Examining New City Network Plants in Europe: Église Chemin Nouveau in France and Redeemer City Church of Rekjavik, Iceland

The New City Network is working on two church plants in Europe. One called Église Chemin Nouveau launched in France in 2019 and Redeemer City Church of Rekjavik, Iceland is launching in late 2020. This blog is deeply concerned with the issue of sexual abuse inside a foreign church plant or other missionary effort. 

In Rebuking Jesus Its Clear the National Prayer Breakfast Needs to Come to an End

The National Prayer Breakfast was held in Washington, D.C. on February 6, 2020. Arthur Brooks gave a strong talk pleading for contempt and polarization to end. President Trump meanwhile followed Brooks talk and used it to settle scores and attack his perceived “enemies.” While pastors and staff laughed it became quite clear that the National Prayer Breakfast was never about prayer or bringing people to recognize the Lord. Instead, it is about the naked pursuit of power and trying to influence the executive and legislative branch. This blog is calling for the National Prayer Breakfast to be canceled and for Christians to do a lot of hard thinking about what they perpetuated and enabled. They don’t have the moral authority to lecture me about faith when they silently laugh and allow God to be mocked. 

Recalling My Formative Years Inside Evangelicalism in Wisconsin. Plus Deeply Embarrassing and Troubling Newspaper Articles About Dairy State Evangelical Christians Worshiping Donald Trump Over Jesus

Recently Evangelical Christians in Wisconsin have received some troubling press in the Boston Globe and the London Guardian. The publicity which is embarrassing discusses how white evangelicals in Wisconsin are worshiping Donald Trump over Jesus. I once called Wisconsin home and today stand horrified by what has developed. In addition the behavior of white evangelicals that I once knew from people like Steve Papez of Milwaukee Metro Crusade or Russell Schmaltz from Elmbrook further highlight these issues or of how some evangelicals are turning a blind eye. As I continue to push back from this stream of evangelicalism I have to grapple as to how the formative years of my life – my 20’s- were wasted in planting a Crusade chapter at Marquette University as well as being involved in churches like Wooded Hills and others. This blog entry is in part a post-mortem as to why I am pushing back from evangelicalism.

As White Evangelicals Believe They are Being Persecuted in the United States, a Story About Evangelical Christians and a House Church in Chengdu, China Reveals What Persecution Really Is

Many white Evangelical Christians in the United States believe they are being persecuted. Its the belief of this blog that evangelicals are not facing persecution in the United States. To continue to make this point I want to draw attention to a story in the Los Angeles Times that followed a Christian church in China facing persecution. Ask yourself as you read this Times article has Franklin Graham or Robert Jeffress or any other evangelicals in the United States come under anything similar?

An Experience in Times Square in New York City on How Not to Reach the Lost

Recently I was in New York City’s Times Square. While there I witnessed a group of Evangelical Christians waving signs and telling people to repent as they passed out tracts. Some had yelled at people. I was taken back by their behavior, but you see this every so often. Why do some evangelicals act so weird? And the question that sits on my mind is who is lost? Is it the person who is spiritually nothing? Or is the Evangelical Christian who acts like this?

Reaching the Lost in Brazil Through Stoning, Executions and Pentecostal Jesus Gangs

Brazil is moving from a Catholic country to an Evangelical Christian theocracy. As Catholicism and other religions become minorities some fringe Evangelical Christians are engaging in violence in efforts to convert them. Pentecostal Evangelical gangs have engaged in a murder campaign and pointing guns at Catholics and other minority religions and telling them they have a week to shut down their church. While mainstream Evangelicals allegedly not involved, in my time in evangelicalism Brazil was always a focus. But today’s post comes about after a disturbing article in the Washington Post points out the issues with fringe Evangelical Christian gangs. If Brazil is going to become like Afghanistan, this writer is going to be concerned about Evangelical Christian missionary efforts especially with the law of unintended consequences.

From Atheists to Christians Here is Why You Should be Concerned With What is Happening at Liberty University

The politicization of Liberty University has far reaching consequences that will affect a lot of people and institutions. It will backfire for churches and can result in more discrimination of atheists. This post looks at the influence of Liberty in churches and writes about the ultimate problem of Christian nationalism. 

When Evangelicals Rejected Bethlehem and How I Walked out of a Christmas Eve Service. Plus is Christian Nationalism Derailing Southern Baptist Missionary Work?

One of the most well known stories in the Bible is that of the narrative of Luke. In the second chapter Joseph and Mary are looking for an inn. The story of Bethlehem teaches a lot about Christianity. Yet in the wake of the vitriol of the 2016 election I felt sick over what I heard. Unable to connect to the traditional Christmas narrative I ended up walking out of a Christmas service asking myself if evangelicals have rejected the story of Bethlehem? Also in Christianity Today the Chief Missiologist of the North American Missions Board wrote an article about how Christian Nationalism and politics is harming missionary work. This blog is looking for stories from American missionaries abroad who have had to deal with this issue in their job.

Why the Jim Elliot Story is Dangerous for Many Evangelicals, A Troubling Article on the Death of John Allen Chau on North Sentinel Island

John Allen Chau wanted to be a missionary that would reach an isolated Stone Age tribe on North Sentinel Island. Instead he was speared to death screaming “Jesus loves you!” An article in Outside Online raises many questions about evangelical culture and how that fed an unhealthy obsession with Chau. The one question haunting me is did evangelical missionary culture drive someone toward a suicide mission?

Dale Sutherland is Leaving McLean Bible. What Will His Legacy Be?

Dale Sutherland is leaving McLean Bible to become the President of of International Care Ministries. He also will become involved in a New City Church plant in West Falls Church, Virginia. This blog looks at Dale’s legacy the chief among them is his role in theologically flipping McLean Bible with the aid of Mark Dever of Capital Hill Baptist Church. Dale Sutherland will be remembered for being Lon Solomon’s Judas Iscariot.