Blog - Page 106 of 318 - John H Armstrong

An Inevitable Clash of Human Rights?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:20-05:00August 16th, 2011|Categories: Homosexuality, Religion, Separation of Church & State|

The most basic of all human rights, hammered out for millennia, is the right of religious freedom. I have often said that this is America’s greatest single contribution to civilization. Here what you believe is permitted and you can practice your personal faith without state interference, so long as no one else’s rights are harmed by your practice.

There is a fierce debate going on now about civil unions and same-sex marriage. Personally I have no doubt that same-sex marriage will eventually become the norm. It already is the norm in some states and over time I believe that it will be law in the majority of states. It will then become the law of the nation. On one side people argue that their right to free expression is hindered by our present laws while on the other people believe a fundamental building block of a moral and decent society is at stake.

My deepest concern in this debate has been growing for some time and it is not […]

Why Much of What You Know About Effective Leadership Is Wrong

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:20-05:00August 15th, 2011|Categories: Leadership|

Catholic mystic Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) continues to influence Christians across a wide spectrum. His books that have most influenced me include The Wounded Healer, In the Name of Jesus, Clowning in Rome, The Life of the Beloved and The Way of the Heart. I am pleasantly surprised at how often evangelicals quote him. I do, however, wonder if they understand him. His textured biblical reflections challenge a number of our presuppositions, especially about leadership. Since ACT 3 exists to “equip leaders for unity in Christ’s mission” I find Nouwen to be one of my most important resources because he was both deeply spiritual man and a real, practicing ecumenist.

In the book, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, which is one of my favorite Nouwen works, he wrote the following about effective ministry:

My movement from Harvard to L’Arche [a ministry to the mentally challenged] made me aware in a new way how much my own thinking about Christian leadership had been affected by the desire to be […]

God’s Hands

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 14th, 2011|Categories: Jesus, Personal, Prayer|

I have heard, for as long as I can recall, the idea that God’s hands in this world are those that he has given to us. Put very simply, God has no hands but ours, no arms but ours, no legs but ours.

I once mocked this idea because I felt it directly attacked the notion of divine sovereignty. I even said that if this was true then God was a poor and broken cripple who could do nothing in this world at all but wait on us to act.

When I understood where this idea came from, and what it really meant, I changed my mind. Let me explain.

One popular story says that following Word War II some German students volunteered to help rebuild a cathedral in England damaged by Luftwaffe bombings. As the work progressed the workers were not sure how to best restore the statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched and bearing the inscription: “Come unto Me.”

The workers repaired all the damage but could not […]

Steve Alford Clamps Down on Social Media

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 13th, 2011|Categories: Social Networking, Sports|

Steve Alford learned to play and coach collegiate basketball from the legendary Bobby Knight. Alford was a star in the heyday of Indiana University basketball at a time when Knight was at the top of his game. Alford learned a great deal from Knight. A recent Alford decision shows this influence in a profound way.

I actually saw Steve Alford coach at the NCAA Division III level in his first gig. He coached a small school in Indiana that knocked Wheaton College out of the tournament on our home court in a season (in the early-1990s) when Wheaton made the NCAA tournament for the first time in many years. My nephew was a star on that team. (Wheaton has since been to many NCAA tournaments and several years ago lost a heart-breaker to Washington University, St. Louis, on the Wheaton court. Washington U. won the tournament. That Wheaton team, led by the best Wheaton player ever, Kent Raymond, could have been the best team in the nation! It […]

Inside Look with Greg Wheatley

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 12th, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Unity of the Church|

I recently did an in-studio visit with Greg Wheatley of Moody Radio Network. Greg is best known as the former host of Prime Time on the Moody Network. We have known one another for some years but only had a few opportunities to visit face-to-face. He invited me to be a guest on his program, Inside Look, a few weeks ago. The show airs this Saturday, August 13. In Chicago, it can be heard at 1:00 pm on WMBI (90.1 FM). It also airs on the Moody Radio Network at 6:00 pm CT. Some Moody Radio Network stations may shift the air time so it would be prudent to check this out if you have a station in your area. Beginning on Saturday, August 13, the program can be heard online at www.insidelook.org. I enjoyed this time very much and feel Greg is one of the best interviewers in the business. You would also enjoy other (past) programs which are also posted on his […]

Of Gods and Men

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 11th, 2011|Categories: Discipleship, Faith, Film|

The recently released DVD of the highly praised 2010 French film, Of Gods and Men, affords a unique opportunity for people to see and experience what it was like for Cistercian Trappist monks in Algeria to live and die for their faith.

Of Gods and Men is a drama film directed by Xavier Beauvois, starring Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale. Its original French title is Des hommes et des dieux, which means "Of Men and of Gods" and refers to a motto from the Bible shown at the beginning of the film. It centers on the monastery of Tibhirine, where nine monks lived in harmony with the largely Muslim population of Algeria, until seven of them were kidnapped and assassinated in 1996 during the Algerian Civil War.

The film tells a story that is primarily about a peaceful situation between local Christians and Muslims before it became lethal due to external forces. The screenplay focuses on the preceding chain of events in the decay of the government, the expansion […]

Singles: Our Fastest Growing Demographic

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 10th, 2011|Categories: Culture, Current Affairs, Marriage & Family, Sexuality|

Demographics involve the statistical characteristics of a population. Demographers gather data that is used in sociology, public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment, where people live (rural, suburban, city, etc.). What researchers call demographic trends describe changes in demographics within a population over some period of time. We have often hear lot about this kind of study after the national census of 2010. Taking a census is as old as antiquity and still has immense value to a society. We should pay attention, if we are missional, to what is hapenning to people in the larger culture.

There are a number of evident demographic trends that have a considerable impact on our society at the present moment but none may be more significant, for both culture and the church, than the rapid increase in unmarried adults. There are now 59 million unmarried, never-been-married adults in the United States.

But this is not all. The mortality rate for single men is […]

The President of the RCA Calls for Unity and Trust

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 9th, 2011|Categories: Missional Church, The Church, Unity of the Church|

In his presidential report to the general synod of the Reformed Church in America, presented in Grand Rapids last June, Rev. Donald Poest emphasized walking in unity as the body of Christ. He called for a renewal of trust that would allow our leaders and churches to respect one another and aim for deep growth and renewal.

Citing 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 Poest said: "So often, we compare the church to a family, but the body is a better choice. Family members can declare themselves in charge of their own destinies, but body parts have to take their orders from the head."

As an example of one healthy way that the RCA has functioned as the body of Christ, Poest shared his experience as a member of the search team for the candidate for general secretary. (This is the person who replaced Wes Granberg-Michaelson who I wrote about yesterday.) He described the whole process as enriching, exhausting, exhilarating, and excruciating. "But we did it as one […]

Wes Granberg-Michaelson’s Faithful Missional-Ecumenism and the Reformed Church in America

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 8th, 2011|Categories: Leadership, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Pastoral Renewal, Reformed Christianity, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

For seventeen years Wes Granberg-Michaelson has served the Reformed Church of America (RCA) as general secretary. I not only count Wes as my friend but admire his leadership skills and the job he has done to make the RCA one of the few mainline denominations that remains focused on missional-ecumenism in a vital and Christ-centered way. One of the reasons I am a minister of Word and Sacrament in the RCA is because of leaders like Wes. I believe the vision he has pursued is one of the most biblically faithful in North America. It is not perfect. No leader casts a perfect vision for those he or she serves. But Wes has led with incredible faithfulness.

A few weeks ago Wes gave his last report to the General Synod. He stepped down following this annual gathering to pursue a new phase of mission in his life. When I asked Wes what this new phase would be the answer he offered, in short, was missional-ecumenism. I […]

Why Should an Active Person Embrace Solitude, Silence and Contemplation?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:21-05:00August 7th, 2011|Categories: Contemplation, Prayer, Spirituality|

Why would any Christian embrace a life of solitude, silence and contemplation? If you, like me, were trained to be an activist for Christ then this question is one of proportion in the end. The call to mission is a call to faithfulness to the Great Commission and this means to be actively serving the Lord. It just seems much too passive to be of any real good to Christ if you live too much of your life in solitude, silence and contemplation. At least this is how I was taught for decades.

I have shared with several of my closest friends how learning to be less active, contemplative and more intentional about times of silence have all begun to shape my own journey. This contemplative way has been taught over the course of Christian history but it has not been common among evangelicals, at least not during the last hundred years or so. If we have been anything, by training and temperament, we have been activists.

Common to […]