The Real Shepherd, the Pastor of pastors, Jesus himself, was a compassionate person whose compassion for people drove him to prayer and to action for the people. A missional orientation will only be genuinely missional to the degree that it is prompted by compassion. Some missional operations are doing the right thing for the wrong reason: they are focused on doing what is good but they do so out of anger or arrogance. Genuine Kingdom missional work is a work... Read more
We’ve put a poll on the sidebar to poll readers on some topics. I’d like to see how this works and we could have some fun with it. (I haven’t voted.) And, it would be really nice if you’d obey and not vote over and over so you can control the results. WE have that reputation here in Chicago, but on a blog with Jesus’ name we’re asking for simple, honest, one-time-only voting. Read more
In this series of posts, I will look at what Jesus did and said and says to us today about being missional. “Missional,” if you recall, is a global term for what God is doing in this world and how the follower of Jesus is summoned to participate in that great redemptive work of God. And, if you go back to my posts on gospel, you will see that being missional is to participate in a holistic gospel. (more…) Read more
I must tell three people a week that the emerging movement/conversation is too diverse to classify, but I continue to hear stereotypes — one recently by a professor who has absorbed the stereotypes as his own judgment. So, if you’d like to see why we need to keep emphasizing diversity, check out Sivin Kit’s recent post. Read more
I will be blogging shortly on preaching — its problems, and then do a series with Brad Boydston on Doug Pagitt’s new book, Preaching Re-imagined. Read more
I will be blogging shortly on preaching — its problems, and then do a series with Brad Boydston on Doug Pagitt’s new book, Preaching Re-imagined. Read more
I’ve offered a mild case for inclusive translation in a previous post, and here I will use Kevin Vanhoozer’s section on what “contextual theology is not” and apply his four criteria to “what dynamic equivalency is not.” Some are suggesting that bringing James 1:20 into our world is letting our world determine its meaning. If we stick to the literal meaning, they say, we will preserve the Word of God. I disagree: literal translation that requires constant explanation is a... Read more
Yesterday’s post discussed inclusive translation for public readings, but raised the question of what translation is all about. What are we doing, or trying to do, when we translate? I will begin with James 1:20 again. Here is the original Greek order of words: “Anger/for/of man/righteousness/God/not/produce.” Whenever we translate a sentence like this (from Greek) into English, there are three elements that always come into play and cannot be avoided. It is mistaken to think any of these three can... Read more
Yesterday’s post discussed inclusive translation for public readings, but raised the question of what translation is all about. What are we doing, or trying to do, when we translate? I will begin with James 1:20 again. Here is the original Greek order of words: “Anger/for/of man/righteousness/God/not/produce.” Whenever we translate a sentence like this (from Greek) into English, there are three elements that always come into play and cannot be avoided. It is mistaken to think any of these three can... Read more
My son’s new post on short stories is up. Read more
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