Author: Paul Berger

Revisiting my writing on ἀληθευοντες δε ἐν αγαπη The average Christian I encounter using the phrase “truth in love” tends to refer to the idea that is more or less summarized as the following: “a verbal expression of empirical/metaphysical facts with the purpose of expressing some sort of ultimate kindness or conceptual care.” This interpretation…

How the Call to Improve Theology from the Pulpits May Sweep Over the Larger Problems If you’ve read anything I have released on Substack as of late, you know that holistic spiritual formation is passion of mine. The more I consider how churches are organized and structured and how discipleship programs are designed, I continue…

Growing up, I commonly heard the sentiment that Christians shouldn’t give money to the person on the street corner or at the intersection. Why? They’d probably spend it all on drugs or alcohol or waste it. And what good would that do for them? No, what was ultimately better was to ignore the immediate, tangible…

Last week I sat in staff meeting at my church and heard a story of someone in our community who made a striking comment: “I don’t think Christians love their neighbor very well.” This comment was made in the context of observing what’s going on in our national and local politics, and with Christian rhetoric…

There are so many days where “information runs like excess rain.” Between seminary, student ministry, personal reflections, and a new season of marriage, one idea doesn’t always quickly emerge among the dozens of topics I come across. But what I reflect on below has been forming for a while. There’s a lot of reasons why…

(This blog is structured a little more like a devotional of Galatians/Romans so I encourage you to reflect on the Scripture passages while reading this). What should I do?  In some way or another, this the question we’re all asking as we go about our lives. Whether you are faced with a difficult choice or…

red ink change I remember how proud I was of some of the rough draft papers I submitted in college. A week later, the paper given back to me looked like a crime scene: covered in red. Over time, I began to dread the red ink markups, even when professors would write encouraging things. To…