I’m a preacher and I never read books on preaching. I’m sure there are good ones out there, but every one I’ve read makes me think I’m better suited for selling cars. Honestly the book that helped me understand the power of words and preaching the best was “Decoded” by Jay-Z, and that’s hard to know who I can recommend that one to without having some seriously angry emails later. So mostly I don’t read or talk about books on... Read more
Studying heresies is a way of studying how orthodoxy came into full expression. As I said in recent post, heresy is the mother of orthodoxy. It is problems that give rise to solutions or resolutions or articulations. In that context Roger Olson, in his fine new book Counterfeit Christianity: The Persistence of Errors in the Church, examines what I would say is America’s deepest heresy: deism. It is both historic — Thomas Jefferson — and pervasive — in Moral Therapeutic Deism.... Read more
The last substantive section of Gary N. Fugle’s book Laying Down Arms to Heal the Creation-Evolution Divide looks at the regions of (apparent) conflict between evolutionary biology and the Christian Bible. His approach is predicated on the assumption that “we cannot comfortably argue that God created one reliable source of information in the Bible and created a second conflicting, unreliable source in nature.” And he goes on: “This means we should use Scripture to rightly interpret what we observe and... Read more
Moses Speaks to the Church in Deuteronomy: Keeping the Faith Alive Phillip Camp God’s desire for his people is life, a real, full, vibrant life of blessing and purpose in God’s presence. In Deuteronomy, God’s call for Israel to trust and obey him expresses that desire (e.g., Deut 6:2-3; 7:11-14; 10:12-13; 28:1-14; 30:11-20). However, the very real danger of Israel turning away from God hangs over Israel in Deuteronomy. As with the exodus generation, this new generation, who now stands... Read more
Inés San Martin: ROME — In light of the massive refugee crisis in Europe, Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will give temporary housing in the Vatican to at least two refugee families and asked that every European parish, monastery, and shrine do the same. The pontiff said the two parish churches contained within the walls of the Vatican city-state, St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Anne’s, will welcome at least one refugee family each. “Faced with the tragedy of tens... Read more
SMcK: This post is by T, and we are asking this not to be a conversation about which political party is best but about the issue of anger in political and church rhetoric. Fair enough? (Thanks.) Spiritual Formation and the Politics of Anger, by T This is a post about the Church, specifically it’s about that branch of the Church in the US known as evangelicals, to which I still belong at least by many folks’ measure. This post will... Read more
One of the favorites of preachers today is Tim Keller, so his new book on preaching will be read by many preachers. It is called Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (Viking, 2015). I will be probing here and there in this new book this month, and hope to engage those who preach in a conversation about preaching. Keller opens with three levels of preaching (Level, 1, 2, and 3). Observing that lots of words for preaching are used... Read more
Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. BCP Read more
From CNN: Naguib Sawiris, one of the region’s wealthiest men, said “there is no limit” on what he is willing to spend to buy an island from Italy or Greece — where thousands have been arriving — to provide the refugees with a new home. “Greece or Italy, sell me an island,” Sawiris tweeted. He even suggested a name for the new country: “Hope.” He said there are dozens of empty islands off of Greece and Italy that could handle... Read more
Northern Seminary is sponsoring a tour to Turkey and Greece to visit the sites of the apostles Paul and John. And I will be the lead teacher. Our tour will be nearly two weeks long and we will visit major cities and sites. The tour also will include a marvelous stop at none other than gorgeous Santorini, that lovely Greek island, and we will have daily Bible studies focused on the life and mission of the apostle Paul and some... Read more
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