Henry Center Travelogue, Day Five: Final Thoughts

Last updated on: June 3, 2008 at 2:52 pm By Owen Strachan

Here’s the recap from day five, the final day of the conference, May 31. I’m not going to recap the last few talks, though I will tell you that this morning featured a stimulating session with Drs. Robert Priest of TEDS and David Lee of Evangel Seminary. In their papers, the speakers considered the topic of contextualization on theological grounds. Priest, an anthropologist, encouraged the audience to theologically contextualize–that is, adapt–their message to foreign contexts. Lee gave several examples of... Read more

Excellent Material from the reThink Conference on Family Ministry

Last updated on: June 2, 2008 at 10:02 pm By Owen Strachan

I’m back in the states, and recently received word on an important and helpful conference on family ministry: “A couple of weeks ago Providence Baptist Church the reThink Conference 08 in Raleigh, NC. The conference came about as a result of Steve Wright’s book on family equipping entitled reThink. What started small has gained tremendous momentum. reThink has already picked up endorsements from Dr. Randy Stinson of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries, just... Read more

Henry Center Travelogue, Day Four: Holy War and Theological Education (Separately Considered)

Last updated on: May 30, 2008 at 9:02 am By Owen Strachan

I’m in Hong Kong with the Henry Center, my employer, as we’re hosting an international conference on evangelical identity. I’m blogging about the conference on the Henry Center blog and will cross-post here. Day Four in Hong Kong, and we are right in the thick of our conference. It is going quite nicely. Last night, we held a session at an Evangelical Free church that meets in a shopping mall in the city, Tsim Fook church. Well over 200 people... Read more

Henry Center Travelogue, Day Three: Evangelical Identity and Ringo Starr

Last updated on: May 29, 2008 at 9:00 am By Owen Strachan

I’m in Hong Kong with the Henry Center, my employer, as we’re hosting an international conference on evangelical identity. I’ll be blogging about the conference on the Henry Center blog and will cross-post here. The conference has now started in earnest. We’re at the YMCA International House on Waterloo Street, right in the middle of bustling Hong Kong. Come join us if you’re up for the fifteen-hour flight. This morning, historians Doug Sweeney of TEDS and Kevin Yao of China... Read more

Hong Kong Travelogue, Day Two: The Resort Seminary and Chow Yun-Fat’s House

Last updated on: May 28, 2008 at 9:57 am By Owen Strachan

I’m in Hong Kong with the Henry Center, my employer, as we’re hosting an international conference on evangelical identity. I’ll be blogging about the conference on the Henry Center blog and will cross-post here. Today was a day of sightseeing as the gracious staff of Evangel Seminary hosted the conference speakers from TEDS and elsewhere on a tour of Hong Kong. Have you ever had a day in which your whole view of the world was expanded, stretched like a... Read more

Hong Kong Travelogue, Day One: Discovery and Jetlag

Last updated on: May 27, 2008 at 10:06 am By Owen Strachan

I’m in Hong Kong with the Henry Center, my employer, as we’re hosting an international conference on evangelical identity. I’ll be blogging about the conference on the Henry Center blog and will cross-post here. The Henry Center has gone international. Director Doug Sweeney and Managing Director Owen Strachan (the author) are hosting an international conference in Hong Kong, China this week that covers the topic of Christian identity in diverse situations. A number of faculty from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School... Read more

Pray for the Family of Steven Curtis Chapman

Last updated on: May 22, 2008 at 3:50 pm By Owen Strachan

I don’t normally write my blog this early, and I don’t seek to track current events too closely. But I checked Justin Taylor’s blog this morning and read about a tragic event in the family of Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman. It seems that Chapman’s son was driving into the family’s driveway and struck his little sister, Maria. Though efforts were made to save her (she was airlifted to a Nashville hospital), she passed away yesterday, a five-year-old life now... Read more

Spike Lee on Death and Dignity

Last updated on: May 21, 2008 at 9:22 pm By Owen Strachan

I’ve watched some of Spike Lee’s films, and usually find them interesting, and sometimes revealing about the realities of life in a fallen world. When I came across a Lee comment spoken at the Cannes film festival from a piece in the Washington Post, I had to comment on it: “I always treat life and death with respect, but most people don’t,” Lee said at a news conference Tuesday. “Look, I love the Coen brothers; we all studied at NYU.... Read more

Theologian Russ Moore on the Story of Scripture

Last updated on: May 20, 2008 at 9:20 pm By Owen Strachan

Today, I found a great link from Tim Challies’s website. Dr. Russ Moore has just published a lengthy and incisive essay on the story of Scripture. It relates heavily to the development of Christocentric theology, a topic I’ve discussed at times on this blog and one which I’m working through in seeking to develop my own theological system. In hopes of advancing this discussion, here are three sections from Moore’s essay, “Beyond a Veggie Tales Gospel: Why We Must Preach... Read more

If Jesus Spent Lots of Time with Unbelievers, Why Do Most of Us Hang Out Only with Christians?

Last updated on: May 19, 2008 at 9:37 pm By Owen Strachan

Surfing Vitamin Z’s excellent blog, I came across a thoughtful post on evangelism by Joe Carter this morning that prompted some thinking on my part. Entitled rather provocatively “How Do You Love a Porn Star?”, the piece tackles the following simple but tough question: why don’t many Christians regularly interact with the lost people who make up 99% of the surrounding populace? In asking this question, Carter offers a story of a Marine friend who was nice, fatherly, and happened... Read more