Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer Undated Note: This week, in an effort to give special focus on pastoral ministry in the local church, we will be running Michael Spencer’s seminal post on the the subject, originally published in the first year of Internet Monk. This is a long article, so we will be spreading [...]
iMonk Classic: The “Real” Prosperity Gospel
20 Feb by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From Sept 16, 2008 A reader sent me a very nice note yesterday, talking about a bit of the scope and direction of my writing on this blog over the years. He mentioned something I want to share with you. Hear his idea and initial direction; then I want [...]
iMonk Classic: “I Forgive Myself” — The Hardest Word?
12 Feb by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From Feb 19, 2008 One of the things I really don’t like about run-of-the-mill evangelical spirituality is the assumption that we’re all basically clones of each other. Cheerful clones. Mentally healthy clones. Good family clones. Conservative political clones. Happy at church clones. Like the same music clones. Clones who [...]
The Monk Who Wouldn’t Go Away
31 Jan by
Today is Thomas Merton’s birthday. Merton played a big role in Michael Spencer’s spiritual development. In one of my conversations with Michael, I asked where I should start in reading Merton. He said I had to read The Seven Storey Mountain first in order to really understand Thomas Merton. I have since enjoyed many a [...]
iMonk Classic: Believing the Bible: A Place To Start or Stop?
29 Jan by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From Feb 5, 2009 Let’s say you’re sitting around talking with a group of friends, some of whom are Christians and some aren’t. A subject comes up; for example, marriage. People share their stories, their thoughts, their accumulated wisdom. After a moment, one of the Christians present begins to [...]
iMonk Classic: Jesus — The Glory of the Christian Journey
15 Jan by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From May 4, 2009 I can’t speak for anyone else, just for me. When I became a Christian in 1974, I was immediately taught to define myself three ways. First, did I believe that I was a sinner and that Jesus died for my sins so I could go [...]
iMonk Classic: Remembering the Stutterer
8 Jan by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From Jan 3, 2007 Note from CM: If you haven’t had a chance to see the film, “The King’s Speech,” I recommend it to you. It’s the story of England’s King George VI, who came to the throne in the critical days before WWII when his brother Edward abdicated [...]
iMonk Classic: The Face of the Gracious God
1 Jan by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From January 25, 2009 Note from CM: I can’t think of a better way to start the new year than to contemplate our wonderful, gracious God and the gifts he has for us in Christ. Wash away those false conceptions of the God who’s out to get you as [...]
Another Look: Now in Another Wilderness
31 Dec by
[Originally posted April 6, 2010, the day after Michael died] By Chaplain Mike I had been wandering in the post-evangelical wilderness for a long time. But I never knew what to call it until I began reading Michael Spencer. And I never knew a genuinely safe place to talk about it until I entered the [...]
iMonk Classic: An Ideal Evangelicalism?
21 Dec by
Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer From December 14, 2008 Note from CM: In the light of Michael Bell’s thought-provoking and discussion-inducing post of yesterday, I thought this classic Michael Spencer post could aid us in continuing the conversation. Somewhere in the previous orgy of comments I’ve had this week, someone asked me to write [...]
