Blog - Page 115 of 318 - John H Armstrong

One Solitary Life

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:35-05:00May 23rd, 2011|Categories: Jesus|

Sometime during my college years I first heard and read this poem:

He was born in an obscure village.
He worked in a carpenter shop until he was about thirty.
He then became an itinerant preacher.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or owned a house.
He didn't go to college.
He had no credentials but Himself.

After preaching three years, the public turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His clothing, the only property He had on earth.
He was laid in a borrowed grave.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone,
and today He is the central figure of the human race.
All […]

Who Is Thinking and Why It Matters

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:35-05:00May 22nd, 2011|Categories: Personal|

I admit that as long as I can remember I have been inclined to think outside the box. It is sometimes gotten me in a heap of trouble. I remember at around age five asking, “Why does out church exclude non-white members?” I also asked, somewhere in that same time frame, “Why do males only get to speak and preach?” A little later I asked, “Why do Baptists think they are the only really faithful Christians?” Such questions got me in trouble with Sunday School teachers and others in authority.

I believe some of this is simply a part of the way God made me. Yet I also remain surprised at how little some Christians think about thinking. Why do we do refuse to think and ask questions? I think a major reason is fear. Another is the lack of love and prejudice.

I do not think I’ve ever quoted General George C. Patton but in this case he said something rather profound: “When everyone is thinking the same […]

Should India’s Caste System Really Matter to Us?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:35-05:00May 21st, 2011|Categories: Missional-Ecumenism|

Several weeks ago the World Council of Churches (WCC) co-sponsored an international colloquium on Caste, Religion and Culture in Karala, India (May 1-4). This event was also sponsored by the National Council of Churches in India, the Center for Social Studies and Culture and the Student Christian Movement of India. This, in itself, underscores that the WCC does not always fit the liberal stereotypes of Western conservative Christians who oppose everything sponsored by the WCC as tainted or non-missional.

I spent two lengthy times in India in the 1980s. My life was profoundly changed by what I saw and experienced. India is complex, challenging and amazingly open to the gospel in a unique way. And nowhere in the world does Christian disunity present such a huge scandal to the mission of Christ as in India.

The organizers of this colloquium provided a “Dalit critique of the contemporary cultural practices, caste and religion that will illuminate the debates in the main stream social sciences" while they also attempted to offer […]

The Revised NIV: 2011

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:35-05:00May 20th, 2011|Categories: Biblical Theology, Personal|

The attempts to revise the NIV have created a huge firestorm in some conservative circles. The primary reason has never been about whether or not the NIV (1978) was due for a major revision. One of the main reasons the task of Bible translation is never finished is the changes that take place in our own language. We speak and write differently and words, how they are actually used, are quite fluid. Everyone who understands language and translation knows this, which is why only a person who does not understand these simple facts resists Bible revisions. I can think of only two reasons to oppose revisions: they create a fluid English text and this can easily discourage Bible memorization and common use within churches. But regardless of these reasons a faithful commitment to the text itself requires new translation.

Some time ago I expressed my unhappiness about the TNIV being taken out of circulation because the translation committee decided to do an entirely new revision of the NIV and […]

Crossroads Kids Club: Missional-Ecumenism in Practice

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:35-05:00May 19th, 2011|Categories: Evangelism, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, The Church|

My son, Matthew Armstrong, with the support of his lovely wife Adriana, launched a ministry to kids in the public schools in 1998. This ministry was a neighborhood-based, para-church ministry. I referred to Matt in the chapter in my book, Your Church Is Too Small, in the chapter on how missional-ecumenism actually works. His story is also included on the ACT 3 video on our Web site.

In 1998 Matt began a ministry called Crossroads Kids Club. He did what most Christians tell me again and again cannot be done – he ran after-school clubs inside public elementary schools. After several years, Matt then planted a neighborhood church because he wanted to connect with families. Matt has always believed in the church thus he believed in connecting kids and families in the local church, not simply to a program or a life-stage ministry. So Crossroads has been working, for well over a decade, in two towns in the Chicagoland area (Hanover Park and Streamwood). Crossroads, […]

Coping with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a Daily Reality Check

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:35-05:00May 18th, 2011|Categories: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Personal|

Some have encouraged me to not talk openly about my struggle with CFS. Their intentions are right. They suggest that many people will not understand and that some might even conclude that my ministry is finished because of this illness. This will not inspire donors to support a work led by a sick person. These are all reasonable points. But I have chosen to err on the side of candor, hoping to serve some who struggle with chronic illness and to invite prayer and support while I press on in this wonderful work of “equipping leaders for unity in Christ’s mission” (The purpose statement of ACT 3.)

The truth is that I am still more active than a lot of people my age. But I do struggle every single day to remain as active and healthy as possible. The most important part of my health regimen is to take breaks, find ways to refresh my body, mind and soul, and to engage in activities that build me up. […]

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: An Illness Gone Political

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:35-05:00May 17th, 2011|Categories: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Personal|

Some of you, especially close friends, know that I’ve struggled with a strange illness called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) since 1997-98. When I was initially diagnosed the illness was just beginning to get notice in the wider press. Now articles appear in the mainstream press routinely.

The very conservative Mayo Clinic, which for many years did not recognize the disease, says:

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a complicated disorder characterized by extreme fatigue that may worsen with physical or mental activity, but doesn't improve with rest. Although there are many theories about what causes this condition — ranging from viral infections to psychological stress — in most cases the cause is still unknown.

Because its symptoms are difficult to measure, CFS wasn't widely accepted as a real medical condition for until about a decade ago. Today, however, doctors and researchers almost totally agree that this chronic condition should be taken very seriously.

The disease has also been referred to as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), a term used in the United Kingdom, or […]

Harold Camping and the Rapture

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:36-05:00May 16th, 2011|Categories: Christ/Christology, Church History, The Future|

Harold E. Camping, an 89-year old Christian radio broadcasterand the president of Family Radio, a religious broadcasting network based in Oakland, California, is one of the more arrogant and misled teachers on radio. His network now spans more than 150 outlets in the United States. On his network and website Camping says Christ is coming back this Saturday, May 21^st. Here is how USA Today reported the Camping prediction in a recent edition. Watch this video. It might move you to tears if you see how much damage this man has actually done to earnest people who follow him.

If you are not in an area of the country where you’ve heard Camping speak you haven’t missed a great deal. Wikipedia notes that his “trademarks include a deep, sonorous voice coupled with a slow cadence. He has also used mathematical predictions applied to the Bible to predict dates for the end of the world.^”Camping is a very extreme Calvinist who at one time was actually […]

St. Clement of Alexandria on the Value of Wealth

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:36-05:00May 15th, 2011|Categories: Money & Stewardship, Patristics, Wealth|

I wrote several blogs last week about the value and importance of the Church Fathers. One of the early Greek Fathers was Clement of Alexandria, born in Athens around A.D. 150. His parents were pagans. He was converted to faith in Christ and began to travel widely searching for faithful Christian teachers. He attended the famous School of Theology in Alexandria, founded by Pantaenus in A.D. 180. After he settled there he became the director of the school, thus Clement of Alexandria. A few years after he became the director he was forced to quickly flee during the persecution of Septimius Severus. He took refuge in Cappadocia, where he died in A.D. 215, thus he is called a Cappadocian Father.

St. Clement is considered one of the forerunners of what we now call systematic theology. He was the first Christian writer to recognize secular philosophy (Neoplatonism) and incorporate some of its major ideas in service of the Christian faith. Most of his literary output has been lost but […]

Onward Christian Soldiers

By John Armstrong|2011-05-14T04:00:00-05:00May 14th, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Missional Church, The Church|

In one of my recent ACT 3 Weekly articles, which I publish each week on Monday at www.act3online.com (where you can also subscribe to them for free), I made mention of the irrelevancy of the words and tune of the old nineteenth century song “Onward Christian Soldiers.” I got several types of response. One reader felt that the post-millennial vision of this 19th century approach was essentially right, thus I assume one would think the song could have a proper use, at least in some sense. Another, in the context of his present ministry in India, had a very different reaction. He wrote to me the following:

Like you brother, I grew up singing "Onward Christian Soldiers." In recent years, I have become much more aware of evangelical arrogance and blatant insensitivity from many Christians in the West.

Last Monday evening, at the graduation service here at the seminary, the graduates sang "Onward Christian Soldiers.” Two community leaders, staunch upper caste Hindus were in attendance as special guests. At the conclusion of the song, they politely left. I don't think it was coincidence. When will we learn?

Having […]