The Tragedy of Syria: Christians in the Crossfire
If you watch or follow American news, from the left or the right, you hear continual calls for our government, working with the United Nations, to engage militarily with the Syrian government in support of the rebels in that nation. I submit that the simple view held by the vast majority of Syria's Christians is very different from what we hear day-to-day. Their message is: "Please stay out!" Why? After all, some Christians have died in the present cycle of extreme violence. And this uprising is now nearly a year old. The images we generally see are of government oppression and open attacks on rebels that defy imagination.
As with Iraq so it now is with Syria. If the secular government is removed the end result will likely be much worse for minorities, especially for Christian minorities. Syria's religions are as follows: 74% Sunni Muslims, 13% other Muslims, 10% Christian and 3% Druze. President Bashar Assad, an autocratic leader for […]
One of My Favorite Modern Authors
I have many favorite authors. Some are theologians. Some are pastors. Some are missiologists. Some are novelists. Not all are Christians. The ones I appreciate the most make me think the best.
One of my favorite writers is a United Methodist Bishop by the name of Will Willimon. I am not sure when I first began to read Willimon but it has to have been at least 35 years ago. I like Willimon because he is a contrarian and a provocateur. He's been a pastor, a university chaplain (Duke University) and now is a Methodist Bishop (Alabama). If you ask Willimon what he is he will tell you that he's a preacher first. He says that he is called to be a truth-teller of Jesus Christ. A Pulpit and Pew Research Center study discovered that he was one of the most widely-read authors among mainline Protestant pastors. Willimon feels most at home behind a pulpit. If you've […]
The American Church and the Problem of Passing Fads
For some years I have enjoyed a precious friendship with a dear brother by the name of John Paul Todd. John has served the church in many capacities and now lives in Kentucky after some years on the mission field in Latin America. He blogs about unity and Christ's kingdom at a great site. I encourage you to check it out and create a tab. Now and then John and I have shared rich private fellowship. I mention John Paul in my book, Your Church Is Too Small, because he helped me frame several of my ideas for that work. He has been a great personal encouragement. Occasionally we share email correspondence. He recently wrote me a personal email that I wanted to share. With his permission I share it here.
I just returned from a road trip with my daughter & husband to the Southwest — nine states in all. It was great to see some of the major national parks that I hadn't seen before such as the Petrified Forest […]
How Christology Helps Us Find Unity in Christ's Mission
One of the chapters in my book, Your Church Is Too Small, is taken from the title of a book by the German theologian and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Christ the Center. Here I argue that the Christian faith is first about Christ? "Who do you say that I am?" asked Jesus. Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Before we argue about the doctrine of the church, the nature and seat of authority or even about the nature of faith and grace in our salvation why not begin with this question. It is clearly the most basic and core question of them all. If a person says (with the faith that only God knows and really sees) "Jesus is Lord" and confesses openly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, then Scripture is very plain about this matter. Such a person is to be numbered among his followers and […]
Ludwig Wittgenstein on Leaving Judgment to God
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was a European philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of the mind and language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947. In his lifetime he wrote very little. Yet in 1999 his posthumously published Philosophical Investigations (1953) was ranked as the most important book of 20th-century philosophy, standing out as "…the one crossover masterpiece in twentieth-century philosophy, appealing across diverse specializations and philosophical orientations." Bertrand Russell, the famous atheist, described Wittgenstein as "the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived, passionate, profound, intense, and dominating."
Wittgenstein rejected faith but at the same time seemed unable to escape from its influence upon his mind. He still has things to say about Christianity that are both challenging and worthy of serious reflection. He wrote, in Culture and Value, that:
[…]
The Contraception Coverage Debate
I have tried to get my mind around the current debate over contraception and the freedom of religion in America. In my opinion this is not easy to do. I admire the Catholic bishops deeply and share their concerns in general. But I also see other factors at work in this controversy that are seemingly missed in the heat of this debate.
What I do know is that the Obama administration made a huge miscalculation in its initial proposal, a proposal which clearly required Christians to violate their conscience. What I am not as sure about is the present compromise and where it will lead. The White House, if I am understanding their stance correctly, has granted a year to faith groups to find a way to comply with mandated health insurance that does not cover contraception. Report from the Capital (Baptist Joint Committee) says that "The White House has privately assured religious leaders–especially those who head the Catholic hospitals, universities and social service agencies most affected by the employer mandate–that President Obama will be directly involved in […]
Must Missional Be Ecumenical?
I shared dinner a week ago with a new friend that I met through my book and then through Facebook conversations. Maurice Hagar is not an ordinary Christian businessman. He has a clear vision for unity and mission and is now acting upon it in faith. This has led him to begin an effort in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. He posted the following on my Facebook page. I want to share it via today's blog:
I am absolutely convinced that missional MUST be ecumenical. If you're not convinced, begin with Jesus in John 17, then read Jason Dukes' Beyond MY Church, and finish with The Unity Factor or Your Church Is Too Small by John H. Armstrong for a closing argument. Maybe the resources at 1LoveWake will help you too.
That said, on my journey into what Armstrong calls missional-ecumenism, I find a couple of things most interesting, and open to multiple interpretations I suppose. First, […]
A Catholic Reflection on Your Church Is Too Small: A Brief Reply to a Gracious Former-Atheist I Love and Respect
Catholic apologist, and former-atheist, Devin Rose is a conservative thinker, a clear writer and an extremely gracious Christ-like brother. He has written a recent book titled: If Catholicism Is True: The Reformation Meets Rome. (I have not yet read his book but I will attempt to do so.) Devin Rose has corresponded with me via Facebook in recent months and has recently read my book, Your Church Is Too Small. I respect him as a person, a brother and a man who I believe reviewed my work with a gentle spirit and a good faith argument. I want everyone who cares about this subject to read his review. I will offer a few salient comments below but do not plan to offer an extensive counter-review. I do not desire to enter into the combat zone of Catholic and evangelical apologetics. (There are hundreds, likely thousands, of blogs, tracts and books that do this […]
Defining Ministry in These Times Is the New Question for Us All
On Saturday, February 25, I had the privilege of teaching about 35 (mostly) young adults at City Church San Francisco. The program I taught was connected with the Newbigin House of Studies, which is a wonderful new program for training lay leadership. It also includes a seminary program for urban church planters and pastors linked with Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Western is a seminary that is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, my own denomination.
I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to teach missional-ecumenism to this eager group in San Francisco. I met Christians who have been in the faith for less than two years who are already mature in their thinking and missional practice. They are living out the faith beyond what I have seen in most Christians that I’ve encountered around the country. This is why I am so excited about the future. The number of such young Christians leaders is not large but their depth and vision is strong. They are light years ahead of where I was in my […]
