Unfit, Unworthy, Even Rotten

“Shame is that secret belief that you are unfit, unworthy, even rotten.” Ze Frank Shame hinders us in very common ways, such as feelings and thoughts of fear, rejection, unworthiness, not belonging, and self-hatred. People go through life afraid that it is true that they are somehow inferior and unworthy, and desperately afraid that other…

Our Response to God’s Decisive Act

Salvation perspectives that infer a contingent transaction are overwhelmingly common with the evangelical gospel message. In this post, I want to discuss the possibility that we can express the gospel in ways that override this default perspective. The reason for Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf was because we were helpless to reconcile ourselves to God.…

The Gospel of Exclusion

The message of exclusion is a fundamental problem for christianity and the church today. While there are abundant examples of the message of exclusion, the Chik-Fil-A episode is an obvious recent example. Regardless of the first amendment issues involved, this was an epic failure in communicating the message of Christ for the christians who were…

Are You Saved?

It is almost impossible for anyone today to hear that question without automatically forming a determination of inclusion or exclusion. Are you “saved” or are you “lost”? Are you a church-goer or a heathen? Are you going to heaven or going to hell? Are you good or are you bad? Regardless of background, there is…

Immortality

Almost a year ago, Kansas Bob and I had an interesting conversation on his post, Are all humans immortal? This topic has come up again recently in several conversations, so I thought that I would share our earlier discussion and ask you to share your thoughts and perspective. Kansas Bob: Most people believe that all…