Yougottabekiddin’ me!

Last updated on: February 6, 2010 at 11:12 am By Scot McKnight

Did you see this? We need to write the NCAA to petition that this sort of nonsense be changed. Recruiting is bad enough; football recruiting probably the worst, but recruiting 13-years olds is out of bounds — and USC backers need to weigh in too. Go ahead and laugh, but this time, Lane Kiffin may have outfoxed us. Kiffin’s scholarship offer to a 13-year-old seventh grader has turned into a national joke, right down to the obligatory Chris Hansen/Dateline NBC references. It’s positively hilarious... Read more

Weekly Meanderings

Last updated on: February 6, 2010 at 12:03 am By Scot McKnight

The Austrians have their own kind of marathon! I’d not be surprised they have one of these in Minnesota. Very few have given a life to Youth the way Marko has, and so I’m urging you to read his new youth ministry coaching program and consider it. Must-read. Did you see this? With This Ring … I thee show compassion. Dave Gibbons on hopelessness. Lynn Cohick: interview about women in the earliest churches. Dan Reid: correcting errors. Unedited gospel. (HT:... Read more

Friday Night at the Movies: Avatar Review

Last updated on: February 5, 2010 at 6:42 pm By Scot McKnight

By Jeremy Berg After braving the 15 below zero weather, fighting people for seats (almost literally), finding clean 3D glasses and smuggling in pop and snacks, we were ready to experience James Cameron’s visually stunning world of Pandora filled with 8 feet tall blue people — or, as someone else put it, “warrior Smurfs.” It’s always nice when a film lives up to all the hype. This movie delivers on it’s promise of matchless special effects and all the cinematic... Read more

Friday Night at the Movies: The Book of Eli

Last updated on: February 5, 2010 at 5:50 pm By Scot McKnight

We’ll have two Movie reviews tonight for our opening night for Friday Night at the Movies. We welcome discussion on the movie and on the review, and we welcome more reviews of the same movie. So here we go …. One Pastor’s Eye on The Book of Eli By John W. Frye Who would have imagined a 21st century movie made about The King James Version of the Bible? Denzel Washington’s The Book of Eli puts the 1611 Bible dead center in the... Read more

Your Prediction?

Last updated on: February 5, 2010 at 3:27 pm By Scot McKnight

Who do you think will win — the Saints or the Colts? And by how much? What are the most important factors influencing your prediction? Read more

Jesus Creed and Swaziland

Last updated on: February 5, 2010 at 11:37 am By Scot McKnight

Whether you look to the laws of Deuteronomy on caring for the poor and widows and orphans, or to the prophets criticizing the leaders for oppressing the marginalized, or to Jesus’ blessing of those who were otherwise overlooked and oppressed, or to James’ powerful statement that pure and uncontaminated religion is to care for widows and orphans, one message comes through clear: Those who follow Jesus are called to care for the oppressed, the marginalized, the overlooked, and the ignored.... Read more

Law at the Jesus Creed: David Opderbeck on Kuyper

Last updated on: February 5, 2010 at 5:39 am By Scot McKnight

Kuyper, the State, and the American Revolution Many evangelicals interested in law and public policy appreciate Dutch Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper’s thought. Kuyper developed a rich theology of “common grace,” by which he believed God continually sustains the fallen creation. The idea of common grace allows for some combination of Calvinist-Puritan ideas about human depravity and a more positive appropriation of human culture. Kuyper also promoted the idea of “sphere sovereignty,” which suggests that political sovereignty inheres in intermediate structures such as the family, schools,... Read more

The Living Emerging Movement

Last updated on: February 5, 2010 at 12:00 am By Scot McKnight

There are a number of approaches to talking about the emergent church or, as I have preferred to talk — emerging movement and emergent village/church, and the two favorite approaches are to say: it’s dead or it’s undefinable. About four years ago I was asked the “Whither Emergent?” question: Where was emerging headed? At the time I suggested three things: some emerging Christians will become mainline liberals (or progressives as many prefer to be called now), some will retreat a... Read more

Mid-Life Seminary Move?

Last updated on: February 4, 2010 at 3:22 pm By Scot McKnight

One of our readers is well-employed and competent, but is now considering a mid-life change to attend seminary and pursue — well, he’s not sure if it will lead to church ministry or possible academia. He’s asked to open this up to the Jesus Creed blog community … so what do you think? I’d be interested to hear from Jesus Creed readers who made a career change to attend seminary in mid-life. What prompted you to make the change? Did... Read more

Acts and Mission 88

Last updated on: February 4, 2010 at 12:41 pm By Scot McKnight

Missional work, at times, involves overt opposition that leads to persecution. As the Spirit-prompted believers had warned Paul of such, so now it happens, and here’s the report in Acts 21. The open areas in the middle of the Temple complex is the Court of the Gentiles. What this text shows is that Paul’s trouble had to do with his observance of Torah and his teaching others — supposedly — not to observe Torah. There is no question where the... Read more