Absolutely right: In the drive to make churches more guy-friendly, we risk confusing cultural (especially American) customs with biblical discipleship. One noted pastor has said that God gave Christianity a “masculine feel.” Another contrasted “latte-sipping Cabriolet drivers” with “real men.” Jesus and his buddies were “dudes: heterosexual, win-a-fight, punch-you-in-the-nose dudes.” Real Christian men like Jesus [...]
Archive for the ‘culture’ Category
Biblical Manhood ≠ Cage Fighting
Posted: May 3, 2012 in christianity, culture, family, Jesus, leadership, marriage0
A surprisingly insightful commentary from NPR on Kim Kardashian’s failed marriage: I stress that because the Kardashian nuptials have once again triggered the cycle of indulgence and regret that marks both the public treatment of celebrity news and the day after Thanksgiving. Once again, we hear about the decline of culture, the end of intelligence, [...]
Leadership According to the World vs. Leadership According to Jesus
Posted: October 18, 2011 in books, culture, humility, Jesus, leadershipAccording to the world: A couple months ago, we wrote about a study by researchers from Notre Dame and Cornell that showed how “agreeableness” negatively affects monetary earnings, particularly for men. Translation: it pays to be a jerk. Well, not exactly, but it apparently doesn’t pay to be overly nice. Now, a recent paper from a host of researchers [...]
An Introduction to Francis Schaeffer
Posted: September 20, 2011 in culture, evangelicalism, history, philosophy, schaeffer, secularismAnyone involved with American evangelicalism for any stretch of time (especially within a more Reformed strand) has probably heard the name “Francis Schaeffer” thrown about at least once or twice. If you’re one such person, but didn’t know who was being talked about, this post is for you. I thought I might pass along a [...]
New Trailer for Bloodlines by John Piper
Posted: September 15, 2011 in america, books, culture, videoCrossway just released a trailer for John Piper’s upcoming book entitled Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian: You can read Tim Keller’s forward to the book here. From the publisher: Genocide. Terrorism. Hate crimes. In a world where racism is far from dead, is unity amidst diversities even remotely possible? Sharing from his own experiences [...]
9/11 and the New Calvinism
Posted: September 6, 2011 in america, calvinism, culture, current events, history, misc, providence, suffering, theologyTrevin Wax has written a thought-provoking piece exploring the possible impact of the attacks of Semptember 11, 2001 on the recent resurgence of Reformed theology among American evangelicals. His main points are as follows: 1. September 11 forced “the problem of evil” to the forefront of theological reflection. Terrorism brought the concept of “evil” back [...]
New Study: Cohabiting May Be Bad for Kids
Posted: August 16, 2011 in america, culture, current events, family, marriage, sexEveryone knows that marriage as an institution is on the decline in the United States. Without even venturing into the gay marriage arena, the God-ordained union (a covenant, really) between a man and a woman is obviously under attack (primarily through neglect, devaluation, and redefinition). But it seems that some of the Bible’s wisdom has [...]
Piper + Vanderstelt + Stetzer = Awesome!
Posted: August 11, 2011 in church, community, culture, desiring god, discipleship, evangelism, missions, small groupsGlad to see the folks over at Desiring God teaming up with the likes of Jeff Vanderstelt and Ed Stetzer for this year’s Desiring God Conference. The theme is Finish the Mission For the Joy of All Peoples: Bringing the Gospel to the Unreached and Unengaged. If my wife and I don’t go, we’ll definitely [...]
