Blog - Page 168 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Merry Christmas 2009

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:24-05:00December 25th, 2009|Categories: Church Tradition|

Christians the world over celebrate the birth of Jesus on this day. Some believe this was the actual date upon which he was born but most recognize that this date developed over centuries of Christian tradition. Regardless of how we came to make this date a part of the church calendar the fact that we remember the birth of Christ, as well as his life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, is critical. Whatever your own church does to remember this blessed day I take this opportunity to wish all of you, my friends and readers, a Blessed and Merry Christmas Day 2009.

As I reflected on this day I was drawn to the word of a famous writer in the early church that too few of us know much about. I refer to Ephrem the Syrian. Ephrem was a Syriac deacon and a prolific hymn writer and theologian of the fourth century. He is loved and remembered by Christians throughout the world, especially by Syrian believers.

[…]

Sharing Christ Over Christmas (A Guest Blog)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:24-05:00December 24th, 2009|Categories: Evangelism|

This is a guest blog contributed by my good friend Rev. Chris Castaldo. I thought it a wonderful resource for some of you who might find it very useful today or tomorrow.

Many of us approach Christmas dinner brimming with fear. Such anxiety doesn’t come from Aunt Mary’s liver sausage pate or her sour-apple fruitcake so much as our sense of the challenge of trying to direct conversation toward the gospel. After all, last year’s attempt was a proverbial train wreck. How can this year be any different?

If I were to give one piece of advice, it would be to understand what evangelism is, and what it is not. The following definition and subsequent explication are intended to provide this sort of perspective, to help us approach Christmas dinner with a greater measure of optimism and hope.

“Evangelism is the activity in which the entire Church prayerfully and intentionally relies on God […]

Why Did Senator Ben Nelson Cave In to the Pro-Choice Pressure?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:24-05:00December 23rd, 2009|Categories: Abortion|

I originally wrote this blog on December 19. At the time I first wrote Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska was refusing to support the senate version of health-care reform because of its openly pro-choice stance. I wrote, on December 19, that there are "very few politicians that I actually admire." Like many Americans I see so few of them who have genuine "integrity." Most are overly and overtly "ambitious." (See blogs from the past two days, December 21-22) Further, I think that very little is actually changed by politicians in the end. Both culture and community are changed much more by good and godly people, than by governments. If we lose our way as a nation it will not be because of what happens in Congress. We can survive some bad decisions by Congress, we cannot survive becoming a coarse and bad people.

I was reminded of this issue of integrity during the ongoing health care debate over the past few weeks. Most everyone […]

Thoughts on Ambition

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:24-05:00December 22nd, 2009|Categories: Spirituality, The Christian Minister/Ministry, Unity of the Church|

Yesterday I suggested that the dominant mark against my own life and generation is an overly aggressive ambition. This ambition is often masked by appeals to faith, to mission goals and to growth in the numbers of people we reach or attract. It is particularly apparent in the virtually Corinthian way that we build empires and ministries around the personality if our leaders.

I once asked a highly regarded leader of a major Christian ministry if he feared this problem and he assured me, without even a moment's hesitation, that this was a non issue since his goal was to draw people to Jesus and the truth and not to dispossess them of this danger. I argued otherwise, to no avail. I even suggested that if he looked carefully he could see all around him the clear evidence that people came to hear him and listened to his every word as if he was the font of deep wisdom. (I didn't quite put it […]

Does Integrity Mark Your Life and Mission?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:25-05:00December 21st, 2009|Categories: Personal, The Christian Minister/Ministry|

As I wrote on Friday (December 11) I lost a long time friend, Dr. Hudson Armdering, on December 1. Dr. Armerding was more than a college president who served Wheaton during my years there as an undergraduate and graduate (B.A. 1971, M. A. 1973). He was actually a beloved friend who prayed for me and gave me personal counsel. He also gave our mission monthly donor support from the beginning. His funeral on December 12 was a special time in my life to reflect back over the last forty years since we first met.

My first impression of Hudson Armerding was that of a cool-natured, deeply intellectual man who loved Christ very deeply. Once I got to know Dr. Armerding personally I saw real warmth, even a sense of humor, both of which were widely known to his closer friends. He was serious, very serious. But he was never cocky or self-confident. The 1960s were a tough time to be a college president. Turmoil impacted most campuses and Wheaton was no exception. Hudson Armerding was tested over and over and […]

The Persecution of Christians Is a Serious Problem

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:25-05:00December 20th, 2009|Categories: The Persecuted Church|

One in ten Christians around the world live with persecution for their faith. Such persecution takes many forms. For some this means they live with daily fear of violence, kidnap, rape or even death. To talk with a friend about Jesus can land you in jail in many Muslim contexts. In other places being a Christian means you must live in utter poverty, trapped by a system that limits your opportunities to break free. In many contexts being a Christian means you carry a distinct social stigma. This affects the jobs you can get and how your children will be treated in school. Under shari’a (Islamic law) the court will reject your testimony as worthless when it is compared to that of a Muslim, regardless of the credibility of that particular Muslim.

In the global church today it is estimated that 200 million people live in areas where they face discrimination, persecution or oppression because of their faith. The two greatest threats […]

The Human Side of College Football

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:25-05:00December 19th, 2009|Categories: College Football|

My college football loyalties are well know. I bleed crimson, not just any old shade of red. I am rolling with the Tide and can't wait for the BCS Championship game on January 7th. My family used three phones and five computers to try to get a ticket for me when they went on sale last Tuesday. Like thousands who also tried we also failed. The few thousand that were sold to the general public were gone in three minutes I believe. I have plenty of free air miles, a place to stay with a nephew and a car to use. But no ticket. Guess I will watch on a big screen. No complaints here. But it would have been such a blast to be there.

What is often missed in the hoopla that surrounds sport in America is the real human interest stuff. The last coach to win a national championship at Alabama was not Bear Bryant, as some might think. It was Gene Stallings, a class guy through and through. Stallings left the game […]

Decluttering My Life

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:25-05:00December 18th, 2009|Categories: Personal|

For several years now I have tried to declutter my life on a regular basis. I routinely ask, "Do I really need this and what will I do with it if I keep it?" Before I save something I ask, "Why save this and to what end?" My pursuit of decluttering my life really began about ten years ago when I was forced to go through the earthly possessions of my mother. We had to move her from her private residence into assisted living. My sister-in-law and I were forced to dig into so much stuff and make a lot of choices and decisions. We trashed about 70% of what we found. We gave away those things that had meaning and value to our families and children so they are now in our respective homes as reminders of our mom and dad. We stored albums of photos and personal things that we believed had real meaning. In the end it was a massive task.

I came home from that three or four day experience in Alabama determined to never force my children […]

Oral Roberts: A True Pioneer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:25-05:00December 17th, 2009|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

Oral Roberts was a true pioneer. He founded a multimillion dollar evangelistic ministry and a first-rate university. He proved that a man with deeply Pentecostal roots could change and express a more ecumenical spirit when he became a Methodist and began to embrace other Christians openly.

My first impression of Oral Roberts was formed by the old black and white television pictures of healing lines that are now a part of historic American religion over the last sixty-plus years. Roberts laid his hands on people one-by-one and prayed for healing. This was not new but putting this on television was and Roberts eventually became synonymous with the Pentecostal renewal in America.

But he also became the leading representative of “Seed-Faith” theology and urged people to invest in mission in order to get seed back from God. This principle has clear warrant in 2 Corinthians 9:10–11 but the larger context seems to me to have […]

Have We Missed Jesus in the Church?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:19:25-05:00December 16th, 2009|Categories: Jesus|

I find it more than odd, but terribly common, that Christians know very little about Jesus. Most Christians know very little about Christian doctrine and practice but they know even less about Jesus. The reason for this is not hard to find in most contexts.

First, ministers did not learn much about Jesus in college and seminary. In the best schools we were taught how to exegete Scripture and how to understand basic doctrine. Catholics are given additional courses in canon law and liturgy that most evangelicals know nothing about. Both evangelicals and Catholics are given a course, or at least a part of a course, on Christology. They know about the two natures (Jesus was God and man) and about how the church developed its understanding of Jesus in the face of heresies. But hardly anyone learns in depth about Jesus himself. How does he think and feel, what are his values, what issues in life truly concern him?

Protestants are generally more […]