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Stanley Hauer was is rarely understated. His vast corpus reveals a ready willingness to confront theological conversations with provocative wit and confidence. Titles from other writings reveal some of this "theological swagger" (Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony; After Christendom? How the Church Is To Behave If Freedom, Justice, and a Christian Nation Are Bad Ideas; A Better Hope: Resources for a Church Confronting Capitalism, Democracy, and Postmodernity). Truth be told, Hauerwas's bold engagement with the issues of the…

As someone who has been involved in youth ministry for almost four decades, I can tell you that I have read dozens of books on Christian sexual behavior, looking for solid guidance in this area of great concern for both teens and their parents. Because the subject scared them to death, parents often demanded that the ministries of the church instruct their children in chastity. Let me rephrase that--the demand actually was closer to a command to keep their teens…

"Lazarus is dead. ...I am the resurrection and the life." John 11:14, 25 Lent is a troubling season for people living in twenty-first centur y North America. Lent is about death--both our Lord's death and our own deaths--and we live in a culture uneasy with this stark reality. The evidence for our uneasiness comes in both cosmetic and communicative ways. As a pastor, I find the funeral home to be a place full of irony and contradiction--even subtle deception. Someone…