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Showing posts from March, 2023

Obvious & Nowhere: Reflections on Evangelism

This year, our church has made "evangelism" its theme and focus. I am grateful for how our church's leadership has tried to present a robust view of what "evangelism" really means, and how it can be better understood and practiced. That has stoked some contemplation on my part, and through that, I have come to realize that I have a lot of reexamining and unlearning to do.  For most of my life in the church, I have listened to various Christian leaders, pastors, and theologians proclaim that the church’s "main mission" is evangelism. Innumerous outreach initiatives have been launched based on this assumed, obvious fact. Many people like me, raised in evangelical churches and settings, can tell their own evangelism stories. Sometimes, those stories are about highly-energizing, deeply wholesome, and humanizing interactions. Others times, they are marked by guilt-motivated, humiliating, even aggressive tactics towards complete strangers, friends, and relat...

Schemes & Slavery: Reflections on the Cross

My church has been studying Hebrews since last year. Recently, our pastor taught on Hebrews 12, where the author reminds his readers that God disciplines those whom he loves. That led to an extended and thoughtful sermon that distinguished three terms--punishment, discipline, and consequences--that parents (and people generally) tend to use interchangeably. I think it is fair to say that our pastor characterized "punishment" as problematic. He quoted from a  blog by Mark Bellanger which said the following: "Punishment is condemning. Discipline is correcting. Consequences are causational...Punishment is a punitive action done to make the offender repay the debt they have incurred. It is done for the benefit of the offended rather than for the offender." (there are a couple of other reflections and quotes in the article that more explicitly critique "punishment") Our pastor went on to say that punishment isn't about seeing reconciliation between the par...