Blog - Page 93 of 318 - John H Armstrong

"A Bible and a Radio, But No Church"

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:51-05:00January 23rd, 2012|Categories: Sacraments, Social Networking, The Church|

One of the leading evangelical and ecumenical theologians of our time is Thomas C. Oden. Tom turned 80 last fall and continues to write magnificent works that serve the wider catholic community. He has provided the church with a fresh treasure of magnificent written work that will survive him by decades. You can sample something of Tom's story, a story of of how he turned away from theological liberalism in particular, in an online article that is well worth reading.

I have had the privilege of knowing Tom for the past ten years-plus, though we are not extremely close as friends. We have served together in one specific ministry context which allowed us to talk and share several times in private. I count Tom among my Top Ten modern Christian thinkers and writers. In an aticle in Christianity Today, published in 2011, Tom wrote:

Christ promised the early church the Spirit, who came on the […]

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:51-05:00January 19th, 2012|Categories: ACT 3, Prayer, Unity of the Church|

There is a long history behind the worldwide call to prayer for Christian unity but I became acutely aware of the history of this call at the Center for Unity in Rome last March. Then in June, about an hour north of New York City, I visited the grave site of Fr. Paul Wattson, the man who launched this global week of prayer for Christian unity. As deeply interested as I am in this subject I am pleased to share news today from the Vatican Information Service of January 18. The Pope's comments provide a gracious reminder of our common duty to the whole of Christ's Church, not just our own communion or fellowship.

INVOKING THE GIFT OF UNITY AMONG CHRISTIANS

VATICAN CITY, 18 JAN 2012 (VIS) – The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which begins today, was the theme of Benedict XVI's general audience celebrated this morning in […]

When Jesus Met Mary: A Sacred Friendship Gathering

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:51-05:00January 17th, 2012|Categories: Friendship, Sexuality, The Church, Women in the Church|

This unique event, hosted by my dear friend, author and speaker Dan Brennan, will feature several interesting and engaging speakers, including yours truly. It will present a great opportunity for a kind of dialogue not generally welcomed in the church at large and includes a special opportunity to meet new friends in genuine conversation and fellowship. Please consider attending. Here is more information:

When Jesus Met Mary: A Sacred Friendship Gathering

Chicago, Illinois

April 27^th-28^th, 2012

A Conference Exploring Friendship Between Men and Women

Contact: Dan at [sacredfriendshipgathering@gmail.com]

When men and women come together, are the only options romance or danger? Is sex the subtext of every male-female friendship? Is true male-female friendship ever possible without uncomfortable tension, cynicism or second-guessing?

When Jesus met Mary in the garden, it was in friendship. In the […]

A Conversation with Cardinal George

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:51-05:00January 16th, 2012|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Roman Catholicism|

As readers of this blog already know I had the privilege of spending ten days in Rome last March. (There are extensive blogs on this trip archived on this site in March 2011.) I was a part of a small group of Christian leaders who serve in various contexts where missional-ecumenism clearly defines what we do in our mission for Christ. I only knew one of the six other team members of my small group before I journeyed to Rome. Deacon John Green and I had met some years ago and developed a friendship that has been mutually enriching. I have supported Emmaus Ministries, the work John pioneered many years ago here in Chicago, for some time. John's mission is featured in my book, Your Church Is Too Small. I also endorsed John's wonderful book, Streetwalking with Jesus: Reacing Out with Justice and Mercy (2011).

Just after I returned from Rome a member of our ACT 3 board, Marcus Payne, asked me to get the Sunday edition of the Chicago Tribune in order to […]

The ACT 3 Weekly: Churchless Christianity?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:51-05:00January 13th, 2012|Categories: ACT 3, Missional-Ecumenism, Personal|

Several times each year I mention what I believe is the most important online writing that I do. I refer to the ACT 3 Weekly articles I write for our web site. (These are read by several thousand subscribers as well as by visitors to our home page.) These articles run between 1,000 and 1,400 words and address topics and themes that are directly related to our vision of missional-ecumenism, the vision that drives this ministry. I have been writing these longer articles for at least ten years. I have been blogging for about seven years. These weekly articles have often been delivered as public presentations (via lectures and dialogues) and some have even been used in multi-authored published works. Still others will likely become full-length books in the future. I do far more research, and do more extensive editing, on these articles than I can ever do with my blogging. My first priority in daily writing is this series. This material is actually the long-time staple of our serious effort to help the church, to serve church leaders and to think more […]

Determine How You Will Lead in 2012

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:52-05:00January 12th, 2012|Categories: ACT 3, Leadership|

ACT 3 exists to “equip leaders for unity in Christ’s mission.” To be a leader, a real servant-leader, you have to think about what you intend to do and then have a clear purpose to do it. You also have to take some risks. Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

My friend Bob Shank, a trainer of business leaders, says, “Most security addicts think that it’s crazy to try something new. Einstein would say that it’s crazy not to try something new, [especially] if the results you are realizing from what you’re already doing aren’t enough to be satisfying and fulfilling!” Amen!

The prophet Isaiah said: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and […]

Will the Election Fundamentally Change Our Government?

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:52-05:00January 11th, 2012|Categories: America and Americanism, Politics|

Thomas B. Edsall, professor of journalism at Columbia University and the author of the forthcoming book The Age of Austerity: How Scarcity Will Remake American Politics, wrote a Sunday opinion piece in the New York Times (01/08/12) that should give us considerable pause if we really think that the electorate, at least those of us who are ordinary citizens who might be called the grass roots, will be able to fundamentally change the way our government works.

In his next to last paragraph Edsall concluded:

There are idealists who believe that two recent developments raise the potential for reform. On the conservative side, the Tea Party movement is adamantly opposed to machinations inside the Beltway. On the liberal side, the Occupy Wall Street movement has similarly challenged the power of the ‘1 percent,’ a constituency heavily represented by the special-interest community, many of whom are themselves members of the 1 percent. In Washington, the consensus is that despite these movements, little will change (emphasis mine).

What […]

The Three-Ring Circus Some Call the Evangelical Church

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:52-05:00January 10th, 2012|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Sexuality, The Church|

I thought I had seen it all, at least in terms of the veritable three-ring circus that we might best call the "edgy" evangelical mega-church. Then I realized that their are frontiers yet to be explored by very sincere pastors who have turned public gatherings into whatever they decide to make up as they seek to attract more people to church, their ideas and their new books. And some people actually wonder why young evangelical adults, who deeply love Jesus Christ, are now leaving evangelical churches in increasing numbers to go to more ancient churches.

Ed and Lisa Young, founders of Texas-based Fellowship Church, will spend 24 hours in bed on the church roof next week and stream themselves live on the Internet to encourage married couples to see firsthand the power of a healthy sex life as prescribed in their new book, Sexperiment.

Two days after their book, Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting […]

Speaking of God

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:52-05:00January 9th, 2012|Categories: God's Character, Love, Spirituality, The Trinity|

We have always had a difficult time when we speak of the living God. Most people, including the most ardent believers, treat this as a non-problem. This reveals a profound lack of understanding biblically and historically. The ancient Jews did not even speak the "revealed" name of God. So how do we, living in the time of Christ who is still with us by the Spirit he poured out on us all, properly speak of God?

I suggest that we should speak of God relationally. By this I mean that we should speak of God as the Source and energy/dynamic of relationality. In reading Genesis again during the first week of 2012 I was struck by this in the entire book. The Creator is a relational being who made us in his image. We were brought into being, that is into a relationship with God and creation, when the Source of all Being "breathed the breath of life into us" (Genesis 2:7). Trace this point throughout the entire Old Testament and you will see that it remains […]

Theology as Disciplined Reflection

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:52-05:00January 6th, 2012|Categories: Uncategorized|

Theology is not doctrine. Doctrine is what the church teaches. The New Testament actually refers to doctrine as apostolic teaching, thus they are synonymous in the biblical text. But doctrine inevitably develops through theology and theological reflection. Orthodox theologians thus believe that all theology is inevitable, even necessary, so long as it is properly done as deep and disciplined "human" reflection on divine revelation. This means, of course, that we have never completed the work of true theology.

Conservatives can easily fall into the mistake of believing that theology is about finding a "tradition" and "confessional formula" and defending it as if this is the best (even last) good word on biblical teaching. Liberals can call in the opposite direction, believing tradition and history has little bearing on the present except as a marker to how wrong the church got it before now. Both make the mistake of an overweening pride in their own insights and conclusions.

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