Blog - Page 293 of 318 - John H Armstrong

Why Do We Find Prayer So Unimportant to Our Meetings?

By John Armstrong|2006-08-18T22:58:11-05:00August 18th, 2006|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

A friend wrote me today and shared the following account in his letter. His comments, and the question that he poses, are worth both worth consideration by anyone who professes love for Christ and his kingdom. Here is what my friend wrote:

The other evening I opened our board meeting with a heartfelt prayer, something that I haven’t done in a while in a board meeting context. I have shared with the other board members the passion that God has been giving me for more prayer, and that we need to set aside as much time as we can and as often as we can to pray, so as to see the hand of God move in our lives, and in the lives of those we serve. Anyhow, as our evening ended (and on time) one of the executive staff members leaned over to our director as he was about to close in prayer and stated “Hey, just make sure you don’t pull one of those ‘preacher prayers’ like our friend over here, because it’s been a long night and I am ready to go.” […]

On Death & Dying

By John Armstrong|2006-08-17T06:25:13-05:00August 17th, 2006|Categories: Death|

Death defines us and reveals what we really live for day-to-day. Most people think very little about their death unless they are forced to face it very directly. This was brought home to me by two front page stories in our suburban Daily Herald newspaper on Tuesday, August 15.

The first story that caught my attention was about Carol Bugh, the wife of Rob Bugh, the senior pastor of Wheaton Bible Church. Rob has been a friend from almost the day he arrived in Wheaton. We have shared a number of meals and I preached for him several years ago at Wheaton Bible Church. Not too long after the Rob arrived in Wheaton my wife and I shared a dinner with a group of pastor friends and their wives and thus we also met Carol that evening. We have followed very prayerfully her struggle, over the last ten months, with a rare melanoma. On Friday, August 11, Carol passed away. The story of her struggle and her faith in Christ is well told in the Daily Herald front-page story.

Here is […]

Willow Creek: Blessings and Blindspots

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:12-05:00August 14th, 2006|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

I have never hidden some of my concerns about certain aspects of the strategy employed by Willow Creek Community Church. In short, I believe Willow is strong on evangelism and cultural exegesis but weak on expressing the biblical, historical and theological concerns expressed by a robust confessional and spirit-filled Christianity. To be perfectly fair Willow Creek’s weaknesses are not that different from those encountered in mainstream American evangelicalism in general.

More recently I have tried to give Willow its due whenever I have the opportunity to do so. Such an opportunity struck me today as I went through my mail. I received an invitation from the Willow Creek Association to attend a huge A2 event to be staged at Willow Creek Church, October 25-27. You can check this out at www.willowcreek.com/A2.

A2 is a new format and brand name for Willow Creek’s attempt to engage a wider group of progressive and innovative outreach leaders from across a broad evangelical spectrum, both generationally and ethnically. The whole program strikes me as Willow’s newest attempt (there have […]

A Great Day at Turner Field

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:12-05:00August 12th, 2006|Categories: Baseball|

It is widely known by my friends that I realy love baseball. My dad gave me this deep love in 1956-57. I have used every reasonable opportunity since then to nurture it. Now my granddaughter is a huge fan and even keeps a good score card at the games. Some friends tease me mercilessly about this passion. This is why yesterday was an especially great day for me. I attended my second annual Atlanta Braves Hall-of-Fame Luncheon at the 755 Club at Turner Field. The two inductees were the late Bill Lucas, the first African-American general manager in MLB history, and Ralph Garr, the speedy "road-runner" who was a rookie-of-the-year in Atlanta. Garr still has Atlanta’s all time best batting average, at .317. Lucas’ wife accepted his award with real class. Ralph Garr rambled a bit in his comments but entertained us with humor and some gracious reflections. All in all it was a fun day. I sat with Brian Jordan and enjoyed a wonderful conversation with this truly classy man. Jordan was once a star in the NFL and is now at the […]

Why the Turn in the Democratic Party Hurts the Nation

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:12-05:00August 12th, 2006|Categories: Politics|

My posts this week have expressed profound concerns about recent developments in the Democratic Party. I am not a partisan when it comes to politics. I do not faithfully and consistently support either party. I also believe politics is important, but not most important, not even in changing public policy. It is even less important in changing culture in truly important ways. I have voted for candidates from both parties, though I think I am best described as a moderate conservative with an openness to some progressive ideas that promote corporate compassion. In my own state, for example, the Republican Party is weak and scandal ridden. Our former Republican governor is going to jail soon, and deservedly so.

My deepest concern here is that the nation will suffer without two strong parties. Though the framers did not envision the two-party system I shudder to think what will happen if we are left with two parties like the present configuration of things. Both are so terribly flawed that it is not a healthy time for us. I think we need two parties that […]

More Thoughts on Lieberman's Loss and Faith on the Political Left

By John Armstrong|2006-08-11T16:30:11-05:00August 11th, 2006|Categories: Politics|

The post-mortem opinions that have followed Senator Lieberman’s loss to Ned Lamont in Connecticut this week are coming from many directions. Here is one that I think includes a lot of good sense and insight from the Wall Street Journal. Check it out at: http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110008784.

The Growing Movement of Transnationalism

By John Armstrong|2006-08-11T08:14:14-05:00August 11th, 2006|Categories: Politics|

A survey taken by Scott Rasmussen in 2004 demonstrates the issue of "exceptionalism" and "transnationaism" that I addressed yesterday with regard to the Democratic Party. Rasmussen’s survey consisted of only two questions:

1. Is America generally fair and decent?

2. Would the world be better off if more countries were more like the U.S.?

About 2/3 of the voters polled said yes to both questions. About 80% of those who voted for President Bush said yes to the two questions. John Kerry voters were split with the answer yes barely edging out no on both questions.

It is also interesting that a growing percentage of voters who vote for candidates like John Kerry and Ned Lamont describe their religion as "other" or "none" in surveys. There is a Right wing religious movement in this country that favors Republicans but few in the media wish […]

The Modern Democratic Party Has Changed and Why it Matters

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:13-05:00August 10th, 2006|Categories: Politics|

The primary loss of Senator Joe Lieberman to political novice Ned Lamont on Tuesday has been debated widely in the United States. Was this a signal of the electoral mood as we approach the fall elections? And if so, what does this mean about the future of the United States? I have no idea and tend to believe that the political pundits don’t know much more than I do. One thing is for sure, almost everyone has an opinion.

What I am more convinced of is that the Democractic Party has changed rather dramatically over the course of my lifetime. I am not sure when, or exactly how, this happened but that there has been a discernable change is now indisputable. The party of FDR and John Kennedy has now become the party of "transnationalism" wrote Michael Barone, senior writer at U. S. News & World Report, in today’s Wall Street Journal (August 10). Older Democrats, argues Barone, were "exceptionalists." This meant they differed very little from Republicans regarding the essential nature and character of America. Both parties, for over a century, saw […]

Is History Bunk Afterall?

By John Armstrong|2006-08-09T17:56:16-05:00August 9th, 2006|Categories: History|

The late Henry Ford once said that history was “bunk.” Lots of modern Christians seem to agree with Ford without realizing it. Why do I say this? Because so many pay little or no attention to the stuff of history, demonstrating that they know little about what is actually happening, and why it matters, in our own time. There is an old epigram that adds, “Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know.” There are consequences to our ignorance, willful or otherwise.

I meet a lot of people who are blest with an incredible certainty about almost everything in the world but who have little basis for that certainty. Hans Urs von Balthazar, the magnificent Catholic theologian, understood correctly that “true history is [really] made up of the distillation of countless biographies.” Get to know people and you will become really interested in history. Ignore people, focus on your own views as the truth, and you will be doomed to make huge mistakes in life. King Louis XI understood this and thus said, “When conceit marches in front, shame and […]

Hope For Renewal Among the Methodists

By John Armstrong|2006-08-05T20:28:56-05:00August 5th, 2006|Categories: Renewal|

How do you work for renewal and reform in a mainline denomination where the leadership is primarily set against your cause? Such is the question faced every day by a group like Good News, a renewal ministry begun in 1967 to help awaken the United Methodist Church to the good news of Christ and the requirements of Christ’s law for those who follow him as his disciples.

I am convinced that of all the various renewal groups in the mainline none has done more good, and produced better resources, than Good News. Because of a growing friendship with James V. Heidinger II, the president of Good News, I was afforded the great thrill of speaking to the board of Good News this week (August 1-3) in Wilmore, Kentucky. I was asked to talk about staying in the mainline and working with Christian courage to reverse the secularizing tendencies of a denomination. I also fielded questions for several hours alongside one of the best Wesley scholars I have ever met, Professor Kenneth Collins of Asbury Theological Seminary. I highly recommend Ken’s work as […]