Resident Theologian
About the Blog
Intentionality
Some thoughts on the role of “intentionality discourse” in the Christian life.
Enchantment
A brief word on the renewed interest in "enchantment" over against "disenchantment."
How the world sees the church
A reflection on the church’s reputation. Should we expect or hope for our nonbelieving neighbors to think well of us? To see us as good news?
Christians and politics
A reflection about Christians’ involvement in democratic politics, prompted by Richard Beck’s series on the subject.
A therapeutic church is an atheist church
Reflecting on recent writing by Richard Beck and Jake Meador on functional atheism and the therapeutic turn in contemporary church life and teaching.
Politics cathexis
I’m of two minds about the suggestion that my friend and colleague, Richard Beck, made last week regarding Christians and/in politics. Here’s my reflection repping the other side.
CCM
My friend and colleague Richard Beck, author of the best theology blog around, has been on fire lately with some stimulating reflections on church, ministry, preaching, and what it means to be faithful in the contemporary American context. If you’re not reading his Friday series on Jordan Peterson, get on it forthwith. His post this past Monday was a sort of follow-up to his latest Friday piece on Peterson. Both posts, along with many preceding ones, are about interpreting the state of the culture and what that interpretation tells us about how to respond with the gospel—not in 1950, not on an exotic mission field, but here, now, today, in the United States in 2022.
The ache and the Austinite
Richard Beck, my friend and colleague here at ACU, enjoyed my post yesterday on “Needing Jesus” but pushed back on some elements of it. In particular he thought what I took with one hand I gave back with the other. That is, I denied that our hypothetical 26-year old happy Austinite was “secretly unhappy” before waxing eloquent about . . . just how secretly unhappy he must be, sinsick and lacking Jesus as he is. Moreover, he wasn’t sure just how I am (we are) supposed to get Mr. Contentment into church if we aren’t filling him in, through conversation or other means, just how secretly unhappy he is.
Dame, ACU, sports, glory (TLC, 1)
Two years ago I wrote the following in a short tweet thread, in response to Damian Lillard's walk-off buzzer-beater to win Portland's playoff series against Oklahoma City: