Threads from Henry's Web

Category: Christianity

  • Could We Have a Passionate Progressive Christian Revival?

    In a guest post at Bob Cornwall’s Ponderings on a Faith Journey blog, Dr. Bruce Epperly of Lancaster Theological Seminary suggests just that. As a sample, he speaks of the conviction (nice evangelical word) he received from some words in a conversation:

    …we are involved in a type of spiritual warfare and that we, as progressives, haven’t yet gathered a strong team of peaceful warriors to get our message out in the theological, spiritual, political, and public sphere. We seem content with slow decline, when we should be moving forward to take a central place in North America’s future spiritual landscape.

    I think that after reading his points, there is a reason that I think “passionate moderate” is a better description for me than liberal, even though I have been dubbed a “liberal charismatic.” Nonetheless, I think that mainline Christianity has lost most not in doctrinal content, but in passion.

    My tendency is always to say, “Let’s start a discussion around that!” But the fact is that it might be better to say, as does Dr. Epperly, “That will preach” and then go preach it.

  • Worldview Weekend on John Piper and Rick Warren

    John Piper is a Calvinist, and I am so totally not, but I have a deep respect for him, in spite of many disagreements. That respect has been increased lately by his actions, both in taking a leave from his ministry and in inviting Rick Warren to speak at the Desiring God conference.

    It happens I disagree with Rick Warren on a number of things as well, so why does this increase my respect? Let me put in simply (and briefly, which is nearly miraculous for me): Any faith or theological system that must be protected by not listening to other voices is both weak, and in danger of losing its way.

    Listening doesn’t mean one must agree. Listening is listening.

    Brannon Howse, of Worldview Weekend, doesn’t agree:

    … I think it is a VERY bad idea for John Piper to invite Rick Warren to speak at his Desiring God conference. Piper is showing a serious lack of discernment in this decision. I think Piper was taken in by the Warren personality and not the facts.

    I seriously doubt if John Piper has been “taken in.” Rather, I think he will listen and then do some discernment. Perhaps, as shocking as it may be to some, he will trust those who attend his conference to do some of their own discerning.

    Kudos to him!

  • Kingdom Christians

    Dave Black has a new essay titled Are You a Kingdom Christian?. This is something that is dear to my heart. I’ve written about it before from a different angle.

    He says:

    … For us, the human organization is somewhat arbitrary. I say this as a committed Baptist. Baptists are not the only true expression of God’s kingdom. I know that some will call me a heretic for saying this, but I believe it is what the Scriptures teach. “There will be one flock and one Shepherd,” said Jesus (John 10:16). This flock is comprised of all obedient followers of Jesus. Out ultimate allegiance must be to Him. This loyalty surpasses even our (legitimate) loyalty to our denominations. In the kingdom, moreover, there are no barriers to fellowship — racial, cultural, tribal, or national. Jesus’ kingdom has no national boundaries, no military forces, no earthly king, no passports.

    All I’d need to do is substitute “Methodist” for “Baptist” and I could sign it.

    Again:

    Thus, in the kingdom of God, what matters is obedience. The essence of the Christian faith lies in our willingness to walk in the way of Jesus. Paul writes, “The kingdom of God is not in word but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20). In other words, the essence of the kingdom is not theology (word) but practice (deed). …

    You need to read the whole essay to see clearly that he is not denying salvation by faith (nor am I!), but what he’s saying here is very scriptural. In fact, I think it is one of the most consistent themes in scripture. When we read Paul otherwise (which happens when we read Galatians 1-4, but skip 5 & 6, or get through about Romans 8 as my seminary class did, but don’t spend time in 2 Corinthians, Philippians, or the pastorals), we place him in contrast to Jesus and to the God of the Old Testament … which is not good.

  • Michael Spencer – Internet Monk – Farewell!

    A leading light in Christian blogging, with a challenging and varied blog, has gone on to glory after a battle with cancer. Chaplain Mike provides the news at the Internet Monk.

  • Experiencing Resurrection

    Adrian Warnock issued a 10 day empty grave challenge, asking Christian bloggers to write about the resurrection at some point before Easter. Even though I have yet to read his book (I’ll get to it sometime!), I thought I’d take him up on his challenge.

    Now the fact is that my experience differs from Adrian’s in that I have found that most churches I have attended tend to be pretty happy about the resurrection, but much more likely to neglect the cross. They have generally been quite happy to discuss the resurrection without any concern for why it was necessary. Unfortunately, however, I believe that if one neglects the cross one can hardly fully understand the resurrection.

    A song from my youth, Henry de Fluiter’s Homesick for Heaven:

    I’m homesick for heaven, seems I cannot wait,
    Yearning to enter Zion’s pearly gate;
    There never a heartache, never a care,
    I long for my home over there.

    I may seem to be deviating from the topic, but I grew up with this concept. A desire for the coming of God’s kingdom is a kind of standard in Christian discourse. We want to go to heaven, with the obvious subtext “not too soon.”

    Now I had always thought that I really was homesick for heaven. But it took the time when my son was sick and death was threatening to teach my what homesickness really meant. I am aware that I bring up this one incident constantly in discussing, but living through the death of a child is an event that will change your life for better or worse.

    But the experience that I relate to the resurrection is not death, but an earlier time in our experience. James had gone through surgery to remove one lung, and was in intensive care. Prior to the surgery I had committed to teach a series each Sunday for a month at a church about 2 1/2 hours away, at least as I drive. The pastor told me he’d understand if I canceled, but he wasn’t going to withdraw the invitation.

    Saturday night I stood by James’s bed side and dithered as to whether I could make it. James was trying to say something to me, but was muffled by the tubes, so I came closer so I could hear. He said one word to me: “Go!”

    I went. On those trips I was sustained by the music of the kingdom. I recall in particular one song, “Singing with the Saints” —

    I’ll be be sitting at the throne with an angel band,
    Shoutin’ hallelujahs to the great I am
    If you think it’s a dream, well it ain’t
    I’ll be singing with the saints.

    I played that music loudly all the way. One of those Sundays–I don’t think it was that first one because James was able to talk to me–my wife Jody tried to call me on the cell phone as I drove and I didn’t hear it ring. When I did notice the call and called back they were shocked that I had missed the call due to the music. You see, I very rarely listen to music that loudly.

    But in that experience there were moments when I sensed I could feel the grass of the fields of heaven. I felt a homesickness for that land that I had never felt before. I understand that others whose view of life and whose faith (or lack of it) differs from mine. I know that they too endure great difficulties and come through them. But for myself, it was that part of my faith, not particularly the future hope, but the moments experiencing eternity here and now that sustained me. I realized that I was a native of that kingdom for just a moment. As St. John Chrysostom said of the patriarchs:

    What then? Did they mean that they were “strangers” from the land that is in Palestine? By no means: but in respect of the whole world: and with reason; for they saw therein none of the things which they wished for, but everything foreign and strange.

    Before that I only thought I was homesick.

    I’m reminded of a quote from Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy, p. 37:

    …The Eucharist has so often been explained with reference to the gifts alone: what “happens” to bread and wine, and why, and when it happens! But we must understand that what “happens” to bread and wine happens because something has, first of all, happened to us, to the Church. It is because we have “constituted” the Church, and this means we have followed Christ in His ascension; because He has accepted us at His table in His Kingdom; because, in terms of theology, we have entered the Eschaton, and are now standing beyond time and space; it is because all this has first happened to us that something will happen to bread and wine.

    In worship we are not merely commemorating historical events, or looking forward to future events, but we are experiencing our true homeland. When we truly get a taste of that true homeland it changes who we are and the way we look at the world.

    When we study and meditate on the resurrection, I believe it should take us through that journey. We cannot do so without Good Friday and Silent Saturday. The first reminds us of the nature of evil and of the hardships we all encounter. It reminds us of the price of the kingdom. Silent Saturday is that time of waiting. Victory doesn’t come in an instant, but requires patience and determination. Easter Sunday is the victory of the kingdom.

  • Christian Carnival CCCXXI Posted

    … at who am i? (Sorry I’m late with the link!)

  • Biblioblog Top 50 Posted

    … at Free Old Testament Audio.  Surprisingly, considering how little I blogged last month and how much my 30 day Alexa number rose (not good!) I remain #9.

  • Quote of the Day – History Doesn’t Care

    From Quadrilateral Thoughts:

    The nice thing about history, as Gamaliel once reminded us, is that it doesn’t care who you are, how much power you have, or how loudly you can shout. History, like truth, simply doesn’t care about people’s feelings. The Flood comes, some people are saved, some people drown with “Oops” as their final words.

    It’s a good post in a good series. Check it out.

  • Beyond Complementarian

    I found this story appalling. In making decisions about a Christian school and whether the principal should be fired, women were not even allowed to speak.

    While I do believe that a denomination or local church should have the right to do what it believes is right with a school it finances, including expecting the teachers to support the party-line, I do not think that it is right to maintain such narrow boundaries. Both the offense and the way it was handled speak more of paranoia than of concern for education.

    What I really wanted to note, however, is that complementarians of my acquaintance would pretty much unanimously oppose this type of action as well. It seems that what often happens in controversies happens in the egalitarian debate–those who are not egalitarian are complementarian, and those who are not complementarian are egalitarian, and the line is drawn very near to the opposite end of the spectrum. (Please notice that I’m aware this is not the topic of the original story, nor of Cheryl Schatz’s blog post.)

    It’s sort of like the political spectrum where everyone who is not 100% laissez faire can get labeled a socialist, while on the other hand people who would support many socialist ideas are labeled as laissez faire by the “real” socialists.

    We should realize that there are many shades in these camps, and that the labels can be problematic, especially if we narrow one and broaden the other, from either direction. Labeling is useful; mislabeling is confusing.

  • 50 Great Books Every Christian Should Read

    At least so says the Online Christian Colleges blog.  I received a notice of the post in e-mail.  Usually that’s not a very productive way to get me to blog about something unless you’re someone I know, and more importantly, someone who knows what I like to blog about.  So, folks, don’t make a habit of it.

    In this case, I almost didn’t bother to look at the post, as lists of things every ____ should read generally drive me nuts, but I did go and look, and there are some rather interesting items but as a list of 50 books every Christian should read, I’d say, “Not so much.”

    For example, The Talmud.  Should Christians be acquainted with Judaism to some extent?  Yes, I would agree.  But reading the entire Talmud?  Have you tried?  It really isn’t a book to be read so much as one to be diligently studied.  And no, I haven’t read all or even most of it myself.  My interests went the other direction, back to the ancient near east.  Now Enuma Elish, the Hymn to Aten, Gilgamesh, and Hammurabi’s code–those everyone should read, and in the original languages.  (No, I don’t mean that about the original languages.  Just joking.)

    What about The Purpose Driven Life, #19 on the list?  In this case, I have read it, though I must confess to a “seminary read” of large portions.  I really don’t find it profound enough to be on the top 50.  If our pastor hadn’t been preaching through it, I would never have bothered.

    There are quite a few good suggestions, though I think many will object to particular selections, such as Tillich’s Systematic Theology.  I love it, but it is really slow reading for most.  I haven’t found that many people who want to hear quotes from it.

    In any case, check out the list.  What would you add?  What would you remove?