“She will give birth to a son,” the angel tells Joseph, “and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). One thinks here of Abraham and Sarah longing for a son, of Hannah longing for a son, and of Mary longing for a son — Luke 1:46-55. Each of these longed for a son for different reasons, but Mary’s longing stands out as the longing for a son who... Read more
Indeed, a church is not a building, but a church being “more” than the building may not tell the whole story. What is ministry like without a building? Dan Kimball, in a recent article explores this question. I clip a few of his lines and ask you to respond: If you had asked me eight years ago what I thought about church buildings, I would have said, “Who needs a building? The early church didn’t have buildings, and we don’t... Read more
Alan Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren are onto something: in their new book called Introducing the Missional Church: What It Is, Why It Matters, How to Become One (Allelon Missional Series) , they avoid the “define it and then we know it (and can control it)” approach to the term “missional.” To see what is going on, we need to get inside an idea and gain a new imagination. Definitions aren’t enough — that’s their contention. They contend the standard set... Read more
No kidding, Luke and his friends had their 2009 version of Festivus (I wrote about this in Jesus Creed), and got Wrigley to post about it! Read more
Mary’s untimely premature pregnancy was bad enough. That Joseph, her fiance was about to divorce her would have perhaps made the situation unbearable for Mary. So, God sends an “angel.” Matthew 1:20 reads: But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Joseph was... Read more
Today we wrap up our discussion centered on Kevin Corcoran’s book Rethinking Human Nature: A Christian Materialist Alternative to the Soul where he develops a constitution view of human persons. We will look at the fifth and sixth chapters: I believe in the Resurrection Body and the Life of the World to Come and The Constitution View and the Bible. This leads to a couple of questions that have come up in comments on previous posts on this book –... Read more
Every now and then a book comes along and I say, “Wow, that’s a great idea for a book!” Adam McHugh’s new book, Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture , is that kind of book. We need this book, and every (especially an extroverted) pastor needs to read it. McHugh is a Presbyterian and an introvert and he has struggled mightily with his introversion, and this book examines and illuminates the many, many ways the (especially... Read more
I wonder who has given thought to the decision to try Kalid Sheikh Mohammed in NYC? Some are predicting disaster and little more than the hypocrisy of a show trial, while others think the trial will show Americans can be just toward terrorists, while yet others think doing such a thing in NYC is a bad idea. What do you think? Here’s a clip from an editorial. The Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial will be a show trial – make no... Read more
My favorite Christmas hymn is “O Come, O Come Immanuel,” a 12th Century Christian hymn originally written in Latin. Here are the words and I wish Stephanie Seefeldt would make the ivories of her piano sing this song for us: O come, O come, Emmanuel,And ransom captive Israel,That mourns in lonely exile hereUntil the Son of God appear. Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice!Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. (more…) Read more
Law, Church, Mission, Eschatology and the Powers We recently had a lively discussion here on Jesus Creed about the Manhattan Declaration. In the Summary Statement accompanying the Declaration, the drafters assert that the sanctity of life, the dignity of marriage, and the freedoms of conscience and religion “are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture,” and that Christians are obligated to respond with civil disobedience. In addition, in the Declaration itself, the drafters argue that Christians are obligated to support legislative and other... Read more
Jesus Creed
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In