Seventeen82

                Tensions are high. For Americans, one of the most highly volatile elections of our time is quickly approaching. For Christian’s, there remains a significant amount of uncertainty concerning the future of the American church and of our religious freedom. For many of us, it has become increasingly difficult to decide where we stand as both political parties seem to drift further and further from basic Christian principles, begging the question, “how should we interact with politics in a secular society?”             As we approach the celebration of the protestant reformation on Saturday, there are, I think, a number of similarities that are worth our consideration as we ask ourselves how we should interact with a politically dominant culture. While there are notable differences between 1517 and 2020, there are a surprising number of similarities. In ...

As the son of parents who grew up in Detroit, I watched with interest the demolition of the J.L. Hudson Company’s downtown store on October 24, 1998. The building, built in 1911 on Woodward Avenue, was the tallest department store in the world, with 29 stories. When it came down, the Hudson became the largest single building ever imploded. Its great plunge went exactly as planned.  Some demolitions go awry, but the goal is a controlled and contained collapse. Usually the takedown allows room for an improved space and newer building. The history of the renewal of Christ’s church is a mix of reformation and demolition.  The Reformation of the 16 th  century brought with it a rediscovery of the gospel, the centrality of God’s Word, God’s grace in salvation, and a Scripture-shaped corrective to worship. It also brought some demolition—a sudden and dramatic change of direction to some of the Medieval church’s structures and practices.   While certain habits must go when G...