The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out

Forgiveness given and forgiveness received are always the pure work of uncreated grace. Such unearned and undeserved forgiveness is necessary to break down the quid pro quo world that I call meritocracy. Only when we experience undeserved love does this inward and outward flow begin to happen. Before that, we are dry, dead cisterns. Before that, we... See more

This is the main reason why a pastor who preaches grace but is not otherwise fixated on it or captivated by it can often be a cranky sourpuss among his congregation, or worse. Many of us know of churches that make a big deal out of their commitment to “sovereign grace” but have a gracelessly stifling communal climate. Some of the most theologically

... See more

We have to help our churches understand what grace is. Many Christians have the mistaken notion that grace is a variety of Christian niceness or tolerance. Even a cursory reading of Paul’s letter to the Galatians ought to dismiss such superficial ideas. Grace can result in niceness, but in fact is not itself niceness. Some think that grace means “n

... See more