Blog - Page 121 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Multidimensional Nature of a Christian Worldview

By John Armstrong|2011-03-27T04:00:00-05:00March 27th, 2011|Categories: Discipleship, Missional Church|

We hear so much about holding to the Christian worldview these days. Some Christians, including some rather important well-known teachers, suggest that there is a single worldview that is truly Christian thus we should teach this system of truth to everyone in order to make well-taught disciples. I have written about this issue, previously in other places (ACT 3 Weekly), but I was recently struck again by the keen insight of the late David Bosch who wrote that “the multidimensional origin and nature of a worldview should caution us not to absolutize or canonize it” (Believing in the Future, 64).

Bosch is simply being a good missiologist here when he makes this statement. There is no singular worldview revealed in Scripture even though the Scripture does give us a consistent and faithful account of who God is and how we can know him and follow his will. It also gives us a faithful narrative of how we can live well to the glory of God. But the Scripture does not speak, to give but one example, about the subject of public vs. private education. To listen to […]

Rome: Day Three and Our Missional-Ecumenical Team

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:45-05:00March 26th, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Roman Catholicism, Unity of the Church|

As I mentioned a few days ago my trip to Rome came about because (Catholic) Deacon Nathaniel Bacon, an InnerCHANGE missionary in Guatemala, read my book and concluded that I should be a part of a group he invited to meet and develop friendships in an ecumenical context in Rome. I initially said “yes” to the possibility of going, several months ago, and then had second thoughts less than a month before the trip. After two days of intense prayer and seeking God for three specific answers to specific questions I felt the door opened and that I should go in faith. I have no doubt that I made the right choice in hearing the Lord’s word in this matter.

On day three, Wednesday, March 9, I met the members of the InnerCHANGE group for the first time. I also reconnected with my friend Deacon John Green. Nate Bacon had spent a year-long sabbatical in Rome in 2008-9 and knew a number of the people who […]

Rome: Day Two

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:45-05:00March 25th, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Acton Institute, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Unity of the Church|

On day two of my journey to Rome I toured some of the greatest sights of the ancient city and spoke in the evening. I will describe the city first and then my evening address.

The day began with breakfast at the house of St. Bridget. The breakfast was almost the same every day. A large hollow bread roll, a little butter, some jam with cheese and coffee. Before long I realized I would need to consciously look for fruits and vegetables to keep my diet in order for my best physical well-being.

Michael Severance picked me up at 10 a.m. Then our big sight-seeing day followed. We saw the Coliseum, as well as many of the ancient ruins of the first century before Christ and the two centuries after Christ. This included ruins from Emperor Trajan, the Appian Way, the Circus Maximus and other sites related to early Rome in the days of the Caesars. One of the first things that you notice everywhere […]

Rome: Day One

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:46-05:00March 24th, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Acton Institute, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Unity of the Church|

I arrived in Rome on Monday, March 7, after an overnight flight out of Atlanta. This was my first overseas flight in a long time. One of my three benefactors gave me miles to fly in business class so I could rest much better. (I am spoiled now! I hate to think of not flying this way on an international flight should I do it again.) Numbers of intercessors were praying for my health. I sat next to a woman with the worst imaginable cold. She was miserable and it showed. I prayed that I might be spared getting sick once I got to Rome. Thankfully, the Lord protected me from a new virus that would weaken me profoundly since my already weakened immune system is not ready for normal battle most of the time.

I went right to the place where I would rest for the next eight nights: The House of St. Bridget, a wonderful 15th century building on a very Italian piazza (which means […]

My Trip to Rome

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:46-05:00March 23rd, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Unity of the Church|

Some of you know that I made a trip to Rome, March 6-15. Having been home about a week now I want to share a great deal about this life-changing journey. I wrote very little about this trip during my time away because I could not respond to email and comments adequately. I also needed to take a break from writing and concentrate on the people and the purpose of my time in Italy. I also waited to tell this story so I could reflect more deeply, write personal notes to myself, and then compose blog posts when I was back in my “thinking and praying” spot at home. (I have a place in my backyard, an enclosed and heated gazebo, where I can be alone. I am surrounded by color and nature as well as wonderful icons of Jesus, Paul, John and St. Benedict, as well as other reminders of my call and vision for Christ. Here I can pray, think and be truly restful. I […]

Waiting for Superman: A Critical Rethink

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:46-05:00March 22nd, 2011|Categories: Culture, Current Affairs, Education|

Yesterday, I wrote a rather laudatory review of the 2010 documentary film, Waiting for Superman. Today I want to give you my second look at the film. Why?

Shortly after seeing this worthwhile film I wrote the review that you read yesterday. Then I spoke in South Holland, Illinois, to the mayor, the city council and the community leaders network. This was a dinner gathering on March 5, the evening before I flew to Rome for my nine-day pilgrimage that I will write about tomorrow. My topic that evening was on how faith and freedom work best in the civic sphere.

Before dinner I met a very articulate educator who had spent 36 years in the Chicago public schools, both as a teacher and an administrator. This gracious, highly educated, very thoughtful Christian woman gave me considerable pause about my zeal for this film when I asked her, with a very honest desire to get feedback, “Have you seen Waiting for Superman? If so, what do you think is wrong with it?” Her answer, given in less than five minutes, challenged several of my arguments. […]

Waiting for Superman: A Must See Video

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:46-05:00March 21st, 2011|Categories: America and Americanism, Culture, Education|

Whether you realize it or not our public education system is seriously broken. Some will admit it but very few, teachers or politicians, are ready to do much about it. Myths about the real problem abound but the recently released DVD Waiting for Superman is the first thing that I have seen or read that makes a compelling, factual and emotional appeal about what can and should be done to change our schools. At the end of viewing this documentary I was angry, hopeful and had tears in my eyes. (I really mean this, I was all three at once!) This film simply blew me away. I intend to order a copy so all my friends can borrow it. I have been forced to act on this film’s message with a growing commitment to justice and mercy.

Many experts have said, for a long time, that public schools were never designed to prepare students for college, merely to join the work force and become […]

Letting Go of Our Illusions

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:46-05:00March 20th, 2011|Categories: Discipleship, Leadership, Personal, Spirituality|

The knowledge of your own soul will compel you to move in a direction that is almost the exact opposite of American consumerism. Consumerism will not make you a whole person. Only subtraction will truly make you whole again. This is part of what Jesus meant when he urged us to take up the cross and follow him. You must learn to let go of all pretence, expose your false self to God and your closest friends and spiritual advisers and then seek the kind of understanding that breaks open your heart to God. If you take your personal self too seriously you will never get to this point in life. It is right to be sober and serious, in the right contexts, but genuinely unhealthy to be serious about the wrong things. You should take God very seriously but your opinions and insights are not all that important. Neither are mine if you wondered.

Richard Rohr, the contemplative Catholic teacher and writer, says, “In a certain sense we are on the utterly wrong track. We are climbing while Jesus is descending, and I think in that […]

Leadership: The Work of Ordinary Human Beings

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:46-05:00March 19th, 2011|Categories: Leadership|

My edition of Webster’s New World Collegiate Dictionary says a leader is “a person that directs, commands or guides,” And leadership is defined as “the position or guidance of a leader, the ability to lead or the leaders of a group.” My Webster’s New World Thesaurus says synonyms for leader include words such as: guide, precede, steer, pilot, direct, show the way, shepherd. The last one is particularly apropos for pastors and church leaders. Leadership has less synonyms but the following were found: authority, control, administration, effectiveness, primacy, supremacy, skillfulness and capacity.

Several years ago a Barna Study revealed that when asked to choose from a list of their gifts 92% of our pastors did not pick “leader” as one of their gifts. This number astounds me. How anyone could be called to the ministry, to shepherd Christ’s flock, and not believe they were gifted to lead is beyond my wildest dreams of explanation. It reveals a crisis in the church. Most of our pastors do not feel called or qualified to lead.

To complicate matters I routinely examine seminary curricula and talk about this when I am […]

A National Conversation on Revival

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:46-05:00March 18th, 2011|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Renewal|

I am pleased to be a part of an upcoming meeting on spiritual awakening to be held in Chicago on June 7-8. This gathering is hosted by the National Revival Network, a group I have been a part of from its origin over ten years ago. This meeting is designed for leaders with a serious and thoughtful interest in true revival. Note that there are speakers at this event but this is a conversation. The size of the crowd will not be large thus each of us will be given an opportunity to contribute. This is not a typical conference event at all. I believe a few readers of this blog should attend. You decide and interact with me at your convenience.

The Church Alive to the Glory of Christ

Moody Church, Chicago – June 7-8, 2011

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These […]