Blog - Page 216 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Brother Yun and the Slander of Christians

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:29-05:00September 24th, 2008|Categories: ACT 3|

As noted in yesterday’s post I had the opportunity to spend several days with the Chinese minister Brother Yun, who has lived in Germany since his escape from China in 1997. Brother Yun’s story is widely known. I urge you to buy his book, The Heavenly Man, and read it for yourself. I will tell you again, it changed my life. My copy is signed by my new friend and the Scripture text that he used, in Chinese of course, was from Acts 26:19 where Paul says to King Agrippa, "I obeyed the vision from heaven." He urged me to "obey" the vision God had given to me when he signed it and handed it back to me. Over dinner on Saturday evening we spoke about the vision that God has given to me and he reiterated that no matter what the cost I must obey God, not man. I listened with intense interest and a deep sense that God was encouraging me directly through this "heavenly man."

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Brother Yun's Weekend in Chicago

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:29-05:00September 23rd, 2008|Categories: Missional Church|

Many of you know, from the several posts that I put up last week, that ACT 3 hosted the well-known Chinese minister Brother Yun this past weekend (September 20-21). We invited Brother Yun to speak at several different events we sponsored. We could not have done this without the support and cooperation of Zondervan. As a result of Zondervan’s commitment to mission, and a wonderful new book, Living Water, we did not have to invest ACT 3 money into this venture, which we could not have done. There was a lot of hard work and a great deal of earnest intercession going on for weeks but this was a great joy to be honest.

Over the course of the next few days I want to tell you about this wonderful man and his ministry to over 2,000 people in our area Saturday and Sunday. No event, and no speaker, has ever done more for me personally, and no one has ever […]

The Economy and the Candidates: The Week That Shook Our Economic Tree

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:29-05:00September 22nd, 2008|Categories: Economy/Economics|

The past week was one of the most amazing weeks in U. S. economic history. Yet the stock index closed higher at the end of the week than it was at the beginning, reminding us of how volatile the market can be in such times of upheaval. For many of you these events may seem immediately irrelevant, but the failure of investment banks and insurance giants impacts all of us in one way or the other. The Congress will now be asked to pass a government program to correct this crisis, a program that none of us knows what the long term consequences of it all will really be.
It appears to me that Congress would be wise to pass this short bill. And President Bush, who gets credit for almost nothing positive, was wise to let Secretary Paulson handle this crisis, especially since the people who know trust his judgment. In this case Bush led best by staying behind the scenes and listening […]

More on Tyler Perry: African American Actor and Producer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:29-05:00September 21st, 2008|Categories: Film|

After seeing several of Tyler Perry’s earlier films I began to read more about the man and his life. I signed up for his emails at his Web site and have followed his career with some interest. I soon came to see that Perry was a man under attack from many quarters. There are people who hate this man. This made me more than interested in finding out why.

To underscore how much some people hate Tyler Perry I did a good bit of Internet reading after seeing his most recent movie, The Family That Preys Together. I came across so much hated and rumor that it was utterly amazing. One critic wrote: “Perry is a cross dressing Black man hating clown.” And whole Web sites exist that suggest Perry is a Gay man.

Erik Lundegaard, a critic on MSNBC, wrote in March of this year the following story:

In June 2006, when the bulk of papers belonging […]

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys Together

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:30-05:00September 20th, 2008|Categories: Film|

The new film Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys Together is a heartfelt melodrama that will either prompt you to leave the theater encouraged and uplifted or, for some professional critics, leave filled with angst or predictable disappointment. I experienced the former when I saw the film Thursday afternoon.

Tyler Perry’s films, if they are anything at all, are often controversial with the critics. Because Tyler Perry, the writer and producer, is black and because all his previous actors have been black, at least until this new movie, the African-American community has a very mixed reaction to his work. This reaction is much like that associated with the work of Bill Cosby on television in an earlier era. In my judgment this new film is a character rich movie that uplifts courage, faith and family. It includes a major sub-plot about betrayal and healing that also works quite well.

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The New York Times

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:30-05:00September 19th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

The New York Times was a great newspaper at one time. It still includes some great writers and reportage. It is now, of course, a national newspaper competing with the breezy modern style of USA Today. I do not think the Times is always the "tool of the left" but it comes very close. I picked up a copy in my hotel on Saturday morning, while I was in New York, and read it over breakfast. In reading the various columnists, and these columns are partisan by design, the coverage of Sarah Palin dominated the paper, besides the storms in Texas over the weekend. If you believe the columnists in the Times, this "hockey mom" is not up to high office in any way at all. That is an "opinion," and time will tell.

I found their approach Saturday morning all too typical. […]

How Much Money Will the Democrats Spend?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:30-05:00September 18th, 2008|Categories: Politics|

Which political party will spend the most money in the election season of 2008? If you come to an answer based upon stereotypes you would have to assume the big-spenders will be the "rich" fat-cat Republicans since they are the party of business and Wall Street. Wrong! Some analysts believe the Obama campaign, the DNC, and the 527s who favor Obama will spend more than $500 million before November 4, by far the most money ever spent in an attempt to win a U. S. election. (In 2000 $629 million was spent by both campaigns!)

I truly believe in campaign finance reform. I have believed this since the mid-1990s. Enron proved how badly we need it. Unions have abused campaign finances at will and now 527’s are the new loophole. I believe money is a major problem in American politics. It has corrupted both parties. I have said on this site before that the McCain-Feingold law missed solving the major problem because people […]

Brother Yun, Living Water U.S. Tour

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:30-05:00September 17th, 2008|Categories: ACT 3|

ACT 3 is sponsoring the Chicagoland portion of Brother Yun’s Living Water U.S. Tour.

Brother Yun will speak on Saturday, September 20, from 9:30 – 11:30 am at the Lindner Center at Northern Baptist Seminary in Lombard. Seating is limited so reserve your spot today by registering online.

Village Bible Church in Sugar Grove, IL will host Brother Yun at their morning worship Services on Sunday, September 21, at 9:30 am.

Brother Yun will also appear on Sunday, September 21, at 7:00 pm at the Coray Auditorium in the Beamer Center at Wheaton College. This event is hosted by the Office of Student Outreach at Wheaton College and is part of their Missions in Focus evening event.

This is a FREE event

World Christian Fellowship Chapel at Wheaton College

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:30-05:00September 16th, 2008|Categories: ACT 3|

Tomorrow I will speak in chapel at Wheaton College. This Wednesday chapel is broadcast live on WETN.FM, 88.1. You can hear it if you live in the area. The chapel service itself begins at 10:35 a.m. It ends at 11:15 a.m. Guests are welcome to come and sit in the balcony of Edman Memorial Chapel. The re-broadcast of the service will take place on Wednesday evening and you can hear it online at the college radio feature on the Wheaton College Website.

This opportunity came about because of our hosting Brother Yun this week for several Chicago area events. I want to especially encourage you to hear Brother Yun this Saturday, September 20, at 9:30 a.m. at the Lindner Conference Center at Northern Seminary in Lombard. This unique event will go from 9:30 until 11:30. You can sign up for this free event at our Web site.

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Man Is a Social Being

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:21:30-05:00September 15th, 2008|Categories: The Church|

On my way to New York last Friday I bought a copy of the New York Times. I sometimes read it online but I wanted to see the print edition while I was traveling. The coverage of the interview by ABC host Charles Gibson of Sarah Palin seemed even-handed and accurate. The Chicago Sun-Times, our rag-sheet daily newspaper, as opposed to the serious and more reliable Chicago Tribune, headlined: "Hockey Mom Checked!" I knew immediately their agenda was not reporting the news.

Anyway, conservative columnist David Brooks wrote fine piece in the New York Times ("The Social Animal") that suggested Republicans were pretty tone deaf to the communitarian nature of how we should actually live our lives. Brooks quoted the late conservative champion Senator Barry Goldwater:

"Every man, for his individual good and for the good of his society, is responsible for his own development. The choices that govern his life are choices that he must make; they cannot be made by any other human being."

Brooks […]