Do you feel like something is becoming Undone in your spiritual life and in the church in North America? Here I introduce my new book with Angela Reistsma Bick on the phenomenon of faith deconstruction, based on the stories we heard from interviews with 28 Christians from across Canada. … More Becoming Undone: Deconstructing Faith and Church Hurt in a Polarized North America
Read my post-congress reflections upon return from Korea, focusing on some of the stories, strategies, and stumbling blocks that made up my experience on the other side of the planet, with 5000 other delegates. … More Lausanne 2024 in Seoul: Partnership in Evangelism and Justice for a Troubled Planet
What might be accomplished at a global conference on Christian ministry on our planet today? Here are some thoughts I have just before I left for the congress in Seoul, Korea. … More Challenges and Opportunities at Lausanne 4 Global Mission Congress in Korea
A meditation on boat idioms as a way to talk about the culture wars that rock the church today. “Whatever floats your boat” is inadequate, but “don’t rock the boat” is also unwise. Is it even possible for us all to “be in the same boat” anymore as smaller Protestant denominations? … More NO LONGER IN THE SAME BOAT: How the Storm of Culture Wars Leaves Us Out at Sea
This documentary film is being shown in churches to spark conversation on sexual ethics, although it is not trying to portray both sides of the ethical divide. Yet it points out the complexities of Biblical translation, the tensions of family relationships, and leaves us wanting more. … More Two Stars for the film _1946_: Lessons in Bible Translation and Ethical Debate
The Life of Pi is a parable for the church today as it offers an apocalyptic vision–a tale of both destruction and revelation. … More End of the Frontier: Church, Apocalypse, and _The Life of Pi_
This is the story of one student in the M.A. (Biblical Studies) program we sponsor with scholarships at The University of The Gambia. We are helping teach students to be Christian teachers in their country. … More Student Profile: Sang Gomez, The Gambia, Bible Teacher in Training
A meditation by Pastor Carel Geleynse urging Christians to imitate their Lord and restore the reputation of the church in an age of startling abuse and cultural polarization. … More After Abuse, Still the Sanctuary: Living Stones of the Spiritual House Whose Cornerstone Never Fails
Music is a common conflict source within congregations, but worship wars are not the only reason for Sunday morning to be tense. How can we work toward reconciliation through music and other parts of our worship services? In a world so torn by conflict, can the church model some peace-making? … More Church Music, Conflict and Reconciliation: Scriptural, Spiritual, Sonic, and Symbolic Implications
This Reformation Day, I’m thinking about reformation as a form of deconstruction. “Always reforming” can too easily feel like it’s about re-shaping something, renovating it, giving it a make-over. It sounds too clean, maybe even bureaucratic — like a policy change. But if reformation is like deconstruction, it can be messy. … More Reformation Day Math: Dividing, Subtracting, and Adding as God’s Messy Arithmetic
Sensus Divinitatis 