A truncated focus on the spiritual needs of people without concern for the physical and social needs of people is not part of the legacy of the Reformation. It came later, and from other sources. The Reformers were remarkably holistic, caring about all dimensions of the human person. The spiritual is most foundational, but this […]
Archives for 2012
5 (Other) Books I'm Looking Forward To
At T4G last week, I was actually restrained in the zero dollar bookstore. Yes, even in the bookstore where every book was free, I didn’t “buy” everything, because for the time being I’m seeking to reduce input in order to increase output (a strategy I’m testing — it’s not always good, but I’m trying to […]
The Truthfulness of Scripture
A great article by Michael Horton on inerrancy. Here’s the first paragraph: Against the repeated claim that the doctrine of inerrancy, unknown to the church, arose first with Protestant orthodoxy, we could cite numerous examples from the ancient and medieval church. It was Augustine who first coined the term “inerrant,” and Luther and Calvin can speak […]
Subversive Kingdom: Rebelling Against the Rebellion
I’m very much looking forward to reading Ed Stetzer’s forthcoming book Subversive Kingdom: Living as Agents of Gospel Transformation. Here’s a quick summary, which is what gets me excited about the book (along with the fact that it is by Ed Stetzer): How would our culture change if the entire Christian community started actively, intentionally […]
David Murray on "Celebrity Pastors"
This is an excellent post by David Murray: I Met a Celebrity Pastor Yesterday. It is short, well said, and very much worth reading. And it won’t be what you expect.
The Meaning of the Sabbath Day
The Sabbath Day represented the eternal spiritual rest that comes through faith in Christ (Hebrews 4:11). But it also represented something else — namely, the means by which Jesus won that rest for us. For the Sabbath day (Saturday) is the one full day that Jesus’ body lay in the grave. He died on Friday […]
The Secret to Christian Community
I don’t know everything there is to know about Christian community. Far from it. But here are two things I know: First, too many Christians live their lives alone, or with insufficient Christian community. Second, the way to true Christian community is to focus first on God, not on having community. If your ultimate aim […]
On What Date Was Jesus Crucified?
Probably Friday, April 3, AD 33. Which means exactly 1,979 years ago today.
The Geography of Neglect
I just received in the mail the latest episode of Dispatches from the Front by Frontline Missions. Andy Naselli notes that this episode is excellent, just like the previous ones. I’m watching it right now and find it to be excellent as well. My only recommendation to Frontline Missions is to get these in to Netflix […]
The Best Way to Imitate Jesus is Sometimes…
… to imitate Paul. Or David, or Peter, or James, or the apostle John. The reason for this is that, first, Paul points us to his own example. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). So, this is the right thing to do. But, second, the reason for this is that we […]