Why I’m Going To Hell
I had a thought the other day. If God’s judgment leaves someone out of the Kingdom of Heaven, which can be rationally described as hell, then I’m going to hell. Did I get your attention? Here’s why I’m going to hell. The broad assumption in evangelical Christianity is that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, one must speak …
The Threat Of Human Violence
So this weekend I came very close to the threat of human violence, and it really hit me. A friend of mine emailed me two weeks ago and said, “I have a free ticket to Game 5 of the Sharks/Red Wings series. Want to go?” Lets see. “Free. The Sharks. My best friend. Road trip.” I’m in. We drove down …
The Rabbi From Krakow with Rob Bell
What if the love of God never left us? We just couldn’t see it until we had exhausted all of our own efforts.
It’s Enjoyable To Be Loved
It’s enjoyable to be loved. Last night my brother-in-law took me to see the Giants play the Dodgers, and it was good. My brother was treating me to front row seats as a birthday present. From the moment I got to the game, to the moment I left, he went out of his way to shower me with love. He …
Getting Fired For Believing In Love
So a good friend of mine, Chad Holtz was fired recently, and it was over his view of hell captured in this post. The story got picked up on the AP, on MSNBC and on Fox. You can see Chad explain some of it on an AP Youtube video. I actually posted the Facebook note on the Emergent Village website …
Unconditional Love
When we’re honest, we just don’t want to love because we’re afraid we won’t be loved back. Doooh!
Big Love
John Michael Talbot explores the idea of Big Love, or how much bigger God is compared to our perceptions. This video captures a lot of what I have been thinking about lately. Why do you think we try to control God? I know the easy answer is sin, but I want to go deeper than that. What is it that …
A New Creed
I was in conversation recently with a group of people creating a network. The focus was on radical inclusivity and the practice of love in hard places. And someone said, “We don’t have a creed.” My first thought was that I liked that idea. Creeds have a ways of becoming much more than they were originally intended for, largely because …
The Only Constant Is Change
Where is God calling you to let go? A friend of mine recently retweeted the following, the first part of which I’ve heard many times. “The only constant is change. When I submit to that reality, creativity and passion float to the surface.” And the comment made me think about the nature of change embedded into the universe. God didn’t …
The Bible As Guide For Daily Living
I was watching Doug Pagitt’s interview, which took place before his debate on hell with Chris Roseburgh. And the interviewer asks Doug, “Do you think the Bible is an actual guide for you today for how you should act and function for people you are around.” Doug responds, “Yeah there is.” And I would second that notion by going right …
