The Rambling Disciple

Human beings seem to just love a good argument. We love to argue about politics, religion, entertainment, and everything else under the sun. I actually don't think this is automatically a bad thing. Arguing is, at its core, an act of refining ideas and understanding by bringing your views into contrast with someone else's. If done correctly this results in growth and increased wisdom. Unfortunately, as with all things, we tend not to argue correctly. Instead of evaluating ideas objectively we get angry, allow bias to cloud our thoughts, and commit many mistakes that don't just prevent conversations but actively set them back. Often times we don't even realize that we are doing any of these things when we argue or engage in a discussion of ideas. As a result so many of what could be productive discussions or healthy arguments, especially on social media, devolve into shouting matches and name calling. Today I want to talk briefly about three common mistakes, or logical f...

A couple of weeks ago I asked my Facebook friends which English translation of the Bible they preferred. I was reexamining my primary translation choice, as I do from time to time, and was honestly curious to see what other Christians I know used. It was interesting to see the diversity among just the people I know. This whole question got me thinking about what I value in a Bible translation. I admit that I am a bit different than the average Bible reader simply because studying the Bible is a big part of my life's work. The average person, based on my limited survey, tends to seek a balance between translation accuracy and ease of readability. This is why, to no one's surprise, the NIV was by far the most preferred translation put forward. The NIV does a pretty good job of interpreting and making readable the original languages without devolving into a paraphrase. I too look for accuracy with enough readability to, you know, actually read it. In my search for a new main trans...

One of the hardest books to read in all the Bible is the book of Job. It's a massive, epic poem full of repetition, unfamiliar imagery, and difficult questions. It takes an unflinching look at human suffering with all the grief, rage, and questioning that entails. It manages to embody both our complete inability to answer hard questions and our certainty of how we think the world works. I think that one of the issues people have when they come to the book of Job is the wrong expectations. We are often told that Job is a book that answers the question "Why do good people suffer?" We open it during our times of grief and pain looking for answers, searching for God's own answer as to why he allowed such things to happen. The book of Job doesn't answer those questions. Job isn't trying to answer why. In fact, the point of the book is that we often can't know why. Job is a serious, heartfelt examination of suffering and our unsuccessful attempts to make sense o...

Well, it looks like things are finally turning around. Here in Illinois things will soon be largely back to normal as restaurants, businesses, and theaters once again open their doors to full capacity. Movies will start being released again, masks will start becoming a less frequent sight, and people will finally be able to give hugs and shake hands. All this is wonderful news, and on the church front things are looking up as well. No more muffled singing, a resuming of activities, and more in person events are something to look forward to and enjoy. Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad! There is one thing I hope we don't do, but probably will anyway. With everything going back to normal I hope we don't jump headlong into being ultra-busy like normal. If COVID brought one benefit it was that for many, though not all, it forced us to slow down and appreciate what we have. I appreciate far more than I ever realized how much I value being with fellow Christians in person. I now ...

This last Sunday I was asked to preach and I struggled for a while with what to preach on. It's always difficult when you are filling in and everyone else knows you are filling in. You don't want to overlap too much with the current sermon series, but you also don't want your topic to be so unrelated to what's been going on that it has no impact.  I found inspiration simply from scrolling on Facebook. People, and it seems especially Christians, are mean.  Now of course not all Christians are rude and combative, but there are a shocking number who are. We argue in Facebook comments, send hateful messages, and generally act just like the world. This extends beyond the realm of social media and into our day-to-day interactions with so many. The Sunday lunch crowd at restaurants is infamously the worst tipping and most disrespectful, and these are mostly Christians who have just come from church. We need to be kind. Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit, but it is one we often ...