Kris and I greet you with a hearty “Kalimera” this Sunday morning from the northern tip of the island of Rhodes where we are staying in Rhodes Town (“Rodos” on the map). Kos is on map too. Rhodes was brief stop of Paul’s on his way to Jerusalem with the collection for the saints. Acts 20:36    When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and... Read more

By Bob Robinson There is an irony that might be missed by those who have embraced the APEST typology advocated by Alan Hirsch, Mike Breen, and others in the Missional Movement. In our desire to overcome an overbearing leadership structure that was found in putting so much power in the Shepherd-Teacher, we are in danger of creating yet another overbearing leadership structure but with different leaders. We worry so much about the destructive nature of institutionalism that we shift the... Read more

Unfortunately, this has become far too often the experience of coaches (and I coached HS basketball for ten years — sophomore level): A Michigan high school basketball coach, who earlier this year was named best coach in his class, has resigned. And he calls parents the No. 1 reason for his departure…. Here are Castor’s comments, as reported by the Daily Press: “I have a lot of different reasons why I wanted to resign and only a few reasons to... Read more

By John Frye Get Out More The problems of the Jewish church of Jerusalem with the various Gentile churches blossoming under Paul’s ministry tell me that the Jewish believers needed to get out more. Travel is a wonderful benefit to seeing the robust power of the gospel at work. Paul, once immeshed in Judaism, was liberated by the risen Christ and told to pack his bags. Get your tickets, Paul, for the major cities of your world. Unlike Peter who... Read more

Walter Brueggemann endorsed both Brent Strawn’s new book, The Old Testament is Dying, and Greg Boyd’s Crucifixion of the Warrior God. One, the second, is being accused of of dismissing the Old Testament or having some sub-orthodox theory of Scripture while the other one, the first, seeks to raise the significance of the Old Testament as Christian Scripture. What an odd coincidence that these two books land on my desk at about the same time. Strawn knows many don’t read the OT... Read more

This continues our podcast series with Kingdom Roots and Chaz Robbins. This week we have Debbie Moore and Becky Castle Miller in a conversation about two of Jesus’ parables. Enjoy! Best book on parables ever? Stories with Intent https://soundcloud.com/user-212639123/the-parable-of-the-treasure-and-the-pearl-kr-48 Read more

BioLogos is starting to release videos of the plenary talks (at least some of them) from the March Christ and Creation conference in Houston. This was a great time with much material worth some serious consideration. The first talk in the conference, and the first to be posted was by N.T. Wright. Wright focused on the significance of Christ in our understanding of creation. Rather than starting with Genesis, we as Christians should start with New Testament passages, not least ... Read more

Gordon T. Smith says No. Where? In his new book, Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal: Why the Church Should Be All Three. [SMcK: Why not also Anabaptist?] The book is a gentle evangelical apology for an ecumenical theology that is also sacramental (he’s more of a symbolist) and Spirit-shaped. Church is given the proper place, which it often is not in books on Christian spirituality. Hence, the book is a wonderful new addition to literature about formation but it comes at the... Read more

By Jonathan Storment Rearranging the Furniture “But what about watching College Football?” -Me voicing my greatest concern about this blog Where does your television live? Assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that you have only one, where do you keep it? In the Living Room (where ours currently resides). In your bedroom? In your Kitchen? Your Den?  (and while we’re at it, just how big is your house?!!) The default setting in almost every American family I know is that the central room of the house is... Read more

Is Boyd asking, "Do you believe in the Bible or in the Christ of the Bible?" Is this a "canon within the canon"? Read more