Weekday Word w/ Eric

Category: Uncategorized

  • Jesus is Lord, Not a Mascot

    Scripture:“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him… that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…”— Philippians 2:9–10 Reflection:Jesus is Lord, but he is never the mascot of a nation. That is worth sitting with for a while. We are often tempted to recruit Jesus into causes, tribes, movements, and identities that already matter…

  • Not of This World

    Scripture:Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world…”— John 18:36 Reflection:Jesus stands before Pilate, the representative of imperial power, and says something the church must never forget: “My kingdom is not of this world.” He does not deny that he is a king. He denies that his kingdom is built the way earthly kingdoms…

  • When a Good Thing Becomes Ultimate

    Scripture:“You shall have no other gods before Me.”— Exodus 20:3 Reflection:Love of country is not automatically idolatry. Gratitude for the place where you live, concern for your community, prayer for leaders, and a desire for the common good are all appropriate things. In fact, they can be part of faithful Christian living. But a good…

  • Form Without Power

    Scripture:“Having a form of godliness but denying its power.”— 2 Timothy 3:5 Reflection:One of the most haunting phrases in Scripture is this one from 2 Timothy: a form of godliness without its power. It is possible to keep a recognizable shape of faith — the language, the values, the concern, the appearance of seriousness —…

  • The Mission Cannot Be Separated from the Messiah

    Scripture:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…”— Luke 4:18 Reflection:Jesus really does care about the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed. That must be said clearly. The concern for justice and mercy is not a distraction from his mission. It is part of it. In Luke 4,…

  • When Deconstruction Is Necessary, but Not Enough

    Scripture:“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”— Matthew 11:28 Reflection:Some people do not drift into Jesusless Christianity because they are casual. They drift there because they are wounded. They have seen too many Christians who talked a lot about Jesus while not resembling Jesus at…

  • When the Center Goes Missing

    Scripture:“He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”— Colossians 1:17 Reflection:A faith can keep many beautiful values for a while even after the center has gone missing. That is part of what makes Jesusless Christianity so persuasive. It still says yes to compassion, justice, mercy, healing, dignity, welcome, and social concern. Those…

  • Language w/o the Lord

    Scripture:“You search the Scriptures… and these are they which testify of Me.”— John 5:39 Reflection:One of the most unsettling truths in the gospel is that you can have the language of faith and still miss the Lord of faith. You can have Bible, religion, seriousness, morality, tradition, and spiritual vocabulary, and still fail to come…

  • Podcast Episode: Consumer Christianity

    Pip: If you’ve ever wondered whether your faith is a subscription service you can cancel when the benefits dry up, Eric McCrea has been writing directly at that question all week on Weekday Word. Mara: The posts this week press into what it actually means to follow Jesus rather than consume him — covering church…

  • Not a Fan…

    Scripture:“But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”— John 5:40 Reflection:There is a real difference between admiration and relationship. You can admire a preacher, a teacher, an author, or a leader from a distance. You can read their books, quote their words, imitate their style, and still not know…