With more than 50 years of faithful preaching of the Scriptures and zero public scandals, Pastor Begg had certainly earned my unofficial designation as a “solid” celebrity pastor. However, his recent handling of a cultural matter countered a Biblical worldview, and this was not at all consistent with the reputation that has long preceded him.
Which begs the question that many have raised in recent weeks: What are we, as Believers, now to do with Alistair Begg?
Since publishing the original SITMAC series in 2018, I’ve received several requests to write another installment. Admittedly, I didn’t believe one would be necessary because, as my logic went, by exposing the up and coming protégés of the old guard (see Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, etc), it should be easy to sniff out other false and extremely problematic preachers and pastors by association. Those birds all seemed to flock together, so writing about yet another member of their coop felt redundant.
What I didn’t consider at the time, however, was the role social media was beginning to play in platforming charlatans who don’t necessarily have ties to the old guard. I also didn’t consider how, thanks to social media, false teachers and problematic brothers (and sisters) no longer need a pulpit or a local church to sow error and confusion before a mass of God’s people.
Prior to episode 902 of the Relatable Podcast with Allie Beth Stuckey, I had extremely little knowledge of Kat Von D.
I’ve certainly heard her name in passing as I’ve consumed pop culture news over the years. In recent weeks, for example, I’d seen various headlines reporting on her recent baptism into Christianity. So, indeed, I’ve definitely heard of her.
Yet, I’m embarrassed to admit that I was so unfamiliar with her claims to fame and professional résumé that I initially confused her with the burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. In my defense, both women do have “Von” in their names; they’re both undeniably gorgeous, fair-skinned brunettes who often rock a bold, red lip; and they are both closely associated with Marilyn Manson.
In the premiere episode of Season 4 of Truth + Fire: The Podcast, host Veritéetfeu tackles "married single motherhood", a parenting phenomenon where married mothers take on the sole responsibility to care for their children. But is this practically beneficial for the mother, the father or their children? More importantly, is it Biblical?
While browsing through Twitter the other day, I happened upon an interesting post from one of my favorite Christian writers, Samuel Sey.
In it, he declared:
“If a woman doesn’t want to be a mother, she shouldn’t be a wife. My dude, stay away from her.”
Founder and blogger at slowtowrite.com and contributing writer for various other outlets, Sam has done well to pen prolific thought pieces on the state of our culture, and he always endeavors to do so through a Biblical worldview. We also share a platform at Pyrolithos Foundation, where we each publish articles that address cultural issues from a Biblically-conservative perspective. In other words, Sam and I are on the same team; he is indeed my brother in the Lord; and, in most instances, I agree with his commentary.
Yet, admittedly, I found his tweet to be a bit provocative and potentially discouraging.
The debate over student loan forgiveness has been a surprisingly controversial topic among Americans and Christians alike. In this episode, host Veritéetfeu picks up where her article Student Loan Forgiveness: Considerations for Conservative Christians leaves off to discuss the realities, reactions, and the rhetoric surrounding this topic.
It’s been a rough week.
As nine innocent churchgoers lost their lives last Wednesday night at the hands of a shooter poisoned by hatred – scratch that – sheer EVIL, I sat in the comfort of my home drafting a carefully crafted piece on forgiveness, specifically what it truly means, how to extend it, and how certain attitudes can hinder it.
In the days leading up to writing that piece, I’d wrestled with God over the topic because I felt it wasn’t ‘sexy’ enough. We’d been privy to the bizarre and the strange that is the Rachel Dolezal story for days at that point, and I felt I was losing too much precious time writing about “forgiveness” when I’d much rather get in on some “transracial” action!
But God nagged me to publish my next post on forgiveness and, honestly, I didn’t get it. I initially felt the subject had absolutely no relevance. “Who would even read it,” I thought. But I soon came to realize why God inspired me to speak on that particular topic.
As I’ve meditated on this concept and completed an honest check of my heart’s condition, I have identified four of the greatest hindrances to forgiveness that I’ve had to overcome throughout the years. I share them in the hopes that those who also struggle with extending forgiveness will begin to identify the attitudes that might not only threaten your maturation in the faith, but potentially cause you to sin and, ultimately, remove you from God’s grace.
