Blog - Page 289 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Treasuring Preaching and Sacraments Together

By John Armstrong|2006-10-15T11:07:28-05:00October 15th, 2006|Categories: The Church|

I am convinced, generally speaking, that we do the things that we treasure the most. Therefore, the reason that many evangelicals do not take the Lord’s Supper more frequently comes down to the simple fact that they do not truly treasure this sacrament that Christ gave to his people to celebrate until He comes. For all of their talk about the body and blood of Jesus these evangelicals strangely do not treasure the very means that Christ gave to us for receiving the grace of God through the elements. This generally happens because evangelicals are focused almost exclusively on the preaching of the Word without the symbols that make the Word real to both our senses and our faith. Why not focus on both?

I also am amazed, by my experience in evangelical churches across America, that for all their talk about treasuring the Bible they almost never read it in public worhsip these days. It is strange that we talk about the authority of the Bible a lot and read it very little.

I just came from a service […]

The Value of Fixed-Hour Prayers

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:08-05:00October 13th, 2006|Categories: Spirituality|

Fixed-hour prayer is not something I grew up with. We prayed at meals and bed time but not much else was fixed unless it was related to our public worship on Sunday. The fact is that fixed-hour a practice that I did not understand or embrace until more recently. Yes, I knew what the Scripture said about prayer, recalling numerous texts even as I write these words, but I was rooted in an anti-Catholic bias that kept me from the rich treasures of the historic church. For this reason texts like “Seven times a day do I praise you” (Psalm 119:164) were clearly known to me well but went unheeded in my practice.

Reading a biography of St. Benedict first opened my eyes. I began to understand the importance and place of such prayer. Not only did Judaism have an ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer (likely they adjusted them and then continued to adjust them over many centuries), but we can see glimpses of this same practice in the New Testament. We do know that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and […]

Pluto Today? What's Next?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:09-05:00October 12th, 2006|Categories: Science|

Now that the world’s top astronomers have decided to boot Pluto from the category of a planet one has to wonder, “What’s next?” The real shock waves are being felt among astrologers, or so the press tells us. Are these people for real? Apparently so and their tribe is growing it seems. There is an America Federation of Astrologers and even an Astrological Association of Great Britain. These are the people are really upset about Pluto’s fate. And www.Beliefnet.com columnist Shelley Ackerman informs us that “Pluto has proven himself (?) worthy of a permanent place in all horoscopes.” Whew, I’m glad that’s settled.

Numerous astrologers are warning that those born between October 23 and November 21 should be cautious because of this decision about throwing Pluto out of the category of a planet. An Australian astrologer, who claims 580,000 clients, counsels, “Scorpios can be extremely explosive, and very direct, and this could be the trigger that makes them explode.” Since Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice are all Scorpios I guess we should stay tuned over […]

Why I Profit from Brian Mclaren

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:09-05:00October 11th, 2006|Categories: Emergent Church|

A very good friend is presently reading several Brian Mclaren books in preparation for hearing him speak publicly in his city in a few weeks. We have been discussing Brian’s agenda, or better stated, his approach, with much interest. Neither of us wants to endorse everything Brian writes but neither do we wish to trash his concerns or thoughts since he helps us reflect upon our moment in history, and the missional context, with much richer insight.

My friend shared a quotation from one of Brian’s books yesterday. Here is the quote:

“I often think that my most valuable credential is my vast repertoire of stupid mistakes that I’ve made through the years, mistakes that can’t help but teach their perpetrator something the hard way.”

I can see the house dividing even as I write these words. Some will say, “Yes, and that is why I do not like Brian Mclaren. He is far too clever for his own good, using such a display of seeming humility to gain people for his numerous theological errors and heresies.” And I […]

Generational Christian Patterns

By John Armstrong|2006-10-10T09:01:38-05:00October 10th, 2006|Categories: Emergent Church|

Generational tensions have plagued local churches for as long as I have been in the ministry. This pattern seems to repeat itself with the rise and identification of each new generation whether they are boomers, busters, Xers or millennials. The emergent generation, or emerging generation as some would prefer to call it, must come to realize this pattern, and its challenges, or it will repeat the same mistakes my generation, and many others, made.

A new generation wants new music, new styles, and bold new leaders. An older generation feels betrayed and rejected by the new. Younger people think older people are out of touch with “the real world” and older people think the younger people have rejected the great traditions of the past. The result is very often a new church division, resulting in radically different congregations that cannot live together in peace.

A friend has noted that “the church landscape is littered with such experiments, single generational congregations that died out either literally, as only the old were left, or young congregations that wouldn’t change when their first […]

What Do you Mean "Promiscuous" Ms. Johansson?

By John Armstrong|2006-10-09T19:32:47-05:00October 9th, 2006|Categories: Sexuality|

Actress Scarlett Johansson recently argued that monogramy actually goes against human instinct. In a forthcoming interview in Allure magazine she adds, “I do think on some basic level we are animals, and by instinct we kind of breed accordingly.” This insight is nothing more than a consistent evolutionary stance if one grants that we really are just “animals.”

But what sets Scarlett Johansson’s conclusion apart is that she wants to have her free sex and have a commitment to some kind of monogamy, which she thinks may someday be extinct. She tells the interviewer, in this same forthcoming piece, that her new boyfriend, actor Josh Hartnett, is her only sexual partner right now. She adds, “Contrary to popular belief I’m not promiscuous.” She argues that she is not “promiscuous” sexually because she “is in a relationship” and this commits her to one man only, at least right now. In the past she admits to having sex with many men but right now she argues that she is committed, thus she has never really been promiscuous at all. She says that when she […]

A Trip Through Bug Tussle, Alabama

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:09-05:00October 9th, 2006|Categories: Personal|

As I noted over the weekend I made a journey “home” this past weekend. The nostalgia of such trips is rich, the joy truly palpable. Time with my mother, my brother and my much loved sister-in-law provided both rich conversation and deep personal insight. I was especially enlightened as my older brother and I talked about our childhood, our emotional and spiritual development, and our respective journeys to deepening faith over all these years. Our mom will be 91 next month. Her mental acuity is slipping very quickly now. This provided several moments for private tears and some real grieving. A most memorable moment came when she asked me if I would “read to her” from a Joni book that she loves. (Here I was 57 years old, reading to my mom much the way she read to me as a child. It is hard to write this if truth be told, but perhaps it will encourage some of you who are sons to spend quality time with you aged parents.)

Highlights from such a trip fill me with incredible peace and great […]

Roll Tide, Roll

By John Armstrong|2006-10-06T21:58:00-05:00October 6th, 2006|Categories: Personal|

As many of you already know I have a lifelong passion for baseball. This postseason is actually quite sad for me since it is without my two favorite teams—the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox. It does seem odd that they both missed the playoffs this year. I am rooting for the Tigers at this point, like so many who can’t take the Yankees. (I am also rooting for whoever can beat the Mets.) Perhaps only the Cubs would bring out more negatives for me but then what to worry since the Cubs haven’t won a Series in 98 years now, something Sox fans have regularly reminded Cubs fans about since last season’s World Series championship.

My sports interest have turned to college football of late. My Crimson Tide are rebuilding this season, after three years of probation and a surprisingly good season in 2005. (They finished No. 8 nationally last year!) Tomorrow I get to see the Tide play Duke in Tuscaloosa, only my third time back to campus since I was a student there in the 1960s. It should […]

How Long Will Our Prosperity Cycle Last?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:09-05:00October 4th, 2006|Categories: Culture|

Mark Whitehouse reported in the September 25th issue of the Wall Street Journal that the living standards of average Americans will have to be adjusted downward in coming years because a larger share of our national debt is going to debt-service. He writes, “That means Americans will have to work harder to maintain the same living standards—or cut back sharply to pay down the debt.” Catherine Mann, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics notes, “Our net international obligations are coming home to roost. It’s as if on our personal MasterCards we have run up large obligations and never had to make personal payments. You can’t believe that is going to last forever.”

I am not a professional economist but such news makes me wonder how we will really handle these things as a nation when the spend-spend-spend spigot is finally turned off. The pay day is coming, maybe sooner than later. Our prosperity is always one really bad cycle from a serious implosion and then the country will either adjust corporately, and grow stronger morally and spiritually, or it will […]

The Church a Stumbling Block to Real Change

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:09-05:00October 3rd, 2006|Categories: Culture|

In a blog posted on October 2 I wrote: "First, if you want to change a society you must first change the culture, not the politics. Second, modern liberals are morally challenged when it comes to culture."

A friend, who is a Christian accountant, wrote the following personal response (used with permission) to my comments:

Here’s my local church experience. No one seems to be interested in these [cultural and biblical] issues. When I speak to other Christians (including pastors) about a transformed life, both individually and corporately, I get a blank stare. Ask someone to actually read an article that might inspire a discussion on what God would want us to be in our culture . . . no time to read it. I find that we must plead with leaders to admit that "decisions" [for Christ] without discipleship (in our experience) inevitably lead to baptism without fruit.

We’ve plenty of time for Sunday school but that has shown no meaningful effect in decades of effort. We’ve plenty of time to encourage people to attend a public […]