Category: Church
Music and the Soul
We’re living in a time when there is a manifest crisis of worship in the church. It’s almost as if we’re in the midst of a rebellion among people who find church less than meaningful. They’re bored. They see the...
Bauer/Koester’s Unproven Assumptions
For most Christians in most places at most times, believers have desired (and been able) to distinguish between orthodox/faithful members of the Church and heterodox/faithless (seeming) members. The criteria may change, or may be much debated, but the commonest assumption...
The Message of Mission: Leslie Newbigin on the Mission of the Church
In theological circles, the idea of ‘mission’ is clearly the concept du jour. While the idea of the missio Dei–the mission of God–extends at least as far back as Saint Augustine’s magesterial De Trinitate, the notion that the Church should...
Willow Creek’s Transformation and the Mission of the Church
One of the more interesting stories to come out in recent months has been the shift that Willow Creek has been undertaking. For those not aware, Willow Creek has been the flagship for ‘seeker sensitive’ congregations. However, in recent months,...
The Great Schism and Icons – History of Christian Spirituality, 7th-15th Century
I have the privilege of taking “The History & Traditions of Christian Spirituality” with Dr. Greg Peters, a terribly sensible junior faculty member of the Torrey Honors Institute. In good classical education fashion, rather than simply lecturing to us for...
Community out of Necessity: The Limitations of the Body and the Formation of the Church
In my reflections for Ash Wednesday, I claimed that it was “through death—in suffering, in weakness, in solitude—that the communion of saints begins. The brokenness of Jesus’ body is the birth of his people.” While I focused mainly on the...
the need to recover tradition I
It’s now old news that Francis Beckwith has returned (converted back?) to the Roman Catholic Church of his youth. His change of denomination does however provide the oppurtunity to continuing discussing a few of what I am coming to believe...
Mary for Evangelicals
How ought evangelicals to think about Mary, the mother of Jesus? I am a born-and-raised protestant. I grew up in a “non-demonimational” Vineyard Christian Fellowship church. I have since spent a lot of time in Episcopalian parishes, but I have...
Canonical Communities: Ash Wednesday and Christian Communities
Today is Ash Wednesday, and though this is going up late, I think it appropriate. The Lenten season is one of the most difficult periods of the Christian year. It is a time of reflection and repentance for our sins....
Christians by Faith, not by Genre: Sufjan, Swithfoot, and the Nature of the Artist
I received a great many presents this Christmas. I almost felt guilty about this. But then my philosophical training saved the day. I began to think about the nature of giving gifts to celebrate Christmas and I could hear my...