“I like the prayer of Thomas – ‘my Lord and my God.’ …This prayer keeps us ready for surprises; it keeps us alert to Jesus who rules our lives as Lord and commands our worship as God. Following Jesus is not a skill we acquire so that we can be useful to the Kingdom and it’s not a privilege that we’re let into so that the Kingdom can be useful to us. It’s obedience – ‘my Lord’ – and it’s... Read more
(From The Presence & The Power by Gerald Hawthorne, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1991) “The Gospels … stress the fact that Jesus was indeed a human being simply by recording that he, too, experienced those things – little and big – that go into making up human existence, such as paying taxes, heartily eating and drinking, climbing into fishing boats, and so on (see Matt. 17:24-26; 11:19; 9:1). They note that he was hungry, thirsty, and weary (Matt. 21:18; Luke... Read more
“Some people like to read so many [Bible] chapters every day. I would not dissuade them from the practice, but I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen verses all day than rinse my hand in several chapters. Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up in your very soul, till it saturates your heart!” — Pope Benedict XVI Read more
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible.” T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Wilder Publications, 1922) Read more
Here is a link to an article I wrote that just came out in the June issue of Christianity Today. It is entitled, “The Social Network Gospel” and is a look at the changes taking place in Bible reading and study worldwide. It also includes interviews and insights from the people at YouVersion, the Glo Bible, American Bible Society and Facebook-the Bible Page. This link requires a subscription to CT, but it gives you a good intro to the article.... Read more
Gracious moments. We can’t live without them. When we extend grace to others, despite our flaws and weaknesses, we reflect something of the very nature and character of Christ. With grace, sin becomes the enemy, not people. What was it that enabled Paul to endure such sinful opposition and rotten attitudes from a group of people he risked his life to reach for Christ? What was it that kept him coming back and writing, instructing, and teaching, even when it... Read more
Graceless moments. They have a way of sucking the life right out of us. They put the clamps on our spirits and keep us from breathing. Inconsiderate. Disrespectful. Out to hurt. Graceless moments always come at the most inopportune times. They snatch all notions of faith, hope, and love right out of us and replace them with doubt, suspicion, and anger. Paul knew all about graceless moments. Even though he was the trailblazing pioneer of the Corinthian church, this particular... Read more
If you ever want to make an elevator ride interesting, just casually ask the fellow riders in the car what they think about THE BIBLE. And, then, hope you’re in a tall building, because it seems that everybody has an opinion about the Bible. The varying opinions of the Bible are many. Views range from a “pack of lies”… to “the hope of the world.” One psychologist wrote that in his opinion, “…a person who takes the Bible seriously is... Read more
Who said “revivals” all have to lead to the creation of new “movements” or even denominations? It just may be that the best revivals are those that bring people back, back home, back to their roots, back to their senses (cf. Lk. 15:17), and in some cases even back to the churches of their youth or even to breaking bread with the same. I recently attended Converge21 (C21), an event that brought together a selected group of leaders, pastors, educators... Read more
The Pentecostal movement itself continues to grow at a rapid rate. It is arguably the fastest-growing component of Christendom today. Johnson, Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (located at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) gave a new report on the status of Spirit-Empowered churches. The Center has recently adopted the term “Renewalists” to represent the three key sectors of this movement, including Classical Pentecostals, Main-line Denominational Charismatics and Independent Charismatics. At present, it is estimated that these groups... Read more
THE CURRENT - Leading the Following Way
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