Phil Steiger
It’s complicated. It really is. Trying to navigate our culture and the LGBTQ+ issue is not always as easy or as simple as we want it to be. There are people we know and love who see things differently than we do. Many of us are trying to be faithful to the biblical witness on... Continue Reading →
Possibly the dominant issue in the Western culture today is social justice and all of the sociological, political, and philosophical fallout that comes with it. Some of the most culturally significant books and public thinkers right now are detailing one view of social justice or another, or analyzing the shape of our culture as it... Continue Reading →
What is the influence of Christianity on the culture and history of the West? It’s complicated, but it isn’t as rotten as you have been led to believe. In fact, we owe our basic moral structure to our Christian roots, whether we like it or not. And more and more, we tend not to like... Continue Reading →
In the first essay in Counting the Cost, Michael Novak updates a few of his thoughts from The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism and provides a fertile place to begin when thinking about Christianity theology and capitalism. The free market is much maligned these days. Is there anything to say about it that accords with sound Christian... Continue Reading →
I’m growing concerned about a trend in our culture that, on the face of it, may seem like just a change in economic values. That it is, but it is also a trend in a moral and spiritual direction. It may strike many as a non sequitur to see an economic belief as a moral... Continue Reading →
With the news that Eugene Peterson has entered hospice, I wanted to take some time to reflect on what his writing has meant to me and see if you have any thoughts yourself. I only heard him speak once in person. Heather and I were at a conference on spiritual formation and will always... Continue Reading →
I have a background in economics (if a B.A. in the subject and a lasting enthusiasm count as a background) and have long been interested in the ways this discipline I enjoy intersects with my faith and vocation as a pastor. So, it has been encouraging to watch this connection become a fertile field for... Continue Reading →
Andrew T. Walker. God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Gender Identity? (The Good Book Company, Denmark. 2017) 174 ppg. The cultural issues swirling around the American and Western church require Christians and church leaders to have a new level of theological perception. If we believe our faith... Continue Reading →
Skye Jethani. Immeasurable: Reflections on the Soul of Ministry In The Age of Church, Inc. (Moody Publishers, Chicago. 2017) 215 pgs. The American Evangelical church is easily tempted by shiny things. For decades now we have taught ourselves a theology of church and the spiritual life that is only tenuously connected to Scripture. In... Continue Reading →
Douglas Groothuis, Walking Through Twilight: A Wife’s Illness – A Philosopher’s Lament (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2017) In his memoir, Walking Through Twilight: A Wife’s Illness – A Philosopher’s Lament, Douglas Groothuis combines several things often lacking in books written on suffering and God. There are good books out there on a theology... Continue Reading →
Every Thought Captive 