November 30, 2006 by iMonk
Christmas is coming…along with deadly candy bars. Doing away with Christendom. Warren and Obama. Two Gay Penguins want your kid. (Note: Yes, that’s an aquarium. I’m not in the shower.)
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November 30, 2006 by iMonk
II Corinthians 6:3 We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
When you read the New Testament, you come across many chapters in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians where the church-planting apostle talks about ministry. As I’ve moved through a life in ministry, these passages have become some of the most vital and personal parts of scripture for me. [Continue reading]
November 27, 2006 by iMonk
Denise blogs about life at our house, where the family takes my mental quirks and creates smiles and laughter for, you, the IM reader. If you would like to buy working Christmas lights for a poor family, just contact me at christmaslights@imonk.com.
READ: Decking the Halls…Spencer Style
November 26, 2006 by iMonk
(Some of the material in this essay was inspired by reading John’s Wisdom by Ben Witherington III, Westminster John Knox Press , 1995.)
For the past two years, I’ve been leading a weekly adult Bible study on the Gospel of John for my fellow OBI staff members. For the past three weeks, we’ve been in the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate.
Pilate is, in many ways, one of the most interesting persons in all of the Gospels, even in all of scripture. His encounter with Jesus is at the most critical juncture in human history, and unlike those who bring Jesus to him for judgment, he is not motivated by a previous hatred of Jesus and his Kingdom message. As one of my students observed, Pilate’s encounter is very much a legal deposition and his questions are the questions of a contemporary lawyer and a judge. [Continue reading]
November 26, 2006 by iMonk
iMonk 101 revisits some of my more popular essays from the past.”
“Read It Again…and Don’t Skip the Hard Parts” is an essay about discipleship in the Gospel of Mark, and how difficult it is for some American Christians to get what the Bible is talking about.
It’s a good Thanksgiving season essay that will hopefully prompt your reading of Mark and your consideration of the relationship of the cross and discipleship. Misreading the ministry of Jesus as one of miracles rather than one of servanthood by a redemptive death is a critical error that has deeply impacted the kind of Christianity we see around us. As a post-evangelical, I believe the way forward is the way back- back to the sources of our conceptions of Christianity.
READ: “Read It Again…and Don’t Skip the Hard Parts.”
November 24, 2006 by iMonk
Around hundreds of thousands of Thanksgiving dinner tables, millions of Americans will take a moment and share with one another what they are thankful for in the past year. Because Thanksgiving doesn’t require any particular confession of faith, it’s close to a universal experience for Americans, and one that most of us treasure more and more as the years go by. [Continue reading]
November 24, 2006 by iMonk
Tryptophan warning. Some thoughts on healing. Stuff you might want to buy. Shoutouts and up-coming events.
iMonk Radio is available at iTunes. I’d appreciate it if you could write a (good) review of the podcast for the iTunes page.
Have a great Thanksgiving weekend. Enjoy your family if you can be with them, or go be family to someone else if you can’t.
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November 23, 2006 by iMonk
Tomorrow (November 24, Black Friday) is the day you are supposed to start/finish/avoid all your Christmas shopping. If you’re like me, whatever holiday appeal once existed in Christmas shopping crowds has vanished in the Wal-Mart parking lot, and you do most of your shopping online. Living in a rural area has made me even more dedicated to doing the virtual Santa bit, and therefore, I’m happy to tell you about one of the best gifts you can give or receive- Moleskine journals- and a great place to buy them- SkyCow Books. [Continue reading]
November 21, 2006 by iMonk
Barbara Nicolosi’s review of Facing the Giants reminded me that I’ve been avoiding talking about this surprisingly successful church-produced film. All around the net, from Christians and non-Christians, the reviews have consistently presented this risky film venture as predictable in approach, but also with universal surprise at its success. Even reviewers like Michael Medved, who liked the film in a genre-captive kind of way, told the same story. Barbara’s Nicolosi’s rantish review puts the essentials into a paragraph.
The film tells the story of a poverty-stricken, generally disdained, losing football coach who drives a broken down truck and goes home at night to a devastatedly infertile wife. Incited by no particular plot point, the coach reads the Bible one day and then kneels down in a field (Why the hell is it always a field? Is that like in Zecharaiah somewhere?) and gives his life to Jesus. In short order after he utters the Evangelical commitment formula aloud, he wins back the esteem of his fellow townspeople, he turns around his terrible team so that they win the championship, somebody gives him a brand new shiny red truck, AND his infertile wife becomes pregnant!
November 19, 2006 by iMonk
Here’s an example of what I do in preaching to the boarding school students at our Sunday evening gathering. (Our day students and most of our staff aren’t present as they are in daily chapel.) The message is called “Wrestling God,” and it is an example of the kind of message and approach that I use with students in our particular context of ministry. In “church” I don’t use humor the same way, and I’m more text centered. In these gatherings, I like to get on the level with the students and engage them more directly. I love having the kind of relationship with our students that I can do this kind of speaking. It’s fun for me and a great preaching experience.
I want to thank my partners in this ministry: Mark and Judy Palmieri, B.J. White, Bill Genet, and Jim Price. The Sunday evening gatherings are some of the best ministry I’ve ever been part of.
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November 17, 2006 by iMonk
I’m adrift. More thoughts on Chinese Students and evangelism. Some of my reactions to the egalitarian/complementarian issue.
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November 17, 2006 by iMonk
I’m cranky and not posting anything new. Here’s a fired up iMonk essay from the archives: Subcultural Christianity or “I Know He’s a Christian ‘Cause I Saw It On His Bumper Sticker.”
An early stop on the road to post-evangelicalism, this essay is all about American Idolatry in the church.
Read: Subcultural Christianity or “I Know He’s A Christian ‘Cause I Saw It On His Bumper Sticker.”
November 15, 2006 by iMonk
This post is important. If you keep up with my journey, read this because what is going on with my ministry to Chinese students is becoming a major chapter in the deconstruction of my American Evangelicalism.
American Christian.
You didn’t like that did you? I don’t like it either. “American Christian” sounds idolatrous. It makes me want to hit the delete key and retype something like “a Christian, who happens to be an American.”
But I’m an American Christian. Whether I like it or not. I live in an American culture that has delivered Christ to me in the swaddling clothes of American religion, American culture, American values, the American imagination, American education, American language, American assumptions and an American view of reality.
To declare myself independent from this is to be purposely ignorant and naively arrogant. Every time I read the New Testament, I am an American reading and interpreting that New Testament. When I go to church, I am an American. When I apply my understanding of the gospel, I do it as an American. [Continue reading]
November 13, 2006 by iMonk
Wayne Grudem is accumulating an impressive collection of credentials as an influential theologian within conservative evangelicalism. Grudem’s Systematic Theology is as close to a standard evangelical theology as you can find today. His writing on Biblical prophecy is standard reading for anyone interested in issues debated among charismatic and cessationist evangelicals. His work on gender is gaining authoritative status and quickly earning him the mantle of “most widely cited” theologian among conservative evangelicals.
Grudem’s new book, Evangelical Feminism: A New Path to Liberalism, is a definitive book for complementarians looking for an organized, well-written collection of arguments against the growing acceptance of egalitarianism among evangelicals. The book’s 263 pages are made up of short chapters, clearly stated arguments and responses, representative quotes, extensive footnote documentation, and a willingness to get to the point without embarrassment. The reader is never in doubt about where Grudem is going or what he believes is at stake. [Continue reading]
November 12, 2006 by iMonk
Some links on Karl Barth. Those who are forever explaining me to their loyal readership should know this: I rarely disagree with Barth, and whatever names you have for him probably apply to me without exception on my part. (Other than “Lutheran.”)
Must Read: Kim Fabricius: Ten Propositions on Karl Barth: Theologian.
Coming Soon: Karl Barth and Evangelical Theology: Convergences and Differences edited by Sung Wook Chung. Contributors include Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Alister E. McGrath, Timothy George, Gabriel Fackre, Stanley Grenz, and Henri Blocher. [Continue reading]
