The middle of the 20th century saw preaching take an inductive turn. Tired of "top-down," authoritative proclamation, Fred Craddock and others envisioned a new day for preaching. Preaching the new way would be more collaborative, more engaging, and less authoritative. In his book As One Without Authority, Craddock proposes that the sermon is a journey... Continue Reading →
Who’s Gonna Fill Frank Wolf’s Shoes?
George Jones once asked through the lyrics of a country song, “Who’s gonna fill their shoes?” Released in 1985, the song pays homage to country music legends like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Patsy Cline. For a country music purist, the question is a pertinent one. However, many upstarts have volunteered to fill... Continue Reading →
It’s About to Get Real
The news story from North Korea this week is making its way around the blogosphere and through social media outposts, and I am very glad that folks are realizing more and more that Christians are the most persecuted group of people on planet earth. Thank you, Lori Stanley Roeleveld, for your recent post concerning the... Continue Reading →
Are Nigerian Christians Really Facing Persecution? Definitions.
In Nigeria, the situation is grim for Christians. In particular, Christians in the northern tier of Nigeria live in constant fear of bombings, execution, or torturous violence at the hands of Boko Haram, a militant Islamic terrorist organization. Recently, President Goodluck Jonathan spoke against the violence but insisted that this violence was not Christian persecution,... Continue Reading →
Making Unity Stick in the Church Body
I am not a fan of preaching that calls for people to chant or clap or do certain things to prove that they are listening. However, I understand that such interactive responses can be helpful to make a message stick and to keep the audience engaged. Maybe it’s a personal preference issue, or maybe there... Continue Reading →
Can Watching a Horror Film Save Your Soul?
William Peter Blatty, the son of Lebanese immigrants from New York, won an Oscar and three Golden Globes for his famous movie, The Exorcist. Before this film, Blatty’s success was limited. Most likely, the success of The Exorcist exceeded even his wild imagination. It turns out, the success of that movie extends beyond the material... Continue Reading →
Simple Ways to Stay Informed about Christian Persecution
Not long ago, I posted a couple of articles concerning why Christian persecution is such a neglected topic both among Christians and non-Christians alike. I'm sure those articles had a negative tone about them because it is difficult to understand why so many people neglect such an important Christian priority. Yet, as Christians, our message... Continue Reading →
Will the U.S. House Help Christians Suffering Persecution?
Last week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom met to offer a report to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. Commissioner Elliott Abrams offered a compelling plea for Congress to take up the cause of persecuted Christians around the world. By following this link, you can view video testimonies from the... Continue Reading →
Why Is It So Hard to Study Persecution?
If you want to find out about the extent persecution is affecting Christians around the world, you certainly can. There are a number of ministries and agencies tracking persecution around the world. But the research varies dramatically from one source to the next. Accurate research on persecution is not easy to obtain for several reasons.... Continue Reading →
Can Christians Read Pagan Literature?
Should Christians read pagan literature? The question is a fair one, considering that more than one place in Scripture expects the believer to renew his mind and do everything he does to the glory of God. It’s hard to see how Buffy the Vampire Slayer might be considered mind-renewing. It may be even more difficult... Continue Reading →
Why Caring for the Persecuted Is a Christian Priority
So our friends and family back east—especially in Kentucky—are experiencing one of the toughest winters on record. Even now, there is snow on top of ice on top of snow. Out here in California, we are experiencing a drought, although we got a few sprinkles overnight (and snow in the mountains). And, so far, the... Continue Reading →
Why Are Christians Neglecting Persecution Studies?
More than five decades ago, Eberhard Bethge, a close friend and biographer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, lamented the manner in which Protestants neglected the study of martyrs. He offered two basic reasons for such neglect: Protestants deplore the martyr worship present in part of the Catholic tradition. And Protestants are a bit squeamish emotionally when it... Continue Reading →
A Sticky Sermon by Story Seeding
There is a sense in which godliness grows. The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians that he planted the seeds of faith among them, Apollos watered those seeds, but, ultimately, God caused their faith to grow (1 Corinthians 3). The basic concept of a sticky sermon is to plant biblical ideas in the minds of your... Continue Reading →
Do You Know Any Bad Prisons?
Do you know any bad prison stories? If you’ve ever seen The Shawshank Redemption, then you have heard of at least one bad prison. My guess is that you know of several others, too. Ever heard of Alcatraz, that eerie, isolated mass of prison rock sitting about a mile and a half offshore in San... Continue Reading →
Biblical Morality–A Crime Against Humanity?
UPDATE: The Scott Lively case concerning a lawsuit from an international law perspective is still moving forward, despite motions to dismiss and motions to stay while court decisions are reviewed. Scott Lively is being sued under international law for “severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law ” on account of his belief that homosexuality is sin.
Current events did not take long to prove Dr. Mohler correct in his assertion yesterday that gay rights has become the centerpiece of a new moral “McCarthyism.” Dr. Mohler’s commentary concerning “The Giglio Imbroglio” has proved prescient. Today, news has come out that an American pastor is being sued for “crimes against humanity” because of his views on homosexuality.
Scott Lively, a pastor and activist who believes that homosexuality is a sinful undermining of traditional marriage and family norms, has been sued by SMUG (Sexual Minorities of Uganda–a political action group funded by George Soros). The lawsuit has been filed in federal district court and appeals to international law, citing a trip that Lively took to Uganda to speak out against the homosexual lifestyle.
The case seems important to me for two different reasons. On the one hand, it is troubling that an American citizen…
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Gregory C. Cochran 