Reading Time: 4 minutes The Christian media empire, the institutional church, and faith-based progressive political organizations continue to promote false spiritual buzzworthy slogans such as “if you build a better church they will come,” “we’re on the cusp of a new kind of Christianity,” or “if you follow my way of being, you will receive spiritual enlightenment, sacred sexual […]
narcissism
Posted inLeaving Religion
There’s nothing sexy about deconstruction
Reading Time: 8 minutes A pastor recently said people are leaving their faith because it’s sexy. But if approval had really been our goal, we’d have stayed.
Posted inCulture
Evangelical reform: Who’s gonna force accountability on pastors?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Whenever things go hideously wrong in any evangelical group, evangelicals tend to think that The Big Problem Here was a lack of accountability. Had proper accountability existed in their group, nothing bad would have happened because nothing bad could have happened without someone noticing it and addressing it. Scandals, in particular, happen because whoever caused that scandal drifted away from their accountabilibuddies.
Posted inCulture
Intentional Ministries: When Congregations Are Pastors’ Worst Problem
Reading Time: 8 minutes The natural inclinations of awful people tend to be awful. And such people can make an innocent visit to a neighborhood church into a horror story those guests will remember for years.
Posted inReligion
Megapastor Todd Elliott and the Church Mutiny
Reading Time: 6 minutes For years now, Todd Elliott and his elders have been fighting over who holds ultimate control over the megachurch. Obviously, Elliott — as the sole megapastor by them — thought he should wear the crown. But his elders disagreed.
Posted inReligion
Kent Hovind: Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges
Reading Time: 10 minutes Hi and welcome back! The other day, we took an introductory look at a relic of Creationism’s heyday: Kent Hovind, who styles himself ‘Dr. Dino.’ Hovind got arrested right at the end of July on domestic violence charges against his newly-estranged third wife. He also didn’t respond well to her decision to end their relationship. […]
Posted inPolitics
You don’t belong on that cross
Reading Time: 7 minutes The American Church has been feeling the loss of their cultural relevance, and they’re not taking it very well. It offends them deeply. The last thing they needed was to lose the social privilege they’ve enjoyed for so many generations they have become convinced it’s just the way things are supposed to be. As they […]
Posted inGaming
Narcissistic Rage: Of Game Admins and Presidents (LSP #175)
Reading Time: 10 minutes To borrow a phrase and wreck its meter: ‘the time has come,’ the walrus said, ‘to speak of many things: Of shoes and ships…’ And narcissistic rage, of dysfunctional game admins and extremely seditious presidents. In the case of those last two items, these two groups have some very important traits in common: their narcissistic desire for attention, the mind-boggling extremes to which they are both willing to go in order to get it, and their catastrophic rage when it is denied. Today, Lord Snow Presides over how I learned to spot narcissists in a game I once loved.
Posted inReligion
The Capitol Attack and Evangelical Leaders’ Reactions to It
Reading Time: 10 minutes Today, let me show you some reactions evangelicals had regarding the Capitol attack today — and explore what they mean.
Posted inReligion
Evangelical Marriages: Where Fantasy and Reality Collide
Reading Time: 7 minutes Today, let me show you how evangelicals’ broken system poisons members’ minds and relationships — and sows the seeds for marriages that are destined to fail.