Christians Wrong About Heaven, Says Bishop- TIME
H.T. Jon Reid
Wright: The New Testament is deeply, deeply Jewish, and the Jews had for some time been intuiting a final, physical resurrection. They believed that the world of space and time and matter is messed up, but remains basically good, and God will eventually sort it out and [...]
Archive for the 'Kingdom' Category
Waiting for Heaven or Joining in the Adventure?
Published by February 15th, 2008 in Global Christianity, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Uncategorized and Western Christianity. 5 CommentsiFeedReaders
Announcing the Kingdom: The Story of Gods Mission in the Bible by Arthur F. Glasser
Published by October 18th, 2007 in Bible, Books, Kingdom, Scripture and Theology. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
SUMMARY
Contending that “only if the church understands the full biblical revelation of God [from both Old and New Testaments] concerning the mission of God’s people, stimulated by confronting Scripture with today’s questions, will they be responsibly challenged to offer to God the devotion of heart, strength, time and resources essential to its completion,” the authors [...]
The (Future) Church in the American Political Landscape
Published by September 9th, 2007 in Justice, Kingdom, Politics, Social Issues and Western Christianity. 6 CommentsiFeedReaders
This past week I came across a couple of thoughtful and well informed perspectives on the church and political engagement in the United States. First, in an article called New evangelicals: Green, not liberal Jim Jewell offers an astute observation about the political viewpoints of younger evangelicals. I think he gets it…
The new [...]
Good News: Future reality has invaded present history…
Published by August 31st, 2007 in Kingdom and Theology. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
The heart of Jesus’ message is that God has once again become redemptively active in history. But this new divine activity takes on an aded dimension in comparison with the prophetic view: the escatological kingdom has itself invaded history in advance, bringing to men in the old age of sin and death the blessings [...]
Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard
Published by August 19th, 2007 in Books, Church, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices, Theology and Western Christianity. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
SUMMARY OF INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
Dallas Willard is professor and former director of the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. Willard’s work in the field of philosophy has been mostly in phenomenology, exploring the work of Edmund Husserl. He also writes extensively about Christian spiritual formation. Influences in this work include John [...]
Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith: by Gerhard Lohfink
Published by August 14th, 2007 in Books, Church, Global Christianity, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices, Theology and Western Christianity. 4 CommentsiFeedReaders
SUMMARY OF INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
Reflecting on experiences of his childhood, German Catholic Theologian and Scholar Gerhard Lohfink once wrote: “I saw men and women who were forced to sew a yellow star of David on their garments; then one day I didn’t see them any more.” This memory would bring about a reconsideration of faith [...]
Cultivating Kindness in the Midst of Self-Sufficiency
Published by June 28th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 4 CommentsiFeedReaders
“Christians are moved by the Spirit to reach out and help others because their own identity is intimately tied to the help they have received at God’s hand.” “…we regard people as kind because they go out of their way, often quietly and without fanfare, to engage in kind actions. Nitty-gritty, concrete, everyday kinds [...]
Cultivating Patience in the Midst of Productivity - Life on the Vine Pt. 5
Published by June 25th, 2007 in Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics and Spiritual Practices. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Another translation for patience is “long suffering” (Contrast with “short temper”) and is rooted in the character of God who is “slow to anger and abounding in love.” This carries with the notion of being willing to yield control (God allows creation to go its own way, is not in a hurry, is non-coercive [...]
Shane Claiborne: Practicing Resurrection
Published by June 25th, 2007 in Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics and Spiritual Practices. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
I was completely moved to read this today as the people of the Simple Way in Philidelphia are modeling before us all what it looks like to practice resurrection in the midst of grevious destruction. Thank you for your tremendous example! Shane Claiborne: Practicing Resurrection
“A reporter asked me how it felt to [...]
Cultivating Peace in the Midst of Fragmentation - Life on the Vine Pt. 4
Published by June 24th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Scripture, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
The biblical definition of peace or “shalom” carries the connotation of wholeness or even salvation, including the state of well being, wholeness and harmony that infuses all of one’s relationships. It is a condition that is inherently social and not a mental serenity confined within ones psyche. This theme of peace—peace and wholeness [...]
Cultivating Joy in the Midst of Manufactured Desire - Life on the Vine Pt. 3
Published by June 22nd, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
: Kenneson tries to illuminate the true nature of biblical joy by contrasting it with mere pleasure: “The more that we are drawn out of our selves, the more we likely characterize our delight as joy rather than simply pleasure.” The words used for joy in the New Testament “both imply the [...]
Life on the Vine Pt. 2 - Cultivating Love in the Midst of Market-Style Exchanges
Published by June 21st, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Kenneson uses the bulk of this book to offer a biblical exposition of each fruit of the Spirit, “followed by an explanation of some of the ways in which the dominant [North American] culture inhibits its cultivation.” He begins by discussing: Cultivating Love in the Midst of Market-Style Exchanges: “How do we cultivate [...]
Life on the Vine Pt. 1 - Why Focus on the Fruit of the Spirit?
Published by June 16th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics and Spiritual Practices. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Kenneson notes that disciples of Jesus Christ have a loyalty and allegiance that is first to Christ, which relativizes all other loyalties and allegiances. This discipleship requires a willingness to locate one’s story within the wider, more-encompassing narrative of God’s ongoing relationship with Israel and the church through Jesus Christ. Living primarily as [...]
What “Gospel” are we preaching?
Published by June 12th, 2007 in Kingdom, Scripture, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices, Theology and Western Christianity. 3 CommentsiFeedReaders
The post from which the below experpt is taken is a great example of why I consistently read Scot McKnight. I grew up hearing an awful lot of what McKnight describes here as a “standard” gospel presentation. At one point, if you asked me what it meant for me to share the gospel [...]
A Theology as big as the City - Part 3 - A Surprising Source of Urban Leaders
Published by June 8th, 2007 in Books, Kingdom and Leadership. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
Bakke reflects on the life of Moses and his emergence as the leader in God’s liberation of Israel from slavery.
“…the great Exodus movement began with poor urban women who broke the law by having illegal babies. The law, genocidal and totally unjust, made this a case of civil disobedience. Moses mother [...]
What is Acceptable? What is Possible?
Published by May 24th, 2007 in Global Christianity, Global Issues, Justice, Kingdom, Poverty, Social Issues and Spiritual Practices. 10 CommentsiFeedReaders
A great speech about facing global poverty given at the commencement address at Georgetown University by Jim Wallace.
Each new generation has a chance to alter two very basic definitions of reality in our world - what is acceptable and what is possible. First, what is acceptable?There are always great inhumanities that we inflict upon one [...]
Prayers for my colleagues in Turkey
Published by April 27th, 2007 in Foursquare, Global Christianity, Global Issues, Kingdom, Prayer, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
I have been following with great interest the story of the Christian Church in Turkey as they respond to the brutal torture and murder of three of my colleages there. 5 young turkish nationalists ages 19 to 20 murdered one german missionary and two turkish christians working to distribute Bibles.
WORLD Magazine | [...]
God’s Hands are in the Mud
Published by April 20th, 2007 in Faith and Politics, Global Christianity, Global Issues, Justice, Kingdom, Poverty, Social Issues, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices, Theology and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
The second chapter of Ray Bakke’s “A Theology as Big as the City” is titled “God’s hand are in the mud.” He takes this language from William Temple’s “Christianity and the Social Order” in which Temple unpacks the theological significance of the creation snapshot in which Gods hands form the human out of clay. [...]
A Journey to the City
Published by April 17th, 2007 in Bible, Faith and Politics, Global Issues, Immigration, Justice, Kingdom, Poverty, Scripture, Social Issues, Theology and Western Christianity. 2 CommentsiFeedReaders
Chapter One of Ray Bakke’s “A Theology as Big as the City” is titled: “A Journey to the City.” Bakke begins by sharing his own story of “calling” (as a person born and raised in a rural environment) to life as a minister in urban Chicago. He describes the “theological crisis” he experienced [...]
New Monastic Communities
Published by April 6th, 2007 in Global Christianity, Global Issues, Justice, Kingdom, Poverty, Social Issues and Spiritual Practices. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
Brief review of Scott Bessenecker’s book, “The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World’s Poor:The Capital Times
“I predict that the emerging movement to the world’s poor, powered by the new friars, will also bring renewal to the global church of the 21st century.” Bessenecker focuses on five groups that now are the launching pads [...]
“Persecution” of Christians in the West - Myth or Reality?
Published by February 27th, 2007 in Faith and Politics, Global Christianity, Kingdom, Pop Culture, Postmodernity and Western Christianity. 2 CommentsiFeedReaders
Ekklesia’s Jonathan Bartley has written an interesting article called The End of Christendom as a Political Threat The article offers a number of thoughts from a British perspective, about the end of Christendom and the rapid movement into a post-christian culture that seems to be well underway in Europe (and some would say, to [...]
Is the Gospel of the Kingdom Spiritual or Social?
Published by February 22nd, 2007 in Faith and Politics, Global Christianity, Kingdom, Philosophy, Politics, Social Issues, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 14 CommentsiFeedReaders
Reflecting on some previous comments about Christians and politics, I want to ask for your opinions…
1. Does the Gospel of the Kingdom have primarily Spiritual or primarily Social implications? (or Both, or other?)
2. To the extent that it is has social implications, to what extent do those infer politicol obligations?
3. What other [...]
Implicated by priviledge
Published by January 29th, 2007 in Global Christianity, Global Issues, Kingdom, Poverty and Western Christianity. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
If the statistic quoted in the previous post doesn’t stir you, take this test an see if you are implicated at all. For those of us among the wealthiest in the world who also call ourselves Christian, what must we do with our wealth, status and privilege? Perspective is powerful. I am richer [...]
Advocacy for Economic Equality - What does it look like?
Published by January 29th, 2007 in Global Christianity, Global Issues, Kingdom, Philosophy, Poverty, Social Issues, Spiritual Dynamics and Western Christianity. 3 CommentsiFeedReaders
Rose Marie Berger, Davos Meet Nairobi:
“God weeps,” Archbishop Tutu told participants in the ecumenical gathering near the conclusion of the World Social Forum in Nairobi, “and says, ‘Who will help me so we can have a different kind of world, one in which the rich know they have been given much so they can share [...]
Is Evangelism Necessary?
Published by January 19th, 2007 in Global Christianity, Kingdom, Philosophy, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 2 CommentsiFeedReaders
What is the Mission of Christ and the Mission of the Church? There has been much debate in the emerging/missional church conversation about the true nature of Christ’s mission, and the mission of the church as we seek to be the community of the Kingdom of God. Is this mission primarily to rescue [...]
Ryan Bolger on McGavran
Published by December 19th, 2006 in Global Christianity, Kingdom, Philosophy, Postmodernity, Spiritual Dynamics, Spiritual Practices and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
Really looking forward to reading this article…
This article explores Donald McGavran’s writings for resources that enable mission engagement today in the culture of late modernity. There is, indeed, much of value in McGavran’s 1955 classic, “The Bridges of God,†among other writings. With these resources in hand, the author situates McGavran within the socio-cultural changes [...]
The Striking Availability of God to Meet Present Human Need through the Actions of Jesus
Published by October 30th, 2006 in Kingdom. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
His fame grew to the point where crowds were in the thousands. People trampled on another (Luke 12:1) and ripped roofs off houses (Mark 2:4) to gain access to him.
But they were only responding to the striking availability of God to meet present human need through the actions of Jesus. [...]
Salvation and Sanctification, Linear Processes?
Published by October 26th, 2006 in Kingdom, Philosophy, Spiritual Dynamics and Spiritual Practices. 2 CommentsiFeedReaders
Jason Clark recently re-posted his personal critique of the emerging church movement. Jason Clark » What’s Right/Wrong with the emerging church
I jumped late into this conversation and managed to get
To be desperately in need of God, continually, and shamelessly so
Published by July 19th, 2006 in Kingdom, Spiritual Dynamics and ijournal. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
I never cease to be amazed by the extraordinary promises that God makes to people who trust him, depend on him, come to him and orient themselves to make him the center and source of their lives. Today, reading through the book of Isaiah, I was again totally reminded of this and I felt [...]
As Jesus’ disciple, I am his apprentice in kingdom living. I am learning from him how to lead my life in the Kingdom of the Heavens as he would lead my life if he were I. It is my faith in him that led me to become his disciple. My confidence in him simply means [...]
Dallas Willard on Discipleship
Published by May 24th, 2006 in Kingdom and Spiritual Practices. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
The last few weeks at the @ we have been focusing our collective conversations around what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and what implications that has for us in our contexts.
Simultaneously, I have finally begun reading the Divine Conspiracy. Also have been enjoying the articles posted on Willard’s web site. [...]
Life in the Kingdom…
Published by May 16th, 2006 in Family and Friends and Kingdom. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
Truly poetic, beautiful words about life in the Kingdom by Nathan a fellow sojourner.. Kingdom-driven-lifestyle
Newbigin on Leadership
Published by April 30th, 2006 in Kingdom, Leadership and Western Christianity. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
What, then, will be the relation of the minister to this community? I have used such words as “enabling,” “sustaining,” and “nourishing” to describe his role in mobilizing the congregation for its mission. But how shall this be done? Once again, I think, we have to look at alternative images. The typical [...]
Responsibility vs. the teaching and example of Jesus
Published by March 30th, 2006 in Books, Kingdom and Philosophy. 0 CommentsiFeedReaders
“Virtually every Christian public ethic justifying behavior that runs counter to the example and teaching of Jesus does it on the grounds of responsibility. In many cases, the critics admit that following Jesus would mean something quite different from what they are proposing. But Jesus’ example is deemed irrelevant or irresponsible.
If an action [...]
I couldn’t help but post this here. What a moment of extraordinary beauty!emergent-us: Report From Down Under by Brian Mclaren
While in Sydney, I had my first day “out of the pulpit” after 24 years as a pastor at Cedar Ridge. (The previous Sunday didn’t count because we crossed the International Date Line, passing from [...]
Cartoon Chaos - Press Freedom and Hospitality
Published by March 14th, 2006 in Global Issues and Kingdom. 1 CommentiFeedReaders
A few excellent points related to the Cartoon Characature Controversy. Points out culpability of Christians in similar errors lest we be too quick to judge, and, reframes the dialogue about “rights” in the free press in terms of hospitality. Cartoon Chaos - Christianity Today Magazine
At the height of the caricature controversy, the European [...]
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