My colleague at Northern, Geoff Holsclaw, whose dissertation was accepted for publication in a series edited by arch-Trinitarian theologian Lewis Ayres, has responded to Bruce Ware’s recent post. Geoff has provided the whole of Ware’s post so you can read what he says and Geoff responds within the post and I have his comments in italics for ease. Geoff: As many know there has been a “civil war” of sort raging among Reformed complementarians about whether or not the Son... Read more

Lucy Peppiatt, at the link you can read the rest of her post (pros and cons): I’ve never really understood why all Christians aren’t charismatics, at least in theory. It simply means that we believe that God shapes his church by the power of the Spirit, moves supernaturally among us, and gives gifts to the church to give away. I do understand why the practices put people off. Praying for healing is fraught with pastoral difficulties. How do people dare... Read more

Cassandra Vinograd: The family of a black man shot multiple times by police during a confrontation at a Louisiana convenience store called for an independent investigation and officials to resign in the wake of cellphone video showing the chilling incident. Graphic footage circulating online filmed by a witness early Tuesday appears to show Alton Sterling, 37, being shot as two cops pin him to the ground. His death has sparked protests against police brutality in Baton Rouge, and family members... Read more

By Danielle Lair, Associate Director of Children’s Ministries at Alamo Heights United Methodist Church. You can check out her blog at: https://childspraise.com. “We journey as co-pilgrims with children, side-by-side teaching, enriching, inviting, and inspiring all who have been called to participate. The kingdom pilgrimage is an amazing journey that is simply incomplete without the beauty and wonder of children.” ~Steven Bonner, Along the Way For a time I found myself teaching 4th & 5th grade boys on Wednesday nights. I loved them and... Read more

There are a number of realities that bump into God’s providence, or God’s superintending guidance of the world. What does it mean for God to love us? Is this a one-way gushing flow of God’s love to us without impact on God? Is one-way love genuine love (as we know it)? Or does love — for it to be love — require interactive responsiveness to be love? Why pray? Is prayer interactive with God or is prayer simply the conforming of our... Read more

Kirsten Powers: Political correctness is generally understood to be, as the Oxford Dictionary defines it, “the avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.” Examples of the phenomenon are endless. Opposing anti-Semitism is not one of them. Political correctness is when the University of New Hampshire tells students they shouldn’t use the word “American” to refer to U.S. citizens... Read more

What does it mean to be “Nicene”? I am not a patristic scholar and I make no suggestion of it in what follows but, rather, I want to sketch the conclusions of one who is: Lewis Ayres, in his exceptional study Nicaea and its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology. Ayres’ work is intense, specialized, academic and widely acclaimed. I highly recommend it and I recommend that you savor it by reading it slowly. First, I have not seen this... Read more

By Marilyn Price-Mitchell: The 4th of July rarely passes without my remembering one of the most moving renditions of the Star Spangled Banner I’ve ever witnessed. It made me proud to live in small-town America and to be connected to something greater than myself. It also made me aware of how our coming together in community influences future generations and how one teachable moment can change the course of a child’s life. Whether we come together to celebrate our nation’s independence,... Read more

Many pastors today are struggling with a topic and it’s a tough one to bring up in the church. Many don’t know where to go or what to do, but it’s basically this: Many today are uncomfortable, in fact downright wondering if it is idolatrous, with the presence of American patriotism and nationalism in churches on July 4. So, the questions that deserve a good conversation: What do you do for or on July 4 in your church? Do you... Read more