantrums demanding its moral and theological tenants be universally imposed as they once were.

But alignment with one political party since the 1970s, and fighting a cultural war with no exit strategy, has taken its toll. As reported by Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman in their book unChristian, most young adults in the US…

It seems like Calvinists are everywhere these days. Thousands gather for conferences-Together for the Gospel, The Gospel Coalition, Advance. Mark Driscoll is on Nightline and dominates among church leaders on YouTube. Church planting networks (pseudo-denominations) like Acts 29 are attracting a lot of young leaders wearing plaid shirts with pearl-snap buttons. And both secular and evangelical news outlets are taking notice. Christianity Today did a cover story on the young Calvinist phenom. But is it all just an illusion?Barna released new research that says there are no more Calvinist pastors today than there were 10 years ago. David Kinnaman, Barna Group president, summarized the findings:

“there is no discernable evidence from this research that there is a Reformed shift among U.S. congregation leaders over the last decade.

…

While in Cape Town last month for the Lausanne Congress, I met with a number of friends who each participated in the 12 Cities | 12 Conversations tour leading up to Cape Town 2010. About half way through the congress we gathered to talk about the experience, what we were learning, and how the Lausanne Congress might impact our ministries in the US.

The video features Jim Belcher (author/pastor), Margaret Feinberg (author/speaker) , Dan Cho (The Veritas Forum), Paco Amador (New Life Church, Chicago) , Sara Groves (song writer, musician), Jedd Medefind (Christian Alliance for Orphans), Bobby Gruenewald (LifeChurch.tv), and Bethany Hoang (International Justice Mission).

12 Cities | 12 Conversations – Cape Town 2010 from ConversationGatherings on Vimeo.

What did Jesus mean when he said, “Judge not, and you will not be judged.” It’s one of the most commonly quoted verses from the bible (Luke 6:37). Many of us, and not merely politicians, invoke the verse as a first defense when accused of wrong. It is also a favorite stone thrown by those outside the church to accuse Christians of hypocrisy.

In 2007 a book was published called UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity. It’s based on research done among non-Christian 20-somethings. One of their core findings was that nearly nine out of ten young people view Christians as “judgmental.” And given the prohibition against judging issued by Jesus, this would mean most people view Christians as hypocrites.

Given these findings,…

Jennifer Taylor has confessed her sin publicly: she’s bored at church. But unlike many people, she’s not interested in a more whizz-bang service with hipper music or preaching. “I’m not looking for a slicker sermon series or a faux-hawked worship leader or designer coffee in the back lobby.” And she’s not about to leave her church to find a different mountain to climb:

“I also believe you make a commitment to one local church and invest in community with those believers long-term, I’m not going to start shopping for a new church. Besides, all those churches would also have long sermons and rambling prayers and worship leaders in skinny jeans. That’s the problem.”

So what is she bored with? What is she looking for? Taylor…