The Evangelical Alliance is the UK’s version of a genuinely evangelical and ecumenical organization. If I may, American evangelicalism has never been able to get along well enough to form such an organization (unless I’m mistaken). It seeks to bring together all of the UK’s evangelicals; it does not attempt to show how other (supposed) evangelicals are wrong but they are right. Two points for our post today: first, it is a major evangelical body (not just a group of... Read more
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 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 Santorini, that lovely Greek island, and we will have daily Bible studies and devotionals. I have never been to Greece or Turkey, so this... Read more
Derwin Gray: Mike Brown, an unarmed 18 year-old, black teenager was recently shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. This is a sad, horrific, and an all too familiar ugly story. DIFFERENT WORLDS We don’t know all the details of what went down in Ferguson, but what we do know is that black evangelicals and white evangelicals interpret these types of situations very differently. What if black and white evangelicals attended multi-ethnic churches instead... Read more
To Be Read at Your Confirmation: Dear Tyler and Parker, In the event the bishop has whisked me away to another parish or, more likely, exiled me to the Eastern Shore, allow me to introduce myself. I’m the right reverend Jason, as in I’m right in most things and reverent about very few. I’m the one who baptized you. Sorry. By now, confirmation age, you’re old enough to realize that what I’ve done to you commits you to struggling... Read more
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Read more
Kirsten Powers: (RNS) It’s starting to seem as if the Obama White House operates on a time delay. In the case of Iraq’s religious minorities, the results have been deadly. On June 10, the barbaric extremists called the Islamic State captured the city of Mosul. By mid-July, they issued an edict to the Christians who remained to “convert, leave or be killed.” The White House said nothing. Beginning on July 22, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., took to the House floor... Read more
Source: Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and author of The Purpose Driven Life, announced plans earlier this week at a press conference in Kigali, Rwanda, to host an unprecedented gathering of pastors and church leaders from all 54 African nations in conjunction with a national day of Thanksgiving next year. The All Africa Purpose Driven Church Congress, which is planned for August 6-10, 2015, will be held during Rwanda Shima Imana, a relatively new celebration in... Read more
Is there a better looking, more comfortable bus stop? Go Jackie Robinson West! Vicki Beeching, finding peace after coming out: Also at CT. Coming out can be incredibly hard for gay people to do – the fear of how family and friends will react often delays announcement for years, or even decades. But for Vicky Beeching, the decision to tell the world she was a lesbian wasn’t just about telling her nearest and dearest, it was was also going to... Read more
From Arise newsletter, by Kristin Gatza: Born and raised in Chicago, Kristin Gatza moved to Arizona, where she received a BA in biblical studies. She is currently a student at Fuller Theological Seminary working towards her MA in theology with an emphasis in language. When not in the classroom, Kristin is known as a frequent hiker. As a person with an undergraduate degree in biblical studies, completing an MA in theology, I am quite concerned about English versions of the... Read more
“The irony of wealthy followers of Jesus cannot be ignored” writes Scot McKnight in the SGBC: Sermon on the Mount (204). This sentence bifurcates the section Listen to the Story [Matthew 6:19-24] and this section contains some of the most profound, heart-felt, transformative writing in the commentary. The rhythms of a pastor’s heart beat in this section as well as in concluding Live the Story section. Scot summarizes, “Jesus’ message can be reduced to these ideas: Live simply. Possessions are... Read more
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