Jesus’ Brilliant (and nearly fatal) First Sermon: A New Year Meditation

Well, most of us do not face the possibility of getting thrown off a cliff after our next sermon. This is a good thing to be sure, but makes one question ones preaching. As one Anglican pastor has said, “After Jesus’ sermon, they tried to kill him…But after mine, they invite me for tea”. Well, whether

My [Ryan’s] Top Books of 2015

My brothers and I have long been keeping track of the books we read every year for the purpose of looking back and discerning which books had the deepest effect on our thinking and way of life. The following is brief recap of the most important books to me this year (note that not all

Re-thinking the Nativity scenes with Kenneth Bailey

Top-notch Biblical scholar + living in the Middle East for over 50 years + speaking Hebrew, Greek, Arabic and Syriac + a love for contextual truth and relevance = Sheer genius (aka Kenneth Bailey). So when Kenneth says something about the context of Jesus’ life and words – as he does a lot here –

A Book Review of Jeff Cary’s Free Churches and the Body of Christ!

I would like to take a brief moment to review a book written by a good friend, Jeff Cary. Jeff and his family have really become dear to my family (both extended and immediate) over the years. And it would be truthful to say that he has been instrumental in my theological and spiritual development in