Before I plunge in to another post that I hope will be helpful for understanding both the value of using culture-related language and what I believe is the fundamental difference between Western and Non-Western cultures, I believe a clear definition of the word is in order. CULTURE: the shared beliefs, values, knowledge, language, and behaviors…
Whether a person is a Christian or not, if they understand that Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God and they are familiar with some or all of the details of this factual event, a few obvious and logical questions naturally spring forth from what is recorded in these few verses. John 2:1-11 (ESV)…
By God’s permission and design, people from around the world now live in my community and have become a part of my day to day and week to week sphere of life. I regularly interact with a Sikh gentleman from Punjab state, India, a hard-working cultural Muslim man from Iran, and various culturally Muslim men…
When I pastored in Phoenix a few years ago, my assistant pastor was from a Middle Eastern country and a number of our church members were refugees from Burma/Myanmar. For all of them and almost every other refugee that our church served, their life experience prior to being resettled in America was oppression generated by the…
The bible is full of admonitions for God’s people to be an expression of His love for the poor and oppressed. This includes caring for the fatherless, the widow, and the “strangers” that live among us, (Deut. 10:17-22 being just one of dozens of examples). But does the bible have anything to say about the…
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that morally, culturally, and politically, what’s taking place in the U.S.A. is change at the foundational level. And as with all change, a segment of people rejoice at what’s “finally” happening while others are absolutely disgusted with the way things are “these days”. Although division certainly does…
Knowing a bit of my back round, a few friends have asked me what my thoughts are regarding whether or not the United States should permit refugees from Syria to be resettled here. Before I share a few of the things that I think about that subject and a few others, I believe that sharing…
Daniel and his friends were commanded to participate in a specific cultural practice that they were convinced was opposed to God’s clearly revealed will for His people. It’s very obvious from their response and what their response produced, that they had given some serious thought to a number of different aspects of the situation they…
The Old Testament book of Daniel contains some of the most incredibly accurate predictive prophecy found in the bible. But that isn’t the only reason the true and living God included this amazing book in His written word. Whether you’ve ever viewed it in this light before or not, the book of Daniel also unpacks…
As sobering and painful as it is for me to express it, I’m not surprised at the ho-hum response of the majority of the media and most Americans to the videos recently released that clearly portray the multi-faceted evils of the abortion industry in America. Why am I not surprised? Because I’ve learned to view…
Technology, especially media related technology, has amplified what every person on this planet knows by their own experience and observation–the world we all occupy is incredibly broken. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that people are the primary cause of the world’s brokenness and chaos. If you have access to any…
I’ve been thinking for weeks about what my first official blog post on my new site should cover. My thinking has gone in different directions and every time I was right on the verge of deciding what I wanted to share, my cross-culturally trained and tuned mind kept wanting to peel back the topic I…
The passion and urge to begin sharing my some times quirky thoughts on God, life, family, culture, and who knows what else, has been stirring again. This post is sticking my toe in to the water to help me determine whether I should proceed to take the plunge once again in to the sea of…
Extended Horizon Reflections 