When the Susan G. Komen Foundation made a decision to defund Planned Parenthood, they knew they'd be kicking a hornet's nest of controversy. But when they decided to essentially reverse their decision, they stuck their entire leg in the nest. They've been pummeled by "hornets" on both sides now, and they'll doubtlessly be feeling the...

In the recent past, it sometimes seemed that evangelical leaders were only concerned with a handful of hot button issues--namely, abortion and gay marraige (with religious liberty often thrown in for good measure). But recently, this brand of Christians seem concerned about a whole range of issues including poverty, fiscal responsiblity,...

The Super Bowl halftime show was popularized by Michael Jackson in 1993, scandalized by his sister Janet in 2004, and brutalized by Tom Petty in 2008. Next to the game itself and, of course, the commercials the mid-game concert will be the most anticipated event of Sunday evening. Madonna will perform this year, a decision that’s received mixed...

I've been critical of my denomination, The Southern Baptist Convention, for engaging the public square in a way that is overly partisan and reactive. Christians can engage politics in a way that is constructive, thoughtful, and promotes the common good. This week, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the SBC made me proud to be...

The following piece appeared today in The Christian Science Monitor.

Last week, ahead of the South Carolina primary election, 114 evangelical leaders gathered in Texas to determine which GOP presidential candidate they would collectively endorse. The Christian right vanguards voted 85 to 29 to anoint Rick Santorum. As it turns out, their...

When my copy of Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enuma Okoro arrived, I was struck by the intentionality of its physical make-up. The cover was wrapped in off-white linen with a debossed cross in its center, the pages were beautifully laid out and marked for each day or the year,...

I began a writing series of posts some time ago to all the aspiring writers who may happen upon this blog. Part one addressed the need for preparing oneself, part two spoke of the need to hone one's craft, part three taught on the importance of reading to the art of writing, and part four focused on the importance of relationships. In the fifth...

This week at Cross Pointe, we were blessed to have Scott Williams speak to our people. Scott is a former prison warden and campus pastor at Lifechurch.tv. He is also author of a great book, Church Diversity: Sunday the Most Segregated Day of the Week. I've included a chapter on race in my new book, A Faith of Our Own, and will be teaching a...

Ted Seuss Geisel (known by most as Dr. Seuss) has impacted millions of children through his stories and illustrations. I am among them, and because you clicked on this link, I'm guessing you are one too. I remember sneaking into a quiet corner in my elementary school library and catapulting into the dreamlands he created.

For more than 50...

Note: The following piece is an excerpt from an article that originally appeared in Relevant Magazine.

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. sat quietly in a Birmingham City Jail cell. He had been arrested during a non-violent protest against the racial segregation of downtown retailers organized by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human...

The phrase "change the world" has become so overused (particularly by well-meaning believers in my generation) that it has nearly lost it's meaning. But last night, when I was speaking at a dinner for Bethany Christian Services, I asked the question: "Could orphan care change the world?" Not in the buy-a-tshirt-and-a-pair-of-toms-shoes way, but...

The following article is was originally published in USA Today.

What's in a name? As Shakespeare has it, a rose by any other name smells the same. But in the case of America's largest Protestant denomination, changing the name could change everything.

A week ago, Southern Baptist Convention President Bryant Wright told his organization's...

Nearly every American remembers where they were when they first learned of the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks. Moments of such magnitude have a way of branding our memories. I was leaving my college dorm room the day the earth twitched.

Where were you when you first heard? Or, more importantly, what went through your mind?

In the days...

The following piece was co-written with Timothy Willard and originally appeared in The Huffington Post. The artwork above is quoted from here.

The wordsmithing Brits behind the Oxford Dictionary define "hate" as "hostile actions motivated by intense dislike or prejudice." But words take on new meanings as people...

Veneer by Tim Willard and Jason Locy is one of the most well-crafted works I’ve read in the past several years. Even the book itself conveys a deep level of thoughtfulness—from carefully selected fonts to an intriguing dust jacket design, from charming chapter titles to the linen-wrapped cover. But Veneer is more than an attractive product; it...

Last week, I published an article for Relevant Magazine on why I believe America is an exceptional nation, but I am not an “American Exceptionalist.” Not everyone took kindly to the piece because they either felt like I was being unpatriotic or unfair in my argument. One such detractor was Eric Teetsel of the American Enterprise Institute. Eric...

This July 4th, like every other I remember, I’m going to a birthday party for a nation. On that day 235 years ago, a ragtag band of patriots declared they would no longer submit to the tyranny of a foreign monarch, and Americans have been celebrating ever since. But July 4th, 2011 is unlike any other birthday party I’ll attend this year, and...

In 1965, a thin, soft-spoken man sauntered into Pittsburgh’s WQED, the nation’s first public television station, to pitch a show targeting young children. The concept was simple enough: convey life lessons to young children with the help of puppets, songs and frank conversations. It doesn’t sound like much. That is, until you realize that the...

This piece originally appeared at RelevantMagazine.com.

The snuffing of Osama bin Laden’s life has left White House officials beaming, news reporters busy and the thumbs of Twitterers raw. I can’t blame any of them. After all, this is one of the biggest events of the last decade. When I got the call Sunday night and turned on the ...

My theology was shaken this week. Spending time in Thailand and India, I was able to walk through red light districts and peer into the eyes of women who had been shoved into the sex trade as young as 10 years old. Many American Christians love to preach a Christian gospel that promises happiness and health. How does our faith speak to such...

“Architecture is the alphabet of giants; it is the largest set of symbols ever made to meet the eyes of men. A tower stands up like a sort of simplified statue, of much more than heroic size.”
-G.K. Chesterton

I’ve always been fascinated with the gleaming sentinels that comprise America’s skylines. I still stoop to peer up at the skyscrapers...

For the most part, I've stopped signing public statements. Perhaps one day I will write about the various reasons I've decided to do this. Occassionally, however, someone drafts a statement that is both timely and reasonable. In these cases, I might make an exception. Today, Evangelicals for Social Action and The Center for Public Justice...

The morning following Election Day is always filled with winners and losers. But this past November, a surprising winner could have delivered an acceptance speech: the Tea Party.

Of the 60 seats turned over in Congress, Tea Party-endorsed candidates made up more than 30 of them. President Obama called it a “shellacking.”

As the new Congress...

The debate over mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) has seen little movement in recent years despite the tireless work of activists throughout Appalachia. Meanwhile, in Kentucky and Tennessee and West Virginia, hundreds of feet of our oldest mountains are being demolished and toxic waste is being dumped into headwater streams. Politicians in...

When Sarah Palin's team of marketers ill-advisedly placed a few crosshairs on a map of Democratic districts that included U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Gifford's, they probably hoped to invigorate their base and rally some support. They couldn't have known that within a few months a crazed Jared Loughner would open fire on Arizona innocents,...

When Answers in Genesis (AIG), a Christian ministry in northern Kentucky announced that it was going to build a new theme park in 2014, onlookers were bewildered by it's elephantine scale. The 160-acre plans will cost $150 million to complete and centers on a 450-foot replica of Noah's Ark complete with live animals. But AIG's plans to seek...

We have all heard Jesus’ words quoted and misquoted a thousand times: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20, TNIV). But can two or three gather together if they are hundreds or thousands of miles apart? Can multiple believers fully and truly commune with each other electronically with the...

This article originally appeared at QIdeas.org.

Retailers in Texas who celebrate Christmas better shout it from their garland-wrapped rooftops lest they incite the anger of local Christians. Conservative mega-church First Baptist Church in Dallas (FBCD) has just launched a web site with the expressed purpose of keeping Christmas...

This article was first published by Paste Magazine.

If you’re a technophile, you probably feel like the punching bag at the community kickboxing class lately. Tony Schwartz of the Harvard Business Review recently railed against the seductive, addictive nature of technology and it’s effect on the attention span. The November 21, 2010 cover...

This article was originally published on The Washington Post "On Faith" blog.

I believe America is exceptional, but I am not an "American exceptionalist." The former is rooted in facts, and the latter in bad theology.

America is special for many reasons. We are the most charitable country in the world. Each year, Americans voluntarily donate...