The last chapter explored what the Bible is not. So what is the Bible? Can it function in a life-giving way that enhances spiritual and emotional maturity, instead of giving license to our worst human impulses? I think the answer is a resounding yes. Don’t get me wrong — the…

Chapter 2: The Bible as Subversive Literature, The Bible as Library, the Bible as Theological Reflection “The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the Book for me! I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E!” These were the words to the kids’ song that I grew up singing nearly every week…

Part 3 of my blog-before-it-becomes-a-book. Feedback welcome! Chapter 1: “Jesus and the Disinherited” One of the most influential theologians for me in rethinking my Christian faith is the eminent black theologian Howard Thurman. Thurman is not well-known among lay people, but he was the theological father of the Civil Rights…

Part 2 of my blog-before-it-becomes-a-book. Feedback welcome! The “Catholic” Faith One of the first words used to describe the new faith surrounding the first Jesus Movements was not “Christianity,” but “Catholic.” If you grew up in church, you may be familiar with a puzzling line in the early 2nd century…

I’m writing a book, an attempt at a primer on progressive Christian faith, a synopsis of my own view on Christian faith, but also as an attempted distillation of what I believe is the core of the movement known colloquially as “exvangelicalism,” or, more positively, “progressive evangelicalism.” As a test…

Raised far right-wing fundamentalist Christian. Transitioned into the evangelical (read:slightly less fundamentalist) mega-conference and mega-church world in my teens and twenties. Went to a seminary in my mid-twenties and started to ask hard questions of my faith, and eventually (after I graduated seminary and became an ordained pastor), left it…

As a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant male, I’ve been hesitant to speak up much at all about the war in Palestine, and for good reason. One of the first rules of wisdom is to know when you don’t know, and to keep your mouth shut. But I can’t keep silent any…

The words “counseling” and “therapy” get thrown around a lot, by a lot of different people, particularly in faith contexts. Large and well-known seminaries have “Biblical Counseling” degree programs; pastors and ministers and church staff offer “counseling,” often around marriage, parenting, addiction, or just plain mentoring. This is all well…

Most of us are familiar with so image, often seen on bumper stickers, of the symbols of various world religions spelling out the word “COEXIST,” a clever plea for tolerance and pluralism in a world that so often seems hell bent (pun intended) toward the opposite. But I find myself…