We’re back to Jon Wilson’s Why Church Matters, and chp 5 is a fascinating chp. But Jon cheats here — in his section on worship he has included a chp on the pastor. It’s the adjustment of a nice article he wrote elsewhere, and it doesn’t matter to me one hoot — it’s a new topic with some suggestive ideas. |inline Read more
Yesterday I posted a letter from a reader of this blog and promised that today I’d finish my answer to him. So I begin with an excerpt of his letter and then a response. It’s a tough one we need to think about. |inline Read more
Now we look a second time at the missional discourse of Jesus, the singularly most important text in the Gospels that clarify how Jesus understood missional activity. We’ll look at Matthew 10:5-8. |inline Read more
How’s that for a title to a post? Is it ever morally justifiable to lie? This is the question Gilbert Meilaender addresses in the 2d chp of his book The Way That Leads There. Augustine, his sparring partner, says “Never!” And here are Augustine’s five reasons. |inline Read more
I have been corresponding with this person for most of this school year. This letter, however, seems destined for the Jesus Creed community and so I asked his permission — and he gave it. So here it is. I will answer some of the top half of the letter today; tomorrow we’ll look at the second half. You are more than welcome to enter into this correspondence. |inline Read more
Now we enter into a self-identified passage of missional intent and direction by Jesus, often called the “missionary discourse.” Matthew 9:35-11:1 is our passage, and we’ll break it down into manageable units for a few days. I begin with 9:35-10:4. |inline Read more
Hawaiian Isles Kona Coffee Co (Kona Classic) Thanks to Laura and Mark! Very good. |inline Read more
Today is July 4th, the day the USA celebrates Independence Day and the concept of socio-political freedom. Today’s post contains a prayer and the Declaration of Independence. My own political views about justice and freedom have appeared here and there on this blog, and your own views may differ from mine, but on this day I hope we can join hands and celebrate the value of socio-political freedom and commit ourselves to working for such freedom for all. And pray... Read more
One of my all-time favorite characteristics of missional Jesus emerges in our next passage, Matthew 9:32-34: |inline Read more
The most significant book ever written on house churches in the 1st Century is by Roger Gehring and is called House Church and Mission. I don’t very often write posts on this blog about published dissertations, but that is because most of them are not like House Church and Mission. To be sure, it is an academic book and written for scholars and serious students who want to know the ins and outs about what it was like and what... Read more
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