Anyone who knows a few pastors probably knows someone who has struggled with burnout. Ministry always has been an atypical job with lots of unique demands and stressors, but as reported in a Barna Research Group study discussed in a new article called "Why Pastors Leave the Ministry," it's a growing … Read more about Pastoral Burnout, Healing Spiritual Wounds and How To Hack an Election
Help Needed: Contrarian Game – Youth Pastor Edition
Last week at the Phyllis Tickle live event in Pasadena we played round 2 of the contrarian game "Au Contraire Mon Frère" between Tony Jones and our very own Tripp Fuller. The audio of that will come out this week. Round 3 of the game (Youth Pastor Edition) will be held in Chicago at the … Read more about Help Needed: Contrarian Game – Youth Pastor Edition
TNT: Letters Edition
A cast of two halves! In the first half Bo and Tripp respond to 3 letters from listeners. Then we get a call with Micky Jones about choosing a seminary (43rd minute) - and when we come back for the 4th and final letter things get a little rowdy. It turns out the resurrection is a topic that … Read more about TNT: Letters Edition
When Good Isn’t Enough (3/3)
Last week I posted a little about my interest in Practical Theology (PT) and the subsequent philosophical orientation with which I will be engaging research: social constructivism. I had some very heady (and public) conversations with colleagues this Summer who desperately wanted to paint me as … Read more about When Good Isn’t Enough (3/3)
Literally Changing What It Means
Yesterday it came out that the definition of 'literally' was literally being changed in the dictionary. A CNN report said in places as informal as Google and as official as Mariam-Webster and Cambridge dictionaries it is now ""Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used … Read more about Literally Changing What It Means
The Limits of Labels
I have insomnia tonight - a rare occasion these days. I’m not in the mood to read any more about the use of Gadamer’s hermeneutical circle in Practical Theology so I brewed some coffee and revisited some of the online happenings from the past couple of months. I found 3 pairs of things that I … Read more about The Limits of Labels
Leaving Behind The ‘Liberal’ Label
Once is an incident. Twice is a trend. Three times is a pattern. This the now the 3rd time this thing idea about shying away from the label 'liberal' has come up. I heard it for the first time almost 10 years ago: "Emergents are just cool liberals". This came from conservative, evangelical … Read more about Leaving Behind The ‘Liberal’ Label
TNT: Heaven Hell and Human Trafficking
Slave Free Earth Co-founder Will Henderson stops by HBC Headquarters for throw-down about human trafficking, global sex slavery and emerging as a progressive. It is an explosive conversation. You can join the Slave Fee Community at SlaveFreeEath.com and pledge to be a 7 community … Read more about TNT: Heaven Hell and Human Trafficking
Lessons from Blogging at Jesus Creed on Progressive & Liberal
I had the honor of guest blogging for Scot McKnight yesterday. It was a good opportunity to try something out with a different crowd. It was instigated by last weeks post in response to Roger Olsen and Scot McKnight. It was a fantastic conversation and I learned several things that I will take … Read more about Lessons from Blogging at Jesus Creed on Progressive & Liberal
There is a Difference Between Liberal and Progressive
Roger Olson caused some ripples last week when he posted “Why I am not a Liberal Christian”. Then Scot McKnight went and took it even farther with “What is a Liberal Anyway” and said : “Evangelicals have successfully made “liberal” a pejorative term. So today many liberals call themselves … Read more about There is a Difference Between Liberal and Progressive
Moving Toward Multiplicity
Listening to Howard Zinn (author of the classic A People’s History of the United States) at a town hall meeting style presentation recorded in 2007 (you can get it on Itunes from WGBH Politics) I was struck by the need to recognize the sheer complexity of issues and multiplicity of … Read more about Moving Toward Multiplicity
You have to believe in Hell, Predestination, Election and the Book of Revelation
On last week’s TNT I said something that I have heard a lot of positive - and some negative - feedback on. I thought it would be good to continue the conversation here on the blog. My assertion was that: If you are a Christian, you have to believe something about hell. It is just not an option to … Read more about You have to believe in Hell, Predestination, Election and the Book of Revelation