When I was hearing about the conference at Wheaton on evangelicalism and Trump, I was hopeful somehow a statement would come out. What came out was a clear lack of (1) leadership and (2) of a coherent theory of political engagement that is unafraid of political alliance. If you need a reason to question the viability of evangelicalism as having non-partisan integrity, read this by Katelyn Beaty: Birdsall’s invitation stated that the “support of ‘eighty-one per cent of self-identifying white... Read more

Human language. However many other aspects of human nature and behavior we find among animals on earth, human capacity for language remains unique. The capacity for language and the capacity for abstract thought are intimately connected. We communicate complex ideas to each other through the medium of language. We even internalize and consider abstract concepts through the medium of language. This is an intimate part of who we are as a species, as a people. Language places boundaries on the... Read more

Andrew Root’s big thesis, in Faith Formation in a Secular Age, is that the Age of Obligation gave way to the Age of Authenticity, though “authenticity” is not understood as many might understand it today: it means true to one’s self. It is noticeable to me at least that Root avoids interaction or complementing the work of Jean Twenge and her outing of the narcissism epidemic. Root rehearses his narrative often enough that his readers are not likely to miss... Read more

By Todd Dildine, who is a pastor at a small neighborhood church in Uptown, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago. He is most passionate about helping the church navigate the challenges of post-Christendom. Todd loves playing volleyball and he’s going to get married this summer! This is Part 3 of a blog series that aims to identify the main reasons why the church is dying, and the steps necessary to take in order to restore it. Make sure... Read more

The questions surrounding Adam and Eve and the Fall in Genesis 2-3 and concerning the role of inspiration in the formation of the Bible are issues that won’t go away any time soon. They are not the only issues at play in discussions of science, Christian faith, and the intellectual coherence, but they are major ones. The post today is a slightly revised version of one of my older posts, but it brings up issues that remain and will remain... Read more

How did we shift from the age of duty, obligation, and conformity to the age of authenticity? I remember once reading two books — one by David Wells and one by Brian McLaren — about the same time with the same fundamental conclusion: we need to be authentic. What, however, did authentic mean? When Charles Taylor speaks of the age of authenticity he speaks of the 60s generation understanding authenticity as being true to oneself. But that move from obligation to authenticity... Read more

At dinner the other night a friend of mine, Graham Cole, reminded us that in the Anglican tradition we emphasize a learned ministry. That is, theological informed and biblically educated in order to teach and guide according to the gospel. In fact, in the ordination service in the Anglican tradition (BCP) these words are uttered by the ordaining bishop: My brother [or sister], the Church is the family of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit.... Read more

One of the most important, if not cutting edge, elements of D. Bruce Hindmarsh’s excellent new book, (The Spirit of Early Evangelicalism), is that evangelicalism arose alongside and integrated with modernity. It became a movement, as we sketched in our previous post, because of modernity’s mobility.  Mobility made it a movement. Three marks of a (sociological) movement: (1) a concerted campaign to spread the movement, (2) a repertoire of actions, including associations and coalitions and public meetings and rallies and... Read more

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. BCP Read more

Tammie Joe Shults: The pilot’s voice was calm yet focused as her plane descended with 149 people on board. “Southwest 1380, we’re single engine,” said Capt. Tammie Jo Shults, a former fighter pilot with the U.S. Navy. “We have part of the aircraft missing, so we’re going to need to slow down a bit.” She asked for medical personnel to meet her aircraft on the runway. “We’ve got injured passengers.” “Injured passengers, okay, and is your airplane physically on fire?” asked a... Read more