More of the same? | The Christian Century
My friend Greg Metzger has been carefully watching the New Apostolic Movement and contributed a fine article to The Christian Century last week.
We Are One in Mission
The core of my vision is unity in Christ’s mission. I call this missional-ecumenism. I live to make Christ known in and through the unity of all his people. I believe he has made it abundantly clear that he has come to reveal the Father and that the world will see this and believe this when it sees our oneness (cf. John 17:20-23). This is so clear that it amazes me how unimportant most of us seem to think this really is to the mission of Jesus.
I have written a new book, The Unity Factor: One Lord, One Church, One Mission (The Christian’s Library Press, 2011), that presents my vision in 44-pages. The purpose of this new book is to get this vision into the hands of as many people as possible in a form that can be read in 30-45 minutes at most. This book should be available by the end of this month. It will be available in an e-book form, print form and a video will eventually be made to correspond with the book. This project came out of an ACT 3 Board […]
College Football Is Back: Roll Tide
Though one game has already been played college football kicks off a new season in earnest today. That means ESPN Game Day and the gang with all the hype and fun of a college football Saturday in the fall. I love it. I plan my days around these events and soak it all in with much fun.
To say that I have marked the days until Alabama begins the new season would be a huge understatement. I follow news from Tuscaloosa daily and read practice reports with real interest. In the championship season of 2009 I ended up getting to see three games in person: Arkansas, Kentucky (in Lexington) and Texas in the BCS Championship Game in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl. Nothing can top that year for me. But every Crimson Tide fan knows that every year opens the door for another crack at the top spot and this year is truly no exception.
Pre-season polls have Alabama ranked No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 at worst. Some […]
The Freedom & Virtue Institute: A Grassroots Commitment to Human Dignity and Flourishing
In my role as a Senior Advisor to Acton Institute I enjoy many opportunities to teach, write and network with other Christian leaders. One of those leaders is Ismael Hernandez. I met Ismael at Acton University in Grand Rapids in June of this year. (If you are interested please note that the next AU occurs June 12-15, 2012. I hope some of you will plan to join me.)
At our meeting this June Ismael Hernandez and I exchanged business cards and then began a correspondence. I grew interested in his small but well-focused work. He directs the mission of The Freedom & Virtue Institute in Ft. Meyers, Florida. This work is dedicated to the disseminating idea of a free and virtuous society and thus champions the ideas of freedom and virtue and supports practical strategies to realize and implement these ideas.
Ismael correctly believes that human freedom and private initiative are the best instruments to effect lasting and positive change in society. This is why […]
Governing is Always Difficult
Yesterday I reviewed the documentary film, Client 9. Today I reflect, albeit much more briefly, on the problem of politics and governance in our nation.
I recently saw a series of historical films on the Roman Empire. I became interested in Rome as a result of my visit to the city in March of this year. From the rise of Julius Casear (d. March 15, 44 B.C.) until approximately the end of the first century AD Rome experienced the height of its power in the world. After assuming control of government, Julius Caesar began extensive reforms of Roman society and government. He centralized the bureaucracy and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity.” This was his undoing and led to his murder within the Roman senate. (Things have improved in modern governments!) The empire, from the time of Caesar, was affluent, culturally alive and expansive. Power and pleasure mixed together in profound ways. There are parallels to our present time but I think most of them are quite ludicrous […]
The "Syllabus and Plan for a Life Long Learning Experience in Missional-Ecumenism
What follows is a “working document.” This means that everything in this new program is still being tweaked, including the reading assignments. This cohort is not designed for pastors, missionaries and teachers alone. In fact, my deepest desire is that the group will be a good combination of all kinds of men and women, married and single, clergy and non-clergy, young and old. The more diversity in the group the better the learning experience will likely be since a major focus is experiencing diversity in unity. Every motivated person who wants to become a better leader in following Christ into missional-ecumenism is welcome to apply by contacting me via this blog or on the ACT 3 site.
Course Description
The course examines the importance of missional theology and how the prayer of Jesus for the unity of all his followers (John 17:20–23) intentionally and directly impacts the work of effective mission. This will be a nine-month cohort seminar for 15-20 active learners. Each learner will enter […]
Introducing a Life-long Learning Cohort in Living the Transformative Kingdom Mission of Jesus
For several years, if not for several decades, I have had a growing desire to equip a group of leaders to grasp and put into practice the principles that I teach about the gospel of the kingdom of God, missional-ecumenism and deep spiritual formation.
I have been teaching some of this in seminaries and the Wheaton Graduate School for the past five or six years. Since the release of my book, Your Church Is Too Small (March, 2010), I have had a growing sense that these principles can be taught best in cohort groups where people with diverse backgrounds (age, race, gender and denomination) would form a learning group that would spend nine months learning and growing into this vision as a group. Through the group a rich, like-changing, learning experience can take place.
Several months ago I began to understand, with the help of some amazing friends, how to teach this material in the very best way and still expand the number of people I disciple in this […]
Are Christians Effective in Making New Disciples?
I ponder this question every day: “Are we being effective in making new disciples?” And even more to the point, “Are most churches effective in reaching people with the good news and teaching them how to follow Jesus 24/7 in the real world context of the 21st century?”
In short, the answer is a not-so-surprising no. Put in marketing terms author Tim Sinclair is correct when he says in his new book, Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture (Kregel, 2011), Jesus needs to be “rebranded or remarketed” in our fragmented and diversified culture (29).
There are many new religious options and there are many new ways to embrace and talk about faith. What most Christians are saying is just not working. You don’t need a doctorate in missiology to see that this is true. Sinclair asks what I believe is the $64,000 question: “Hasn’t there been consistency in the number of people who are embracing Christ over the years” (29)? The answer is very clear. Actual research shows […]
Friday Night Lights
Readers know that I am an amateur film and television critic. I have especially enjoyed some of the better dramatic TV series that have been done since 2005. The British action series MI-5 is one of my favorites. But I was unprepared for how profoundly moved I would be by watching the recently completed series, Friday Night Lights.
I was introduced to Friday Night Lights by my friends Craig and Ann Higgins after I stayed in their home in June. They loved the series and I got a brief glimpse of it with them.
Friday Night Lights was adapted from a book and film of the same name. The five-year old series detailed events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his family. The show uses this small-town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary Middle America, including school funding, racism, teen sex, religion (all varieties of Christianity are portrayed and quite well […]
What I’m Still Learning About Facebook, Twitter and the Social Media
Like so many of you I’ve had an on-again/off-again relationship with Facebook and Twitter. I have used them both, with some degree of enjoyment and encouragement. I particularly enjoy reading subjects that interest me when I have time to wait in an airport or store line. Having an iPhone I read tweets and find it passes time. I also post to these media in similar contexts. But so far I’ve discovered that these social networking tools are good for three specific things:
1. Reuniting with family and old friends and staying in better touch with friends near and far in terms of current information.
2. Making and growing contacts with people who are interested in me and what I write and teach as a Christian. With four decades of life experience in ministry and a ton of interaction with interesting people and ideas I have something to share and these tools foster that experience.
3. Wasting excessive amounts of time reading and responding to comments and posts that […]
