Category: Culture
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The End of An Era
Last Sunday was the end of an era for the Lusk family. For years, I have watched my wife and kids in worship; I’d be upfront leading the service or preaching and I’d see them all lined up, usually across the front row. When we first moved here at the end of 2004, our kids were…
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Kinism, Calvinism, and America’s Founding
Love of people and place is virtuous. It is good to love one’s family, and love of one’s family easily extends to a love of nation, which is largely an extension of the family. One way to honor my mother and father (and grandmother and grandfather, etc.) is to honor the land in which I…
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TPC’s Bright Vision in a Dark Age
I have often thought this quotation from T. S. Eliot sums up what TPC is all about and what we are trying to do: The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time:…
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Eight Criteria for a Biblical Political Theology
Here are my criteria for a political theology: 1. It must incorporate special and general revelation, since biblical law and creational law were designed to work together. Special revelation is the lens through which we interpret nature, but God never intended either form of revelation to stand alone (e.g., special revelation was given even before…
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The Story of Work
Work, like so many other things in our culture today, has been politicized. Over the last few years, articles lamenting the lack of workers due to the “great resignation” have been common. Some blame the declining workforce on government programs that pay people to not work, while others blame corporations and businesses that undercompensate their…
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1819 Interview
I had the honor and pleasure of doing an interview with 1819 News this week, hosted by Bryan Dawson and Ray Melick. If you are not familiar with 1819 News, it’s a great way to keep up with news in Alabama from a Christian perspective. The interview started out talking about the breakdown of the family in…
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Tragedies: The Southern Baptist Convention Sex Abuse Problem and The Texas School Shooting
You may have seen the absolutely horrific report on sexual sin and sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention that was released earlier this week. The report is the fruit of an extended independent investigation into claims made against various Southern Baptist leadership and congregations. I have not looked into the report in any detail but…
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Culture War as Spiritual War
Excellent article from Abigail Dodds. We are called to fight sin everywhere, in our hearts and in the culture. For Christians, the so-called culture war is not a contradiction of the cross, but a consequence of the cross. We can fight a culture war precisely because Christ has already defeated the principalities and powers.
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The Culture War as Proxy War
I sometimes get asked why my sermons so frequently engage so-called “culture war” issues. Here are some reasons why: 1. What if the culture war is actually much more than a culture war? What if the culture war is really proxy for the kind of spiritual war Paul describes in Ephesians 6? What if the…
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Canadian Bill C-4
This is an email I sent to my congregation this week, concerning Canadian bill C-4, which essentially makes the Christian faith illegal in Canada. TPC family, Last Sunday, Canadian bill C-4 forbidding “conversion therapy” for homosexuals and transgenders was mentioned in Sunday School, the opening exhortation, and the pastoral prayer. I wanted to follow up…
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