Category Archive for: ‘Carl’s Thoughts’
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Finding ISIS in Ferguson
ISIS. Ebola. Ferguson. We sit glued to our television sets enthralled by the power of “What-if.” What if ISIS comes here? What if I catch Ebola and die? What if disgruntled minorities rise up in violent protest where I live? The media sells it. We …
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How to throw a Neighborhood Christmas Party
Every year, Chris and I host a little Christmas party for our neighbors. Our actual physical neighbors. We live in a cul de sac so we have a bit of an advantage in getting to know those who live next to us. We share a …
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A Thoughtful Christ-Centered Response to ISIS
Obama admits to not having a strategy. Duck Dynasty Godfather, Phil Robertson, wants to “Convert ‘em or kill ‘em.” So what is a thoughtful honest strategy for confronting a terrorist group like ISIS? ISIS doesn’t need any more explanation. We know what it is – evil personified. …
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What is the Future of Evangelism?
(Below is an interview by Rick Lawrence for GROUP Magazine with myself and Greg Stier, founder of Dare2Share Ministries. The original can be found here. It has been reproduced here with their permission.) Forty years ago, when GROUP was an infant, the “rules of …
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Hobby Lobby and the Rights of Jesus
The mega-mart craft store where my wife loves to shop won a narrow victory today in the Supreme Court. They cannot be obligated to pay for their employees’ contraception needs. And I’m left with mixed feelings. First of all, few things are ever simple. Never …
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The Old Catholics Were Right. The Bible’s Too Dangerous for the Average Person
I grew up Protestant. Evangelical Pentecostal if we need to have exact labels. We were the good kind of Pentecostals – as opposed to the bad kind of course. We read the Bible. We memorized it. We took it seriously. I always won at Sword …
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Gun Control and Santa Barbara
In light of the recent terrorist attack in Santa Barbara I decided to write totally off topic. This is my gun control proposal. Simple, clear and direct. First of all, you need to know that I’m for the right to bear arms. (Loosely given to …
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World Vision. Duck Dynasty. Global Warming. Noah. Muslims. And, uh….Jesus.
Seems like a lot of folks are mad these days. Just check your Facebook and Twitter accounts if you haven’t noticed.
Growing up, I don’t remember any Christians being mad at anything. We weren’t engaged, and we were happy. Racial issues were for “those people in the South” to deal with. Issues of sexuality were never talked about. Women’s rights were an “interesting discussion” that some folks in New York City were having. And Al Gore hadn’t invented either the internet (so we could follow these bad things) or Global Warming.
Life was good!
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Answering Donald Miller on the Local Church
Discussing whether or not we should be part of a local church is similar to deciding whether you should call yourself a Christian or not. It’s complicated. Every word depends on what that word means to you, and to everyone reading the word. Descriptors, clauses, parenthesis, disclaimers and every other form of nuance are required, and misunderstanding is still likely.
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Jesus didn’t Teach!
Try this one for an all time great Bible trivia question with someone who knows the scriptures well. “What was Jesus doing in the temple when he was 12 years old and his family left town forgetting him there?”
Never mind the hilariousness of the holy family forgetting Jesus (Luke 2:41-52), or that it took them three days to find him, or that Jesus didn’t seem to mind…or…oh, so many funny things here. But back to the trick question – what was Jesus doing in the temple?
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