“Every time we come closer to God, our desire for him is amplified; in the very fulfillment of the desire, there is planted a deeper yearning to experience more of the beloved.” One of the saints I have read very little of, but who is now on my reading list, is Gregory the Great, the so-called “monk pope.” And Chris Armstrong, in Patron Saints for Postmoderns: Ten from the Past Who Speak to Our Future, observes: “as Augustine was the... Read more
The much-disputed speech of President Obama is now a matter of record. I have posted what is found on the White House site. Now what are your thoughts? I’m wondering what folks are hearing from those who were most concerned? (more…) Read more
Apple announced Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard ; it’s awesome. We got the family pack and it works great. But, everyone has been yapping about how good Safari 4 is (see cool picture of one of its cool visual screens), so I moved everything over to Safari 4 and have to say this: Safari 4 is a bust for me. It crashed a dozen or so times the last three days, mostly when I was dealing with my... Read more
Missional communities are apostolically-shaped communities where the wonders of God are seen. As is made clear time and again in Beverly Gaventa’s The Acts of the Apostles (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries), the Book of Acts describes the mission of God in this world in order to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Wonders dominate chapter five of Acts, and we quote Acts 5:12-16: The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers... Read more
Scot has handled most of the discussion on John Walton’s (professor at Wheaton) new book, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, but I am going to jump in with a post on his next two propositions (16 and 17). The first ten or eleven propositions in this book lay out a powerful approach to the understanding of Genesis One in the context of the original cultures. The literal approach – assuming a material science... Read more
Jim Belcher shares this with thousands of young Christians: “He lived it.” That is, he lived into dissatisfaction with traditional evangelicalism, experienced the allure of the emergent movement, but came away sensing that there is a Third Way with, between and beyond the traditional and the emergent. He has now published Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional . (The cover to this book is cool.) This book is the book we need because it is deeply aware... Read more
Missional communities are not perfect, idealized, romanticized communities. They are apostolically-shaped but still sin-influenced. They are called to join Peter on their knees. As is made clear time and again in Beverly Gaventa’s The Acts of the Apostles (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries), the Book of Acts describes the mission of God in which the Church participates. The mission, though, is God’s mission and God alone is the Perfect One. The Church contains the sort of person who obeys and loves God... Read more
Protestants are nervous about the famous saints of the church, and they are nervous for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that veneration of saints by some in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions exceeds what is to be said of humans and diminishes (by default) what is said of Christ. But, those excesses do not diminish the powerful stories of those whom God has used mightily. Chris Armstrong has the perfect book for this issue: Patron... Read more
Translations are now officially and unofficially connected to tribes, and it is not a little bit humorous and also at times quite sad. Sometimes it sounds like culture wars, and that is sad. Today I want to make one point, draw a sweeping conclusion, and then offer a good illustration. Here’s my point: the authority is the original text, not the translation. The original texts are in Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). The authoritative text is... Read more
In this brief Sunday afternoon post I’m using the word “liturgy” for the planned and calendar-based order in a Sunday worship service for Christians. Something happened, and we have to wonder if it is good for us. The complete obliteration of the traditional liturgy for Sunday services was not something the Reformers did — Luther had one; Calvin had one; Westminster had one. So also Rome has always had one; the Orthodox have always had one, too. By examining low church evangelicalism... Read more
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