April 30, 2007 by iMonk
UPDATE: TSK goes through the rumor mill and separates fact from fiction from bullxxxt. (If I was in Seattle I could say that.)
I listened to Mark Driscoll’s “Banned Video” presentation, wrote two posts, scraped both, and then tried to figure out what’s bothering me.
I finally think I have it. If you haven’t watched it, here it is.
First, the obligatory paragraph: I love Mark. He preaches the gospel. He’s straight on about Jesus. I love his books. I love his approach to church planting. I share his burden for guys. I like the comic edge. I’ve defended him in these pages and will continue to do so. [Continue reading]
April 28, 2007 by iMonk
UPDATE: Trevin Wax has an interview with Dr. Webber.
UPDATE 2: David Fitch has a personal tribute.
The tireless reclaimer of the Great Tradition and the man who gave post-evangelicalism meaning for thousands of us, is gone to be with the Lord. He passed Friday after a recent serious illness. His book The Majestic Tapestry, saved my faith and gave me gifts I will never be able to express sufficient gratitude for. A prince of a scholar and a great lover of Jesus and his bride. [Continue reading]
April 28, 2007 by iMonk
Coffee Cup Apologetics now has its own website: ccapologetics.wordpress.com.
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Podcast (extra): Play in new window | Download
April 27, 2007 by iMonk
Nothing has been more common in the various debates regarding the future of evangelicalism than the prevalence of generational characteristics put forward as absolute law. In fact, the word “generation,” a good Bible word that emphasized both continuity and discontinuity, has come to mean a kind of discontinuity that renders the average church helpless to do anything that doesn’t take into account the knowledge of experts in generational characteristics.
The results are clearly getting out of hand. Increasingly, churches are being created self-consciously excluding people other than their “target” audience. I’ve heard more stupid things said in the name of generational information than almost any single source, and by a lot of people who ought to know better. [Continue reading]
April 26, 2007 by iMonk
Steve Sensenig is a blogger (theologicalmusingsblog.com) and contributor to many good blog discussions. He’s also a musician who has served in various capacities in several different ministries in a wide range of styles from very traditional to very contemporary. Steve is a recording artist, and has also spent some time in the Christian music industry playing keyboards for various artists. You can check Steve’s music out at http://www.worshipkeys.com.
When I thought about batting the question of music around the diamond a bit, Steve was one of the first names that came to mind. He has an appreciation for the kind of church I see coming out of post-evangelicalism’s rejection of the tyranny of church growth.
I’m going to make some statements, and Steve is going to comment, react or taunt me.
Question 1. Here’s what I think: Contemporary evangelical churches have entirely too much music going on in the average worship service. It’s exhausting to prepare, distracting from other needed elements of worship and is now dominating many churches in ways that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago.
What do you think? Am I right, wrong, partly one or the other, or just grumpy?
[Continue reading]
April 25, 2007 by iMonk
Fur balls, dispensational terrorists, more on helping people who ask for money.
IM Radio is on iTunes. Search for Monk and ignore the other guy.
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April 25, 2007 by iMonk
When I first received Neil Livingstone’s book Picturing the Gospel, I flipped through it and said “This won’t be good.” I put it on the bottom of my book pile and didn’t read it for several weeks.
This week, I’ve read the book. Several chapters twice. Not just a good book….it’s an outstanding book. So outstanding that I am going to ask everyone on my campus ministry staff this summer to read the book and participate in a discussion. I may even make it the summer study for my house church.
Livingstone takes the reader on a tour of major Biblical themes expressed as propositional concepts, important words and, of most interest, powerful images. His goal is to equip Christians to use the imagery of the Bible in communication, matching particular aspects of the Biblical presentation of the Gospel with the existential realities in the lives and cultures of those who hear the Gospel. [Continue reading]
April 24, 2007 by iMonk
I received some good questions from a reader on the subject of giving to panhandlers. Here are a few thoughts and responses. I may have more to say in the comments.
Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
1. The Biblical teaching on compassion for the poor, justice and generosity are well-established and crucial for a life of following Jesus.
2. The establishment of deacons and of guidelines for who is a “widow” indicates that the early church was aware of the issues that arise when Christians must make judgments regarding benevolence. I Timothy 5:3 and 5:16 indicate some are “truly” widows and others are not.
3. Paul condemns those who refuse to work, yet still seek to eat. The existence of such verses as 2 Thessalonians 3:10 and 3:12 make it clear that the church knew what a freeloader was. Notice Paul’s defense of himself in 2 Thessalonians 3:8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. Consider the ethical background of that statement: It is wrong to receive support as charity when support from work is possible. [Continue reading]
April 23, 2007 by iMonk
Referenced in this podcast: Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
Coffee Cup Apologetics Website.
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April 22, 2007 by iMonk
Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches: Five Perspectives. General Editor: Robert Webber. Contributors: Mark Driscoll, John Burke, Dan Kimball, Doug Padgitt, Karen Ward. Zondervan, 2007.
What is it about the emerging church that makes it so difficult for Christians to talk about it?
Probably because there is no emerging church. There are a collection of pastors, writers, churches and networks that relate to some aspect of the concept of ministering to an emerging postmodern culture. Because of the broad and diverse array of those sources, no one of them can speak for all of them, and many of the most often cited icons of the emerging movement are increasingly speaking for fewer and fewer Christians who use the term emerging in some meaningful way. [Continue reading]
April 22, 2007 by iMonk
UPDATE: Here is the Peter Kreeft material on the resurrection that I refer to in this post and podcast.
I have several apologetics presentations that have developed here at my ministry setting. I’m going to do some of them as posts and podcasts. I’ll call the series “Coffee Cup Apologetics.”
Here is “Why I Am A Christian: Ten Reasons. (This has appeared as an IM post in the past.)
Coffee Cup Apologetics Website. [Continue reading]
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April 21, 2007 by iMonk
Every time I feel like I have lost my way in the Christian life, I find myself back looking at monasticism, and the lessons I learned in two decades of reading Thomas Merton.
I’m not attracted to Catholicism, but I am very much attracted to the tradition of self-conscious, disciplined spiritual formation into a disciple of Jesus Christ. This is a great failing of our side of the church.
As much as we Protestants talk about being shaped by the Bible alone, most evangelicals are thoroughly formed and shaped by the communities where the Bible is handled, taught and practiced according to a “rule” or accepted authority, and by the media that supports and communicates the values of that community.
It is, without a doubt, one of the most appealing and positive aspects of Catholicism that it is self-conscious about its “rules” and authorities for spiritual formation. (Rule as in “way,” as in The Rule of Benedict.) It surely must be humorous to knowledgeable catholics to look at the various sects, denominations and varieties of evangelicalism and fundamentalism, all claiming to “just read the Bible.” [Continue reading]
April 19, 2007 by iMonk
After reading Stephen James’ and David Thomas’s twin book excursion into popular complementarianism, “Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?” and “Yup. Nope. Maybe,” I’m ready to say that complementarians at least write more interesting, entertaining and readable books than egalitarians.
Here are two books- don’t read just one- that explore the relationship between the sexes using common stereotypical questions that have been water cooler/coffee shop/bar standards for years. The questions make you smile, but the issues raised are serious and important. Thomas and James have backgrounds in counseling, and just beyond the entertaining dialogs and recognizable conversations is real help for couples who may feel they can never really understand each other. [Continue reading]
April 19, 2007 by iMonk
When you’ve been in the same ministry for fifteen years, experiences tend to repeat themselves. It’s deja vu, only for real.
I’m going to tell you about one of those experiences.
New staff are always excited about being in Christian service with other believers. Sometimes in those first few weeks, they will look me up. They see me leading worship, they hear that I am the campus minister and they come to talk to me about their excitement in being a servant of Jesus in our ministry.
Those conversations almost always go well. We’ll be friends. They will come to the things that I lead. They will say good things about my sermons. I’ll be encouraged. Partnership in the ministry is a good thing.
Then something will happen. It doesn’t happen all of the time, but it happens so many times that I live in the strange feeling of a repeating cycle.
It goes like this. [Continue reading]
April 18, 2007 by iMonk
iMonk 101 is a selection of essays from the past five years of IM.
From the Internet Monk archives, here’s one of the most popular pieces I’ve ever written: How Religious Parents Royally Screw Up Their Children.
This is one of the few iMonk 101 pieces that I wouldn’t change at all. I still feel as strong about these things as ever. If you are about to be a parent, read and take heed. Raising the perfect Christian child isn’t possible. Consider, instead, an approach that values “normal” more than being the most religious second grader in town.
We all want to influence our kids. Let’s also try not to mess them up.
