The Kingdom of God is at hand. It is right now, in this very present moment. Just as it was in the now-moment two millennia ago in the ancient Near East when Jesus first announced it, this Kingdom has arrived and in it broken lives are made new. And yet so often this same Kingdom seems elusive. We hope for it but can’t find it. Although it transcends time and space, instead of “now” it is “not yet”. It is a Kingdom... Read more
Proud to welcome this guest contribution from one to the most of the joyful, inspiring men of God I know. Steve Backlund is particularly gifted in helping Christians develop victorious mindsets. Welcome, Steve, to Tip of the Spear/Patheos! 5 FAITH-FILLED BELIEFS THAT PRODUCE HOPE By Steve Backlund Romans 5:3-4 provides a tremendous road map for spiritual breakthrough: “We also glory in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Character would seem to be a final goal for Christians,... Read more
So today’s my birthday. I’m one of the eleven Americans who knows next to nothing about Star Wars, but to my fellow Jedi warriors celebrating the beginning of another year today, Happy Birthday. May the Fourth be with you! Today I turn 31 and am still a single man who is waiting patiently for a wife. Actually, that’s a huge lie…I’m rather impatient on this one. It’s really, reeeeeally hard. Ever the Bible nerd, this particular birthday would remind me of Proverbs 31, a passage of... Read more
In recent weeks TIME magazine, the Washington Post, and the New York Times have all published articles critical of pornography. It appears that our society has finally reached the climax (pun intended or not? you decide!) of its obsession with smut since it has been demonstrably proven to be a public health crisis. Now even secular liberal publications, the same papers that have enthusiastically cheered on the advances of the sexual revolution, express distaste for porn. Their objections are not so much on moral grounds, but... Read more
Christians are people of the cross and that befuddles many, especially that “of the cross” part. Most non-Christians have their ways of dealing with believers in Jesus; dealing with the cross of Jesus is another matter entirely. How and why does this historical event, the death of Jesus in the particular fashion in which he was killed, have so many implications for humanity two thousand years after its occurrence? If the cross of Jesus Christ was merely an inconsequential anecdote, a blip on the radar... Read more
Not to throw cold water on what the Holy Spirit is doing and how he is moving here in the United States, but as I mentioned in a previous post, the actual number of evangelical Christians in America is relatively small and the best research on the subject confirms this. According to Brad Waggoner (cited in John Dickerson’s 2013 book The Great Evangelical Recession), even smaller is the number of Christians who regularly share the gospel with people who do not know Jesus. That got... Read more
I’ve outed myself several times here on Patheos as one speaking-in-tongues charismatic Christian. If my writing is not evidence enough, my bio at the end of each post states that I am a graduate of a well-known charismatic School of Ministry, which I am, and I am very grateful for my education and training there. Though it depends on who you talk to, my personal experience is that the vast majority of self-identified charismatics are solidly evangelical, and they believe the Bible to... Read more
Lately I’ve been existing in a state of unrelenting humiliation and bewilderment. You see, I am an evangelical Christian who would describe himself as right-of-center politically. Countless polls, headlines, and consistent primary victories are showing that those who supposedly think like me are consumed with affection for one Donald Trump. Truth be told, it makes me shudder. As I reach for the Mylanta I will stop short of calling into question the Christian convictions of actual Trump supporters. Only God can judge the... Read more
My favorite thing to do in life is to sing. At my Anglican parish in Virginia I get to do plenty of that and on any given Sunday you just might hear a mix of Bach, gospel, African spirituals, John Rutter, Taize chants, hymns, and modern worship anthems all in the same service. No, I am not kidding. Does that sound clunky and incoherent? It’s not. Don’t even ask me how it works because even after eight years at this church... Read more
Food breaks down barriers like few things can. It’s almost like it has magical powers or something. With apologies to my wheat-averse and gluten-free readers, who doesn’t love a fresh loaf of homemade bread? And since this is the evangelical channel of Patheos, (he has to make at least one appearance per blog post, doesn’t he?) the man Jesus Christ loved him some food! Throughout the pages of the gospels the Lord is frequently spotted…eating. Loaves and fishes, anyone? There’s something hugely significant... Read more
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