pastor || writer || speaker
Last night I had the chance to view Emanuel, a documentary directed by Brian Ivie (The Dropbox), about the shooting on June 17, 2015, at Emanuel A. M. E. Church in Charleston, SC, in which 9 people died. I attended with one of my sons, and we participated in a talk-back after the movie to reflect and process what we …
Continue reading "Emanuel, Charleston, Forgiveness and the Future"
This past Saturday, a 19-year-old man opened fire in a synagogue near San Diego, Chabad of Poway, killing one and injuring several others. This past fall, a similar shooting occurred at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, taking even more lives. Since Saturday's events, I have been reflecting on how we should think about and …
Continue reading "Six Pastoral Reflections on the California Synagogue Shooting"
I first heard of Ajith Fernando when he was the morning Bible expositor at Urbana '93, which I attended when I was a college student. Since that time, his writings have continued to be an influence in my life and ministry, whether his books The Supremacy of Christ, Reclaiming Friendship, or Jesus Driven Ministry. When the bombings occurred …
Continue reading "Ajith Fernando, “Six Biblical Responses to Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombings”"
International news reports indicate that a Turkish court ruled today to release Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been detained for the past two years and has been remanded to house arrest since July due to health concerns. As I have followed this case over the past two years, it is clear Brunson has been used …
Continue reading "October 12 Update on the Release of Pastor Andrew Brunson"
In light of my recent exploration of the book of Daniel at Eastbrook Church (see "Daniel: Apocalyptic Imagination and Exile Faith"), Alan Jacobs' blog post earlier this week seemed well-timed for me. Jacobs interacts with Adrian Vermeule's review of Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed, in which Vermeule offers an alternative to Deneen’s plea for a renewed localism, and …
Continue reading "Making a Daniel: Alan Jacobs on counter-cultural catechesis"
Matthew Erickson 