By Chaplain Mike It is here, the day we’ve been waiting for here at Internet Monk. Michael Spencer’s book, Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality has been released! Today, I will give you my initial review and reflections. I can easily summarize its main message: It’s time for Jesus’ followers to GET […]
About Chaplain Mike
Chaplain Mike works with a hospice organization in central Indiana. He has been in pastoral ministry since 1978, serving in churches in Maryland, Vermont, Illinois, and Indiana before moving into chaplaincy work. He is married to a wonderful gifted wife, Gail, and they have four children and three grandchildren. He thinks baseball is the greatest game ever invented, suffers annually as a Chicago Cubs fan, and is looking forward to putting on a cap again this spring to coach his grandson's Little League team. He loves a wide variety of music, spends way too much money on books, is happy to live in a place where there are four seasons, and is a "true believer" in Apple computers, having used them since 1988. Luther is his favorite theologian, Bach his favorite composer, James Taylor his favorite singer-songwriter, Chicago his favorite city, and hiking his favorite form of exercise. He would love to do more with photography and dreams of having a place in the mountains of Arizona some day. His heart has been captured by the grace of God in Jesus Christ and considers himself a post-evangelical disciple seeking a Jesus-shaped life and hoping to help the church do the same. He is forever grateful to his friend, Michael Spencer, for giving him an opportunity to write for Internet Monk.
Rethinking the Text: God’s “Still, Small Voice”?
13 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike Sometimes, as people of faith, we think we know the meaning of a Biblical text. By sheer repetition over the years, it becomes a reliable tool in our vocabulary, a cliché of our faith. We stop thinking about it; we simply utter it at times we think appropriate. We don’t have to […]
Sunday’s Gospel: Teaching One Another
13 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike I’d like to start a new feature on Internet Monk today. We’ll call it “Teaching One Another.” Each Sunday, I have been posting the lectionary readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. Then I have taken one of the passages (usually the Gospel reading) and given a devotional message from the text. I […]
No Golden Plates
11 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike One of the better paragraphs I’ve read about the Hebrew Bible (aka the Old Testament)… Scripture did not appear in the twinkling of an eye or fall from heaven on golden plates. The Hebrew Bible underwent its own convoluted evolution from oral beginnings to edited endings. Its various traditions emerged throughout nearly […]
A Black and White Concern
11 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike It is my hope that our conversation here at IM will include perspectives from as many cultures and traditions of the Christian faith as possible. One privilege a hospice chaplain has is to become acquainted with people from various backgrounds and experiences. For example, I have thoroughly enjoyed befriending, serving, and spending […]
A Few Reminders (to keep the place from burning down)
9 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike Wow. We’ve had quite a week so far here at Internet Monk. The comments have been pouring in faster than I can follow them, and I’ve had to go back and clean up several messes where people spilled venom or knocked down a wall trying to create a new corridor for the […]
The Archbishop Strikes Back
9 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike Maybe there is some fight left in the Anglican Church after all. At Pentecost, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, sent a letter to the Anglican Communion encouraging a renewed focus on mission, and suggesting discipline for elements of the church that fail to abide by requests to avoid controversial decisions […]
Wash Your Ears Out with This
8 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike I just started reading Eric Metaxas’ acclaimed new biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. I’m anxious to share it with you soon. In the meantime, and especially in the light of last evening’s post about “Pastor Ted,” wash your ears out, regain your bearings, and stimulate your spirit with a few of […]
Update: Easter Morning…for Ted
7 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike WARNING: As you read this update, the sound you will hear is the voice of cynicism. With a bit of sarcasm thrown in. As well as a healthy dose of antipathy. If I didn’t think the evidence deserves this kind of response, I would stay quiet. But this is bad news, a […]
Where’s John Piper When You Need Him?
By Chaplain Mike MOD NOTE: I’ve gone back and weeded out some comment threads that got off track. BTW: this post is not about John Piper, egalitarianism, homosexuality, or who goes to heaven and hell. It’s tongue-in-cheek, humor, folks, about a “striking” incident (insert groan here). Oh yeah, and please do buy the book! Last […]