Blog - Page 47 of 318 - John H Armstrong

The Pope’s Powerful Call to Missional-Ecumenism

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:00-05:00December 2nd, 2013|Categories: ACT 3, Current Affairs, Discipleship, Evangelism, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Renewal, Roman Catholicism, The Church, The Future, Unity of the Church|

Pope Francis issued an encyclical, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), last week that caught the attention of people all around the world. I cannot recall, to be perfectly honest, a papal document that has generated so much widespread interest in years. I think a great deal of this is driven by the deep fascination that people have with this man and his mission.

The Catholic News Service reported:

Pope Francis’ voice is unmistakable in the 50,000-word document’s relatively relaxed style—he writes that an “evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral!”—and its emphasis on some of his signature themes, including the dangers of economic globalization and “spiritual worldliness.” Inspired by Jesus’ poverty and concern for the dispossessed during his earthly ministry, Pope Francis calls for a “church which is poor and for the poor.”

Non-Catholics, especially evangelical Protestants, should read this document. There is a great deal that they will love and a great deal they need to wrestle with to deepen their faith journey and walk with Jesus […]

The Influence of Identity on Unity, Part Two

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:00-05:00November 29th, 2013|Categories: ACT 3, Missional Church, Missional-Ecumenism, The Church, Unity of the Church|

Guest Blog

Rev. Bill Berry served as the pastor for 31 years of a congregation in Marin County, California. He transitioned to part-time staff at the same congregation and has served there for another 4 1/2 years assisting the church through the transition to a young pastor and positioning the congregation to reach the younger generations. Over the past 16 years Bill has lead a group of pastors in Marin County to walk together seeking to foster a visible expression of the unity of the body of Christ. In addition to this he has been to India each of the last ten years seeking to help foster the unity of the church in various cities. Bill is married to Connie for 40 years. They have three grown children, all married and eight grandchildren. Bill is also a vital part of the present ACT3 Cohort group which meets during 2013-14.

If you are a pastor I ask you: “Are you pursuing security to establish your own identity in a way that is hindering your willingness to walk with other […]

A Meditation on Thanksgiving

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:01-05:00November 28th, 2013|Categories: Church History, Church Tradition, Culture, Current Affairs, Prayer, The Church|

Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a time of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and the preceding year. Several other places around the world observe similar celebrations. In America it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, which is today. (As you’ve no doubt noticed it is quite late this year.) The day is celebrated on the second Monday of October by our Canadian neighbors. Thanksgiving has its historical roots in both religious and cultural traditions, and has long been celebrated in a secular manner as well. Christians, in particular, should enjoy the day, a day which has generally been unencumbered by the monetary trappings of other holidays. I personally lament that for the first time, at least in a noticeable way, this day is becoming more and more about commerce with more retails stories having pre-black Friday sales today!

This is a day when many of us will gather with family and enjoy a special time for remembrance and gratitude. With this before me my mind is drawn to the words of Deuteronomy 8. These […]

The Influence of Identity on Unity, Part One

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:01-05:00November 27th, 2013|Categories: Uncategorized|

Guest Blog (Part One)

Rev. Bill Berry served as the pastor for 31 years of a congregation in Marin County, California. He transitioned to part-time staff at the same congregation and has served there for another 4 1/2 years assisting the church through the transition to a young pastor and positioning the congregation to reach the younger generations. Over the past 16 years Bill has lead a group of pastors in Marin County to walk together seeking to foster a visible expression of the unity of the body of Christ. In addition to this he has been to India each of the last ten years seeking to help foster the unity of the church in various cities. Bill is married to Connie for 40 years. They have three grown children, all married and eight grandchildren. Bill is also a vital part of the ACT3 Cohort group that meets in 2013-14.

There is something amazing and encouraging happening in our day. Throughout the world the Lord is drawing pastors and congregations together to form a visible expression of unity […]

“Crips and Bloods: Made in America” – A Disturbing Film That Needs to Be Seen

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:01-05:00November 26th, 2013|Categories: Culture, Current Affairs, Death, Marriage & Family, Poverty, Race and Racism|

The first image that you see, in the opening scenes of Stacy Peralta’s powerful documentary, “Crips and Bloods: Made in America,” is the central Los Angeles skyline turned upside down. I was enraptured with this image and thus was immediately taken into this urban scene in a unique visual way. It is both striking and unnerving. With this image of Los Angeles, Peralta telegraphs a theme that will resonate in chilling ways throughout this film–geography matters. Through the medium of this film you are entering a world that’s been truly turned upside down over the last five decades, the world we know as south central LA.

This geography has been more violent than any place of geography in the United States for the past twenty-five years. Into a social and cultural vacuum created by numerous social and familial problems arose the famous gangs that we know as the Crips (Blue) and the Bloods (Red) gangs. But where did this story begin? How could more people die in these few square miles than have died in most war zones […]

What Shall We Make of JFK and His Presidency?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:01-05:00November 25th, 2013|Categories: America and Americanism, Books, Culture, Current Affairs, Personal, Politics, The Future|

After writing my Friday blog (11/22/13) about the day that President Kennedy was killed fifty years ago (November 22, 1963), and the impact this had on my life since that fateful day, I have continued to reflect on a myriad of public responses to the assassination. In fact, I have been processing these kinds of responses ever since my college years in the late 1960s.

Over the last few weeks I have heard more interesting opinion, and endured more nonsense, than I can recall. Perhaps all of this is because of the fiftieth anniversary of the president’s assassination in Dallas. This has led me to form a few personal reflections which I hope explain something of the times then (1963), as well our times now (2013). In writing these personal reflections I seek to understand what this momentous event meant then, and what it means for us today.

First, numerous popularizers continue to lionize Kennedy, almost beyond belief. Some of this is to be expected, given the way in which he tragically died. Some of it is pure nonsense, […]

The Moment That Changed America: My LIfe Fifty Years Later

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:02-05:00November 22nd, 2013|Categories: America and Americanism, Culture, Current Affairs, Death, History, Personal, Politics, Television, The Future|

TIME magazine’s November 25 (2013) cover story says it as well as any single storyline I’ve read the last two weeks: “The Moment That Changed America.” That moment, the assassination of our 35th president, John F. Kennedy, occurred fifty years ago today at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas.

If you were alive at the time, and old enough to have a memory of that incredible day, you will never, never forget it. It seemed impossible to comprehend at the time. In many ways it still seems impossible to comprehend, now fifty years later. I think, for example, that we comprehend 9/11 far better. We can fairly easily picture how and why radical terrorists would strike us. We also know who did this, or at least we are fairly certain that we know since someone claimed it and defended it.

Fifty years after the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories are still contentiously debated and the national psyche seems permanently impacted by the tragedy that unfolded in Dealey Plaza on that sunny day.

The death of our young president was captured on […]

CenterQuest–A Ministry to Draw us to the Christ the True Center

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:02-05:00November 21st, 2013|Categories: Contemplation, Discipleship, Personal, Spirituality, The Church|

My new friend, Wil Hernandez, has recently created a ministry called CenterQuest. I am thrilled by this direction and support wholeheartedly this cornucopia of resources. I am also excited to partner with this dear brother.

Wil has a unique background. He was trained in very conservative evangelical settings but, like me, was led into a deeper experience of Christ through catholic spiritual formation and deep, growing practice of contemplation. Eventually Wil pursued his dream – to train people across the entire Christian spectrum to become deep, carefully formed, followers of Jesus Christ. CenterQuest reflects this vision in being an ecumenical hub for the study and practice of Christian spirituality. I was thrilled when Wil invited me, and ACT3 Network, to become an affiliate partner of CenterQuest. I urge you to check out this amazing resource. You will also benefit deeply from Wil’s writings on Henri Nouwen. He is the author of Henri Nouwen and Spiritual Polarities: A Life of Tension (2012), Henri Nouwen and Soul Care (2008) and Henri Nouwen: A Spirituality of Imperfection ( 2006). All […]

The World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:03-05:00November 20th, 2013|Categories: ACT 3, Current Affairs, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal, Roman Catholicism, Unity of the Church|

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of churches seeking unity and a common witness and Christian service that came into existence in 1948 following several decades of global interest in unity in Christ’s mission. It has had both an illustrious, and at times rocky, history. The most recent global gathering of the WCC, the Tenth General Assembly, concluded in South Korea less than two weeks ago. A number of my friends were in attendance and one, Fr. Steve Bevans, spoke to a plenary gathering. (Steve and I shared a speaking role last Saturday in Chicago. He is a professor of mission at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.)

In my work for ecumenism I am sometimes asked why the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) is not a member of the WCC. The answer to this question is variously misunderstood by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Some, especially (politically conservative) Catholics, make a great deal out of this fact that the RCC is a non-member of the WCC. They seem to me to do this in order to show […]

Waiting for Another MLK – What Can We Do As Christians?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:15:03-05:00November 19th, 2013|Categories: ACT 3, America and Americanism, Current Affairs, Film, Gospel/Good News, Kingdom of God, Missional Church, Race and Racism, The Church, The Future|

My good friend Rev. Carlos Malave, the executive director of Christian Churches Together USA, shared a lovely meal with me in Louisville just a few weeks ago. Carlos was raised in the Seventh Day Adventist church but eventually became a Presbyterian minister. He was drawn to ecumenism while a student at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he was influenced by another friend, Dr. Cecil (Mel) Robeck, Jr. Carlos says of this part of his journey: “What really clicked was a church history class taught by Robeck, an Assembly of God pastor but a really strange Assembly of God pastor because he was a leading Pentecostal ecumenist. That was captivating to me, his call to work for the unity of the church.” Carlos finished his degree at Fuller and went on to serve as an associate for ecumenical relations in the Office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

In a recent letter to leaders in CCT, titled “Waiting for Another MLK,” Carlos eloquently wrote this appeal:

Are we waiting for another Dr. King? As I collect […]