Blog - Page 275 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Beauty of Baseball and the Mystery of the Chicago Cubs

By John Armstrong|2007-03-08T09:49:21-06:00March 8th, 2007|Categories: Baseball|

George Carlin, a comedian whose humor is often irreverent and generally quite obnoxious, wrote a wonderful piece on baseball in 1997 that compared it to other sports played with a ball. For fans of this great game his words bear repeating:

Baseball is different from any other sport, very different.

For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he’s out; sometimes unintentionally, he’s out.

Also; in football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring.

Carlin then proceeds to compare America’s two most popular sports, baseball and football, by saying:

Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game.
Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.

Baseball is […]

Depression Still Not Understood

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:32-05:00March 8th, 2007|Categories: Counseling|

Former U. S. Senator Thomas Eagleton (D.MO) died last Sunday, at the age of 77. Some older readers will recall that it was Tom Eagleton who was placed on the Democratic ticket as a vice presidential running mate to Senator George McGovern at the nominating convention in 1972. Only two weeks after the national party convention nominated Eagleton he was removed from that ticket because of an earlier psychiatric hospitalization for depression that was revealed through the press.

Eagleton was tapped, according the McGovern’s campaign director, the future Colorado senator Gary Hart, because he was “Catholic, urban and an unknown from a border state.” The McGovern campaign knew of Eagleton’s previous hospitalization(s) but felt that they could present Eagleton as a man of vitality and hard work who had been hospitalized because of his aggresive campaigning style that drained him.

What finally brought Eagleton down was intense media questioning brought about through, as is almost always the case, anonymous tips. Eagleton admitted he was “voluntarily hospitalized for nervous exhaustion and depression three times in the previous twelve years.” These depressions […]

The Litany of Penitence, Part 2

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:32-05:00March 7th, 2007|Categories: Spirituality|

I began a blog a few days ago on praying The Litany of Penitence during Lent. I shared some thoughts on the first half of this litany. I would like to give you the second half with a few further comments.

The prayer begins with an acknowledgment of God’s holiness and mercy and leads to confession. It then begins a list of things for which we confess to God and the “whole communion of saints” the following sins:

My intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and my dishonesty in daily

life and work,

I confess to you, Lord.

My negligence in prayer and worship, and […]

The Testimony of an Ex-Jehovah's Witness Who Found Grace

By John Armstrong|2007-03-06T18:52:34-06:00March 6th, 2007|Categories: Evangelism|

The first ACT 3 Forum in our 2007 series will feature Ron Nollet, speaking March 18, 2007, at 6: 00 p.m. on: "Delivered from Darkness to God’s Light: How a Jehovah’s Witness Elder Came to Follow Christ”

Ron Nollet was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and until resigning at the age of 47, served as a pioneer (full-time minister), ministerial servant (deacon) and elder (pastor). He has owned a machine building company for the past 27 years. Since resigning as an elder five years ago and walking away from the religion of his birth, Ron has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Christian Counseling from the International Theological Seminary, and is currently enrolled in the Masters of Divinity program. He is currently the pastor of the East Marion Community Church. He and his wife, Adriana, also raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, live in Southold, New York, and have three children.

This special event takes place on Sunday, March 18, @ 6:00 p.m. @ Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 29W260 Batavia Road, Warrenville, Illinois. All are invited to attend. A Q & A time […]

The Death of a Great Christian Scholar

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:44-05:00March 6th, 2007|Categories: Death|

Bruce M. Metzger was not only a world-class New Testament scholar but a devoted and serious Christian who truly believed that the New Testament was a faithful record of historical events. He died last week at 93 years of age in Princeton, New Jersey, where he had lived for many years after his retirement from teaching at Princeton. Metzger oversaw the translation of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, a text used primarily by mainline churches. (The NRSV is, generally speaking, an acceptable and readable translation, which I have used with great profit in many contexts.) Metzger was a brilliant linguist and perhaps the foremost authority in the world on translating the New Testament. His name was simply the gold standard among scholars, liberal or conservative. He was respected for his work because he did it well and always to the glory of God.

His goal, whether or not you agreed with his conclusions in all cases, was an accessible, accurate and modern reading of the Bible. Among his guiding principles was the much-controversial gender-neutral language used in the NRSV […]

Lenten Prayers and a Litany of Penitence

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:44-05:00March 5th, 2007|Categories: Spirituality|

In both ancient and modern times Lent was designed to be a time for the instruction of catechumenates for their baptism at the Easter Vigil. During this same time the whole church anticipates Easter through acts of repentance and spiritual renewal. This is often done by giving something up (fasting) in order to practice, more faithfully, self-control and the giving of alms. Prayer is also a major part of this season as well.

As regular readers of this blog know I use The Divine Hours, Phyllis Tickle (Doubleday, 2001). In this daily guide The Night Office, to be observed before retiring in the evening, is often the portion of the day that moves me the most profoundly. I have sometimes wondered why this is so but I think the reason is quite apparent—you are preparing yourself for both physical rest and eternal rest (death) each and every night. Someday, you will lay down to rest for the last time and then enter the eternal rest of God if you love the Savior.

During Lent there has been a prayer that has […]

Whatever Happened to Discipleship?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:44-05:00March 4th, 2007|Categories: Missional Church|

The debates regarding the ministry of University Bible Fellowship (UBF) that have arisen through this blog spot since I first wrote about this ministry last year, and then when I wrote about it again over the past few weeks, have led me to do a great deal of thinking about the missional context in which we presently live. In particular, how is the church going to disciple the next generation? What models will God use to reach un-reached millions in previously un-churched cultures, as well as university students and 20-somethings, in the West who know nothing of the church or the gospel at all?

We must face the honest fact that there is a growing body of research which demonstrates that there is a significant disconnect between professing faith in Jesus Christ and actually following Jesus. A recent study by the National Study of Youth & Religion entitled, "Portraits of Protestant Teens" reveals a great deal about our current approach to youth ministry and its shortcomings.

The study revealed that 59 percent of Protestant teens (13-17) report regular church attendance, meaning […]

A Rare Opportunity to Visit with a Great Baseball Manager

By John Armstrong|2007-03-03T19:35:48-06:00March 3rd, 2007|Categories: Baseball|

Many years ago a minister in Houston, Texas, Rev. Drew Garner, picked up the phone and called me in Illinois to encourage me in my spiritual journey. Drew is still a unique guy and a man who has always loved younger ministers and reached out to them as a true friend. He visited in our home, preached in my former church, and to this day calls me to see how I am doing now and then. He especially likes to call when it is sub-zero in Chicago. (I return the favor when it is really hot in Houston in July!)

Through my friendship with Drew I was introduced to his son, Phil, who was at that time a star for the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. (Yes, the Pirates once had great baseball teams!) Today Phil is the manager of the Houston Astros, who won the National League pennant in 2005 and came within one game of making the post-season again last season. Next month Phil turns 58 so we are the same age and we both grew up in Tennessee. (Phil previously managed […]

Following Up on the UBF Conversation, Part 3

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:44-05:00March 3rd, 2007|Categories: Missional Church|

I will continue some thoughts I began several days ago on this blog. For those who have not read this train of thought it would be best to go back to January 27 and then read the February 28 and March 1 comments first.

What I believe all of us should remember, UBF members, ex-UBF members, and every other Christian from any church or mission group, is what Jesus plainly taught us—if you are on your way to the altar and remember that someone has something against you, go and deal with this person and that issue first. That is an incredibly strong statement about the importance of reconciliation. My friend, who I noted previously wrote to me about this conversation, also wrote: “To me it’s as if God is saying ‘take care of your relationships with other people before you take care of your relationship with me’–wow.” Yes, I would agree: “Wow!”

I believe that those of you who have chosen to leave UBF are best served to forgive those who you believe wronged you, to let the past go as […]

The Problem with Modern Debates About "Hot Button" Issues

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:44-05:00March 2nd, 2007|Categories: Current Affairs|

The more I listen to modern debates about “hot-button” issues the more perplexed I become about the way we use certain words and draw conclusions. We have become rigidly illogical in both the way we think and speak. We use words that carry popular (assumed) meanings that have little or nothing to do with substantive argumentation. Let me elaborate.

Two items came to mind today as I was driving to a baseball game in Florida. First, the way we debate the issue of stem cell research. It must be said over and over again that no serious Christian is opposed to stem cell research. To suggest that Christians oppose this valuable research is not only a lie, it is a damned lie that comes from the prince of lies who wants to make anything Christian look profoundly stupid. Like most Christians I know I am in favor of serious research using stem cells. I see this research as promising, important and quite humane. What I question is the type of embryonic stem cell research that will result in destroying human embryos. First, I […]