John Mark Hicks

Forgiveness is a choice, according to Desmond and Mpho Tutu, and there is no wholeness in humanity’s future without forgiveness. Since we are all broken, “forgiveness is the journey we take toward healing the broken parts. It is how we become whole again” (p. 3). Forgiveness is how we heal the world, according to The […]

I accepted the challenge to read 12 books suggested by my friends on Facebook. I have read the first of 12 books recommended by Facebook friends. The first was recommended by Bruce Bates: Tim Keller, *Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I*. This is my brief summary. At bottom, we ought to forgive because […]

The one who grieved Paul (and the Corinthian congregation as a whole) should not be burdened with excessive grief but forgiven and consoled. Paul does not seek revenge for the wrong but reconciliation. That is a bold claim. Apparently, the severe letter Paul wrote after his second (painful) visit addressed the problem this particular individual […]

[Listen to the sermon here, from April 17, 2016] Shame. Guilt. Grief. I know those feelings. I’ve been overwhelmed by them at times. They have felt like a ton of bricks on my chest, and I couldn’t breathe. I’m feeling them now. Sitting with Jesus on the beach, eating the fish he grilled and the […]

The book unChristian alerted Christendom that it had an image problem with millennials. Christians are perceived as insensitive, judgmental and hypocritical. Some responses to the book  were skeptical and defensive. Others not only agreed that Christianity had an image problem but they went further. Christianity has a reality problem, that is, contemporary discipleship is often […]

[My book Meeting God at the Shack, from which some of the following is derived, is now available on Kindle.] May 21-22 are significant anniversaries for me; I’ve learned to forgive God.  They are the death of my son Joshua and the anniversary of my first marriage to Sheila. “To forgive God” is a difficult expression and it […]

September 11 means something to us. It raises questions about forgiveness, war and our future. I don’t think that date meant anything particular to David Lipscomb, but on that date in 1866 Lipscomb addressed the problem of war and forgiveness (Gospel Advocate 8 [11 September 1866] 579-583). How do we forgive those who sought our […]

This story is the first of five where Jesus enconters conflict. Jesus becomes controversial in the eyes of some, particularly the religious leaders. Jesus forgives sin, eats with sinners, defies the traditions about fasting, and heals on the sabbath. Jesus does not conform to the traditons of the elders and he assumes a role in the […]

Several days ago I posted a paragraph by Austin McGary (1846-1928) whose language astonished (and saddened) many of you. In fairness to brother McGary, I want to note his apology in the May 31, 1923 Gospel Advocate. Here he apologizes for what he wrote in the Gospel Outlook which he published from 1903-1905 after he was dismissed from the […]