http://evangelicalreformation.com diagnosing the contemporary evangelical disease & prescribing a biblical cure Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:43:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en William P. Young’s The Shack was destined to be an evangelical best seller. Eugene Peterson’s endorsement on the cover asserts, “This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!” An interesting evangelical trait is to brand books that ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2009/the-shack-and-the-evangelical-mind/ You’ve probably seen the lament on a coffee cup or elsewhere, “Of all the things I’ve lost, I miss my mind the most.” Though meant to be humorous, the point is profound. As human beings, we can lose almost anything else and still function. But if our mind goes, little ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2009/of-all-the-things-we%e2%80%99ve-lost-we-miss-wisdom-the-most/ What if Congress Feared the Lord??! For those who think that fear is always bad, think about how different the “stimulus package” would be if Congress feared the Lord. What if Jesus, clothed in His majesty, was seated at the committee table as bills were being formulated or at the front of ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2009/what-if-congress-feared-the-lord/ We tend to see fear in a totally negative light. As noted in our last message, fear can be a destructive emotion. However, the Bible asserts that some fear is necessary and beneficial. How so? In Proverbs 1:7, Solomon teaches us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Consider ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2009/the-benefits-of-fear/ But what about fear of poisonous spiders or crossing unsafe bridges? The point is that some fear is healthy. FDR told us that “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” For the approximately 418,500 American who died in WWII, his assurance rang hollow. They did have something to fear as ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2009/no-fear/ Some take comfort in the rationale that we can thank Jimmy Carter's disastrous presidency for giving us Ronald Reagan. From that fact of history they extrapolate that the election of Barack Obama might lead to another Ronald Reagan. This logic fails because if we had another Ronald Reagan we would be ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2008/barack-obama-is-no-jimmy-carter/ Truth is a scarce commodity in our society. This dark reality reveals itself graphically in our current financial crisis. One can listen to television, the major source of “truth” in our society, 24/7 and learn practically nothing about the realities of our financial crisis. Though we hear a lot about ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2008/truth-is-fallen-in-the-street/ Recently leaders of the Muslim community wrote an open letter addressed to Christians entitled "A Common Word between Us and You," calling us to work together for the common good based on the mutually shared commitments of both communities to love of God and of neighbor. A group of Christian ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2008/muslim-leadership%e2%80%99s-offer-to-work-with-christians-for-a-loving-world/ The Democratic approach to winning elections has remained rather consistent across the years beginning with the New Deal. They promise to distribute your tax money in a way that will buy them the most votes. What is new about this presidential election is the extent and shamelessness to which this ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2008/buying-votes-with-your-money/ Have you ever thought of what it is like to be in combat? Perhaps you have had that experience. However, most have not. Imagine what it is like to live in an area inhabited by enemy soldiers possessing the weapons, training, and intent to destroy you. Living in that environment would ... http://evangelicalreformation.com/2007/the-results-of-deformed-meekness/