Viral Faith

  Picture of Immigrating people sent from Texas and left on the streets of Chicago  I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD (Ezekiel 36:23 NLT) "The truth of the gospel is turned into a lie when it ceases to look like Christ himself.  The true image of the Son is that of a person who gave up his own life out of love for the weak and hopeless."--Nijay K. Gupta and Scot McKnight in Galatians For those who are followers of Jesus, we are members of a universal family called the Church (notice the capitalization).  Local communities of Christians are referred to as churches (lowercase c), which collectively make up the Church (capitalized). Followers of Jesus are invited into the Church upon placing their trust in Jesus.  Local churches typically have a process of becoming a memb...

"You don't get to a place where you're never going to be tempted again." Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International “God created sexuality.  People create sexual identity” Dr. Jenel Williams Paris in The End Of Sexual Identity "Whatever you marginalize, you radicalize" Rick Warren (@RickWarren 1/15/13) So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.  (Colossians 2:10 NLT) Two things happened yesterday that colluded to produce this blog entry.  First, I participate in a wonderful email discussion with pastors and leaders that covers a variety of topics regarding life and faith.  Over the past several days, there has been significant discussion on the church's treatment of homosexuality in light of Pastor Lou Gigglio's removal from praying during the presidential inauguration due perceived anti-gay comments.  Secondly, a church member scheduled a meeting with me ...