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Thinking Evangelically About Postmodernity

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:24:59-05:00June 24th, 2005|Categories: Postmodernity|

I spent several hours, over the past two days, writing my next two Weekly Messengers, for June 27 and July 4. (You can subscribe at www.reformationrevival.com.) The subject of postmodernism (PM), and how ordinary Christians should think about this often overused, and even more often misunderstood, word is my subject. I hope I have said something that is fairly simple and practically useful. That is my goal in most such articles.

Kevin Vanhoozer, a prolific evangelical theologian at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL), has recently written of the four ways we might respond to PM. He says we can:

1. Deny it, or ignore it. We can thus refuse to recognize that it has any importance or has any right to exist. He writes that, "Not a few Christians are in denial over postmodernity."

2. We can defy it, thereby seeking to show how it is a threat to our security and way of life. Vanhoozer adds, "Not a few Christians have (in my judgment) overreacted in this direction. To describe postmodernity as ‘the […]

The End for Billy Graham? A Legacy for Good

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:25:00-05:00June 23rd, 2005|Categories: Evangelism|

Billy Graham is preaching what will likely be his last evangelistic city-wide campaign this weekend in New York. He has repeatedly said that this three day event (June 24-26) "will be my last [evangelistic crusade] in America, I’m sure." Dr. Graham is 86 years old, suffering from fluid on the brain, and prostate cancer. Earlier this week he said, "I look forward to seeing God face to face."

This prompts me to personally reflect about the life and legacy of this good man. I have admired Billy Graham since I first saw and heard him in the 1950s. His strong and clear voice, joined with a striking presence that simply sparkled, and his clear exposition of the gospel joined with a courageous declaration of Christ’s Lordship, all impressed me then. They still do now. After watching his life on the public stage for over fifty years, and hearing scores (maybe hundreds) of his sermons and interviews, I remain impressed that this is a man who lived a humble, Christ-centered life. I never personally met Dr. Graham, so my personal impressions are second-hand. I do have friendships […]

Roman Catholic Special Pleading

By John Armstrong|2005-06-22T08:03:42-05:00June 22nd, 2005|Categories: The Church|

I listen quite often to snippets of Relevant Radio while I drive about Chicago. Relevant Radio is the conservative Roman Catholic network for those who do not recognize the name. (I often go from talk radio, to Moody Broadcast Network, to Relevant Radio and back again in ten minutes of drive time!). I am frequently encouraged by things I hear on Relevant Radio that are clearly mainstream Christian, thus catholic and apostolic. I am also amazed at some of the Scripture twisting I hear from earnest and sincere Catholic apologists. These guys seem to "shadow box" stereotypical evangelical ideas with glee. Like fundamentalists, these folks often go to unusual extremes to "prove" a point of controversial, non-mainstream, non-apostolic theology. Such was the case on Monday, June 20. Here is the text that was cited:

Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. The Lord said to me, "This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because […]

The Great Commission is About More Than Winning Individuals

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:25:01-05:00June 21st, 2005|Categories: Emergent Church|

Jesus says that making disciples means "going" into the whole world and "baptizing and teaching them to obey" (Matthew 28:18-20). This means the mission of Christ is for every people group, every nook and cranny of every cultrue if you please. As some of you know he literally says "as you are going" into the world this is what you are to do. This clearly means his followers will be going if they are following faithfully, so when they do go what they must be sure to do, as his people, is "make disciples." Churches have failed this task for centuries. Even the most evangelical churches are often content to hold services, care for their own, and in many cases simply buy and develop real estate and build institutions to be preserved. Intentionally penetrating culture appears to me to have been a clear hallmark of Jesus’ ministry. He was so involved in his own culture that the religious elite called him a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend of sinners (Matthew 11:19). Jesus transformed lives by directly engaging with, and in, culture. He met […]

Escaping a Bad Church

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:25:02-05:00June 20th, 2005|Categories: The Church|

Thousands of small congregations dot the spiritual landscape of American Christianity. They are still the backbone of much serious, faithful Christian faith and practice. It has been said that the average church has 65 people in attendance on Sunday morning. I like small churches. They can do things relationally that are missed by almost all larger churches. I pastored a church of 75-100 people for sixteen years. I am now, very happily, a member of a church of 100 or less people on Sunday morning. My wife and I know and love the flock and feel the warmth of God’s love in our church.

But small churches can be easily tyannized in rather unique ways. One such tyranny that I have witnessed over the past twenty-five years or so occurs in small Reformed churches. These congregations are always male dominated. Accordingly, they crush female spirituality by turning women into what one brother has appropriately called, "Stepford wives." These churches almost always adopt a strong "elder rule" pattern of leadership. The elders, who answer to no one else, control the life of the […]

An Acton Institute Forum in Grand Rapids

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:25:02-05:00June 17th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

I wrote last year (Weekly Messenger) on the valuable work of the Acton Insitute. I attended an Acton Conference on the theme: "Toward a Free and Virtuous Society." This event was held in Connecticut last August. I deeply appreciated it and thus I decided to attend another Acton event in Grand Rapids this week (June 14-18). This current event is a symposium made up of different tracks of study and fellowship on subjects like globalization, effective compassion, and business, faith and ethics.

The group I am attending is titled, "Business, Faith and Ethics." It is part of Acton’s Center for Entrepreneurial Stewardship. I have been in a room with twenty-five successful business entrepreneurs and one other mission related person, a leader in the Christian Reformed Church. This is not my normal venue so it has been fun to sit back, say very little, and seek to better understand a world quite apart from my own Christian non-profit mission.

Yesterday we discusssed questions like, "Who am I?" and "What is my work?" Work is a source of satisfaction or frustation for all […]

More on Fundamentalism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:25:03-05:00June 16th, 2005|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

I have received several comments re: my three-part Weekly Messenger series on fundamentalism (May 23, 30 and June 6). Here is another response, sent to me second-hand.

Armstrong’s articles on fundamentalism were disappointing. It was all over the map, i.e. unclear. It also seemed to conclude that our belief in the truth rests in seeing the events of Christ as being factual and the only way this happens is when the Spirit works in our hearts. Where does this leave us when people claim to be moved by the Spirit to contradictory interpretations of thefacts of Christ? This is surely another form of irrational emotionalism. It is also very dangerous for him to say that there is a difference between divine revelation and the Bible. I guess he is fighting against a narrow biblicism, i.e. worship of the Bible. But who does that? It is a straw man.

What about what Josiah required in 2 Kings 22 and 23. All the people were to listen to the Lord as he spoke to them in the book of the covenant. This was the […]

Some Lessons at Valley Forge

By John Armstrong|2005-06-15T08:50:54-05:00June 15th, 2005|Categories: Evangelism|

I went to Valley Forge National Park (Pennsylvania) on Saturday, June 11. It amazed me to see the stark log huts that were hastily built to house thousands of General Washington’s troops so they could endure the infamous winter of 1777-78.

The story is fairly well known. Washington retreated to Valley Forge because the British had captured Philadelphia in 1777. The American revolutionaries had already tasted battle, both defeat and success. At this point they needed to retreat, to regroup, and to prepare themselves to fight again. But winter was upon them and they had few supplies and no safe place near Philadelphia for their winter encampment. The story of the harshness of that famous winter is part of American legend. In reality it was not that unusual a winter, just "suffering as usual" as one later put it. Privation was the soldier’s constant lot. Their sacrifice was immense.

As I drove across the fields of the Valley Forge National Park, stopped my car and waked about, I looked at the various buildings that remained. I gazed into the simple huts […]

Beethoven, Heavy Metal and My Dog Neo

By John Armstrong|2005-06-14T09:32:00-05:00June 14th, 2005|Categories: Culture|

I knew there had to be research somewhere that would unquestionably demonstrate the value of Beethoven over heavy metal, even for my dachshund Neo. Now I have the "proof." The Bide-A-Wee Animal Shelter in New York has discovered, reports the Christian Science Monitor, that classical music quiets and calms homeless dogs in a local shelter.

Researchers have long argued that music has a positive effect upon humans. Now shelter workers, dog trainers, groomers and boarding kennel operators are using music to calm their cannine friends. The vice-president of Bide-A-Wee says "Shelters are inherently a stressful environment." I guess, barking all day long does get old real fast even for dog lovers like me. But by playing Beethoven and Mozart not only is baby happier but dog noise levels can be reduced by 25%. And the pay-off, as the shelter vice-president notes, is that "Potential adopters are getting to see the dogs in a better light." Less and less homeless dogs sounds like a good deal to me.

And now we have some real science to prove a major conclusion about […]

Kenneth Taylor: A Life Lived Well

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:25:03-05:00June 13th, 2005|Categories: American Evangelicalism|

Kenneth Taylor, whose "Living Bible" introduced a generation to the Scriptures in conversational English lived about two minutes from my home. Dr. Taylor died peacefully on Friday, June 11, at the age of 88.

Ken Taylor was a graduate of Wheaton College and Northern Baptist Seminary. He represents one of the stalwarts of "the greatest generation." His legacy will most likely remain for several generations to come.

I knew Ken Taylor, but not exceptionally well. I know some of his children and grandchildren even better. His funeral sermon will be preached in Edman Chapel at Wheaton College, on Wednesday morning, by my dear friend, Dr. Wendell Hawley. Wendell served on our staff and board for several years. It was through Wendell, who knew Ken Taylor so well and worked with him closely for nearly thirty years at Tyndale House Publishers, that I came to know a great deal more about the private life of Ken Taylor.

I have three distinct memories of meeting Ken Taylor personally. First, as a college student, I attended a BIble class he taught […]