Rob Bell & Hell

I Don’t Own Jesus

I don’t own Jesus!

If you ask the average 8-year old boy what they want to be when they grow up, most of them will say something like “I want to be a professional baseball player” or “I want to be the next President of the United States.” I guess you can say I wasn’t the average 8-year old. When I was 8-years old, I wanted to be one thing, and one thing only, a missionary. More specifically: a missionary to Arab Muslims. Like I said, I wasn’t a typical 8-year old. Call it crazy or call it divine, but somehow I knew at an early age that I was going to spend a good part of my adult life living in the Middle East and working in the Arab world.

Book Reviews

Carl recommends and also gives reviews on books from his current reading list.

Two Muslims. Two pastors. A Jew. A Congressman…And Me….

Monday night was one of those nights. Interesting stuff. Seven of us sat on a panel and answered questions from about 80 Muslims and 30 Christian guests. The local Imam of the mosque. The former Mayor of Baghdad. An American Jew from D.C. A former Congressman and Ambassador. Two local church pastors. And moi.

FEAR

FEAR! We’re all afraid. Why? Why is everyone I know afraid of something? What causes fear and what drives out fear? Overcoming fear is probably one of the central life-messages I believe God has given me. Watch this video and give me some feedback. I hope/think you’ll find it helpful. Pass it on if it is….

I no longer believe in Evangelism

One well-known respected Christian leader said to me two days ago, “Carl, clever subtitle on the new book. The art of NOT evangelism.” Then he winked and smiled.

The Third portion of Speaking of Jesus…in order to whet your appetite for more

Remember, Jesus is the Way, and He started by saying, “Follow Me.” If all of this gives you pause, then I suggest a thought. We do not really know the gospel. It’s part of a multifaceted tapestry of other things. We have misplaced the gospel, perhaps become blind to it. It has become hidden in sermons, churches, self-help books, and apologetic philosophies.

Thoughts from N.T. Wright on the killing of Bin Laden

I’ve been facilitating a small email forum on various topics and the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden naturally led the recent focus of discussion. Here’s what Tom (Dr. N.T.) Wright wrote to me last week. When I asked for his permission to post this on my site, this is what he said. “I am quite worried about the American exceptionalism which seems endemic in right-wing circles in your country, including alas right-wing Christian circles.”

Speaking of Jesus

Too often I try to win allies to my point of view rather than pointing to Jesus. I remember having lots of arguments with people of different perspectives. I exercised my tongue and my brain a lot in those situations. I fervently and (I hope) intelligently refuted arguments. I showed my mettle. I proved myself.

An Unfair Advantage

A slightly humorous and possibly profound illustration of how we can focus on Jesus rather than our “Christianity” happened a little over a year ago in Colorado Springs. I was invited to participate in a city wide discussion hosted by a church on the topic of inter-faith dialogue.