Blog - Page 43 of 318 - John H Armstrong

How and Why ACT3 Began

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:50-05:00January 30th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Discipleship, Friendship, Kingdom of God, Leadership, Love, Missional-Ecumenism, Pastoral Renewal, Personal, Religion, Renewal, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

The ministry of ACT3 Network was legally incorporated in 1991. Four men joined me in our home in Carol Stream for the purpose of founding a non-profit teaching mission that would seek the renewal of the church through impacting the lives of pastors and leaders. At the time this ministry was incorporated it was called Reformation & Revival.

But the real beginning of this ministry goes all the way back to 1981. A pastor from England had been in my pulpit and home for several days. He asked me about my influence upon area pastors and how I could use this to impact others. He suggested I begin a ministerial fellowship that would stress the intellectual, spiritual and doctrinal aspects of deep faith. The first such group met in 1981 in the basement of my church in Wheaton, Illinois. We called it the Whitefield Fellowship, naming it after the British evangelist of the eighteenth century. I picked this name because I loved George Whitefield for his heart, his incredible zeal for God and needy people, and his deep […]

Michael Novak: On Forming Good Intellectual and Spiritual Habits

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:50-05:00January 29th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, Acton Institute, Books, Culture, Current Affairs, Ethics, Free Speech, Freedom, Money & Stewardship, Personal, Politics, Religion|

Michael Novak, not to be confused with the late conservative journalist Robert Novak, has been (rightly I believe) described as “one of the world’s most influential social philosophers.” He has played a number of prominent roles in American life, ranging from advising candidates and presidents to teaching and writing on the ethics of the free market and welfare reform. He has taught at Harvard and Stanford and he has held academic chairs at Notre Dame and Syracuse. He was also one of the early leaders of the American Enterprise Institute, an influential think tank. In 1994 Novak won the Templeton Prize (it has been called the Nobel Prize for the life of the spirit), a prize also won by men like Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Desmond Tutu, Mother Theresa of Calcutta and Charles Taylor. His writings have been translated into every major Western language as well as Chinese and Japanese.

One thing that separates Novak from many intellectuals, and elected leaders, is his genuine civility and humility. His thought is clear and he is willing to allow facts to challenge […]

Michael Novak’s Liberal Origins and Friendships

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:50-05:00January 28th, 2014|Categories: Culture, Current Affairs, Economy/Economics, Freedom, History, Ideology, Personal, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Roman Catholicism, The Future|

Yesterday I gave an overview of Michael Novak’s superb new memoir, Writing from Left to Right: My Journey from Liberal to Conservative (Image: New York, 2013). For me, a teenage in the 1960s, this wonderful memoir seems like a political and economic account of an extraordinary life well-lived through a time of social and political turbulence, the times in which I was coming of age and growing older.

Walter Isaacson, the former managing editor of TIME, and certainly no social or political conservative, says, “Whether or not you always agree with him, you will see in this book why Michael Novak is considered one of our most profound thinkers on the relationship between democracy, capitalism, and freedom. The memoir of his intellectual odyssey is both a compelling personal narrative and a provocative intellectual history of our times” (italics are mine, taken from the back jacket of the book). Another intriguing endorsement, one which reveals why I like Novak as a person and as an intellectual of deep importance, comes from Tom Fox, the publisher and former editor of […]

Writing from Left to Right: An Engaging Memoir

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:51-05:00January 27th, 2014|Categories: Acton Institute, Culture, Current Affairs, Ethics, Free Speech, Ideology, Philosophy, Politics, Wealth|

One of the most fascinating and engaging political stories that I have read in years is the recently published book, Writing from Left to Right: My Journey from Liberal to Conservative (Image: New York, 2013). This unique memoir is written by Roman Catholic scholar Michael Novak. I found Novak’s memoir so deeply interesting, for both Christian and personal reasons, that I decided to write several blogs on the ideas of Novak, a foremost intellectual among serious social thinkers over the last four decades.

I have followed the work of Michael Novak for thirty years. Michael Novak is the retired George Frederick Jewett Scholar in Religion, Philosophy, and Public Policy from the American Enterprise Institute. He is an author, philosopher, and theologian. Michael Novak now resides in Ave Maria, Florida, where he is a trustee and visiting professor at Ave Maria University. I had the privilege of serving on a national board with Michael Novak in Washington about a decade ago. It was through this context that I got to know him personally. Several shared meals allowed me some […]

John Newton’s Three Great Surprises

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:51-05:00January 24th, 2014|Categories: Gospel/Good News, Love, Personal|

The amazing John Newton (1725-1807), writer of the greatest hymn (Amazing Grace) of all-time, was a “slaver” on a ship that hauled African captives to Great Britain for sale. His life was debauched and depraved beyond excess. He had no use for God. He should have died at sea but God showed him great forbearance and mercy. He never got over his own conversion and over time he would become an evangelical priest in the Church of England. His writings are some of the finest Christian heart-material I’ve ever discovered. You will discover this in his great classic, Cardiphonia.

Newton’s famous hymn, Amazing Grace, sums up his own story very well.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me […]

Let Us Stop Judging

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:51-05:00January 23rd, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Church History, Current Affairs, Evangelism, Gospel/Good News, Love, Missional-Ecumenism, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

One of the most amazing autobiographical texts in all the letters of Paul occurs in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Philippians.

Here we read a powerful and moving account of Paul’s personal circumstances. (The italics used in the text below are of course mine. I use them to draw attention to certain parts in this whole account.)

I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.

Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. What does it […]

The Great Apologetic – Love

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:54-05:00January 22nd, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Church History, Evangelism, Love, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, The Church, Unity of the Church|

As readers of my book, Your Church Is Too Small, know my life was radically transformed by a deeply spiritual encounter with God in the prayer of Jesus found in John 17:20-24:

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the […]

Those Who Are Not Against Jesus Are For Him

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:54-05:00January 21st, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Church History, Evangelism, Gospel/Good News, Missional-Ecumenism, The Church, Unity of the Church|

In my book, Your Church Is Too Small, I urge what I call “missional ecumenism.” This is a textured theological way of saying that we need to show the world our unity by what we do together, especially in talking and doing the mission of Christ in the world.

I mentioned several American evangelists in my previous blog but I could include many others, including men like George Whitefield and John Wesley. Both Whitefield, the Calvinist, and Wesley the Arminian, never excluded Catholics, liberals, or any others from their efforts to preach the gospel to as many people as possible. These men, along with Billy Graham and countless others, brought churches together that had been separated over many lesser matters in order to share in a deep, common passion for prayer and preaching. It is a scandal that their heirs have done so much worse, turning their debates into doctrines that divide us into camps and parties.

The instruction of Jesus in Luke 9 is worth careful reading:

Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them […]

On Not Being a Christian Separatist

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:54-05:00January 20th, 2014|Categories: ACT 3, American Evangelicalism, Church History, Evangelism, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, The Church, Unity of the Church|

As early as 1953, in the segregated South of my childhood, Billy Graham personally took down the ropes which separated the black and white seating areas at one of his crusades. This step took incredible courage and went against the advice of some of his best friends. I’m grateful he was bold and faithful.

The oft-maligned 19th century revivalist Charles Finney once said, “My duty is to belong to the church, even if the devil should belong to it.” I didn’t know that until a friend, Bob Thompson, pointed it out to me some months ago. Finney was wrong, or so I believe, about more than a few doctrines but he was right about the church and belonging to it regardless of what people thought of it. I’m grateful for his courage and faithfulness on this matter.

But did you also know that the famous evangelist Billy Sunday even went so far as to cooperate with liberal Christians who espoused “higher criticism.” As a result of this belief Sunday accepted an invitation to speak to an assembly of Unitarian […]

A Little Humor From Chicago in Wintertime

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:14:54-05:00January 19th, 2014|Categories: Humor|

“Windy City Temperature Conversion Chart”

60 F: Arizonians shiver uncontrollably, people in Chicago are still sunbathing.

50 F: Californians try turn on the heat; people in Chicago plant gardens.

40 F: Italian sports cars won’t start; people in Chicago drive with the windows down.

32 F: Distilled water freezes’ Lake Michigan water gets thicker.

20 F: Floridians don coats, thermal underware, gloves and wool hats; people in Chicago throw on a light jacket.

15 F: People in Chicago have the last cookout before it gets cold.

0 F: All the people in Phoenix die; Chicagoans close the windows.

10 below: Californians fly away to Mexico; the girl scouts in Chicago are selling cookies door to door.

25 below: Hollywood disintegrates; people in Chicago get out their winter coats.

40 below: Washington D.C. runs out of hot air; people in Chicago let the dogs sleep indoors.

100 below: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Chicagoans get frustrated because they can’t start “da car.”

450 below: All atomic motion stops (absolute zero on Kelvin scale); people in Chicago start saying, “cold nuff for […]