Blog - Page 23 of 318 - John H Armstrong

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.

Alan Johnson on Missional-Ecumenism and ACT3, Part 2

By John Armstrong|2015-01-23T16:25:33-06:00December 18th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, My Christian Unity Story, Personal, The Church, Unity of the Church|

Alan Johnson on Missional-Ecumenism and ACT3

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:45-05:00December 17th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, My Christian Unity Story, Personal, The Church, Unity of the Church|

One of the truly great blessings in my life is having friends who are older and wiser. Some of these dear friends were my professors when I was a student at Wheaton College (1969-71, B.A.) and (1971-73, M.A.). One such friend, Dr. Alan Johnson, taught me in several classes. A very memorable one was a class in apologetics. We met at 8:00 a.m. three times a week. I sat on the front row asking many, many questions. (By the way, one of Alan’s TA’s some years later was Michael Gerson, the well-known speech writer and adviser to President George W. Bush.)

I was engaged in direct evangelism with students at Northern Illinois University when I took Alan’s course in apologetics. This was the early 1970s and there were lots of questions. Dr. Johnson was a great source for me at the time. I really soaked up his class.

In 2010 Alan edited a great book, How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories from Prominent Evangelicals (Zondervan). I did Chapter One, not because it is a […]

Does Bible Knowledge Equal Following Jesus in Faith, Hope and Love?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:46-05:00December 15th, 2014|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Culture, Current Affairs, Personal, Religion, The Church|

Last year a Barna Group study used a series of questions to determine the Bible knowledge level of people in various US cities. It was no surprise that the cities with the highest rate of Bible knowledge were in the South and Southeast. The cities with the lowest percentage of people with Bible knowledge were in the Northeast and the far West, with the Midwest a little more in between the two extremes. None of this data surprises me at all based upon what I know about churches, people and the various subcultures of America.

Here is the question I’d like to see surveyed: “How much does knowledge of the Bible equate with the greatest virtues of the Christian life – faith, hope and love?” What does Bible knowledge mean in terms of involvement with the least and the poorest among us? What does it mean for marriage and family life? What about prayer and contemplation? Sadly, it is my broad experience that many places where Bible knowledge is highest people are far more unlikely to understand that […]

God Loves Me in My Muscular Dystrophy: A Guest Blog

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:46-05:00December 11th, 2014|Categories: Discipleship, Divine Providence, Faith, God's Character, Personal|

God wants to show us his love for us in the circumstances he providentially arranges for our lives to be lived in. When all is right and rosy in our lives, it is quite easy and natural to arrive at this conclusion. God has blessed me; he must love me. Yet, as all of us who live in this world know, life is not always lived in the Big Rock Candy Mountains. We have troubles and they are never in short supply. If pleasure and ease are the barometers of goodness, it is far from evident in our natural sight that a good and benevolent God rules the universe when there is so much pain and suffering in it for the creatures he has made. By faith, however, we are shown the sufferings of One Man as the very content of God’s love for us. This is Jesus Christ, who through his suffering and resurrection offers to unite us to the life of God. In and with our Lord Jesus Christ, then, God demonstrates his mighty love […]

When Christians Defend Jesus Why Do They Lop Off Ears?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:13:46-05:00December 10th, 2014|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Biblical Theology, Culture, Love, Politics, The Church|

My good friend Tom Tollet is an elder in a Baptist church in Memphis (TN). He is a faithful Bible teacher who became one of the best friends my late mom and dad had in their final years in Tennessee. He served for many years with FedEx and now operates his own family business. The following reflection was sent to me some time ago and I now use it with permission.

As I prepare to teach from Tim Keller’s “The Reason for God” I meditate on how the Lord was a friend of sinners while preaching an uncompromising Sermon on the Mount. How do I do that today? I suspect it won’t exactly look like August 1^st.

I understand the call to defend marriage and oppose the power plays of certain city mayors, but doesn’t it seem like we simply respond in kind to the opposition ….power for power, rhetoric for rhetoric, manipulation for manipulation? In other words: did August 1^st have the aroma of Christ? I’m sure Mike Huckabee would say: don’t be a disciple of mine but of Christ. But do we recognize the difference that makes in attitude […]