In 1946, a man named Ernst Lohmeyer disappeared from East Germany. It took me three decades to piece together his story. I had never heard of Ernst Lohmeyer until I was in my late 20s. I came across his name in the same way I came across many names at the time—as another scholar whom …
A close look at the deadly church shooting, “Emanuel” reveals ruthless sin, scandalous mercy, and divides that persist. “Only five of us were left after the massacre,” said Polly Sheppard. In 2015, Sheppard was in the prayer circle at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church when a 21-year-old white supremacist started shooting. The nation’s deadliest …
Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin envision a future without firearms. Should believers rally to their cause? Someone, somewhere in America will be the victim of gun violence today. Mass shootings have become part of our routine national experience. What should be done with guns? That, essentially, is the question animating a new book from Shane …
In a world that promises liberation from the limits of place, we are called to be rooted disciples. My favorite house we owned started out a salmon-pink bank-owned foreclosure on the corner of 800 East and 900 South in Salt Lake City, Utah. When we sold that house to move to the California suburbs six …
You don’t exist to help professional ministry leaders fulfill the Great Commission. We exist to help you do it. Leer en español | Ler em português But will they listen?” I sat across the table from a friend, Bill Pollard, who had a hopeful but slightly doubtful look on his face. I had just shared …
An experiment with joy. ‘I don’t trust happiness,” said Mack (played by Robert Duvall) in Tender Mercies after losing his young daughter. These four words rang sadly true, and they lodged in my soul. In 1983, when I was 27, it seemed right to me. I had not known the nadir of unhappiness. But my …
According to Scripture, the people of God have a higher purpose. Last week, I ended last week’s Elusive Presence essay by saying that thinking of the church primarily in missional terms is a mistake. Specifically, I said, “I believe it is an unbiblical view of the church. And I believe it is an unhealthy diet …
How the Southern Baptist Bible teacher is shaking up her denomination and American evangelicalism at large. In August 2010, CT published a cover story on Beth Moore, “Why Women Want Moore: Homespun, savvy, and with a relentless focus on Jesus, Beth Moore has become the most popular Bible teacher in America.” Intensely popular among evangelical …
Despite terminal lung cancer, the Argentinian-born evangelist remains full of energy and evangelistic passion. My first in-person encounter with Luis Palau, the Argentinian evangelist many have dubbed “The Billy Graham of Latin America,” took place a few years ago in Edmonton, Alberta, following a large evangelism conference at which we both spoke. I was privileged …
Three reasons to practice levity and humor in public worship. When I was a student at Regent College, I once impersonated J. I. Packer in a chapel service. I pretended he was C-3PO from Star Wars. He laughed, I laughed, people laughed. We laughed, I’d like to think, because the impression fit the man: Both …