Blog - Page 91 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The One Who Takes the Son Gets Everything: A Parable

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:49-05:00February 16th, 2012|Categories: Christ/Christology, Forgiveness, Gospel/Good News|

Ever so often I am forwarded an anonymous story or parable that is worth keeping and sharing. Most are too romantic for my tastes. Some are just not very good stories. One never knows who found or wrote these stories because they just get passed along from person to person with no attribution. I got one such story last week from a good friend. Instead of simply passing it along I share it today as a blog post.

I have to say that this parable (or story) speaks to the very heart and soul of faith and the work of Christ on our behalf. I loved it and thus I now share it. The punctuation is not mine but in the original copy I received. If anyone can tell me the source I will be happy to acknowledge it. For now just enjoy this powerful story . . . .

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They […]

A Question My Friend Posed to Christopher J. H. Wright

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 15th, 2012|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, The Church, Unity of the Church|

The Rev. Dr. Christopher J. H. Wright is one of the most respected Christian thinkers and leaders in the world. I have followed him for years, especially when he began to work closely with John R. W. Stott.

Chris was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1947. His parents were missionaries in Brazil, though Chris as the youngest son was born after they came back at the end of the Second World War. He grew up in Belfast and was nurtured as an Irish Presbyterian. He studied classics at Cambridge in the 1960s, and then started his career as a high-school teacher in Grosvenor High School, Belfast. In the 1970s he studied for his doctorate in Cambridge, England, in the field of Old Testament economic ethics; his book from this work was published as God’s People in God’s Land (Eerdmans and Paternoster). He was ordained in the Anglican Church of England in 1977 and served as an assistant pastor in the […]

Religion & Liberty: A Magazine Your Should Read

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 14th, 2012|Categories: Acton Institute, Poverty|

I admit my own bias but one of my favorite magazines is Religion & Liberty, published by the Acton Institute. You can get a print subscription but you can also read issues online. The most recent issue features a great interview on "Rethinking Mission to the Poor." This is vintage Acton thinking expressed by the kind of people who have made a real difference working with the poor. Check out the current issue at Acton's magazine site.

While you're there check out the November-December issue for 2010. You might recognize the guy on the cover. I hope you will enjoy the interview they did with me. I was very pleased with the finished product and how they told my story through this interview.

I am very pleased to serve Acton as a partner by being a Senior Advisor. In this role I represent Acton to evangelical leaders and seminary professors. I am pleased […]

Should the Church Gather for the Unchurched?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 13th, 2012|Categories: Liturgy, Sacraments, The Church|

When I was in Phoenix in Arizona I met Rev. Matthew Marino. Matt is the Episcopal Canon of Arizona for Youth and Adult Ministries. He serves out of the diocesan office in Phoenix, where we met for the first time in November last year. We had a delightful time and connected very easily.

Matt has 30 years experience leading youth ministry in a variety of contexts (rural, suburban and urban) and across the economic and ethnic continuum. He has developed a variety of training programs including the two-year Youth Ministry Apprenticeship training for full-time youth directors, curriculums for Young Life's multi-ethnic Student-Staff and volunteers, and the Remuda Ranch Center Aftercare Recovery Workbook. He has a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Arizona State University and was a member of Fuller Theological Seminary's first Urban Youth Ministry Cohort. Matt is Canon for Youth and Young Adults, leads the YMA training and a church plant team at St. Jude's, Phoenix. Matt's passion […]

I Am the Bread of Life

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 10th, 2012|Categories: Jesus, Sacraments, The Church|

One of the most transforming passages in the whole of Scripture is John 6. I have lived here for several years. There is no way for me to adequately explain how this text has worked its way into my soul but it has and there is no mistake about the spiritual reality.

I no longer "debate" the various ways that Christians explain the Lord's Supper. I find the entire debate unprofitable. If you ask me, "Is this Christ body and blood?" then my answer is uncategorically affirmative. If you ask me to "define" what this means and how this happens then I have no earthly idea. I also believe that you can make no sense whatsoever out of John 6 by denying that these words and Christ's intention here are related to the Eucharistic life that we share with Christ in the Bread and the Wine.

If you want to debate this then I have no interest. If you want to share in this mystery by faith then you are quite likely to […]

Civil Religion, Prayer & Our Future Mission

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 9th, 2012|Categories: Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Separation of Church & State, The Church|

America has had more than its share of court cases and challenges regarding prayer in our public schools. I can actually mark stages of my developing memory about growing up in America by these various challenges and debates. I remember, very vividly, when the Supreme Court first ruled on separation challenges regarding opening the day with prayer in our schools. I remember how Christians vehemently protested and spoke against the "evil" Warren Court for years. I also remember the hatred so many had for Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the flamboyant atheist who crusaded against "state-sponsored" prayers for years. I remember how Ronald Reagan made this a big emotional issue in his campaign for the White House in 1980. Many said that the day God turned against America was the same day that "we kicked him out of our public schools." This decision took on apocalyptic overtones. I still meet a few folks who believe this story with deep conviction. I also remember that Reagan was unable to do much about changing the court's decision. The truth is that nothing […]

The Rise of the "So Whats"

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 8th, 2012|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Culture, Current Affairs, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Postmodernity, The Church, The Future|

Several recent surveys reveal that an increasing number of Americans are not atheists or agnostics so much as they are people who simply don't care about religion or faith at all. Here are a few examples.

A 2011 Baylor University survey found that 44% spend no time seeking "eternal wisdom" and 19% said, "It's useless to search for meaning." 46% told a LifeWay Research (SBC) survey that they never wonder whether or not they will go to heaven. (I find what seems to be a majority of people, churched and unchurched, who assume some form of life after death but who have no interest in exploring what this means or why they believe it.) 28% told LifeWay, "It's not a major priority in my life to find my deeper purpose." And 18% scoffed at the idea that God had a purpose or plan for everyone. (Do you see why beginning a conversation with most young people by asserting, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" will not cut it?) The number of totally […]

Are You Filled with Hope?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 7th, 2012|Categories: Death, Discipleship, Eschatology|

The Bible says hope is one of the three great virtues of grace: faith, hope and love. Faith and hope will disappear someday but love endures forever. Yet in this life we live by faith and without hope our faith will fail. This faith is not blindly following a set of propositions about God but rather a living, vital, intensely personal relationship with the Trinity.

Hope allows us to focus with joy on what is ahead. It is not optimism or pessimism. In fact both optimists and pessimists can and should be filled with hope, provided they are filled with the Holy Spirit. There is a reason to be pessimistic about a great deal if you are honest. But hope is not connected to these "seen" factors. It is connected with what is unseen.

Eternity is only a "hands-breadth off" said J. B. Phillips. "At present we are largely blind and deaf and insensitive to reality. And this is not entirely out fault. But if reality were to break through, then we should […]

Brother Roger on True Discipleship: A Call for Unqualified Commitment

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 6th, 2012|Categories: Discipleship|

Unrelentingly, O Christ,

You interrupt me, and you ask:

"Who am I, for you?"

You are the one who loves me thoroughly,

Into the life that has no end.

You open up the path of risk for me, and

You go before me on the way of holiness,

Where happy is the person who dies in loving,

Where the witness of martyrdom is the ultimate response.

There is a "no!" within me;

You transform it day after day into a "yes!"

You do not ask me for a few bribes,

But for the whole of my existence.

And me? Why have I hesitated for so long,

Pleading to be given time to do my own things?

After having put the hand […]

Charles Dickens: A Genius or a Salesman?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:50-05:00February 2nd, 2012|Categories: Books|

On February 7 literary critics and writers alike will remember the 200th birthday of English writer Charles Dickens, born on this date in 1812. The Dickens' Bicentenary is being celebrated worldwide by activities that range from festivals to exhibits. Looking back at the work of this now famous author is revealing with regard to a number of developments that most of us have never thought about.

First, in 1812 there were only 66 novels in Britain. Writers had only been authoring novels for one hundred years. (Many date the genre to Robinson Crusoe, written in 1719. This might well have been the first "Christian fiction" ever.) No serious writer aspired to a professional career as a novelist. Most people thought novels were silly, immoral and toxic. The driving force behind this reaction reached back into the earlier Puritan and Reformed influence upon Britain. (Many modern neo-Calvinists still despise fiction, especially "Christian" fiction!)

Second, the literacy rate […]