Blog - Page 129 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Death of My Friend Ken Curtis, Christian Filmmaker

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:59-05:00January 13th, 2011|Categories: Film, History, Personal|

Ken Curtis, one of America’s most talented Christian movie makers, passed away on Monday, January 3, 2011, in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Just two weeks before his death I had lunch with Ken’s son, Bill, on a visit to Pennsylvania. Of Ken’s passing Bill said just a few days ago: “The doctors gave Dad eight months when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in December 2002, but the Lord gave Dad eight years and Dad sure made the most of those eight years.”

Ken’s struggle with cancer led to some remarkable developments, including a series of videos he made to help people who were coping with this disease. In his own case he baffled the physicians. They never pronounced him cured but they could never figure out why he was still alive. Ken, as well as his family and friends, knew that God’s timing was, and is, always right. He believed each day was a gift from God and was thankful for it until the end.

His son added, […]

There is a Time to Keep Silent

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:59-05:00January 12th, 2011|Categories: Missional Church, The Church|

Mission is proclaiming God’s kingship over all of human history, indeed over the entire cosmos (Col. 1:15-20). And the concern of mission is universal (Rev. 5:9-10). Christ’s mission aims at nothing less than completing what God began to do in creation and now extends to all peoples through the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Thus mission is the presence of God in the kingship of Jesus, who is Lord over all creation and culture.

Without a third affirmation these first two are potentially misleading. Mission is not the property of the church. It has too easily been domesticated within the church but we must remember that mission is never the church putting forth its own power and authority.

Lesslie Newbigin is right when he says, “To accept [such a] picture would be to sanction an appalling distortion of mission. On the contrary, the active agent of mission is a power that rules, guides and goes before the church; the free, sovereign, living power of the […]

Are Our Pastors Leaders or Managers?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:59-05:00January 11th, 2011|Categories: Pastoral Renewal, The Christian Minister/Ministry|

I begin by stating what I hope is obvious to my regular readers. I was trained to be a pastor, planted a church I served for four years and pastored another for sixteen. I owe everything I now do in mission to my pastoral experience and training. On most days I loved being a pastor and I often miss it. I have had numerous opportunities to return to the pastoral ministry and served for eight months as an interim pastor in 2004. Many of my best friends are pastors.

Now, I have formed many impressions about churches and pastors from my wide range of experience over forty years of service to the church. I have witnessed major changes. I believe we are in a time in which major changes are taking place and very few pastors understand this or have the important skills to navigate this change well. This is not an indictment, it is an observation. I am committed to doing something about this which is why our mission statement is: “Equipping leaders for unity in Christ’s mission.”

Working with Tom Burns for the last four months […]

The Longevity Revolution: The Boomer Shift is Coming

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:59-05:00January 10th, 2011|Categories: Culture, Current Affairs, The Future|

The first members of the baby boom generation hit 65 this year. In fact, the estimate is that each day 10,000 more Americans will turn 65 for the next 19 years!

The long expected flush of new retirees looms very large in the future of our society. Will Social Security last? (Yes, I believe that it will for the boomers but the next generation will likely see necessary cuts and the age you can draw benefits will continue to rise or the system will fail.) What will happen when so many millions of Americans reach 80 and beyond, living far beyond what was expected in previous times? In a little more than a century Americans have gone from a life expectancy of 47 to 78. By 2025 there will be 66 million Americans over 65. For many of us retirement is turning out to be what has been called “un-tirement.” Boomers are likely to alter the landscape in more ways than one, just as they have from the […]

Why the Incarnation Was Necessary

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:59-05:00January 9th, 2011|Categories: Christ/Christology|

One of the truly great classic works of the patristic era is: The Incarnation of the Word of God, by St. Athanasius. I have a 1946 edition that includes a wonderful introduction written by C. S. Lewis. I have been reading this classic again in the New Year. You can find a number of editions of the book as used copies and you can even read the entire book online for free.

Lewis begins by suggesting the idea that ancient books are only for professionals is a huge mistake. He adds, “This mistaken preference for the modern books and this shyness of the old ones is nowhere more rampant than in theology. Wherever you find a little study circle of Christian laity you can be almost certain that they are not studying St. Luke or St. Paul or St. Augustine or Thomas Aquinas or Hooker or Butler, but M. Berdyaev or M. Maritain or M. Niebuhr or Miss Sayers or even myself. Now this seems to be topsy-turvy.”

Lewis is not arguing that readers only read old books but that they read both old and new. He […]

Pujols: More Than the Game

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:59-05:00January 8th, 2011|Categories: Baseball, Books|

Professional sports produces many great stars but only a few who are serious disciples of Jesus Christ. There are many professing Christians in baseball, to site just one sports context, but there are far less players who practice their faith in a consistent manner and remain spiritually grounded in their private family lives. One of the truly great stories I’ve followed for years is that of St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols (pronounce the “j” as an “h”). I first learned of Pujols conversion and faith some years ago via The Christian Athlete, the magazine of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I was invited to contribute an article to this publication. In the issue that my article appeared in Albert was the cover story. Since then I have followed his career with more than passing interest.

I recall a former major-league baseball player, now a minister, saying to me many years ago over dinner in our home: “Major League Baseball (MLB) is represented by people who are pretty much […]

Islam and Christian Charity: How Far Should We Go?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:00-05:00January 7th, 2011|Categories: Islam, Love, Missional Church|

I wrote yesterday a review of the film: Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (January 6). Just after posting this review I read an article in the Christianity Today online site that caught my attention. I highly recommend it as a fair piece of journalism and a helpful way to raise important questions. The crux of the story concerns “sacred space” and whether or not Christian churches should open space to Muslim neighbors for prayers and worship. One pastor offered a neighboring Islamic congregation the use of his church's space for five months for Friday prayers when they requested. Jason Micheli, pastor of Aldersgate Methodist in Arlington, Virginia, shares part of his theological reasoning in a sermon published at Scot McKnight's Jesus Creed blog. In McKnight's blog he recommends a marvelous book by my good friend Gerlad McDermott that I highly recommend as well. It is titled: God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religion? Insights from the Bible and the Early Church. If you are perplexed by this issue, and desire an even-handed and scholarly response from a solidly evangelical theologian, […]

Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:00-05:00January 6th, 2011|Categories: Islam|

In 2002 PBS released a documentary on the life of the prophet Muhammad. The timing of this was not humanly planned since 9/11 occurred while the project was being finished. In fact, some of the final filming was in post 9-11 New York City. A New York City Fire Department captain, who is a convert to Islam, was featured prominently in expressing his disdain for the attack. The two creators of this film are both Muslims, one an American convert. The producer and director of the film, Michael Schwarz, is Jewish. Several of the commentators are also non-Muslims who have done considerable research on Islam.

This film seeks to tell the story of the seventh century prophet who profoundly altered world history during a public mission of only twenty-three years. Today 1.2 billion people follow the teachings of this man. This film, three years in the making, follows the story of this man according to the commonly received stories of Muslim historians. It includes visits to American […]

Further Thoughts on Cross-Gender Relationships

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:00-05:00January 5th, 2011|Categories: Feminism & Women, Friendship, Personal|

I have written quite a bit lately on male/female issues. This has not been contrived through any preconceived plan, at least humanly speaking. I have thought about these issues for a lifetime. I fully expect that I will not work them out with complete satisfaction in my lifetime. I have admitted that some of this stuff frightens me. I have also admitted that being a latecomer to this dialogue I must move carefully in terms of my own response. This is not a cop out but a reasoned, principled response to what I believe is a highly emotional issue. Let me explain.

First, on the matter of women in leadership in the local church I have told my own story in the book How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership which gives the stories of twenty-one evangelical leaders who changed their mind on this issue. I spent more than three decades working this out scripturally, theologically and emotionally. One of the hardest parts of this issue […]

What Does “Reformed” Really Mean?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:00-05:00January 4th, 2011|Categories: Personal, Reformed Christianity|

I am often asked if the name “Reformed” is a good designation for one’s own theological position in the present era. I believe that it is but I am well aware that there are a myriad of ways this term is used and many of these uses I find unacceptable. This is true of all such historical labels. When I read how some people refer to me and my views on social and theological issues I often wonder how they possibly could have chosen a particular label for me? One blogger, for instance, recently referred to me as a proponent of what is called the Federal Vision. (He meant this in a terribly negative way!) Now I think I know what the Federal Vision is, and while I have a certain sympathy for some of what I hear proponents of the vision saying, I would not consider myself an advocate of something that I have never once written about or ever embraced in print.

So of what value is the label Reformed?

Sam Logan, the president of the World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) and a great personal friend, asked […]