A Pint With The Pastor

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon;’ the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” Matthew 11:18-19 Odds are better than good that there are some of you who read about our pub theology ministry “Doubt on Tap” in the bulletin every week and you silently shake your head. “How in the world could the pastor think it’s a good idea to invite people to a bar? Doesn’t he know there’s alcohol there?” Indeed I do know that there is alcohol there, and I think its not only a good idea, but a necessary one. First and foremost, if Jesus were here in the flesh, I believe that the bar is exactly is where he would be (a whole lot more than once a week for an hour or two). Jesus would...
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Deny the Resurrection

Deny the Resurrection

A few years back, I was very excited to get to meet an author I admire, a man named Peter Rollins. Rollins is a post-modern philosopher from Belfast and a fantastic theologian (though he calls himself a pyro-theologian). He has written many books with titles like “The Fidelity of Betrayal,” “The Idolatry of God,” “The Divine Magician,” and “The Orthodox Heretic.” I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak several times, and I even got to sit and chat with him for a while one great night about a year ago. Rollins is brilliant and humble and challenging in what he says and in how he lives his life. As I thought about what I wanted to write in this space for Easter Sunday, I kept coming back to the following excerpt from a talk Rollins gave in Grand Rapids, MI. He is responding to the question of an audience member who commented that Rollins doesn’t speak about the resurrection much,...
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Road Maps

Road Maps

“How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in my pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.“ Psalm 119:9-10 (The Message)      As Methodist pastors who will move several times in the course of our careers my wife and I thought it a good investment to outfit our cars with GPS units. All we had to do was punch in an address and let it direct us to our destination. They worked pretty well for a couple of years and then they started getting things wrong. It tried to tell us to get off the highway onto off ramps that were no longer there or to take us the long way around when we knew there was a shorter way. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the maps the GPS unit used were out of date. Apparently I was supposed to hook...
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The little things

The little things

“Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 2 Kings 5:13 Naaman was a commander for the armies of the king of Aram, and was well liked. He caught a case of leprosy, and there was no healer in his land that could help him. The king of sent him to Israel because he’d heard of their God and of his prophet Elisha. When Naaman got there, Elisha wouldn’t even come out to see him. Naaman, used to being an important man, was insulted. Elisha did, however, send out a messenger with the command for Naaman to wash himself in the Jordan River seven times and he would be cleansed of his disease. Naaman was not pleased at all. He there was going to be a show. He had expected Elisha would come out and call on the name of...
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Self Deception

Self Deception

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Luke 1:3-4 Back when I was just starting out as a youth pastor, one of my friends (who was also a volunteer in my youth ministry) dropped by my house. When he came into my living room, he noticed that I had a program on the television that was less than wholesome. It was a popular show among teens and young adults at the time, but it demonstrated tremendous disrespect of parents and glorified dangerous stunts that, under no circumstances, should ever be tried at home. My friend asked me if this was something I should be watching as a youth pastor. I proceeded to explain to him that I had to watch it, because the youth I was trying to reach...
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