Blog - Page 282 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Christmas Tradition and a Prayer for Blessing

By John Armstrong|2006-12-24T17:28:44-06:00December 24th, 2006|Categories: Church Tradition|

We obviously do not know the exact date of the Messiah’s birth. The church has celebrated his birth on December 25 for more than seventeen centuries, give or take a few years. It fits nicely into the liturgical flow of the year and helps us all "remember" the advent of the one who came to save the world. We can all stand a great deal more remembering these days.

My wife and I celebrated the birth of Christ in a lovely communion service where a number of old carols and hymns were appropriately sung as part of the retelling of the drama. The familiar texts of Isaiah 9:2-7 and Luke 2:1-20 were also read. Perhaps the most moving portion of all was the benediction.

"May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child. Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you now and forever."

That prayer just about sums up all I […]

Contemplation: The Second Part of Effective Mental Prayer

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:50-05:00December 23rd, 2006|Categories: Spirituality|

I wrote yesterday about meditatio (meditation), arguing that it is essential to meaningful prayer and spiritual formation. The other essential practice is contemplari (contemplation). Contemplation is a simple dwelling upon God, a reflective resting in God’s presence. The term contemplation suggests a subject that is intent upon an object.

Contemplation is plainly rooted in Neo-Platonic concept of theoreo (theory). But this concept was given Christian meaning by Hugo of St. Victor (1096-1141) when he wrote, “Love enters in when the understanding remains outside.” Christian contemplation was related to the word and to sacramental reality where God might be seen in Jesus Christ.

St. Francis de Sales said contemplation as nothing more than a loving, simple and permanent attention of the human spirit to divine things. So what makes it different from meditation?

To stay with the analogy of bees, used in yesterday’s post, de Sales observes that little bees are called nymphs until they make honey. In a similar way prayer is only meditation until it produces the honey of devotion, which is then turned into contemplation. He […]

The Place of Meditation

By John Armstrong|2006-12-22T11:08:00-06:00December 22nd, 2006|Categories: Spirituality|

Mediation and contemplation are both essential aspects of prayer and Christian devotion. I was taught very little about either growing up an evangelical. I have learned a great deal more by pursuing the subject of spiritual formation over the last ten years or so. Today I want to consider the value of meditation. Tomorrow I will connect this to contemplation.

Meditatio means “to consider, or to reflect.” Traditionally it has been viewed as a form of mental prayer in which the mind is very active. In early spiritual thought it was understood best by the Rule of St. Benedict which specifically urged Christians to meditate on “a text of the Bible so as to study it and learn it—to commit it to memory, to understand its meaning, to endeavor to live by it.” St. Francis de Sales says the word meditation means simply “an attentive and repeated thought that is capable of producing good or evil affections—feelings of fond attachment. In Holy Scripture, however, the world is ordinarily applied to the attention we give to the things of God [in order to] […]

New Jersey and Civil Unions

By John Armstrong|2006-12-21T16:49:03-06:00December 21st, 2006|Categories: Homosexuality|

In a decision that is really not surprising to anyone who has been paying attention to the debate the governor of New Jersey signed a civil union bill today that institutes homosexual unions as legal in his state. This bill will grant such couples privileges such as adoption, inheritance, hospital visitation, medical decision-making and alimony rights. It passed the New Jersey legislature on December 14. The legislative action came about as a response to a state Supreme Court ruling in October. This makes New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont all states that now legally allow civil unions. Massachusetts allows gay couples to marry and California has a domestic partnership arrangement that brings with it full marriage rights.

In spite of various state actions, via ballot initiatives, this trend will likely continue, at least in the more blue states. When some homosexual activists responded negatively to today’s action, saying that they still want marriage for all, the governor of New Jersey made it clear that he believes this will come only when society changes so as to allow acceptance more broadly. I have been […]

A New Study of Pre-Marital Sexual Activity Raises Important Questions for the Church

By John Armstrong|2006-12-20T07:48:21-06:00December 20th, 2006|Categories: Sexuality|

The Guttmacher Institute, a respected New York-based think tank that studies sexual and reproductive issues, released a study yesterday that said more than nine out of ten Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex. I am frankly not sure what to make of these numbers.

What is even more surprising to some is the claim that these high rates extend all the way back to the 1940s, challenging perceptions that people before the 1960s were more chaste than people in recent decades. (Frankly, I am not surprised at this observation at all since I think we romanticize about the previous generation being morally stronger than this one.)

The study is based on interviews conducted in 1982, 1988, 1995 and 2002. The overwhelming majority (33,000 of 38,000) of those surveyed were women. The survey said 95% of the respondents had sex before marriage. And, if the survey is to be believed, women are about as likely to engage in pre-marital sex as men. Lawrence Finer, the author of the report, openly challenges all government sponsored programs that encourage abstinence before […]

Restoring Congressional Integrity

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:51-05:00December 19th, 2006|Categories: Politics|

There can be little doubt that one of the greatest political and economic problems in the US is the way that our Congress “earmarks” billions of dollars for special projects that benefit lawmakers in their bid for personal security and re-election.

The system works in a very straightforward way. Congress can pass massive spending bills and all the while representatives can add “earmarks” that benefit projects and people in their district or state. It is a form, quite often, of legal payback for favors rendered to the elected official. President Bush asked Congress, in his last State of the Union address, to give him a line-item veto. Don’t expect it to happen soon. The idea makes perfect sense really, and it has been done in several states, so why am I so pessimistic about the prospects? The simple answer is plain to see—both parties have found that it pays to spend money in this less accountable way. Incumbents use it to gain favor and to stay in power. Everyone knows that over 95% of the incumbents in the US House are re-elected every […]

Mary, the Missional Church and Becoming a Faithful Servant of God

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:51-05:00December 18th, 2006|Categories: Missional Church|

I have the joy of being supported, through financial gifts designated to ACT 3, by Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. Southwood is a growing congregation of about 700 plus people pastored by my friend Dr. Michael Honeycutt. Because several members of my Alabama family are members of Southwood, and because Michael Honeycutt loves me as his personal friend, I get to share in the vision and joy be brings to this excellent local church.

On Friday (December 15) I shared a wonderful long lunch with Michael and the new exceutive director of Southwood, Bob Bradshaw. The three of us talked at length about the missional church concept and how local churches across America are seeking God for new direction in incarnational evangelism in order to become effective in their mission as "Christ’s sent people." I look forward to more such discussion with Michael, and the folks at Southwood, in 2007. I believe this church will make a significant mark for Christ’s kingdom in the years ahead. Leaders like Mike Honeycutt are a great gift to the church.

Mike Honeycutt […]

Could Revival on College Campuses Be Near?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:51-05:00December 15th, 2006|Categories: Renewal|

My morning Comcast online offerings featured a two minute video on prayer movements at major secular colleges across America. The school highlighted in this particular report was the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The news clip showed students dancing in a drunken stupor, stumbling in the streets of Madison and acting like fools. It then showed large crowds of students worshiping and praying in sharp contrast. The question was simple: Play or Pray? The report said Campus Crusade for Christ is now starting considerably more college chapters than in recent years. It also reported that prayer movements are touching major schools all across America. Further noted was a survey report that said 79% of today’s college students believe in God and 69% still pray. Though traditional forms of church are not popular with most college students spiritual interest, including interest in Christianity, is growing and appears to be both deep an wide.

I am frankly not amazed at this report based upon my own tracking of these trends for over thirty-five years. I think we may very well be on the verge […]

Renewal is Desperately Needed in Most Churches

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:51-05:00December 14th, 2006|Categories: Renewal|

I found myself in far away from home and no specific church assignment awaiting me for ministry. I searched the Yellow Pages and picked out a church to attend. I knew I did not want to go to a church where everything depended on whether the sermon was good or bad. Chances were, based on what I discovered in the phone book, much of the preaching would have probably left a great deal to be desired. I opted for liturgy, thinking as I did, “At least we will likely read Scripture, say some significant congregational prayers, and remain rooted in the Trinity,” I reasoned as I made the choice to attend a Lutheran Church (ELCA) congregation. This particular church had served in the old downtown area for more than 150 years. The place simply breathed history and community. I loved it.

I was not disappointed about the liturgy on the whole. It was rich and followed the basic patterns of Christian worship for centuries. We renounced evil, professed faith, Said the Apostle’s Creed together. We even witnessed a baptism that was quite well […]

An Evening of Emergent Conversation About Mary

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:23:51-05:00December 13th, 2006|Categories: Emergent Church|

I have been reading professor Scot McKnight’s excellent blog, www.jesuscreed.org, for some time. Scot is a respected professor of New Testament who teaches at North Park University in Chicago. Though Scot and I had previously met, very briefly in a line at the Wheaton Caribou Coffee store, we had never had time to talk until Monday evening. I decided to attend a Chicago-area emergent gathering called Uprooted, www.up/rooted.blogspot.com. Both the people I met, and the opportunity to chat with Scot, were well worth my three-plus hours on a rainy, chilly Chicago evening.

Scot spoke and dialogued with the group of twenty-five or so people cordially and humbly. (He is disarmingly hospitable and in no way self-promoting, a trait I quickly spot now in my sixth decade of life!) He talked about his most recent book, The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus (Paraclete, November 2006). Scot seems to have two goals in this engaging and readable book. First, he wants evangelicals to listen to Mary and to […]