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Dr. Al Mohler has commented at his blog about the same article from First Things that I posted about last week. Mohler writes: Nevertheless, understanding a “theological theory” of liberal Protestantism’s collapse is an even greater concern.  The health of the church is a far greater concern than the health of the nation.  The primary injury caused by mainline Protestant decline is not social but spiritual.  These denominations once fueled the great missionary movement that carried the Gospel

Greenbelt 2008: What the Emerging Church & the Cappadocian Mothers & Fathers have in common August 26th, 2008 — mootuk | Edit In his book, The Becoming of G-d (YTC Press, 2008), Ian Mobsby explores how some emerging churches have reappropriated an ancient Trinitarian understanding of the faith as a model for church and spirituality in the C21st. Can a renewed understanding of the Trinity help us be and do church - and help us in the task of our own human becoming. To listen to a preview, cli

Everyone is focussing on the PM's votes dilemma, says Simon Barrow, but all the parties are suffering from the diminution and regionalisation of their support as people continue to be disillusioned with the system.

The biblical story of creation, echoed in the prologue to John's Gospel, famously contains the divine injunction, "Let there be light." But the Church of England says that in an age of eco-cre, a little less light might be needed.

When a friend emailed to ask my thoughts on Mark Driscoll’s “theology” I groaned. My natural inclination is try and give a vibrant answer. But, I couldn’t help wondering if my progression of posts, twelve to eighteen months ago, encapsulated all I had to say on the subject (especially here and here). However, some calendar management while checking future events in Hong Kong threw up a delicious contrast that explains my feelings on the question of mission and kicking people in the head (our fr

While the first six verses of this Psalm focuses on: God Knows All About Me, the second set of six verses focuses on: God Accompanies Us Everywhere. Not only does He know us intimately, but is is present no matter where we happen to be. Listen to how David puts it. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle o

Christian leaders in Zimbabwe have called on parties to continuing power-sharing talks to shun partisan interests and urgently break the impasse that is holding back the conclusion of negotiations aimed at resolving the country's political and economic crisis.

With Barack Obama and John McCain joining battle for the November US presidential elections, a leading evangelical Christian figure organised a candidates forum refreshingly free of rancour, say observers.

Mercy, not sacrifice, is the Christian keynote when dubious appeals to unity are used in religion and in society to thwart calls for social justice, says Savi Hensman. She cites recent examples in Japan and in world Anglicanism.

August 25, 2008 - Brian McLaren, Christian activist and author of A New Kind of Christian, discuss what conservatives and progressives can learn from one another with Richard Land, author of The Divided States of America. Click here to view the discussion: Topics canvased in McLaren’s and Land’s conversation include: America is not as divided as people think (5:40) How the media misrepresent religious people (1:41) Is God on the side of conservatives or liberals? (6:19) How our political

Today is a 'work' day - part retreat so to speak, part investigation. I've been trekking around London. The 'retreat' part was visiting Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral, the 'study' part was going to the Tate Modern to look at art installations. Andy Turner (who we had dinner with the other night) got me into the Abbey for free. What can I say.... Unbelievable architecture, art, and history. No one can take photos so I had to buy postcards and a book. One aspect is the astonishing

Slept in a bit this morning, then walked downtown to buy soap and washing powder, only to find that my key wouldn't let me into the laundry. Cheltenham is the home of Holst, the composer who wrote "The Planets". I walked past his house and may visit tomorrow as they've kept it in period setting. Spent the later part of the morning wandering around the Greenbelt site looking at displays, artwork, resources, etc. It rained overnight and the ground is getting very muddy (heck, that's what concert

Saturday started with another tent queue to hear Sara Miles and friend (priest?) from St Gregory of Nyssa Church in San Francisco (Episcopalian I gather). Sara told the fascinating story of her coming to faith through receiving the eucharist at the 'open table' practiced by this church. We heard about the centrality of the table and its openness to this church's understanding of the ministry of Jesus. Then Sara spoke about her 'vision' as a new convert of feeding the hungry as an expression of

I've been at Greenbelt for the weekend and just discovered that my room at the uni has Internet access - so here are a few back posts.... more photos of mine here. fantastic official greenbelt photos here. (damn I want a digital SLR!) This is the Bank Holiday long weekend in England, and we're off to Greenbelt. This is a Christian Festival that has been running annually since 1981, and is attended by about 20,000 people. I'm here with a group of about 18 Australians from NSW, Vic and SA who

“From a biblical perspective . . . it is critical that the church be not just a vehicle for people to associate with others who are socially the same. The church is called to be God’s divine presence on earth, and as such, it lives by an eschatological set of values that brings people with different social characteristics together through the common bond of mission under Jesus Christ. “A missional ecclesiology challenges the church to be intentional about its unique social potential. Congregat

From an article carried by Crossroad.to where Richard Nathan writes: A phenomenon in evangelical circles, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller has sold over 800,000 copies and made the New York Times bestseller list since its publication by Thomas Nelson Publishers in 2003, and its popularity continues to grow. An icon in the burgeoning Emergent Church movement, it attracts countless youth in contemporary Christian culture. Seminarians nationwide are reading it avidly, and some Christian ministries

See the Rattlesnake’s latest post Compare and Contrast. This post is spot on! Here is a taste: For the life of me, I cannot fathom why anyone who is a Christian could or would support abortion or minimize this blight on our nation’s conscience. If you have merely a rudimentary grasp of the sanctity of life taught in Scripture, you must be vehemently outspoken against such an atrocity. But not ole Bri [Brian McClaren]. He’s too sophisticated and thoughtful to demonize abortion. It’s important

This is part three of a four part series retelling the story of Job. You can read part one here, and part two here. Eliphaz departed after Job’s pained rebuff, but he was not long gone. He came back two days later, but this time he was not alone. He brought with him a couple of the Elders from Job’s church, Bildad and Zophar. Bowing to their spiritual maturity and biblical knowledge, Eliphaz was silent as Bildad and Zophar spoke with Job. They didn’t waste any time with formalities, and Bilda

Blue Like Jazz author, Donald Miller, will be giving the invocation at the Democratic National Convention. The blog at Christianity Today reports. No word on whether he’ll pray that the shedding of innocent blood will stop and that the party that has championed the slaughter of preborn children to the tune of 50 million will repent and defend life. No word on whether he will pray that God will bring to repentance those who want to redefine marriage to include the joining of any assortment of ge

The waves have been flat for most of the summer in the area north of Cocoa Beach. On the days that I could travel to the beach, the surf was knee high at best. On other days, the ocean brought to mind Coleridge’s words from Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner: Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean. When Tropical Storm Fay began to approach Florida, I hoped that some better waves would appear. Last weekend, I worked hard to se