On a Saturday evening at the end of July, I found myself preaching at a congregation so rural that Google Maps couldn’t tell me how to get there. This small white-framed church was part of a tri-point parish. They were currently without a pastor and were at the mercy of other pastors nearby to fill…

“And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for…

Since the massive social and demographic upheaval brought about by the industrial revolution, rural America slowly began to slip into the background of culture and society. As a result of the industrial revolution, with the focus shifting to the rise of urban centers with its opportunities for jobs and wealth, the population of America began…

In recent years, the rural margins of American life have increasingly entered the national spotlight. Through the stark contrasts in national voting patterns or popular representation in best-selling books like J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy (Harper, 2016) and Chris Arnade’s Dignity (Sentinel, 2019), the former of which is being produced as a Netflix original film,…

In his commentary on Romans 13, John Hooper (1495–1555), an Anglican bishop who was martyred under Mary I, unpacks a conundrum for Christians committed to “two kingdoms” doctrine. Both civil and spiritual authorities are appointed by God and so must be obeyed, but what is one to do when secular authorities depart from God’s Word?…

Deerfield, IL — The 2020–21 recipients of the John Stott Award for Pastoral Engagement are Steve Froehlich, Thiago Guerra, Daniel Houck, Matt O’Reilly, Joey Sherrard, and Brad Swope. This year, the Creation Project is focusing upon the goodness of creation, and these churches will be engaging the topic in ways that attend to the intersection…

I first met Bruce Fields in 1988 when I relocated from Southern CA to Arlington Heights, IL to become Sr. Pastor of the Orchard Evangelical Free Church. Bruce had just moved from teaching and coaching at Trinity College to teaching theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Within a few moments of meeting, we quickly became…

Peter Berger, one of the premier sociologists and public intellectuals over the past fifty years, passed from this life on June 27th at the age of 88. For years I had hoped for the privilege to meet him, but that opportunity never developed. Thus, I offer this tribute not as a friend or even an acquaintance,…

Gavin Ortlund joins the Creation Project after recently earning a PhD in historical theology from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. His dissertation, which will soon be published by Brill, is titled “Ascending Toward the Beatific Vision: Heaven as the Climax of Anselm’s Proslogion” and focuses on St. Anselm’s doctrine of heaven in the Proslogion. As one might guess from…

Big Money, Big Science, and God’s Big World In my last post I presented the objections to spending billions on big science projects such as the Large Hadron Collider. Questions certainly arise in the face of this massive public spending, when we live in a world in which millions of people are hungry and lack access…

Some people have labeled me a “public theologian.” This is intended as a compliment because it often comes with a note that they appreciate and have learned from the way I engage. It is a kind observation that reflects the hope I have when I enter “public discussion.” I pray that the result, even if…

The current conversation about science and Christianity – particularly how to read Genesis in light of scientific advance – did not fall from the sky, but developed out of a historical stream of thinking, discovery, and intellectual inquiry. Our generation is not the first to ponder these issues, and a storehouse of insight awaits those who are willing…