Rest for Everyone (No Really): A Reflection on Deuteronomy 5.12-15 and Mark 2.23-3.6

There was an article in the news the other day referring to life in our current moment as “The Great Exhaustion.” On top of all of the normal concerns of work and home life, we’re all still dealing with the deep fatigue of the 2020 pandemic, the toxic political climate it released, a cost of … Continue reading Rest for Everyone (No Really): A Reflection on Deuteronomy 5.12-15 and Mark 2.23-3.6

Why I am … Traditional

A few years ago I was talking to a colleague about the value of pleasure. He was a proud hedonist, believing pleasure to be the ultimate good, while I — while certainly valuing pleasure — was more skeptical of it. To support my position, I brought in not only contemporary insights from psychology (hedonic adaptation … Continue reading Why I am … Traditional

Why I am … a Christian

Yesterday, I introduced a new series I’m calling ‘A Renewed Generous Orthodoxy,’ riffing off of Brian McLaren’s (now old) book A Generous Orthodoxy. The goal will be to celebrate and affirm the strengths of different Christian traditions and movements. But before I do that, today I’m going to try to answer the most important question … Continue reading Why I am … a Christian

A Renewed Generous Orthodoxy: Introduction

Twenty years ago, American writer and leader in what was known as the ‘emergent church’ movement Brian McLaren released a book called A Generous Orthodoxy. It was his attempt to both bridge the divides within Christianity by celebrating the strengths of its different traditions and movements, and find a way of articulating the Gospel that … Continue reading A Renewed Generous Orthodoxy: Introduction

Life in the Spirit: A Reflection on Romans 8.12-17

A recurring theme on this blog (and indeed in the New Testament) is that being a Christian means living a radically different life. There is supposed to a marked difference between life following Jesus and life following our own impulses, between life with the Spirit and life outside of the Spirit. There are few places … Continue reading Life in the Spirit: A Reflection on Romans 8.12-17