Category: Church
Of Jayber Crow and Donald Trump
In his novel Jayber Crow Wendell Berry raises the question of how a person can love and give themselves to something that is dying. Throughout the novel, Crow, the book’s protagonist, reflects on his life in Port William, a small Kentucky...
On Loving and Hating Places
There are a few more things that need to be said as we wrap up this week’s Crump-related fun. (And no, I did not watch last night’s debate so do not ask me about it. I was busy playing Football...
Evangelicals need to read Richard Hooker.
I’m pleased to host this excellent interview between Mere Fidelity contributor Alastair Roberts and my friend Dr. Brad Littlejohn. Dr. Littlejohn, who did his doctoral work at Edinburgh with Mere O favorite Oliver O’Donovan, has just published a popular level...
Next Week: The Future of the Church
One of my favorite things about the Mere Fidelity podcast is that it gets three or four (at least) different people together directly discussing a given topic. With writing this sort of direct interaction happens only rarely and usually in...
Reviewing The New Parish and New Evangelical Language
You might say that The New Parish is the best possible book that typical young evangelicals could write about church life and spiritual formation. You might also say that The New Parish is an occasionally good book that takes some unfortunate...
The Mark Driscoll School of Leadership
For months now, I’ve been wanting to write something about the Mark Driscoll saga, but I’ve never quite found the words. I wanted to argue that some of the charges of plagiarism were overblown, but I didn’t want to come...
Respectability and the Plausibility of Orthodoxy
One point that deserves special mention with the ongoing conversation about “respectable” Christianity concerns the plausibility of “orthodoxy” in the minds of many of our non-Christian neighbors. One of the unique challenges facing Christianity in the coming years is that the...
Should Sermons Be Published?
Today we live in a world where pastors of churches large and small post their sermons online almost immediately. Many live-stream and some churches even offer sophisticated viewing experiences allowing viewers to provide feedback. What’s more, the advent of smart...
When Churches and Parachurches Drift Apart
Peter Greer (@peterkgreer) is president and CEO of HOPE International. Chris Horst (@chrishorst) is the vice president of development at HOPE International. Together with the support of Anna Haggard, they coauthored Mission Drift and Entrepreneurship for Human Flourishing. They wrote this...
The Ethics of Jayber Crow
In The Humane Vision of Wendell Berry Anthony Esolen notes that Berry’s longest Port William novel, Jayber Crow, is in many ways a modern day retelling of Dante. Berry’s own language throughout the book suggests the comparison, as his narrator, the novel’s...