Note from CM: On Fridays we have been reflecting on Timothy Gombis’s excellent book on Ephesians. I’ve been looking at some of the other things he has been writing, and I’m impressed. Tim is a fellow Chicagoan and Cubs fan (poor guy), and he teaches New Testament at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. Just the other [...]
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.
A Gospel-Shaped Imagination
27 Apr by
Fridays in Ephesus (3) A Gospel-Shaped Imagination During Eastertide on Fridays, we are reflecting on insights from Timothy Gombis’s recent book, The Drama of Ephesians: Participating in the Triumph of God. • • • Timothy Gombis suggests that Ephesians 1:3-14, the panoramic doxology that opens Paul’s epistle, is designed to give Christian people “Gospel-shaped imaginations.” [...]
Open Forum — April 25, 2012
25 Apr by
This afternoon, I want to give you, our iMonk community, a chance to simply talk among yourselves. I’m not going to suggest a topic or prime the pump, it’s up to you. I still want you to play nice, but I also want you to have the chance to introduce a subject for discussion, ask [...]
Listening for God’s Word
25 Apr by
Journey into New Life, part three Listening for God’s Word (Luke 24) Our Gospel text for this Easter season is Luke 24:13-35, the story of the risen Lord’s encounter with his disciples on the road to Emmaus. In this passage Luke tells us what it means to walk with the living Lord Jesus Christ. It [...]
“Genesis for Normal People” — Pete Enns’ New E-Book
24 Apr by
Genesis for Normal People: A Guide to the Most Controversial, Misunderstood, and Abused Book of the Bible by Peter Enns and Jared Byas, Patheos 2012 • • • For a limited time, you can download Peter Enns’ new e-book, Genesis for Normal People, for $1.99 and read it on your Kindle or other device. Later, [...]
“Esau” Christianity? Douglas Wilson Needs a Bible Study
23 Apr by
Douglas Wilson has declared war on wuss worship. Last July, Mark Driscoll, another purveyor of what I will call from now on “Esau Christianity,” tweeted this offensive message: “So, what story do you have about the most effeminate anatomically male worship leader you’ve ever personally witnessed?” prompting Rachel Held Evans to call him out as [...]
Shane Rosenthal on Evangelical Theology
22 Apr by
Today we are featuring two posts from Shane Rosenthal’s article, “Abandoning Evangelicalism?” in Modern Reformation magazine. Rosenthal is executive producer of “The White Horse Inn” national radio broadcast which can be heard online at www.whitehorseinn.org. As we said this morning, Shane’s article talks about the American propensity for switching religions and, in particular, why some [...]
Shane Rosenthal on Sunday Worship
22 Apr by
We’ll feature two posts today from Shane Rosenthal’s article, “Abandoning Evangelicalism?” in Modern Reformation magazine. This is highly recommended reading for our iMonk community. Rosenthal tells his story of being raised by a single mother who had left Methodism and adopted Judaism when she married. Shane converted to Christ at age 18 and began attending [...]
Leaving Revivalism Behind?
21 Apr by
Are evangelicals moving away from revivalism? Gordon T. Smith thinks they may be. In a provocative article at Christianity Today, Smith suggests that evangelicals are moving toward a new perspective on conversion that is leading to changes in the way they do church. “It is not be an overstatement to say that evangelicals are experiencing [...]
Eulogies and Dyslogies for Charles Colson
Wow Frank. Tell us how you really feel. Over the weekend Frank Schaeffer published one of the angriest and most ill-timed screeds I’ve ever read. On his blog he wrote a dyslogy of Charles Colson (1931-2012), the evangelical Christian Right spokesman who died Saturday, and called it, “Colson: An Evangelical Homophobic Anti-Woman Leader Passes On”. [...]