The Reconciliation of All Things

We Christians have a challenge before us. It is not a new one, but it is one that still has not been resolved. It has to do with the term “Creation Care”. Most Christians over 40 years of age in conservative circles still feel a bit uncomfortable at the sound of this, thinking it means we are “green”, or “tree-huggers” in the liberal sense of these words, and that we are on a slippery slope. While I believe it is true that we all should be this as Christians from a biblical stewardship perspective, it is certainly not true that we are liberal—not in our theology, nor in our practice. So what is Creation Care after all? To answer this, we first need to go to Scripture and understand the spiritual, social, and physical environment of the biblical Hebrews. If we try to understand his or her mindset and way of life, we will see that they did not dichotomize between the spiritual and physical, the supernatural and natural. No, they were intertwined. In our Hellenized worldview where w...

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord!” Psalm 96:11-12. I would love for you to learn a bit about “light pollution” and synchronous fireflies, one of God’s amazing creations! Their habitat is from Tennessee to Pennsylvania, but especially where we live near the Smoky Mountains, they are prevalent—most likely because of the moisture in the National Forest. Only a week ago, I stepped outside to take the garbage to the curb, and all the lights were out in our neighborhood. ****This is normal where we live—only a few out of 56 houses have any lights on outside their home at night. This makes for a VERY clear view of the stars at night.**** I then happened to glance at the trees in our yard—and I thought I saw Christmas lights! Yes, bright white lights flashing in a regular pattern, all over the yard! Wow! I had heard abo...

I’m in the airport packed and ready to head off to Brazil for my “little sister’s” wedding. She’s 21, loves Jesus, and is marrying Eric, a Brazilian who also loves Jesus. I’m thrilled to be going for the wedding. Unfortunately, again, Becky and the kids will be remaining in TN while I head off on this trip. We will appreciate your prayers for Becky with the kids, again, and for safe travels. We couldn’t do all this without your prayers. While in the São Paulo airport in Brazil awaiting my final flight connection, I’ll be meeting a new friend, the director of A Rocha Brazil , a Christian conservation organization (part of the larger A Rocha International) that does an excellent job teaching about and helping Christians and non-Christians alike carry out biblically mandated creation care efforts locally that are world renowned. Our conversation will be about how a church planting organization such as TEAM, who cares about stewarding God’s good creation for His glory, can partner wit...