What Christians Should and Should Not Do During COVID-19

Last updated on: March 17, 2020 at 10:41 am By Bob Robinson

The Ancient History of Epidemics Has Some Lessons for Us Today I re-read the chapter titled “Epidemics, Networks, and Conversion” in sociologist Rodney Stark’s essential book, The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries. I thought I’d get some insights into our current situation, and did I ever. Imagine you’re living way back around AD 170. All seems to be going smoothly. The government has... Read more

God’s Glory and Our Glory

Last updated on: April 3, 2020 at 1:46 pm By Bob Robinson

Restoring Our Image-Bearing Humanity Part 1 You are glorious. Well, at least you’re supposed to be. Over the next few weeks, we will explore the amazing implications of the biblical revelation that God has created us as creatures made in the imago Dei, the image of God. This is an amazing biblical truth: Because God is glorious, as we shine as God’s image, we too are glorious. This is both dignifying and humbling. We have great dignity in our identity... Read more

Byron’s 2019 Reintegrate Book Awards

Last updated on: February 13, 2020 at 2:23 pm By Bob Robinson

Byron Borger, with his wife Beth, owns Hearts and Minds Bookstore, a Reintegrate partner. It’s time for his annual Favorite Book Awards! Out of the many books listed in the posts on his “Booknotes” blog, here are some that Reintegrate readers should know about. For Byron’s whole review of all the books he loves, go to the Hearts and Minds Booknotes page. ALL BOOKS NAMED ARE ON SALE FOR 20% OFF at Hearts and Minds. You’ll find a secure order... Read more

Apologetics Beyond Reason

Last updated on: April 3, 2020 at 2:27 pm By Bob Robinson

An Emmanuel Apologetic What if we moved our apologetic away from reasoned arguments toward telling the story of the Gospel by the way we work for the common good? What if we so dramatically laid down our lives for the sake of those around us that they couldn’t help but notice and ask, “What is up with you?” Way back in 2005, when I was a heavy blogger at Vanguard Church, I wrote a series of posts on how we... Read more

Letter to my younger self

Last updated on: January 23, 2020 at 4:04 pm By Bob Robinson

Hi Bob, It’s me. Bob. I know! Right? Freaky that I’d write to you from the future! No, I don’t have a TARDIS for traveling through time. It’s just that the community at The High Calling decided to write to our younger selves to give you some advice as you grow up. I’m writing you while I’m in my mid-50s. Yep. You made it past half a century! But you nearly didn’t. In 2006, you will nearly die. You will have a severe... Read more

Reintegrate Quotable: The Priesthood of All Believers

Last updated on: November 19, 2019 at 8:49 pm By Bob Robinson

“The priesthood of all believers did not make everyone into church workers; rather it turned every kind of work into a sacred calling.” – Gene Veith, summing up Luther’s position in God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life, p. 19. Read more

Calling All Christians by Skye Jethani

Last updated on: October 10, 2019 at 8:41 pm By Bob Robinson

This is an article I asked Skye Jethani to write back when I was a content editor for The High Calling website. It is so good, it deserves a reprint. The High Calling is now a part of the Theology of Work Project. CALLING ALL STATIONS For years I served as a teaching pastor at my church, but then left the pastoral team to pursue a calling outside the institutional church. For the first time since graduating from seminary, I... Read more

Designed to Work: What Do You Make Possible? by Mike Wittmer

Last updated on: September 18, 2019 at 4:02 pm By Bob Robinson

Last month my employer-issued laptop slowed to a crawl. Every keystroke was followed by a two second delay, making it impossible to type words correctly or fix their misspelling. Every mouse click generated a multi-colored spinning wheel. In frustration I clicked other tabs, wishing one of them would work, which only froze my computer. I finally pulled off the information highway when my sputtering Mac was passed by an Amish buggy. I took it to the Help Desk to be... Read more

The Three Major Needs of Spiritual Formation

Last updated on: July 11, 2019 at 4:59 pm By Bob Robinson

My doctoral mentor, Steven Garber, did his doctoral research on how people were able to sustain spiritual growth from college through their twenties. He wrote about this research in a profound popular book called The Fabric of Faithfulness. He describes his methods and findings: “Each person responded to a series of questions that asked them to reflect on their ‘cares and commitments’ at this point in their lives, and what had happened during their university experience that gave ‘shape and... Read more

Made in God’s Image Provides Us Our Job Description

Last updated on: September 18, 2019 at 3:48 pm By Bob Robinson

Designed to Work Hands. Hands that can hold a wrench or a paintbrush or a guitar or a scalpel or a child. Eyes. Eyes that can look through a telescope to study the glory of the heavens and through a microscope to investigate the intricacies of cells. Eyes that can gaze upon that which is beautiful and that which is ugly. Eyes that can see what is right and what needs to be corrected. Ears. Toes. Biceps. Knees. Nostrils.... Read more

What does Paul tell Titus that God's grace teaches us to deny?