I want to be clear at the outset.

Yes, America is a Christian nation. No, America is not a Christian nation. Both are true. And we want—and need—both to be true…

I argued in my last blog that it is the church’s hour. What I mean is that the church has opportunities for influence that it is has not had for decades, largely because, considering the decline of social institutions across America, it faces little competition. The condition of our culture, as conflicted and depressed as it is, is begging for the church to step into the vacuum, however indirect and unconscious that entreaty is…

The title of this blog comes from a book Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in the 4th century, wrote in response to the teachings of Arius. Arius claimed that Jesus was not in fact God but only the first and best of creation. Thus, as Arius put it so succinctly, “there was a time when the Son was not.” Athanasius challenged Arius on just that point…

The church stands on the threshold of a similar kind of awakening. The need and opportunity is certainly there, and the church faces little competition…

American society is unusual for many reasons. But one stands out as particularly significant and relevant for this cultural moment…

I claim Evangelicalism as part of my spiritual heritage. I am deeply grateful for it, too. I have fond memories, for example, of an IVCF staff member who introduced me to Bible memorization and meditation after I experienced a renewal of faith in college. I assumed that such a practice was simply what Christians do. Little did I know how naïve I was…

Which leads us to the major weakness in this robust movement. It tends to have a shallow root system. It functions at its best as a modifier, not as a noun—evangelical Anglican or evangelical Presbyterian or evangelical Catholic. Over the centuries…

It is immersion with difference. Christians adapt to culture to fulfill the Great Commission. But Christians live differently in the culture to fulfill the Great Commandment. They live as transformed people…

The Framers wrote the Constitution and added ten amendments. They assumed that people would govern themselves wisely and exercise restraint because they knew what was right, and they knew what was right because they were Christian. Thus they spelled out the Bill of Rights. But they never thought to include a Bill of Responsibilities…

In 1630 several hundred souls climbed aboard a ship in England to sail to the New World. Arriving ten years after the Pilgrims, these intrepid travelers—we know them as the Puritans—established a legacy that has lasted to our day. They came to America to fulfill what they called an “errand in the wilderness.” …

Another story from history. Another attempt at perspective. Another lesson in hope.

But this story from history is really about the idea of “story” itself.

How do we interpret history? Which is a fancy way of asking, “How do we understand and find meaning in stories, not fictional stories but real stories that actually happen in space and time?” …

I need hope. You probably do, too. So read on. I find history to be a source of hope. I am going to give you an example. It is one of many that keeps me going…

We are pining for something we have lost. The old configuration of Christendom is waning, cultural influence is abating. It could be that some kind of recovery lies ahead, but not under current terms. The foundations must be rebuilt, which requires patience, persistence, and humility. We must be in it and stay in it for the long haul. We cannot compromise godly means to secure godly ends. If one goes bad, so does the other.

Here is an astonishing fact. It would help us a great deal in this current moment if we grasped its significance.

The early Christian movement survived for nearly 300 years with little state interference and no state favoritism. If anything, the opposite was the case…

How can we remain faithful Christians without compromising Christianity’s uniqueness and our integrity? We have an example to follow. But we have to skip over almost 2000 years of history to find it. To move forward in gospel faithfulness, we have to go backwards first. In short, back to the future…

I pray a lot.  I don’t make this claim to draw attention to my religious devotion and discipline.  I don’t pray because I am holy; I pray because I am desperate.  I pray for my children as they negotiate what to believe and how to live in a very confusing and complicated world.  I pray for friends who face acute health needs.  I pray for people around the globe who are suffering from invasions, wars, and violence.  I pray for the revitalization of the church, which seems so compromised, especially in the west.  I pray for people who have faded from faith or never had faith…

Holy Saturday reminds us that, however true and perfect Christ’s redemptive work, we still suffer. The suffering of Holy Saturday is like winter. The death of fall gives way to the decay of winter. But spring turns that decay into fertile soil for the new life soon to emerge…

But this story is like no other, for the author of the redemptive story, who stands outside it, chose to enter the story and play a role in it, too, outsider becoming insider, author becoming character.  God stepped out of eternity and into time; he became a human being whom we know as Jesus Christ…

The temptation is hard to resist.  Sometimes we just can’t help ourselves.  We feel compelled for whatever reason to offer a neat and tidy explanation for why there’s suffering in the world.  We recoil from living in a world of randomness.  We want answers; we crave predictability; we insist life makes sense.

We want God to make sense, too.  He has to follow the rules, whatever those rules happen to be.  We prefer to know and follow a domesticated God…