Blog - Page 135 of 318 - John H Armstrong

ACT 3: A Missional Order for the Church

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:12-05:00November 16th, 2010|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism|

From the inception of ACT 3 as a mission, back in 1991, I have believed in the church. I have three great loves: (1) Jesus Christ; (2) The Holy Scripture and (3) The Church. The church encompasses the whole body of Christ (catholic/universal). It also encompasses the congregation where you gather in worship and fellowship with others. But, as I show in Your Church Is Too Small, the church also includes the whole collection of Christians and congregations (Barth: communities) in a geographical area, thus the church in Rome or the church in Carol Stream, which is the town where I live and worship. All three of these uses are important if we are to have a robust biblical doctrine and practice of the Christian life.

But two words have come to dominate the purpose of ACT 3 from its inception in 1991. We are not the church. We are not even a para-church as some use the term. We are a missional order, a teaching fellowship, a decentralized band of Christians committed to deep and transformative church renewal. The first word that has come to dominate […]

Restoring True Unity with Doctrinal Fidelity

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:12-05:00November 15th, 2010|Categories: Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Theology, Unity of the Church|

The normal way debates about Christian unity proceed is along the lines of fairly traditional binary, left and right, models. One side says we must preserve doctrinal fidelity or we will lose the core teaching of the faith. The other side argues that without unity we stand in opposition to the very truth that the earliest Christians confessed.

My question is simple: Why must we chose one side or the other. Is this an either/or question or rather a both/and one? I think it is the latter. We need a strong, clear doctrinal basis for our conversation and fellowship to remain rooted in the ancient faith that was handed down to Christians through the centuries. The earliest creeds provide this for us. We also need a deep and growing commitment to seek relational unity in every way possible. The two are not opposites but mutually complimentary truths. What we should pursue is “unity within reconciled diversity.” This means we will not be able to join in the same communion, at least not yet in some contexts, but it means we can respect and esteem others in the […]

The Important Ministry of My Friend Michael Mercer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:13-05:00November 14th, 2010|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Personal, The Future|

One of the most popular Christian blog sites on the Internet is the Internet Monk. Begun in 2000 by Michael Spencer, who died all too soon in his 50s earlier this year, the site now features several contributors. The principal writer of the Internet Monk goes by the screen name Chaplain Mike. I want to tell you a little about Chaplain Mike, our growing relationship and friendship, and then guide you to a recent post that I think is worth your time to give you one sample of his writing. You will find such a treasure of past and current posts on this site that you will quickly see why I love it as I do.

The late Michael Spencer, whom I only met through the Internet like so many of you, introduced me to Chaplain Mike in a round about way. He did an interview with Chaplain Michael Mercer and offered the following introduction to his readers on November 17, 2009:

Chaplain Mike Mercer is one of the long-time faithful friends of this web site. Many of you will recognize him as a frequent commenter. Mike […]

The Sad Legacy of the Church and Her Relationship with Native Americans

By John Armstrong|2025-09-04T07:04:13-05:00November 13th, 2010|Categories: America and Americanism, Film, Missional Church|

Most of us know that the church in America did not always deal with native Americans honorably. In fact, in many cases (if not most) the church was used by the government to help suppress Indians and their culture. Children, for example, were taken from their mothers at age two and three and removed to boarding schools between 1870 and 1930 as a regular part of America’s treatment of tribes. Treaties, made and respected by the U. S. Constitution were routinely broken and Christians looked the other way. Only when the Civil Rights Movement emerged in the 1960s did this begin to seriously change among American Indians. And the church became the willing partner of the state in educating these children, breaking these treaties and forcing the Indians off their lands. The church helped to carry out these tasks in such a fierce anti-Indian manner that this history should call all of us to some measure of shame and deeply humble response in the present time.

I confess that I knew very little about the various tribes of American Indians and even less about their history before […]

Robert Spencer Debates Peter Kreeft on Islam

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:13-05:00November 12th, 2010|Categories: Uncategorized|

Because there is such interest in the public dialogue that we are engaged in regarding Islam and Christianity I was particularly interested in the recent dialogue between two Roman Catholics, Robert Spencer and Dr. Peter Kreeft. Spencer is a leading critic of Islam and a well-known author. Kreeft is awell-known philosopher and author.

This debate took place in New Hampshire at a very small Catholic liberal arts college. It is wonderful to see two men come at the same issue with different perspectives yet with Christian charity and dignity. Spencer is an actual target of radical Muslims. Even at this event he refers to the fact that he had a body guard. Kreeft is known for reason and faith. This debate lasts almost two hours. I rarely, if ever, watch such a clip on the Internet because it consumes too much time. I watched this video in its entirety over two days time. If this subject really interests you try some of it and see if you want to watch more. I found this immensely helpful.

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Tony Dungy: Blessed By Hatred?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:13-05:00November 12th, 2010|Categories: Culture, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Persecuted Church|

Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, is an outspoken and wonderfully consistent Christian. His story is told in several books that reveal his faith and principles of personal coaching and leadership: Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices and Priorities of a Winning Life, Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance and The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently. Dungy has recently become an NBC analyst for NFL games. This new job has opened Dungy to a lot of harsh criticism. He has been called by critics a “high priest, the oracle who passes judgment on all moral questions.”

Since football involves a whole host of moral and personal issues Dungy is frequently asked to weigh in on people and situations in his new role. Questions such as: “Should Reggie Bush have returned his Heisman Trophy?” Or, “Does Michael Vick deserve forgiveness?” Or recently, “Should Coach Rex Ryan cut back on the f bombs?” Dungy has answered yes to all three […]

The Importance of T. F. Torrance

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:13-05:00November 11th, 2010|Categories: Biblical Theology, Books, Christ/Christology, Reformed Christianity, The Trinity, Theology|

Thomas Forsyth Torrance (1913 – 2007) was one of the greatest of all 20th century Christian theologians. Torrance’s diverse writing is often dense, not the easiest to grasp by simple reading and yet tremendously important. As I work away on a book on the Trinity I find myself going back to Torrance time and time again.

Tom Torrance, as his friends called him, was born in China to Scottish missionary parents. He studied classics at Edinburgh and Oxford before he studied under the famous Karl Barth at Basel. After a brief stint in New York as a teacher at Auburn Seminary World War II broke out and Torrance became a chaplain. He later served a parish in Scotland for ten more years. His best known work came by lecturing for 27 years as Professor of Christian Dogmatics at New College in the University of Edinburgh. While he wrote many books and articles advancing his own study of theology, he also translated several hundred theological writings into English from […]

A Catholic Priest on “True Ecumenism”

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:13-05:00November 10th, 2010|Categories: Evangelism, Missional-Ecumenism|

One of my deep frustrations is to get conservative Catholics to take ecumenism seriously. There is no official reason not to take it seriously but at the level of real action many would rather not get into this messy business. (By the way, I have a similar problem with conservative Protestants who think in one way about ecumenism, namely that the word means “compromise.”)

A recent article by Msgr. Owen F. Campion, the associate publisher of Our Sunday Visitor (OSV), a widely read Catholic weekly, brought me a great deal of encouragement because I found a conservative Catholic writer who does take ecumenism seriously. Campion, writing in the October 12 issue of OSV, says that true ecumenism, “rather than playing down differences . . . is about coming together in Christian witness to the world.” Bravo! This is precisely he central point in my view of missional-ecumenism.

Campion refers to Pope Benedict XVI’s recent visit to Westminster Abbey in England. He writes that Westminster is a “strong symbol of the […]

The Election and Status Quo

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:13-05:00November 9th, 2010|Categories: Politics|

While some of my friends are rejoicing at the results of the national election on Tuesday others are discouraged. Opinions, at least among my friends, cover a wide spectrum. I suppose that should tell you something about me. Friendship in Christ trumps all politics in my private and public world! And love of neighbor outweighs political partisanship every time. I think that is what the Scripture makes plain and the rest is not nearly as important as we’ve made it.

But I do have a few opinions about what transpired. First, with the Republicans now in control of the House of Representatives, in the biggest swing in power in 70 years or more, we must wonder what does this mean? If it means we have “shutdowns” of the government as we did in 1995, following the Gingrich triumph, then I think we will suffer and the GOP will pay for it in 2012. There are clearly better ways to oppose President Obama than these kinds of stunts and […]

Awesome! Pop-Up Hallelujah Chorus at Macy

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:14-05:00November 8th, 2010|Categories: Culture, Music|

This incredible video, from a project called "Random Acts of Culture," so moved me that I wept at my desk this afternoon. What an incredible experience. Be prepared to be moved to your core at the power of the text of Scripture in the lives of people through a cultural form that can still exercise great influence. When you click the hyperlink you will see the video icon and the play button clearly on your screen.

Awesome! Pop-Up Hallelujah Chorus at Macy.