Blog - Page 141 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Whose Gospel? An Argument for Progressive Christianity

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:20-05:00September 21st, 2010|Categories: Books, Ethics, Homosexuality, Politics, Race and Racism, Sexuality|

Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. is the founder and president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation and the senior minister emeritus of the famous Riverside Church in New York City. He was also a professor at Union Theological Seminary and has hosted The Time Is Now on Air America Radio. Forbes is a social and political liberal who preaches faith in Jesus with great passion. I have never heard him speak in person but I have heard CDs of his preaching. I can testify to his incredible story-telling ability. I happen to like Forbes and would happily sit down with him for a cup of coffee or a meal. We would have some interesting disagreements but on much we would find common ground. Newsweek calls Forbes “one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world.”

James Forbes has long been a strong voice for civil rights. He even gave a stirring address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He served as pastor of the well-known Riverside Church for eighteen years. His insights about pastoral ministry, teaching and mentoring are often brilliant and his […]

How Do You Respond to Disunity?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:20-05:00September 20th, 2010|Categories: Missional-Ecumenism, The Church, Unity of the Church|

It amazes me that we can talk about the divisions within the Christian church without the evidence of a broken heart. If the last thing our Lord prayed for with his disciples before his passion was that all who believe in him would be “one” with each other then how can we not see the scandal of our present state in the church?

Yes, I know there are reasons for divisions. I know that sin has also played a big part, probably the decisive part. But I do not understand how we can be content with things as they are if we truly read our Lord’s prayer with a teachable heart. Forget, for at least a moment, all you know about the reasons for divisions. Forget the reasons for why things happened as they did in the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. Forget all you know that influences how you “hear” the Scripture and ask, “What did Jesus intend in these words and what do they mean to his followers now?”

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Forms of Prayer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:20-05:00September 19th, 2010|Categories: Liturgy, Prayer|

I have been reading an old book that bears the title The Prayers of the Early Church (1930), written by Dom Fernand Cabrol, a Benedictine. It is a study of how the early church developed prayer within the context of liturgy. There is much to like in this treatment but some things to pursue that will not gain universal acclaim for sure. The flavor is quite Roman Catholic.

In a chapter titled “Forms of Prayer” the author writes: “From the very outset one of the distinguishing features of liturgical prayer is the element of spontaneity or improvisation in its utterance.” He adds, “Thus we learn from Justin, Tertullian, and most of the writers of this period . . . even the most solemn formulas were extemporized.” Variety and free-form were normative but in time more was written down. He rightly concludes: “However, this freedom of improvisation was not anarchy. Prayer was subject to certain rules; in some instances the theme was necessarily used, for instance in […]

What Keeps You Up at Night?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:20-05:00September 18th, 2010|Categories: Books, Leadership, Missional Church, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church|

Any leader who desires to facilitate trust and passion in others must learn how to ask this question: “What keeps you up at night?” If you talk about organizations, budgets and strategies people will not get excited. If you talk about how people can invest their lives in what they really believe in they will listen and they will usually follow. Every leader knows this reality. Most pastors know it better than Christians in general.

The problem is rather simple in terms of stating it. Most pastors have become managers of the aquarium. They went down the road they are now on in order to serve Christ and his kingdom. They studied and prepared but they were never taught to be leaders. Now they are asked to lead an organization called the church. Most have never been prepared for this task. Being a pastor and being a leader are not the same. A leader deals in hope. A leader inspires and leads people to imagine what could be. The overwhelming majority of pastors in America admit that they should be better leaders and even confess […]

Standing on Five Legs: The Power of the Starfish in Mission

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:21-05:00September 17th, 2010|Categories: Books, Leadership, Missional Church, Personal, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church|

Yesterday I wrote about a book that I highly recommend all leaders buy and read: The Starfish and the Spider (Penguin: New York, 2006). It is simple and can be read in a few hours. Please read it even if you are not inclined to read business and leadership books. It is worth your time. I assure you that you'll not be bored. You are likely to understand how vision really works in a decentralized context.

Brafman and Beckstrom relate the story of how slavery was abolished in Great Britain. Many of you know the story of William Wilberforce (especially because of one of my favorite movies: Amazing Grace) but do you know the role played by Granville Sharp and the slave Jonathan Strong, whom Sharp came to know personally? And what about the contribution of Thomas Clarkson? Sharp was the visionary but Clarkson became the implementer. Together their role was a powerful force in abolition’s success. Simply put the real story is […]

The Starfish and the Spider

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:21-05:00September 16th, 2010|Categories: Books, Leadership, Missional Church, The Christian Minister/Ministry, The Church|

I do not read every trendy leadership and business book that gets recommended. I simply don’t have time, much less real interest in a great deal of this type of literature. I am aware of the most-talked about titles but read only a select number.

Recently, over a lunch with ministry leader Bob Shank in California, I was encouraged to read The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations (Penguin: New York, 2006). This book, co-authored by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom, is the work of two Silicon Valley guys who are entrepreneurs and business consultants. Their writing style is breezy, fun and provides story-telling at its best. Rarely have I read a book that was so enjoyable even (maybe especially) when I did not entirely agree with the point the authors made. But the big point made here, namely that decentralized, leaderless organizations are the future, is one that I do agree with very deeply.

This book is about […]

Taking a Step Backwards

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:21-05:00September 15th, 2010|Categories: America and Americanism, Current Affairs, Immigration, Politics|

The debate about Arizona’s law on immigration continues as the decision heads toward a federal appeals ruling in November. I keep looking for balanced and compassionate ways to address this problem that so clearly divides Christians and the nation. (One poll says the majority of Americans favor the Arizona law!) With this in mind I recently read the opinion piece of syndicated writer Ruben Navarrette, a Mexican-American immigrant. Navarrette offers, I believe, a more hopeful perspective in his San Diego Union-Tribune column about Arizona’s changing situation.

Navarrette spoke of taking a trip to Arizona (in August) and how he needed to make sure that he took his passport. For those who have not followed this case closely the state of Arizona is presently appealing U. S. District Judge Susan Bolton’s decision against it’s controversial law on checking people for their proof of citizenship if they are stopped by the police for any reason. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is not scheduled to […]

“Get Low” A Film Truly Worth Seeing

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:21-05:00September 14th, 2010|Categories: Film|

The sheer subtlety of the film “Get Low” caught me by complete surprise. The film’s opening scene begins with a country house engulfed in flames. The point is fairly obvious. But from the second-floor window a body falls out of a window in flames and falls from the roof to the ground. This mysterious burning person runs into the woods and the viewer is left wondering, “What does this scene really mean?” Well, it means everything as you will discover by the end of this remarkable film

One critic refers to “Get Low” as a “quirky but tender [film] . . . a wonderfully constructed and beautifully acted fable that serves as a reminder of how much of a treasure Robert Duvall is, and how much Bill Murray–an excellent script-picker if ever there was one–is taken for granted.” Add to these two award-winning actors the person of Sissy Spacek and you have a great threesome even without some of the wonderful additional actors […]

The Problem of “The True Church”

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:21-05:00September 13th, 2010|Categories: ACT 3, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, The Church, Unity of the Church|

Time and time again I hear Christians say, “My church is the true church, your church is not!” This claim is often made by conservative Catholics and some conservative Protestants. The word true is in quotations marks in my title today because this is the problematic idea here. If we hold to true, in distinction from false or everything else not true, then we are in fact very close to sectarianism, if we are not already embracing the bitter fruit of this error.

The Orthodox Church has a lovely phrase that both Catholics and Protestants could learn from here. They say, “We know where the church is but this does not mean that we always know where it is not.” I think that embraces much more of the mystery than standard polemics often allows for in our consideration of the nature and importance of the church.

For evangelicals there is an even greater problem here. For many modern evangelicals the church is a contingency, something that comes about as a consequence of personal faith in Jesus as one’s Savior. The church, in this view, […]

My Letter to the North American Church

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:21-05:00September 12th, 2010|Categories: America and Americanism, American Evangelicalism, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

My friend Rachel Evans, author of the wonderful memoir Monkey Town, asked me to participate in a synchroblog project this week, September 12-18. The project is called Eighth Letter. I decided to post my letter to the North American Church on my blog and then link to the responses of a number of other Christian writers who are doing the same. I look forward to listening to many voices responding to this opportunity.

Dear Church of God,

You undoubtedly realize that you’ve enjoyed hundreds of years of material and spiritual blessing. Yes, you’ve made mistakes but a significant number of you have truly loved Jesus and his church. You are to be commended for your sacrifice, your commitment to religious liberty, your love for mission programs, your investment in thoughtful Christian education and your innumerable charitable foundations and causes. You are also to be commended for building impressive institutions for the spread of the gospel around the globe, including hundreds of denominations and […]