“Allah is not God.” I’m sure you’ve heard this term. You may have even used it a few times.  But what does it mean? What do we really mean when such a catchy slogan jumps out? In any grown-up conversation we should start with the basics; what is the literal agreed upon, dictionary...

I’ve been lied to before.  And it will happen again.  Lies with shattering results and rivers of tears.  Other lies have been less monumental, appearing almost trivial, but they too have resulted in rivers.  There have been lies from friends, teachers, pastors, and strangers.  Lies about God,...

I love the USA.  I love everything about it.  I love the Constitution (and ALL of the amendments) and the Declaration of Independence.  I love the Founding Fathers – those who “pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.”  I love my country as a parent loves a child...

I could go to any church that claims faith in Christ, mention a need, and see the majority of the congregation come alive with a desire to meet it.  We are hungry to fulfill a desire, a desire I believe didn’t come of our own will.  We were meant to help. Unfortunately, most of my own problems amount...

Most of the time when I read stories I identify with the heroes and heroines; most of us do.  I usually ask myself how I would act, at that pivotal moment, the life-altering, pressure-cooker epiphany that proves someone’s true metal (silver? gold? steel?).  I like to think I’d do okay—pass...

We talk often about pastors needing gifting and skill with teaching, mentoring, counseling, managing, etc… the list goes on.  Today’s pastor has heavy demands upon her or his leadership to be essentially a super Christian, caused in part by the distorted expectations followers of Christ put upon...

In light of the new immigration laws signed into effect in Arizona, now might be the perfect time to question the direction politics are taking with regard to foreigners in our land.  Arizona’s bill allows police to question and arrest people without warrant if there is “reasonable suspicion”...

This is a guest post from my dear friend Dr. Richard Beck. Dr. Beck is the Department Chair of Psychology at Abilene Christian University. His daily musings can be read at Experimental Theology. To start, a story. A few years ago a female student wanted to visit with me about some difficulties she was...

When I was fifteen, I broke a boy’s heart.  “It’s not about you,” I lied shamelessly, believing no one had ever said this before. “It’s me.  I’m just not ready to date you.”  But of course, it was about him, and since he was eighteen, he probably knew this already. When I was twenty-two,...

We assume things about the poor, like they’re uneducated, drunk and contagious.  Add a disability to the mix and you can add that they’re either a fraud, or beyond help. Kathryn is poor and in a wheelchair.  Been disabled six years and three months.  I asked recently how her injury happened. “How...