The Wizard of Oz was a mighty and powerful being to be feared and respected…until the curtain was drawn back and the Wizard turned out to be a mechanical façade created by a little man pushing buttons and pulling levers. The classic story came to mind this week as I heard two separate stories of megachurch pastors literally outsourcing their Bible study and exegetical sermon preparation work.Apparently the trend is not as uncommon as one might think, although I’m sure not every large church pastor utilizes the services of outsiders. The program works like this-a megachurch pastor has limited time and many obligation. He simply cannot pour hours of labor into studying the Bible, exegeting the texts, reading commentaries, and researching historical interpretations. So, he hires a credible…

 Earlier this year I wrote a few posts about how the economic crisis/recession might impact our understanding of the church and mission. In those posts I differentiate peoples’ “core time” from their “leisure time.” Most churches target a person’s leisure time when seeking to advance God’s mission. In other words, churches desire to see more people sacrifice more of their flexible time to participate in groups, activities, ministries, and programs that they believe align with what God wants done in the world.

There are multiple problems with this model, but chief among them is that it leaves a person’s “core time” (often 80% or more of their week) untouched. In other words, people come to believe that most of their life and time simply does not matter to God or…

Christians will often say, “We’re all sinners.” But the way we operate often communicates something else. Within church communities there is a tendency to see those with obvious addictions or vices as among the “seriously sinful.” Others may see themselves as “merely theologically sinful.” For them sin is a doctrinal concept rather than a daily battle for survival.

In Luke 7 a “seriously sinful” prostitute encounters Jesus at the home of Simon, a “merely thologically sinful” Pharisee. The scene forces us to acknowledge the way we categorize people to elevate ourselves, and the dangers of remaining blind to our own evil. Do you really believe “we are all sinners”? Let’s find out.

Listen now. No Perfect People Allowed

Amazing.

How else can you describe what happened last night when Barack Obama became the first African American elected President of the United States? The internet is saturated with essays documenting the magnitude of this event, but it’s the images of people cheering, crying, and celebrating throughout the world that really capture the emotion of it all.

Amid the reflection there have been numerous references to Martin Luther King Jr.’s pioneering civil rights movement and his “dream.” One commentator on the news last night said the day King delivered his famous speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he could not have known that a two year old boy in Hawaii would become the fulfillment of his prophecy.

I’ve been fascinated by Martin Luther King since seminary–not just as a civil right leader,…

Time magazine has a really interesting article about religion on YouTube. No one should be surprised to learn that Christians, Jews, Muslims, and every other brand of religion is flooding YouTube to educate the ignoranent masses about their doctrines. Time includes many examples of videos to watch. I particularly recommend the Christian version of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” called “Baby Got Book.” (Somebody get me a bucket.)I’m working on an article right now for Christianity Today, and the subject of YouTube preaching is directly related. I’m trying to discuss the impact of mass communication technology on preaching, and what the relationship is between a sermon and the community from which it arises and to which it is addressed. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill famously said, “All politics is local.” Can…

Fifteen hundred years ago, the emperor of Rome built a tomb for his beloved sister. The small building was designed in the shape of a cross with a vaulted ceiling covered with mosaics of swirling stars in an indigo sky. The focal point of the mosaic ceiling was a depiction of Jesus as a shepherd surrounded by sheep in a green paradise.

The mausoleum of Galla Placidia still stands in Ravenna, Italy, and has been called by scholars “the earliest and best preserved of all mosaic monuments” and one of the “most artistically perfect.”

But visitors who have admired the mosaic in travel books and on postcards will be disappointed when they enter the mausoleum. The structure has only tiny windows, and what light does enter is usually blocked by…

Our gospel arsenal is a lot bigger than it used to be. We can choose to preach the Good News from a number of different angles, according to the audience we’ve been given.

We live in a dark world. Our hearts long for goodness, beauty, justice, and peace, but they are often hidden behind the shadow cast by evil and sin. This is why preaching is so necessary. Whenever the kingdom of God is proclaimed, it is like a bright burst of light. In those brief moments, the shadows recede and we are given a glimpse of a world behind the darkness. It is a sublime vision that reorders our perception of reality and leaves us hungry for more.This understanding of preaching, the unveiling of an inspiring vision of God’s kingdom, is not the one I’ve always held. I was formed to think that the primary purpose of preaching was instruction. This view of preaching expects the informed, articulate person behind…

You may think writing a sermon every week is challenging work, but imagine writing speeches everyday for the leader of the free world. That was Michael Gerson’s job for six years under President George W. Bush. Last night I attended a benefit dinner in Chicago where Gerson was the keynote speaker. Prior to the dinner I participated in a small roundtable discussion with Gerson about his time in the White House and his perception of current challenges—domestic and international—facing the country.Much of the conversation focused on Gerson’s responsibility in crafting the President’s response in the days following 9/11. Leading a nation in shock and grief is not easy, but simultaneously showing strength and resolve is a challenge few presidential speechwriters have faced. Gerson was almost universally praised for…