In 1998, at the age of 24, I left the United States for the first time in order to become a university instructor in Kazan, Russia. Kazan is a breathtakingly beautiful city that is best known internationally for having been the home, for a short while, of both Lenin and Tolstoy. It is also a cultural [ Read More ]
Here are seven sets of resources for pastors, professors, and students who wish to build their “theology and culture” library. I’ve included a variety of resources, some of which represent views I oppose. However, the majority of the resources fit my preferred “Reformational” model. 1. Surveying Different Views of Christianity and Culture Richard Niebuhr’s Christ [ Read More ]
Americans have long debated gun rights and gun control, but the discussion seems to have taken on a renewed intensity over the past couple of years. The debate is complex and multi-faceted. It has legal, ethical, and pragmatic dimensions; there is no consensus on any of the dimensions, and a person’s stance on the issue [ Read More ]
There is no shortage of reasons a person might think Christianity and science are intrinsically opposed to one another. The Galileo ordeal. The Scopes trials. The global warming debate. Richard Dawkins. “Et,” as they say, “cetera.” But none of those reasons are sufficient to demonstrate that Christianity and science are opposed. In fact, the opposite [ Read More ]
Last week, I asked the readers of this website to fill out a short survey providing feedback on what they like about the site, what they don’t, and what subjects they’d like me to address. The one question asked more than any other was, “Should a pastor address political issues from the pulpit?” So, should [ Read More ]
A person with only the dimmest spark of critical reflectiveness can understand that the United States of America is deeply divided at this point in her history. We are divided economically, racially, regionally, and demographically. Exacerbating these divides is our disagreement on how to deal with them politically. We can deal with them politically, and [ Read More ]
On Saturday evening, a mob of torch-wielding white nationalists gathered in a Charlottesville, VA, park. Protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, they chanted several slogans including “Russia is our friend,” “White Lives Matter,” and “No More Brother Wars.” The last chant, “No More Brother Wars,” is a short-hand way of saying that [ Read More ]
At Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I serve as Professor of Theology & Culture and Provost / Dean of the Faculty, we want to provide gospel-centered contextual theological education for gospel ministers in our own American context and in international contexts. There are many options for ministry training today, but I still believe that the [ Read More ]
It happens to most of us church leaders. Gradually, and without notice, we slip into the habit of viewing the Scriptures more as an object to be dissected than a spiritual feast to nourish our souls. As an antidote to this temptation, I recently wrote about a four-fold pattern of Scripture intake that helps us [ Read More ]
A mother’s love for her children is one of the strongest and most mysterious forces in the world. It carries her through the pain of childbirth. It washes over her face as she smiles at her baby for the first time. It endures through exhausting days and sleepless nights, over the course of months and [ Read More ]