Two days after I posted my series “Beyond Evangelical?”, Milt Rodriguez – who I took to task in that series – wrote his own blog which helps close the gap, so to speak, that I was addressing. Here’s some follow-up thoughts.
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Beyond Evangelical? (Part 3)
February 22, 2012
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A challenge to my “Beyond Evangelical” brethren: If you are not called to something, don’t discredit those who are. Trying to say we must be like you is narcissism – a key characteristic of post-modernity – at its worst. In essence, it’s trying to impose on others a Jesus created in your own image.
Read more Beyond Evangelical? (Part 2)
February 21, 2012
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What Frank Viola and other “Beyond Evangelical” proponents seem to miss is this: A truly authentic Jesus will be expressed through us to all aspects of life, culture, and history – both relationally and propositionally. And sometimes, what Jesus has to propositionally say to society may offend, even though we may not be acting offensively.
Read more Beyond Evangelical? (Part 1)
February 20, 2012
6 Comments
The spirit of this age – at least in the West – is post-modernity, which views reality as subjective and truth (if it even exists) as individual and relative. Post-modernity is not all bad, but neither is it Christ!
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True Leadership
February 10, 2012
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What is the true measure of leadership in the Body of Christ?
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Jesus at the Fringes
February 4, 2012
6 Comments
It’s amazing how Jesus takes root in the fringes of society when you empower Christ in folks rather than trying to bring “church” to them, take them to “church” or do “church” for them.
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The Priesthood of All Believers
January 23, 2012
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Then how is it, brothers? When you come together, ONLY ONE of you can have a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation….
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A Multilingual Jesus
January 16, 2012
1 Comment
God speaks to some subjectively, and to others objectively, and each often forgets that Jesus is multilingual.
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Planting Churches
January 3, 2012
7 Comments
I’m not sure why we make planting churches so complicated. It really isn’t. Here’s a recent story from the local jail.
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Room at the Inn
December 24, 2011
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This Christmas, the question yet remains: Is there still no room at the inn? Take a chance. Embrace the Joseph’s and Mary’s of our age.
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Redemption
December 21, 2011
3 Comments
If Jesus doesn’t work for the worst of us, then He works for none of us.
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Ekklesia as Escapism
December 19, 2011
10 Comments
Too often, we say it’s all about Jesus, when in reality we create Jesus in our own image – shaped by our hurts from the wrongs we have suffered – and use Him to justify our safely-ensconced retreat into self-constructed cocoons.
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I Am Content
December 15, 2011
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A poem of sorts to express my gratitude to the Lord and my love to my wife, Marianne.
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About Justice
December 8, 2011
4 Comments
Jesus comforted the afflicted, and afflicted the comfortable.
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Christ Chapel: Pastoral Sex Abuse
December 2, 2011
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Eventually, the truth comes out as people see with their own eyes the lies, victim-blaming and arrogance that surface when a church and its senior leadership desperately try to deny responsibility for repeated instances of pastoral sexual abuse.
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The Mythology of Tithing
November 26, 2011
30 Comments
In the 13th century, an increasingly complex and self-serving ecclesiastical hierarchy started to adopt the Old Testament tithe to fund their huge cathedrals and support other unbiblical prerogatives they were increasingly assuming for themselves.
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Old Covenant Church
November 25, 2011
5 Comments
Why are most churches Old Covenant, rather than New Covenant?
Read more Grace, Mercy and Love
November 23, 2011
3 Comments
Too often, we forget that there is a context to grace, mercy and love.
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The Road to Grace
November 21, 2011
11 Comments
For the religious, the road to grace is the toughest journey they’ll ever face. But slowly, I’m finally starting to find it.
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Ordained to Fail
November 16, 2011
17 Comments
Those who take on the mantle of “Pastor” are operating within a framework, and on assumptions and traditions, that God never ordained.
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A Hollow Gospel
November 14, 2011
34 Comments
Broken lives and real people are inconvenient and demand more than your hollow gospel and podium-oriented focus can give. But praise God, you have great meetings!
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Herman Cain
November 9, 2011
6 Comments
As Christians, we must speak truth to power, but with integrity and without applying double standards!
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The Question of Leadership
October 31, 2011
2 Comments
We do it all backwards. We expect fellowship to emerge from leaders. In God’s providence, leaders emerge from fellowship.
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Going Organic
October 27, 2011
4 Comments
Going to enjoy a sermon and the worship team in an institutional church is like going to McDonald’s, while forming community and participating in organic church is like cultivating and enjoying a healthy, wonderful garden.
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Crossing Jordan
October 24, 2011
5 Comments
For many who leave the institutional church, there is a season where we react to things not out of freedom, but rather out of not wanting to to be like the institutional church. When we remain in a reactive mode, however, we remain in bondage to our institutional church experiences.
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Silence = Death
October 21, 2011
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To those who have been violated, and to those who know, may God give you the grace to find the voice they took from you.
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I Saw Satan Fall
October 20, 2011
1 Comment
Confession, forgiveness and repentance have become forgotten ordinances that we have twisted into ineffective spiritual abstractions. As a result, most churches have lost the ability to meaningfully administer those graces today.
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Starve the Beast
October 17, 2011
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People are cutting back as they see how their tithes and offerings are typically misused by churches. It seems that folks are fed up with all the money grubbing for ego-buildings, staff who are increasingly detached from real ministry, and life-sucking programs that don’t really advance the Kingdom of God.
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Narcissists with Power
October 9, 2011
3 Comments
I’ve finally come to realize that the most dangerous people, and the most charming, are narcissists with power.
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Wall Street Protests
October 6, 2011
1 Comment
On the one hand, I reject the anti-capitalist goals of the Occupy Wall Street protestors, and their implicit “entitlement” message. But on the other hand, I agree that the government – Democrats and Republicans alike – bailed out the rich and the privileged at the expense of every one else.
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Limousine Liberals
October 5, 2011
4 Comments
One afternoon a liberal congressman – well known for supporting expensive budget busting government programs to “help” the poor – was riding in his limousine when he saw two men along the roadside eating grass. Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop so he could investigate….
Read moreJesus, the Living Word
October 1, 2011
3 Comments
If we deny that God speaks and acts today in vibrant, direct and personal ways, and if we try to box Him in by claiming that He only speaks through Scripture, then how are we different from Muslims?
Read moreJim Wright
Teacher, pilot, foe of tyrants, world traveler, passionate, attorney, entrepreneur, friend of the dispossessed, Christian, thinker, reluctant counselor, occasional mentor, brother in the Lord, adequate cook, pretty good host and so-so bass fisherman.According to the internet tracking service Networked Blogs, Crossroad Junction is among the top 100 blogs worldwide on "Christianity" and also among the top 100 on "faith".
As a friend said on Facebook, "I don't write things people need to know. I share things. If people care, they comment." I invite you to care.
I also invite you to contact me at Fulcrum Ministries.
- A Hollow Gospel
- The Mythology of Tithing
- Rethinking Missions
- Participatory Church
- Ordained to Fail
- Pimping the Gospel
- Dealing With Church Leadership Abuse
- Sufficient Grace
- Confronting Abusive Pastors, Part 2: How Should We React?
- Confronting Abusive Pastors, Part 4: Civil and Criminal Law
- Beyond Evangelical? – A Follow Up
- Beyond Evangelical? (Part 3)
- Beyond Evangelical? (Part 2)
- Beyond Evangelical? (Part 1)
- True Leadership
- Jesus at the Fringes
- The Priesthood of All Believers
- We Have Met the Enemy
- A Multilingual Jesus
- Planting Churches
- Eli: Milts article is very helpful in the discussion, t...
- MISSION@RIES (@Missionaries): I appreciate your statement, "Jesus is subjective,...
- Beyond Evangelical? – A Follow Up | Crossroad Junction: [...] days after I posted my series “Beyond ...
- Eli: Personally I don't think the problem is with a foc...
- Eli: Thank you for writing this! I too gain a lot from ...
- Randy: Jesus loves his Bride very much. I get tired of th...
- Ron: Thanks Jim......
- : I love tithing plus. I've tithed for about 30 year...
- Georgia Ana Larson: "Sometimes our faith requires that we speak truth ...
- Jim Wright: Thanks, Bruce. Based on our more private commu...
