I found this article terribly compelling (thanks to Daniel Eng for the heads up) – especially the following snippet – this has everything to do with defining * success * in church, or entrepreneurship, or just plain life: Read more…
There are two major, formative events happening in my life right now. I became a father 16 mos ago (and going for a repeat this upcoming May) and my parents are getting old (dad turns 70 this yr). And so understandably so, family has been forefront in my mind as of late, particularly, what is the so-called Christian vision of family? A few tantalizing thoughts from Read more…
As per a past post I re-raise this issue where angels fear to tread; well, thank goodness no one reads my blog anyway. Professor of New Testament, Rikk Watts, here @ Regent College has given a chapel lecture titled: “Up Zion’s Hill: Imagining a New Jerusalem” – and I walk away feeling like I missed the punchline – kinda half-full / half-empty – but here’s the synopsis: Read more…
Apparently he’s in the news again, with rumors of making some kind of comeback via documentaries. While the past few years have been rough on him – some say the homosexual-bashing conservative evangelical deserved it – I don’t see what he’s trying to accomplish with a public statement – perhaps some vindication. You gotta feel bad for the guy – his life, vocation, future, promise, career, possibly family life – all destroyed. As a pastor myself I am sad for him, but at the same time I don’t know why he’s trying to get in the spotlight again – no one ever really recovers from these things. But the real question is – how did this ever even happen in the first place? Did he have any accountability or any confessor at all? Was he alone in his struggles? And how much imbalance did he have in his life to get to the point where he was using crystal meth and seeking out prostitutes? I know first-hand the hardships of pastoral ministry – but someone tell me -
how does somebody get like that?
Which is a fancy-schmancy way of saying “What is church?”
So contribute your thoughts, perhaps it will land in (or influence) the paper I am writing now titled, “The Kingdom As Church”. What is church? Is it a congregation? An established institution? Is it static and theoretical or dynamic, mission-birthed, people-oriented? Do you jive with the polemics of the progressive anti-institutional intelligentsia or do you prefer the familiarity of the old forms, traditions, liturgy, patterns? My answer to that question would be “yes, and…” but at any rate…
I was listening to some radio preacher here in VA and thinking “preaching is so different out here compared to the west coast”. It was refreshing, until I realized it was John MacArthur. Isn’t he from LA?
At any rate, whenever I return to the Big Apple I see the pointed differences between East and West sides. A decade has changed me. People dress differently, even to church, think differently, work differently (you can’t get by on a single-income in metro NY). Music tastes are different. I won’t go into the nuances but one of the things I’ve noticed is even the theology – it would seem people on the east coast are more grounded, erudite, and historically educated on things theological, whether Arminian or Reformed, but especially the latter. Any West coasters beg to differ?
Grenz is waxing eloquent on the ecclesiological practice of baptism.
I’m understanding more not only the theological and sacramental significance of the act, but more so the sociological significance of it. Being a Protestant of the “Reformed” strain, I don’t place heavy emphasis on the sacramental side as if the act itself were the mediator of the intrinsic grace; rather I see it as a symbol of heavenly realities. But still more I am discovering the deep sociological implications of the act of baptism. It is an act of belonging and identification, precisely that which a fragmented, over-individualized society yearns for today. In this sense baptism is an exciting, celebratory symbol of being part of something. Isn’t that what culture at large is looking for today? So, how do u do it? Are you into dunking, sprinkling, or pouring?
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