Some disagreements are too important to debate.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been traveling to different colleges to talk to students and begin campus conversations about homosexuality and Christianity. At each stop, we bring together a roomful of students who disagree with each other and then try to have a respectful conversation with each other. The experiences have been fascinating, and…
Physician, heal thyself.
Yesterday, I posted about a frustrating experience I had where a young woman accused me, in a very confrontational and hurtful way, of not being a Christian. It wasn’t the first time the charge had been leveled at me, but something about that particular interaction really got under my skin, so I decided to write…
“People do what they know to do—not what you think they should know.”
—Maya Angelou, quoted by CNN
What. A. Night.
Yesterday was the first day of Transforming the Conversation, a new program I helped design to try to build bridges of understanding between gays and Christians (and, of course, those of us in the middle), specifically in more conservative areas where it’s most needed. The program involves going to 20 universities, mostly in the Bible…
“I love you so much that I need to hit you with this Bible. Really, really hard.”
By far the most frustrating thing about having conversations on controversial issues is when people don’t know when to stop fighting. It’s like going to play paintball with your friends, and then after the game is over, finding that someone won’t stop shooting. “Whew! Well that was fun. Okay, let’s get this gear off and…
A brief reflection on context.
Is that the most boring post title ever, or what? It sounds like a treatise on some obscure subject that you might find in a dusty old book on an untouched shelf in the back of a university library. One of Stephen Covey’s famous 7 Habits is to “seek first to understand, then to be…
Hey, I’m on Rachel Held Evans’ blog!
For those of you who don’t know Rachel Held Evans, she’s a Christian author and blogger who has built a reputation for gently and patiently challenging preconceptions—both her own and others’. I got to interview her for a podcast that hasn’t hit the podcast feed, but will soon. Rachel’s been doing a really cool thing…
“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”
—Proverbs 3:27 (NIV) In other words, being a Christian isn’t just about avoiding sin, it’s about avoiding complacency. We’re called not just to steer clear of the bad, but to intentionally seek out the opportunities to do good. If you have ways to help others (and we all do), take advantage of them to do…
Are evangelicals unreachable?
“Evangelical” has become a bad word in American society today, and a lot of people don’t even know what it means! The term refers to Christians who emphasize a personal relationship with Jesus, who believe that eternal salvation comes only through his death and resurrection, and who hold a very “high view” of the Bible…
Tired of the polarization?
Learn about Justin’s latest book, Talking Across the Divide, and download the free study guide!