Blog - Page 22 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity – Praying for What Deeply Matters to Christ

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:44-05:00January 12th, 2015|Categories: ACT 3, Current Affairs, Missional-Ecumenism, My Christian Unity Story, The Church, Unity of the Church|

Over the past few weeks I have posted some short video clips of interviews that ACT3 Network conducted in the fall of 2014. These video posts are on this blog site for you to enjoy and also to share with others. They foster the ACT3 Network vision of “empowering leaders and churches for unity in Christ’s mission.” In these videos you will see Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians, lay and ministerial, speak to the theme of unity and explain why it truly matters. In every way these interviews, and these faithful Christians, speak to the truth that I embrace with all my heart. If you love unity and pray for John 17:21 to become a greater reality among Christians in the world today then I think you will be edified and encouraged by these videos.

On Saturday, January 24, ACT3 Network and the Focolare (a Catholic global lay movement) are co-sponsoring the Chicago area Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service in Carol Stream, Illinois. The service begins at 7:00 p.m. and will be at Lutheran […]

Lessons from Pope Francis for All Christian Leaders (5)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:44-05:00January 10th, 2015|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Current Affairs, Leadership, Love, Pastoral Renewal, Personal, Renewal, Roman Catholicism, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church|

Several years ago Pope Benedict XVI tasked three trusted cardinals to investigate as deeply as necessary the Vatican’s internal culture. He wanted to know what prompted a Vatican butler to steal incriminating documents and then leak them to a journalist. Only two men know what is in the final report that came from this investigation: Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. So on December 22 Pope Francis responded to this internal investigation by addressing the Vatican Curia in a message that was direct, sharply stinging and very bold. In it he gave 15 Ailments of the Curia.

Over the last four days I have counted down each one of these “ailments” from number fifteen to number five. Today I share the last four.

No. 4 Planning too much

The pope said, “Preparing things well is necessary, but don’t fall into the temptation of trying to close or direct the freedom of the Holy Spirit.”

This charismatic Jesuit pope is a man who walks in the Spirit. He loves deeply and especially loves the gospel of forgiveness and joy. He knows the joy […]

Lessons from Pope Francis for All Christian Leaders (4)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:44-05:00January 9th, 2015|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Church Tradition, Current Affairs, Leadership, Personal, Renewal, Roman Catholicism, The Church, The Future|

The “seven deadly sins” are a classical way that the church has defined those particular sins that most clearly kill the work of grace. Pope Francis recently rebuked the leaders of the Roman Curia (12/22/14), the governing leadership team of the Roman Catholic Church, and gave them 15 Ailments that indicted the bureaucracy of the church for its spiritual hypocrisy. These ailments are worthy of more careful consideration whether we are Catholic or not. I am counting these down, with my own comments. Today we see three more of the 15 Ailments.

No. 7 Being rivals or boastful.

Church leaders can easily begin to think that they are the indispensable ones in the church. I read a story a few weeks ago that underscores this for me. A lay Catholic was witnessing and sharing their faith in Christ powerfully and a leader rebuked him for taking the lead in such matters. He was asked, “Under what authority do you do this without the priesthood?” He answered, “Under the authority of some 2,860 bishops of the Catholic Church who clearly […]

Lessons from Pope Francis for All Christian Leaders (3)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:45-05:00January 8th, 2015|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Church Tradition, Current Affairs, Leadership, Personal, Renewal, Roman Catholicism, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church, The Future|

Vatican watchers reported (AP), after Pope Francis spoke to the Roman Curia on December 22, that “they had never heard such a powerful, violent speech from a pope and suggested that it was informed by the results of a secret investigation ordered by Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI in the aftermath of leaks of his 2012 papers.”

I believe the ordinary reader does not realize that Pope Benedict XVI was earnestly seeking to reform the Curia for some years. This report grows out of those efforts that he began. Many journalists, with little knowledge of either Pope Benedict or of how the Vatican really works, do not give him the credit that he is due for what he began in earnest. Some have speculated that one reason he stepped down was so that what he began to reform could be carried out by a new “reformer” pope! It seems apparent this reformation is now underway. In Pope Francis we have a pastor of courage and humility who has waded into a mess and seems determined to make a real […]

Lessons from Pope Francis for All Christian Leaders (2)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:45-05:00January 7th, 2015|Categories: Current Affairs, Leadership, Love, Personal, Roman Catholicism, Spirituality, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church, The Future|

Yesterday I reported on the comments that Pope Francis made to the Roman Catholic Curia just prior to Christmas. He enumerated fifteen ailments he saw in the curia. (The term curia is foreign to many evangelicals. The curia consists of those officials who assist in the governance of the Catholic Church. The Roman Curia is the central government of the global Catholic Church.) Other denominations have something like the curia but the origins of this term are generally believed to be found in Latin (Roman) Western developments. For example, every diocese (even in many non-Catholic contexts) has the equivalent of a curia. This governing council can be made up of priests, ministers, financial officers and other lay officers who help govern. Every institutional church form has something like a curia even if we call it the elders or deacons of the church.

The point of all this is to show you that the pope’s strong statements can be applied to all who govern and lead the church, including lay leaders in evangelical contexts. For this reason I am counting down […]

Lessons from Pope Francis for All Christian Leaders (1)

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:45-05:00January 6th, 2015|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Current Affairs, Leadership, Personal, Roman Catholicism, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church|

Just three days before Christmas Pope Francis delivered a message to the Curia that was described by the Associated Press as “blistering.” It was frank and called upon the leaders of the church to repent! I’ve never seen anything quite like it in my lifetime. It was a full-scale indictment of the Vatican bureaucracy; i.e. those priests and cardinals who serve the papacy by being assistants and associates in Rome. In essence Francis said that these men too often use their Vatican careers to grab power and to live far too extravagantly. In so doing he argued that they have not become “joyful men of God.”

What is most remarkable about this talk is that this is normally a time for general Christmas good will at the Vatican. The Curia is the central administration of the Holy See which governs the 1.2 billion member church. Francis called on these men to deliver radical reform. What is truly needed, he said, is “spiritual reform.” To clearly express what he had in mind he listed fifteen “Ailments of the […]

Pope Francis: The Great Reformer?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:45-05:00January 5th, 2015|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Current Affairs, Evangelism, Faith, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

Over recent days I have been reading Austen Ivereigh’s new biography, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2014). This is a magnificent book. It is clearly the best biography we have of this man, at least so far. The work is very engaging and looks carefully at the circumstances and influences that shaped Jorge Bergoglio’s life journey. It highlights the simple truth that he has an unfailing faith in the love and mercy of Jesus Christ above everything else.

Ivereigh tells the story of a Jesuit priest who is “normal” in every way and, at the same time, clearly rooted in God’s love for all people, not just for ideas and leadership. What Ivereigh does here is depict Bergoglio as an extraordinary figure in the “normal” everyday way in which he lives a life of deep joy. This is a sensitive and adept study and one that should be read by anyone interested in understanding the “radical pope” (“radical” means here that he gets to the root of the matter) who is misunderstood by both left and right […]

Charles Raith (1)

By John Armstrong|2015-01-23T16:25:33-06:00January 3rd, 2015|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, My Christian Unity Story, Personal, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

Yesterday, I introduced you to my good friend Dr. Charles (Chad) Raith. Here is a magnificent interview that he gave to ACT3 just a few months ago. In this video you will quickly see why I treasure this friend as well as his keen insights and Christlike spirit.

Can the Church Become a True Light on a Hill?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:45-05:00January 2nd, 2015|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Missional-Ecumenism, The Future, Unity of the Church|

Some years ago I met a bright young student at Beeson Divinity School who shared a conversation with me about Christian unity and his desire for serious preparation to pursue an academic career as a teacher. I only remember that conversation now (I have had so many like this one over the years) because this young man reminded me of our conversation just a few years ago when we reconnected in Waco, Texas, at a small group meeting at Baylor University. This young man, Dr. Charles (Chad) Raith, is now the assistant professor of religion and philosophy at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Dr. Raith completed his B.S. degree at Georgia Tech, received an M.Div. at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, and then his M. Th. at Regent College (Vancouver, B.C.). He then chose to do his Ph.D. at Ave Maria University in Florida, obviously a Catholic school. His doctoral research was focused on how John Calvin used Thomas Aquinas in his commentary on Paul to the Romans. He became the first Protestant to complete a […]

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2015

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:45-05:00December 31st, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Prayer, Unity of the Church|

One of the most important events each year, an event which is now over one hundred years old and counting, is the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Around the globe Christians from all churches and denominational expressions come together to pray as one for the healing of the church and her myriad divisions. This year the Chicago event for this special week will be held in Carol Stream (IL) and is hosted by ACT3 Network. I will be sharing more information in the coming days but please mark your calendar and plan to join us at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 24. You do not need to sign up. Just mark the date and plan to come.