By: Julie Dodge on April 10, 2015
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on April 10, 2015
I have found the topic of globalization fascinating. Why? Because globalization has many effects, but one of the most important is the dramatic increase in the opportunity and need to interact with people who are culturally different from ourselves.[1] With me writing, or will soon be writing, a dissertation about cultural intelligence and the need for…
By: Jon Spellman on April 10, 2015
Heretic – “A person holding an opinion at odds with what is generally accepted” (Google). Ross Douthat forwards the position that we (Americans) have become a collection of heretics. While I generally agree with the observations found in the book, and find myself often lamenting (all of us in this class have really…) the condition…
By: Richard Volzke on April 10, 2015
Reading Lewis and Pierard’s book, Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History and Culture in Regional Perspective, reminded me of the training I received as a missionary. I was involved in a project to translate outreach and training materials into the native language of the countries that the mission was working in. The project was being implemented on…
By: Liz Linssen on April 9, 2015
Prior to emigrating to South Korea, I had very little opportunity to gain ministry experience. Although I had studied Theology up to Master’s level, my opportunities for ministry remained limited to what they were prior to ministry training: helping to lead worship and teaching children the Scriptures. As much as I enjoyed these opportunities for…
By: Mary Pandiani on April 9, 2015
On Easter evening with family gathered round, we played some board games. A new one was introduced to me called Snake Oil. The goal of the game is to sell (outlandishly, mind you) the customer an item that will be necessary in his/her line of work (i.e. alien, cowboy, belly dancer, etc). Out of a…
By: Deve Persad on April 9, 2015
The teaching of math has been a source of frustration for me over the course of this year; well it’s probably been growing for the last few years, but this year it seems almost inescapable. Teachers are telling students to memorize and to download apps in order to solve equations. They are not challenging students…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on April 9, 2015
Church division is a challenge among Evangelicals in Ethiopia in general and Ethiopian churches in the States in particular. There are three main reasons for church splits in Ethiopian churches, theological differences, lack of critical self-reflection, and competitive leadership. One theological difference is in how Christians participate in their communities’ socio-cultural and political life. It…
By: Nick Martineau on April 9, 2015
I’ve been meeting weekly with a guy that is having trouble believing in Jesus. This past week we went to lunch and while talking he started to cry and the heart issues started to surface. He opened up about how his dad was a pastor, his parents got divorced, and after the divorce he moved…
By: Bill Dobrenen on April 8, 2015
I am not praying only for these men but for all those who will believe in me through their message, that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, live in me and I live in you, I am asking that they may live in us, that the world may believe that you did…
By: Dave Young on April 8, 2015
In my view, books like “Spirit of the Cities” and “The Bible, Justice and Public Theology” don’t offer a clear vision for the role of public theology. But with the reading of Ross Douthat’s Bad Religion: How we became a Nation of Heretics[1], I can envision the robust and essential role of the public theology.…
By: John Woodward on April 8, 2015
Globalization is a hot topic. It is also a topic that is defies easy definition, much like the term “evangelical,” because globalization may be viewed from a number of perspectives (economic, cultural, political). Further, globalization carries a great deal of historical baggage, being associated with colonialism and imperialism. The authors of Global Evangelicalism: Theology, History…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on April 8, 2015
The Church seems to be loosing its voice. The message of Christ and the Church appear to be lacking relevance in much of today’s Western culture. As Ross Douthat describes the American spiritual climate in his book, Bad Religion, “… both the populists and the intellectuals … share the same basic…
By: Brian Yost on April 6, 2015
In the book, Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, Ross Gregory Douthat traces the degradation of Christian religion in America through the decades following the Second World War. He challenges the idea that we are no longer a religious nation or a non-religious society and points out that, “America’s problem isn’t too…
By: Ashley Goad on April 4, 2015
Have you seen the George Clooney flick, “Up in the Air”? Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, who flies around the country firing people. He loves his job and is constantly in the air flying from one city to another. He’s also an accumulator of frequent flyer miles and has a goal of achieving the…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on March 27, 2015
There has been an accident. The Church has crashed. Reports have it . . . the Church fell asleep at the wheel. Due to a mixture of loosely monitored motives, a relativistic lens on happiness and life satisfaction, and a whole lot of sin . . . the Church has dosed off and drifted off…
By: rhbaker275 on March 21, 2015
Our pastor cluster met today; the cluster is eight to ten pastors who gather together once a month to share ministry, encourage and support one another and to pray together. It is an all-day experience from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A highlight is reading and discussing a book every two months. Today, we completed…
By: Julie Dodge on March 20, 2015
There is a tension in our lives following Christ between living by faith and doing good works. In our lives, we are called to be obedient, and to love as Christ would. This requires action. It is the long debated challenge of James: “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without…
By: John Woodward on March 20, 2015
Bottom line: Most Christian leaders need a deeper, more vital relationship with God. What most church leaders will admit is that they just don’t have time in their busy schedule to cultivate this deeper connection with God. This results in burn out, sin and emptiness, which eventually leads to the very same place that the…
By: Bill Dobrenen on March 20, 2015
I have often wondered how certain people have found their way into leadership positions, especially into ministry leadership positions. If “the cream always rises to the top,” then why does that not always seem to be the case in leadership situations? At least in my own experience it seems that sometimes just the opposite has…
