Five-Dollar Couches and the Church’s Future
What is the one staple that you can find in virtually every youth group across America? You’re right: the (overly) pre-owned couch. Whether you’re in Idaho or Illinois, California, or Connecticut, it would seem that the perennial signature of any well-christened youth room is an old couch. One can only imagine the stories behind the acquisition of these couches. For some, the youth minister bought a couch from the local thrift sore,...
Is Youth Ministry Biblical?
Most of us who have grown up within American evangelicalism have fond memories of youth group. We remember camp messages that focused on our response to the Gospel. We remember youth pastors calling on us to take our purity seriously. Whether it was an all-night lock-in or songs around a campfire, we remember our time in youth group as equal parts fun and spiritual growth. For good reason, we often look back to our 4-6 years in a...
Homosexuality in Biblical Perspective
The topic of homosexuality is buzzing and alive, in and outside of evangelical circles. Just earlier this year Matthew Vines published God and the Gay Christian, in which he argues that a homosexual lifestyle and Christianity are compatible, eliciting a firestorm within the evangelical community. Neo-progressives have been fully supportive of Vines, while conservatives have maintained their historical stance. With this, the Supreme...
J.R.R. Tolkien: Storytelling & the Eucatastrophe
What book has been voted #1 on NPR’s “Top 100 Fantasy Books,”[1] Waterstone’s “Book of the Century,”[2] and Amazon’s “Greatest Book of the Millennium”?[3] None other than J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy The Lord of the Rings (LOTR). But why? One can almost hear the voices of literary critics lamenting, “Of all the books in the world, why pick this?” Why indeed? Why does the incredible and fantastical imagination of one man resonate so...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Cross and Community
Until I was eighteen-years-old, I held dual citizenship in two countries. The first was in the United States, where my father was born, and me; the second, Germany, where my mother was born. It was a unique experience growing up in a cross-cultural home. I would antagonize my mother with questions about life in Germany: “What’s the word for this? Do they have words for that? Does everyone wear funny overalls over there?” (I’ve since...
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