Writing in Ettal, not far from Munich where Bonhoeffer was working as a double agent in but against Hitler’s tyrannical system, Dietrich Bonhoeffer began to write his work on Ethics. In the official works of Bonhoeffer (DBW 6) there is a full explication of the order of the various manuscripts he wrote, with full attention to paper style and approximate dates for each. The editor, Ilse Tödt, deserves standing applause for her efforts. One of the manuscripts is called “Natural... Read more
How does one discover a “biblical” understanding of leadership? It is rather obvious to many that some find the “best practices” models derived from the business and corporate worlds and baptize that model into a bowl full of Bible verses and pronounce it biblical — and for the pragmatic, it is confirmed because it works (or disconfirmed if it doesn’t work). Bible people are annoyed by such approaches, but before they get overly annoyed they ought at first to ask... Read more
I got one copy of Kingdom Conspiracy from Brazos Wednesday not long before Kris and I took for the airport, and I am so happy to see this one in print. It should be available at booksellers and electronic sites in the next 2-3 weeks. We will also have a trailer available before too long. So what does kingdom mean? What does kingdom mission mean? The “mission” is determined 100% by the “kingdom”. The book has a sketch of the central... Read more
Henry Grabar: Between 1970 and 1990, the population of Philadelphia shrank by a quarter, dropping from 1.95 to 1.59 million. Like many American cities, it seemed caught in a downward spiral. Since then – like many American cities – Philadelphia has stabilized. The population now appears to have bottomed out at the millennium, and has been regaining residents over the past decade. But as it rebounds, Philly is becoming a different kind of city. In the two most recent decades,... Read more
Romans 8:18-22 (NIV) I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory... Read more
If I mention these two things a response will follow: grouping young adults into “generations” that can be generalized as descriptions of an entire swath of people, and (second) claiming young adults have ceased attending churches. The third one comes shortly after the two: What can we do to keep young adults in the church? First a few observations: generational research is at best — at best — broad generalizations and far too easily misused into assumed categories about every person... Read more
By Anne Marie Miller: [click on the link to read her full post] Here’s the thing. If you don’t know the person you’re dragging through the mud, you have no scriptural basis to bring what he or she is doing to a public forum where anyone can read. If you do not have an accountable relationship with them, they are not accountable to you (or to your blog, or your Facebook rants). That person isn’t going to read your blog, or... Read more
Reading the Bible and the Bible Reading You Joshua Graves is the lead minister for the Otter Creek Church in suburban Nashville, TN. He is author of The Feast (2009), Heaven on Earth (2012), and How Not To Kill a Muslim (2015). You can follow Josh on twitter@joshgraves. At some point, being a Jesus person means you gotta read the Bible. I’ve been thinking a great deal lately (this topic seems to come up over and over and over again) about how different groups of North... Read more
There is a theory, called the secularization theory, that says the church has gradually surrendered its heart and limbs to the public, to the state, to culture. The theory contends that modernity’s marches of rationality and science inevitably secularizes society and therefore the church falls in line. In an informed note in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ethics volume (p. 113 n. 47), the editor says secularization “means becoming worldly in the sense of severing politics, science, culture, and the natural order from... Read more
This is one of the most exciting opportunities I’ve had in my academic career — I’ve not been to the sites of Paul’s journeys and churches or those of the apostle John. Why not get a group at your church to think about this two-week “cruise” through the world of Paul and John? Northern Seminary is sponsoring a tour to Turkey and Greece to visit the sits of the apostles Paul and John. And I can to be the lead... Read more
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