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Practicing Mental Prayer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:10-05:00October 11th, 2011|Categories: Contemplation, Mysticism, Prayer, Spirituality|

Once we realize that prayer is “friendly intercourse” with God, rooted in his deep love for us, we can begin to talk about the method for how we do this. I offer, based upon my own reading of various spiritual directors and great theologians, some observations on how to pray in this way.

First, we cannot speak to God “intimately” unless we are in contact with him personally. This doesn’t just happen in conversion but daily as we approach him directly. Because we are in personal contact with God we make preparation. This is not a matter of human works offered up to save us in any sense of the word. It is our placing ourselves in the presence of God, turning ourselves to him by means of true godly thoughts. I begin to relate to God more intimately when I place myself in his presence, turning aside to him by means of good thoughts. This includes both biblical words and insights from other Christian teachers who […]

Learning the Practice of Mental Prayer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:10-05:00October 10th, 2011|Categories: Mysticism, Prayer, Spirituality|

The great saints and writers of the Christian church all have much to teach us. I embarked upon reading some of the classic writings of the historic church some years ago and my only regret is that it took me this long. One such writer is St. Teresa.

Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515 – 1582) was a prominent Spanish mystic and Carmelite nun. She was a theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. She is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites.

One of St. Teresa’s most important contributions to the spiritual life of the church came though her teaching on mental prayer. This is how I discovered her writings to be so truly helpful in my journey.

But what is mental prayer?

Mental prayer is a form of prayer in which one loves God through dialog and by meditating on God's words. It is a time of silence focused on God. It is distinguished from vocal prayers which use set prayers, although […]

Outsider Interviews with Jim Henderson

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:10-05:00October 9th, 2011|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Evangelism|

My good friend Jim Henderson is one of the best interviewers I know. He has the ability to allow non-Christians to talk and tell us what they think about our views and practices. Check out Jim's work on this video attached to a recent blog he did after he was in nearby St. Charles, IL. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and discussed several of Jim's projects. He has a new book, The Resignation of Eve, which will be out in early 2012. I happily endorsed it. It allows women to openly express how they feel about the church from a number of different perspectives.

Check out his blog and the brief YouTube clip on how people think about Christians and Christianity @ Outsider Interviews – St. Charles – Sept. 29.

Mercy Imitates God

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:11-05:00October 9th, 2011|Categories: God's Character, Love|

St. John Chrysostom (347-407 AD) says, “Mercy imitates God and disappoints Satan.” That got me to pondering lately how much I really comprehend and believe in the mercy of God.

Mercy is defined as compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subjected to the power of another. Webster adds a second definition by saying mercy is “a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion.” It is clearly this latter idea Chrysostom had in mind.

Paul says in Ephesians 2:4-7:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

God is rich in mercy! […]

Whatever You Think, Someone Thinks Differently

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:11-05:00October 8th, 2011|Categories: Ideology, The Church, Unity of the Church|

The famous 20th century scholar T. R. Glover once said, “Whatever you think, someone thinks differently.” This is true in all kinds of ways but especially in the church. The late William Barclay applied this Glover quote to the church in three ways.

1. It is true of worship, prayers and all kinds of expressions of love for God and faith in Christ.

If you have been around for long you are well aware that there is a wide diversity within the church over worship practice. Liturgy or free form? Spontaneity or planned expressions? In this there is no absolute right or absolute wrong. There is a great need for continued discussion and for the type of wisdom that learns and thinks.

The liturgists must not despise simple people and their plain expressions of devotion while the simple people must not say that anyone who loves liturgy is removed from true love for Jesus. Let us worship the true and living God in Jesus Christ and not despise those who […]

The Power of the “Spoken” Word of the Gospel

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:11-05:00October 7th, 2011|Categories: Evangelism, Homiletics/Preaching|

Depending on your church background and experience many of you may think of the gospel (and almost exclusively) as a written message. The first Christians did not think of it this way at all. Let me explain.

While reading the Book of Acts recently I noted this again and again. Take the beginning of this book:

¹ In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³ After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴ On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵ For John […]

What Should We Make of the New Apostolic Reformation?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:11-05:00October 6th, 2011|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Current Affairs, Politics, The Church|

The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a movement within Protestant Christianity that is largely associated with the Pentecostal and charismatic movements. I only paid scant attention to it until recently even though I knew something about it a decade or so before. Like all such renewal movements the NAR has a lot in it that many mainstream Christians would agree with. But there are elements within the NAR that are more controversial and these have increasingly caught my attention.

The basic thesis of the NAR is that God is restoring the lost offices of church governance, namely the offices of prophet and apostle. Even this restoration of the two named offices is not entirely controversial, though various versions of this teaching have floated around in the Pentecostal and charismatic churches for generations. So what got my attention about NAR, especially since I am committed to promoting unity and not calling out various versions of Christian expression, over the past few weeks?

The NAR traces its historical roots to end of the twentieth-century when the name/moniker was first used by my former professor of missions, peter_wagner_new_apostolic_reformation <a href= […]

Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions: Questions for the Author (Part Three)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:11-05:00October 5th, 2011|Categories: Books, Friendship, Sexuality|

Today I complete my three-part personal interview with author Dan Brennan about his engaging and controversial book, Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions. I would encourage you to not only read this online interview I’ve posted but to visit Dan’s web site and even sign up for his Facebook page. There you can engage with him more personally and discuss his ideas openly, in a manner that is non-threatening and truly gracious.

One reviewer of Dan’s book recently wrote:

Gendered stereotypes blocking friendship are notions like emotionally intimate, vulnerable friendships are for girls/women or gay men. In evangelical communities where romantic relationships are on a pedestal and friendships are inferior, gendered stereotypes and straitjackets are common.

My questions to Dan concluded with the following dialog.

Wouldn’t “face to face” intimacy in friendship threaten marriages and leave one vulnerable for a sexual fall?

We have to do a little tweaking of the metaphor to get some distance from romantic idealizing or gazing. For centuries prior to Freud intimacy in friendship meant emotional, spiritual intimacy, transparency, vulnerability, delight, and sweet language and affection—all of which we would now describe as characteristic of “face […]

Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions: Questions for the Author (Part Two)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:11-05:00October 4th, 2011|Categories: Books, Friendship, Sexuality|

Today, I continue with the questions I began in yesterday’s interview with author and friend Dan Brennan. Here are some more questions I posed in my online interview about his very important book.

Why would it be wise and chaste to nurture authentic communion (“face to face” and “side-by-side”) beyond your spouse, with your cross-gender friend?

I would suggest this is where we have to think more deeply about chastity and communion in our communities. The notions of union or communion are making a comeback among evangelical theologians like Scot McKnight, Kevin Vanhoozer, and yourself. What does oneness and chastity look like for men and women? I would argue it’s in the nature of robust and wise chastity to seek communion. Kenda Creasy Dean made this observation “chastity seeks communion.” The Catholic Catechism states that chastity leads to deep spiritual communion between members of the same sex or opposite sex.

As we nurture and cultivate chastity in our marriage and in friendship, chastity actually will […]

Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions: Questions for the Author (Part One)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:11-05:00October 3rd, 2011|Categories: Books, Feminism & Women, Friendship, Sexuality|

Last year (December 21-24) I wrote a series of blogs reviewing a controversial but extremely important book on friendships. This book, Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions: Engaging the Mystery of Friendship Between Men and Women, is written by my friend Dan Brennan. I mentioned at the time that I did not particularly want to delve into this subject, knowing quite well that some would react against the book and even against my giving it this kind of attention. I also mentioned my concerns and cautions but these seemed to have been missed by critics.

I’ve thought a great deal about this book, and discussed it even more with the author and others (including some critics), since the end of last year. I believe that Dan is saying a great deal of very important stuff about friendship that is too easily missed by the controversial subject matter of males and females as close friends. As a result of a continuing dialog I decided to put some of my questions to […]