Presented by Chaplain Mike The following is a brief video presentation by Pastor Joel Hunter of Northland, A Church Distributed, in Longwood, Florida. Though it was published by BioLogos, this video is not about issues of science and faith, except by application. It deals more generally with the subject of how pastors, churches, and church [...]
Open Mic: Pastoral Care in Today’s Church
18 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike OK, it’s happened again. Over the past few weeks I’ve had at least half a dozen patients tell me that their pastor has not visited them and that the church has dropped the ball when it comes to keeping in touch with them during their illnesses (in these cases, terminal illnesses). What’s [...]
Open Mic: The Gulf Oil Disaster
2 Jun by
By Chaplain Mike Though I’ve made my opinions clear about “culture war” political machinations, I have also tried to say that Christians should care about public issues. With that in mind, I’ve been waiting and watching for Christian spokespersons to weigh in about the Deepwater/BP oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico from a [...]
Open Mic: The Fading Glow of External Experience
24 May by
By Chaplain Mike While I’m reading Skye Jethani’s superb book, The Divine Commodity, and preparing to review it, I thought I’d post this Open Mic question that grows out of a post on his blog, “What Should Worship Look Like? And why that question completely misses the point.” Jethani is responding to some who have [...]
Gospel Definitions
19 May by
By Chaplain Mike UPDATE: I have added an additional sentence to point #2 in my definition. Over at Rachel Held Evans’ blog, she is running a post with responses to the question, “What is the Gospel?” I encourage you to visit her site, read the entries, and enter the discussion. She asked me to participate, [...]
Reflecting on 50 Years of Charismatic Faith
12 May by
By Chaplain Mike I’d like to have us discuss an interesting article in Christianity Today by David Neff. It is called, “Ardor and Order,” and it’s a reflection upon the impact of the charismatic movement on the mainline and evangelical churches over the past fifty years. I encourage you to read it before submitting comments [...]
Open Mic: Spiritual Progress and the Church
7 May by
Question posed by Chaplain Mike Over at Out of Ur, Christianity Today’s ministry blog, there is an interview with Dallas Willard about how churches assess spiritual growth. Here is an excerpt from that post. In our Open Mic discussion today, I would like our iMonk community to respond to what he says. Q: How can [...]
Open Mic: The Most Basic Question
30 Apr by
Question posed by Chaplain Mike It is a rare conversation that cuts right to the heart of the matter. It happened to me the other day. I was visiting a terminally ill patient who was actively dying. Her granddaughter had come to see her, and as I entered the room I observed her talking with [...]
Open Mic: A Sad but Necessary Discussion
5 Apr by
By Chaplain Mike. The Roman Catholic Church is having a nightmare, and can’t wake up. No longer can the clergy sexual abuse problem be passed off as “an American problem.†Recent developments in Ireland, Germany, and Italy have gotten the world’s attention and criticism has risen to a new level, even to the point where [...]
Open Mic: What If?
3 Mar by
From Chaplain Mike. A difficult conversation today brought to mind Luther’s Small Catechism and what it has to say about the Eighth Commandment: The Eighth Commandment. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. What does this mean? Answer. We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or [...]
