Are You a Christian Nationalist?
By Rhett Burns Are you a Christian Nationalist? This seems to be the talk soup of the day on Twitter, thanks to threads like this, so let’s weigh in on how to answer. There are some questions that require nuanced and careful answers. For example, asking Are you a missionary? to a Western Christian living […]
Rittenhouse, the Right, and Our Evangelistic Opportunity
By Rhett Burns I now rise to offer three cheers and a toast to King Kyle of Kenosha. May you live free and full of years, and may your tribe of bold men, full of courage and action, increase! May your slanderers pay through the nose and your accusers become a stench to their own […]
We’re Gaining Ground: Reflecting on the FLF Conference
By Rhett Burns “Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground—Glory, hallelujah!” This line is from the American folk hymn I Know That My Redeemer Lives, one of many psalms and hymns we sang last weekend in Lebanon, Tennessee at the most recent Fight Laugh Feast conference. And the refrain captures well the spirit of the […]
The End of “BIG”: Decentralization, Opportunity, and the Denominational Future
By Rhett Burns Back in June, I attended my first ever Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. This means that, despite being a lifelong Southern Baptist, Chocolate Knox, a Presbyterian, has taken part—and voted?—in more SBC annual meetings than I have. I’m unsure if this makes him a worse Presbyterian or me a worse […]
A Ladder, a Bible, and a Preacher: Fighting to End Abortion in South Carolina
By Rhett Burns I went to minister at our local abortion clinic for the first time like a safe and respectable Christian: I showed up to pray outside the entrance as part of the 40 Days for Life campaign last fall. One of the ladies serving at the gate kindly explained their ministry. They prayed, […]
Telling the Whirlwind Where to Blow
By Rhett Burns Well, by my calculations today is March 375th. Are you enjoying your “15 days to flatten the curve” yet? Personally, I would like to cancel my free trial of communism, reinstall the Christian republic operating system, and return to the land of liberty. In the meantime, let’s evaluate the overarching response to […]
In Every Domain of Human Existence: An Institution-Building Church
By Rhett Burns The book of Proverbs often perplexes modern readers of the Bible with its earthiness. What’s with all the talk of work and women and words? What does that have to do with the Great Commission and the kingdom of God? It turns out a lot. In his book Solomon Says, Mark Horne […]
Book Review: Strong and Courageous
By Rhett Burns Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America’s New Religion by Tom Ascol and Jared Longshore (Founders Press, January 15, 2021) The United States of America is witnessing the ascent of a new religion, characterized by the twin goddesses of individual autonomy and universal equality, and fueled by the spirit […]
2020: The Year of Our Lord
By Rhett Burns America has hashtagged, memed, and bemoaned the year 2020. People have shaken their heads, cracked jokes, complained, and otherwise wished the calendar would change, in hopes their fortunes would change with it. But let me remind you: 2020, for all its challenges, hardships, setbacks, and sufferings, is the year of our Lord. […]
Fire in the Chest: The Imminent Sexual Reckoning
By Rhett Burns Your house is on fire, but you don’t realize it yet. It’s an electrical fire, tearing through the walls, ready to engulf everything you have. You’re scrolling through Netflix, unaware of the havoc to come in fifteen minutes. This is the situation of evangelical churches in America. Decades of downgrade in the […]
The America to Come
By Rhett Burns Is it accurate to say that American society has been careening toward a cliff for some time now, and the events of 2020—coronavirus, presidential election, and the social justice riots—have sped it along to the edge? That’s the question I posed to a historian, a futurist, and a pastor at the recent […]
Militant Joy: Reflections on the First FLF Conference
During the live CrossPolitic show recorded at the recent Fight Laugh Feast Conference, Glenn Sunshine described the FLF Network orbit as “militantly joyous.” From what I’ve observed of network show hosts, listeners, conference attendees, speakers, volunteers, and blog readers, the description fits us one hundred percent. But what is militant joy? Militant Joy Militant joy […]
Donald Trump, Fat Tony, and Elite Evangelical Discourse
By Rhett Burns Donald Trump is an exclamation point, a bolded font, an underscore, an orange highlighter, drawing attention to the fecklessness of conservative leaders. This man—serial adulterer, womanizer, uncouth, proud, foul-mouthed, and greedy—is the man ending wars, speaking at the March for Life, de-regulating businesses, and standing up to the Left. Is there anything […]
Singing and the Sons of God: On the Recovery of Maximalism
Congregational singing is in the crosshairs of Covid-19 as public health recommendations and orders from civil magistrates in some areas of the country seek to restrict the liturgy. Some churches have pulled the trigger and put singing to rest, at least for a time. Others have refused to comply. Leaving aside the question of the […]
The Courage to Stand
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]By Rhett Burns Standing Tall In early June, many lauded Peter Hitchens as a portrait of courage after being photographed as the only man standing in a kneeling crowd of protesters demanding the removal of the statue of Cecil Rhodes from […]
#StillPostmil
By Rhett Burns This year has been a doozy. Australia caught fire for weeks. United States forces killed Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani, stoking tensions with the Islamic regime. A global pandemic hit, causing both a health and economic crisis as the world shut down for several months. Experts and politicians paused that pandemic to […]
Insider Movement: Evangelicals and America’s New Civic Religion
The Insider Movement in Missions In Christian missions an Insider Movement refers to a group of followers of Jesus who remain socially, culturally, and, to some extent, religiously embedded within a non-Christian religion. For example, in the Insider Movement paradigm a Muslim who comes to faith in Jesus may remain within the Islamic community. He […]
Ok Dude: Zuby’s Truth-Telling New Single
Rap succeeds best as a transgressive genre—hard men saying hard truths against the spirit of the age. Zuby’s new single Ok Dude hits the mark in just this way. But first, the backstory: In February, Twitter suspended Zuby’s account (@ZubyMusic) after he replied “Ok dude” to a male transgender activist who identifies as a woman. […]
Unredeemed Glory: Michael Jordan and The Last Dance
During Michael Jordan’s last season with the Chicago Bulls, he and coach Phil Jackson granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to an NBA Entertainment film crew. Cameras followed the most iconic sports team of the 1990s and the biggest superstar in the world for almost every waking moment—from the practice court to the post-game locker room to […]
The Wrath of the Educrats
By Rhett Burns The Educrats are angry. And it seems they are lashing out in fear, having been threatened by the terrible vision of ten-year-olds learning their math facts at the kitchen table. Harvard Magazine ran a hit piece by Erin O’Donnell in its most recent issue, insinuating that home schools are hotbeds of abuse […]