Blog - Page 95 of 318 - John H Armstrong

A Canadian Leader Who Models Christian Grace in Leadership

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:53-05:00December 24th, 2011|Categories: Incarnation, Politics, Religion, Separation of Church & State|

A Canadian Christian friend recently introduced me to the head of state in his province by sharing an email link. I thus learned about a remarkable politician named Brad Wall. Wall was elected Premier of Saskatchewan in the November 2007 provincial election.

Since that election, the Wall's leadership of the government can point to a remarkable list of achievements, including;

– Three balanced budgets;
– The largest tax cuts in the history of Saskatchewan;
– Cutting the province's debt by almost 40 per cent;
– Record infrastructure spending to improve roads, schools and senior's facilities all across Saskatchewan and providing more affordable housing for those with lower incomes.

Prior to his career in politics, Premier Wall was active in his local business community and was involved in service work spanning local events, economic development and health care […]

The Growing Reality of Interfaith Activity

By John Armstrong|2011-12-23T04:00:00-06:00December 23rd, 2011|Categories: Religion|

A recent Hartford Institute study indicates an increase in connections across all faith traditions, especially among more civic-oriented communities. Since the 9/11 attacks, congregations have gotten more involved in interfaith work and are cooperating more for the social good of their communities. In the past decade, American congregations' involvement in interfaith worship doubled and their involvement in interfaith community service nearly tripled. Although interfaith work has increased in both evangelical and oldline churches, the most liberal congregations have the highest level of this activity.

Older evangelicals have a very difficult time thinking about interfaith dialog and practice. Their categories are totally black and white. You are for Christ or for the devil. This is spiritual war and we must choose sides. We cannot serve God and Satan so we cannot have discussions with non-Christians unless they are evangelistic conversations. We must remind people, as soon as possible, that they are going to hell unless they convert to our faith in Jesus.

I have clearly overstated the case here for a reason. Even […]

Sexual Influences Upon the Church

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:53-05:00December 22nd, 2011|Categories: Sexuality, The Church|

Young Adults are clearly surrounded by sexual influences like never before. I cannot imagine how I would cope in this context if I were 21 again. I am sure I would need exceptional grace to remain chaste and pure if I were single.

A new Barna Group study reveals that a growing number of young people are leaving the church because their church experiences related to sexuality are too simplistic. This particular study found that young adults question how to live in purity while immersed in a culture that values hyper-sexuality over wholeness. Turning to the church for answers too often results in a list of forbidden activities with very little explanation about how to keep from doing them. Students and youth pastors say if the church is going to reach young adults, it must focus on the internal instead of the external. 17% of young Christians who responded to the Barna study said they made mistakes involving sex and felt judged within the church as a result. My personal experience says that this number is likely […]

Thinking About the Virgin and Her Child

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:53-05:00December 21st, 2011|Categories: Uncategorized|

I have been reflecting again, during this Advent season, about the person and mission of the Virgin Mother. I have quietly been doing this for the past twenty years or so. Perhaps no doctrinal thinking more quickly divides Protestants from Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Don't misunderstand me. I do not believe all the Marian dogmas affirmed by the Catholic Church, especially the two affirmed in the 19th and 20th centuries. (I do understand the rationale for these doctrinal deductions/conclusions but I am not convinced that they are either essential or faithful to Scripture or the historic creeds!)

At the same time I believe that most evangelical Protestants are quite deficient in their understanding of Mary. This means that their theology of the incarnation is also deficient because the two are clearly related in historic Christian thought. The two were plainly related in the practice of the early church. This is why the church concluded, in council, that Mary […]

Confessional vs. Functional

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:16:53-05:00December 20th, 2011|Categories: Creeds, Missional Church, Theology|

Pastor Mark Moore, of Providence Community Church in Plano, Texas, is a friend that I met about five years ago on a retreat in Colorado. Recently, we connected again through Facebook and then his reading of my book, Your Church Is To Small. Then last week we shared a long telephone conversation that led me to read his blogs and visit his church site online with real interest. (I look forward to spending time with Mark in 2012, especially since I hope to launch a cohort group in the Dallas area.) As I perused Mark's church site I came across one of the best descriptions of the role of right doctrine that I have read. I share it here because I believe it fosters the very kind of thinking that I continually encourage you (and your mission) to embrace.

[…]

Friendship and Psychological Visibility

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:05-05:00December 19th, 2011|Categories: Friendship|

Now and then I post a guest blog my readers are not likely to see unless I share it. Such is the case today. The author, Dr. Monte Wilson, is a true friend. We do not see one another face-to-face very often but when we do we instantly connect again in a deeply relational way. Monte is "my friend" in the very way he writes about friendship in this lovely article. This is why I am sure I resonnate so very deeply with this post.

Monte E. Wilson

Some years back, a man whom I had known for about 10 years was describing me to a new acquaintance of ours. It was all very positive and complimentary, but with one small problem:he wasn’t describing me. In fact, the more he waxed eloquent about the attributes and personality of Monte Wilson, the more invisible I felt. All I could do was sit there thinking, “You really don’t know […]

The Aurora Christian Ministry Network

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:05-05:00December 17th, 2011|Categories: Uncategorized|

The Aurora Christian Ministry Network (ACMN) meets at 9 a.m. this Tuesday, December 20, at Wayside Cross Ministries in Aurora, Illinois. I have accepted an invitation to speak.

The Aurora Christian Ministry Network (ACMN) invites all Aurora and Fox Valley area pastors and Christian leaders to the next ACMN meeting on Tuesday, December 20, from 9-10:30 a.m. Wayside Cross Ministries chapel is at 215 E. New York St., Aurora, IL 60505. Here is how the ACMN presents their invitation:

Dr. John H. Armstrong, president of ACT 3, www.act3online.org, will discuss his new book “The Unity Factor” (all participants at this meeting will receive a complimentary copy). Coffee and rolls will be served.

Please RSVP for this gathering!

Limited parking is available on the west side of the building and across the street (marked spaces) in the Dolan-Murphy parking lot. Also parking is available at the Warehouse Church (E. Galena […]

"Lord, Have Mercy"

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:05-05:00December 17th, 2011|Categories: God's Character|

When Johann Sebastian Bach sought to give musical expression to what he believed was the greatest of Christian truths he turned to the Mass. The Mass in B Minor opens with the poignant cry of the whole chorus and orchestra, Kyrie Eleison, Lord have mercy. In the fugue which follows all the voices and instruments independently take up this one theme; there are no other words used but Kyrie Eleison! Over and over this one theme is developed masterfully.

If you've ever heard this piece you cannot doubt that this universal cry for mercy leads us to the very threshold of true faith and knowledge. And this is not simply the preliminary introduction to something else. The sense of utter sinfulness that we innately feel is the foundation of all spiritual wisdom. This base is the sure foundation through which the mercy of God sounds into our soul. The subtle epitaph for a Christian in this Advent season is composed of only two words: "Jesu, mercy!" […]

Trends That Call Us to Understand Our Mission Differently

By John Armstrong|2011-12-16T04:00:00-06:00December 16th, 2011|Categories: American Evangelicalism, Culture, Missional Church, The Future|

There is a continual danger that the church is driven by various trends. Evangelical churches are most susceptible to this danger. “Trendier than thou” is a real problem if our vision of discipleship is stunted and consumer oriented. Given the great desire to reach people with the good news we can easily adapt our methods and approaches in ways that are inconsistent with our message.

Having acknowledged this real problem to be trendy I retain a deep and growing concern that churches (in general) have very little idea about how much the shift in values and religious practices has impacted the mission field that we call the United States of America. There can be no serious doubt that the religious makeup of our population is shifting very rapidly. And there can be no serious doubt that most Christians understand very little about what these trends actually mean for the future of mission in America. One of the core values of a missional church is that the whole church will seek to incarnate the whole gospel in ways that serve the people who are their neighbors. The church […]

Thirsting For Friendship: Jean Vanier Reflecting on Henri Nouwen

By John Armstrong|2021-07-02T06:17:05-05:00December 15th, 2011|Categories: Uncategorized|

via www.altervideomagazine.com

via danbrennan.typepad.com