Stop What You’re Doing and Read this Post on Christian Sex

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

This post is part of a Patheos symposium on the Future of Seminary Education. You can see all of my posts in this symposium here. Late last week, Tim Dalrymple published a doozy of a post, complaining that his classmates at Princeton Theological Seminary were indiscriminately jumping the sack with one another. He then goes on to make generalizations about Christians more liberal than he, based on his anecdotal experience at Princeton. Princeton wasn’t my favorite place in the world, to be... Read more

Welcome Number 7,000,000,000

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

Today symbolically marks the day that our global population reaches seven billion. Just how big is that number? CNN has some details: — Seven billion seconds ago, the year was 1789. That was the year George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. president and Congress met for the very first time. — If you took 7 billion steps along the Earth’s equator — at 2 feet per step — you could walk around the world at least 106 times.... Read more

Sign of the Apocalypse: Tebowing

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

Tebowing – (vb) to get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different. MORE HERE: Tebowing. (Unless, of course, this is a joke. In which case it is not a sign of the apocalypse.) HT: Rick Bennett Read more

St Paul’s Full for Noon Eucharist

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

If you’ve been following the ups and downs of Occupy London at St. Paul’s Cathedral, including the sad resignation of Giles Fraser as canon chancellor, this is a somewhat happy turn of events: St Paul’s Cathedral reopened at midday in time for its normal daily lunchtime eucharist service, but this time with a congregation swelled by tourists, the curious and serried ranks of the media to number several hundred. No special security measures were apparent, nor any obvious signs of... Read more

What Makes a Vibrant Congregation [VIDEO]

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

Steve Knight, who consults with the Disciples of Christ denomination, interviewed me about my book, church planting, and what makes a vibrant congregation. He writes: I think what Tony talks about in the book, in terms of church practices that are supported by the theological ideas of Jurgen Moltmann, are really worth reading and considering for anyone doing church planting or new church development work in the U.S. today. Also, for anyone interested in the history of the emerging church... Read more

The Future of Seminary: Training Tentmakers

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

This post is part of a Patheos symposium on the Future of Seminary Education. You can see all of my posts in this symposium here. At Pangea, Kurt makes good points about the massive debt that many seminarians graduate with. He’s right, they do. And they’re headed straight into a field that pays about $40,000 per year. That’s not enough to support a family in many cities, much less to repay student debt. But here’s the bigger question, from my... Read more

Who’s To Blame for the Emerging Church Movement (Hint: Evangelicals)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

I had the good fortune of presenting a paper last weekend at the Association of Youth Ministry Educators — the academic guild for those who study and teach youth ministry. My paper, a version of which will appear in the next issue of Immerse Journal, was entitled, “Youth Ministry as the Inspiration and Site of Relational Ecclesiology.” (Sounds mighty academic, huh?) At academic conferences, presenting a paper in a non-plenary session actually means summarizing your evidence and thesis in about... Read more

Should Circumcision Be Illegal?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

Some in California think so. Governor Jerry Brown doesn’t agree: California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill preventing local authorities from banning the practice of male circumcision. The bill, which takes effect immediately, comes in the wake of an effort by a San Francisco group opposed to male circumcision to enforce a city-wide ban of the practice in a November ballot measure. That effort was struck down in late July by a California judge who said it would infringe... Read more

Save Google Reader

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

I use Google Reader every day. Many times every day. It’s where I read almost all blogs, much news, and more. And, I use the Share function (see the right sidebar below (“Tony’s Picks”) for items I’ve recently shared. In an underhanded attempt to get users to adopt Google+, it seems that Google is on the brink of dropping the sharing functions from Google Reader, and possibly eliminating the service altogether. You can sign the petition to keep Google Reader.... Read more

Would You Go to Seminary with Muslims and Jews?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:55 pm By Tony Jones

My friend, Philip Clayton, is part of a grand experiment in theological education, covered this week by Inside Higher Ed: Two Schools, Three Religions (So Far) Claremont Lincoln University is a collaboration between two established schools: the Claremont School of Theology and the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, which trains future rabbis, cantors and chaplains from all branches of Judaism, although Orthodox Jews do not accept the academy’s ordination. A Muslim institution, Bayan College, is in the works: it will... Read more