Evangelicals on CNN

CNN.com - Transcripts

I was reading the transcripts of Larry King's interview with leading evangelicals this morning and I realized what an interesting smattering of people King interviewed. Sounds like the LaHaye's sounded idiotic, like Franklin Graham was out of touch and like McLaren and Jakes were at least compassionate. I'm frustrated that the voice of the Evangelical community, of which I consider myself to be a member, is tainted by people like Tim and Beverly LaHaye who seem to have missed out on grace. I try to live my life ascompassionate conservative, one who votes with my head AND my heart, one who thinks before I speak. I watched the interview with Jim Wallis on the Daily Show as well, and although Wallis raised some concerns, I think that he has it figured out a little more. I'm anxious to read his book and see what I think. I wish that the evangelical church would realize that we MUST not simply preach the Gospel, but we must live our lives as if we care about people. The Gospel must include the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, AS WELL AS the LIFE of Christ. One without the other is missing something. We must care about social security and the war in Iraq. We must care about the way that the church treats the homosexual community. We must care about poverty, both around in the world and in our own backyard. C'mon Church--think a little bit.

Joel Osteen Controversy

Wesley Blog

So, I've been reading about Joel Osteen, a new name to me until recently. Osteen seems to have a huge church in Houston, but very little real theology. This is NEVER positive. Reading through the interviews at beliefnet.net is just about enough to make me sick. What people don't realize, I think, is that this type of theology divides the church. I've worked closely with students who patterned themselves after Osteen, and in a diverse and wondering community of students, it divides people faster than people realize. WesleyBlog decides that it's pulpit-envy...and he's right...every pastor wants to have a huge church, but more than that, any pastor I've met who's worth his salt wants to have a church that's true to God's Word...not their own.

In the midst of Confusion...

My first post in my blog...I find myself reading the blogs of others and realizing that I may have something to add. In the midst of the questions and confusion that is sometimes a part of my life, I wait for clarity. I'll probably write about the things I read and think about...often the state of the church that I love and baseball. A lot of questions today...a lot of things to make me think. Just as I thought that we had our future figured out, God threw us a curveball. That's OK...God is still good and knows what's going on, even when we don't. Back to work...more thoughts later.