My friend Jimmy recently told me about his view of Jephthah. Here’s what he said, “You gotta understand… Jephthah was the son of a prostitute! Jephthah had no control over this. And honestly, I doubt that his mom had much control over her station in life either. Bottom line, Jephthah had NO STATUS, NO POMP, […]
I have this friend. His name is Gary (but really his name is Gideon). He’s super insecure, and self-conscious, and defensive. When The Boss recruited Gary to lead, Gary was adamant about hiding, and he kept harping on how fragile and fainthearted he felt; and when Gary finally ‘acquiesced’ he would only take action in […]
2 Corinthians. Read it. Honestly. Tell me you don’t see Paul deploying biting sarcasm, irony, backhanded compliments, “fool’s speech,” and what sounds like “classic double-talk” and/or passive aggressive tactics (especially in chapters 8–10). And keep in mind that Corinthian culture deeply valued Greco-Roman rhetoric, polished eloquence, and social status. …Paul deliberately frustrates the preferred communication […]
2. Acknowledge Sharp Disagreement(s) & stop working together (Acts 15). Commitment: Acknowledge an insurmountable operational disagreement with mutual respect, clarify the divide, and stop working together. 3. Distant Love & Guarded Communication (2 Corinthians). Commitment: Acknowledge that your joy is NOT the joy of other person, and acknowledge that you care about your own gladness, […]
My friend Lenny told me that he read Romans 11 yesterday. Of course I was concerned, because the Bible is supernatrually living and active – and full of very confounding and scandalizing stuff! Lenny said, “Yes indeed! Wild stuff in the Bible! Super scandalous stuff! Divine logic is mystifying!! God let His chosen people stubbornly […]
In many ways, this is what a HEALTHY MARRIAGE (and really – any significant relationship: e.g. parent/child; friends; etc.) requires: I’m willing and ableIf you wanna kick this rock aroundIf you’ve got a bone to pick with meIf you’ve got a flag planted in the groundOh, I’ll stay here ’til morningOh, we can fight like […]
Disclaimer: Astrophage is a fictional creation; Jesus of Nazareth is the living God. Using a physical entity to illustrate a divine truth is not new—in fact, Jesus Himself did it. Jesus sometimes pointed to everyday physical elements to describe Himself. He called Himself the “Bread of Life” and offered bread and wine, saying, “This is […]
Yesterday, I was talking with some friends about “politics in the church.” Here’s the deal… members of the church are monarchists. We are the living stones of the invisible castle/heavenly theocratic temple of Jesus of Nazareth. We are obsessed subjects of the Joyful/Laughing King described in Psalm 2. We are married to the Slain Lamb […]
Ratatouille reveals that hierarchy is not an engine of oppression, but the very framework for delight. The NATURE of a kitchen (see 1 Cor. 11:14)… It is an environment of extremes: scalding liquids, flames, sub-zero walk-ins, and razor-sharp steel. Nature itself demands order in such a realm. Without structure and headship, unhealthy chaos and destruction […]
CS Lewis said… Democratic education, says Aristotle, ought to mean, not the education which democrats like, but the education which will preserve democracy. Until we have realized that the two things do not necessarily go together we cannot think clearly about education. For example, an education which gave the able and diligent boys no advantage […]