God’s scandalous grace invaded Portage, Wisconsin, with unwelcomed splendor in April of 1994. It targeted a criminal serving multiple life-sentences in the Columbia Correctional Institution. It’s not uncommon for thieves and murderers in prison to receive God’s grace, but this day was different. The person who attracted God’s love was a man who killed 17 young men.
Christian subcultures are an entertaining phenomenon. Multiple brands of Christianity claim the same Lord and read the same Bible, and yet they promote a set of values sometimes as different as apples and orangutans.
Grace under a Bridge America has no shortage of megachurches that glimmer with stage lights and thunder with deafening sound systems. But one of my favorite churches doesn’t have any lights. No building, no stage, no bells and whistles—it doesn’t even have a paid pastor.
We live in a country that’s obsessed with performance. From the time we are kids, we are trying to out-perform our classmates in school or fellow athletes on the field.
The following is an excerpt from my book Charis: God’s Scandalous Grace for Us. The relationship between grace and obedience is a gnarly issue, and too often you have to hack your way through a theological jungle to sort out the problem. In general, there are three different explanations Christians give to how grace relates to obedience.
My new book, Charis: God’s Scandalous Grace for Us,is free today and tomorrow! What a fitting deal for a book on grace! Also, my previous book, Fight: A Christian Case for Nonviolence, is on sale today and tomorrow for $1.99.
