Blog - Page 144 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Will Same-Sex Marriage Undermine Your Marriage and Family?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 24th, 2010|Categories: Homosexuality, Marriage & Family|

Would the legalization of gay marriage affect traditional marriage in America? Note carefully the question I’ve actually posed here. Mine is not a moral question, in and of itself, but a pragmatic and philosophical question. “What would happen to the institution of marriage in our society if we embrace gay marriage?”

It might surprise you to find out that changing the law to place gay marriage on par with heterosexual marriage would actually have a decidedly negative impact on marriage. On what basis do I make this sweeping statement? Well, on the basis that many advocates of gay marriage admit this point openly.

Earlier this year the New York Times ran a piece by reporter Scott James, himself gay, saying that new studies of gay couples in San Francisco show that half of gay partners consent to each other having sex with other people. The Times article went on to say that the prevalence of such relationships could “rewrite the traditional rules of matrimony” by […]

The Value and Importance of the Apostles Creed

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 23rd, 2010|Categories: Missional-Ecumenism|

The most commonly asked question I have received about missional-ecumenism, at least from many conservative Christians, is this: “How can we work together with other Christians if we do not agree on essential Christian doctrine?” Added to this is the concern that somehow I am asking Christians to give up something important to the faith.

I believe the answer to this question is not fully provided by my response on this week’s video but I do believe the best place to begin a response is with the two great creeds of Christianity: the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. For centuries Christians had these two great standards as a guide to what they personally confessed. This was what the one, great, catholic and apostolic church likewise confessed; i.e. the Christian faith.

There is more taught in Scripture than what we have in the creed but there is never less. There is more to be given if people […]

A Visit to the Clinton Library

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 22nd, 2010|Categories: America and Americanism, History, Personal|

I admit that I like presidential libraries and museums. There are twelve of them in all and I have now visited nine. The only ones I have not visited are those of Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy and George H. W. Bush. Someday I hope to take in these three remaining historical sites since they remain places to see on my personal “bucket list.”

The newest presidential library to open is situated near the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock. I was there in July to attend a family reunion. Since I was only five minutes from the Clinton Library I decided to take in this very interesting place on a warm Saturday afternoon. It was well worth my time. I will explain why.

First, you must understand (if you have or have not been to visit any of these museums) that the storyline told in such places is consistently positive. These places are meant to celebrate the life and accomplishments of […]

Christ Together: A Movement That Deeply Encourages Me

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 21st, 2010|Categories: Evangelism, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Unity of the Church|

Since the release of my book, Your Church Is Too Small, I have encountered a number of movements seeking to promote what I call missional-ecumenism. One of these movements is a ministry called Christ Together. I recently met the national director of Christ Together, Scott Gifford, and the founder and president, Pastor Scott Chapman (photo at right). A month ago I met the Chicago director, Pastor Bill Yaccino. I am excited about what these guys are doing to promote a church network that leads to relationships that will foster a missional vision of the church in a city or area.

Pastor Scott Chapman’s story is much like that of my own son. After planting a church (with a partner from seminar days in 1994) he realized exactly what my son did when he planted New Hope Community in Streamwood (IL). When God looks at a city he does not see many churches but one church meeting in many places. This is […]

What’s the Big Deal About Porn?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 20th, 2010|Categories: Counseling, Sexuality|

No subject makes me quite as uncomfortable to speak or write about as pornography. I suppose this is because I know the problem is so profoundly difficult yet I actually know so little about it. I have read very little on the subject and never attempted to counsel porn addicts. I have, rightly I think, preferred allowing those more skilled to help men in the grip of this mind-numbing, soul-destroying sin. I have known a few friends who’ve had serious struggles with pornography and I am keenly aware of how wide-spread the problem is in both the culture and the church. I suppose these facts, plus the reality that I have never seriously struggled with it, explain why I was not particularly prepared for a recent book review in Newsweek (July 16) on a book titled: Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality (Beacon Press, 2010).

Researchers tell us that pornography and sex-related sites make up […]

Endgame: A Movie That Shows How Peace Can Be Achieved

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 19th, 2010|Categories: Film|

Endgame is a 2009 British film directed by Pete Travis based upon the book The Fall of the Apartheid by Robert Harvey. The film includes several stars, the best-being William Hurt. Endgame dramatizes the final days of apartheid in South Africa. It was filmed at locations in both England and Cape Town, South Africa in the first half of 2008 and was broadcast on British Television (BBC) in January of 2009. It is now available on DVD and runs 101 minutes.

Endgame focuses on secret talks held between the African National Congress (ANC) and the National Party (NP) in a country house in Somerset, England. The most intriguing story-line of Endgame revolves around an emotional bond of friendship and trust formed between Willie Esterhuyse (William Hurt) and Thabo Mbeki. Esterhuyse was a professor of philosophy at the University of Stellenbosch and Mbeki, who later became the president of South Africa after Nelson Mandela’s […]

More on the Jonathan Edwards Renaissance

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 18th, 2010|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Church History, Renewal|

Yesterday, I mentioned the ongoing international renaissance in the study of Jonathan Edwards that has been going on for sixty years. This work has literally reached around the world as scholars and authors now study Edwards with increasing care and fresh insight, believing him to be: “America’s Greatest Theologian.” I mentioned two excellent popular treatments of Edwards yesterday, first the collection by McDermott and then the biography by Marsden. One of the very best academic treatments is by Michael J. McClymond, the scholar I also mentioned yesterday. His book, Encounters with God: An Approach to the Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Oxford) is very expensive but an important contribution if you want to do more series research and gain a richer insight into Edwards.

One of the very best resources, available to scholars and interested people of all backgrounds, is the work of the Jonathan Edwards Society. The society […]

Recovering the Real Jonathan Edwards

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:28-05:00August 17th, 2010|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Church History, Renewal|

One of the more important developments in the study of American evangelicalism is a growing interest in America’s greatest theologian, Jonathan Edwards. I have been reading Jonathan Edwards since I became deeply interested in revival studies at age 21. The more I read the more interested I became. Edwards does grow on you once you get beyond the stereotypes, which abound.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) is generally believed to be America's greatest religious mind. He was a genius. Since the late Perry Miller published an intellectual biography of Edwards in 1949 a flood of dissertations, articles and books have appeared resulting in a modern explosion of studies on the man and his theology.

For many years I thought that I understood Edwards well enough, having listened to second-hand opinions from various preachers who quoted his work. I had read some of his sermons and several of his more well-known works, as well as in sundry material by […]

The Trinity and Christian Unity

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:29-05:00August 16th, 2010|Categories: Missional-Ecumenism, The Trinity, Unity of the Church|

When I began my journey to missional-ecumenism the most important doctrine that I began to understand in a new way was the Trinity. This doctrine about the God who is revealed in Holy Scripture powerfully relates to unity among Christian believers. I was honestly unprepared for how powerfully this truth would grip my own mind and heart as I studied and wrote about the church and the missio Dei. Now that the book is done I am working on the sequel, which will actually attempt to work out how we are to live our lives to the glory of God through loving God as Trinity. If you cannot love God without knowing God then this truth has to be central since this is how God has chosen to reveal himself to us in Jesus Christ.

Multitudes of Christians seem to think the Trinity is vaguely important but they have no earthly idea why this is true. Only by recovering a practical, workable understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit can we gain what we need to truly live in the Triune God. There […]

Humility: The Quiet Virtue

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:18:29-05:00August 15th, 2010|Categories: Personal, Spirituality|

I recently stumbled across a relatively new book on an old subject of lasting interest. I purchased it with real enthusiasm. I am not disappointed. The book is Humility: The Quiet Virtue, by Everett F. Worthington, Jr., a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. I knew Worthington from his numerous books on marriage, forgiveness and unlimited love.

The most valuable little work on humility, a book I have read several times, is Andrew Murray’s classic: Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness. A professor of spiritual formation at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando (FL) once told me that he read this book fifty times. I asked why and he said, “I needed it I guess.” Because of my interest in practicing and teaching spiritual formation I am always on the lookout for a book like Humility: The Quiet Virtue. I frequent the Wheaton College Bookstore before each academic term to see what various professors use for textbooks. One of the professors who […]