By: gfesadmin on March 7, 2013
On a late afternoon in the fall of 2004, my wife looked at me and said, “I think it’s time for a movie night!” Nothing else needed to be said, I was off. Just a few minutes later I found myself checking out a new thriller at the local Blockbuster Video store. It’s name, “The…
By: gfesadmin on March 6, 2013
According to Andrew Heath and Joseph Potter, the authors of the book, Rebel Sell: Why the Culture Can’t be Jammed, theories such as the one found in the book No Logo, by Naomi Klein, are false and unproductive. The theory, they explain, is actually a critique of mass society, not capitalism. This popular theory, found…
By: gfesadmin on March 2, 2013
One of my first full time jobs out of Theological Seminary was church planting and evangelism in a large church in Southern California. Although I had never planted a church before or led evangelism, I was naive enough to take the job. I read every book or article I could find on evangelism and church…
By: gfesadmin on March 1, 2013
David Bebbington’s book, Evangelicalism In Modern Britain is truly an outstanding compilation of both history and theology providing the reader quite a methodical understanding of the subject. With great clarity Bebbington delineates the four distinct primary characteristics that underscore evangelicalism as it started in the 1730s. Conversionism: That lives need to be transformed through a…
By: gfesadmin on February 28, 2013
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By: gfesadmin on February 28, 2013
D.W. Bebbington, in his book Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730’s to the 1980s explains that the four marks of Evangelical Religion are: “1. Conversionism – the idea that lives need to be changed, 2. Activism – the expression of the gospel in effort, 3. Biblicism – a particular regard for the…
By: gfesadmin on February 28, 2013
I recently heard Diana Butler-Bass talk at a conference on spirituality called Spiritual Climate Change. Diana convincing expressed what many of us either knew or suspected about the U.S. spiritual environment. We have dramatically shifted in adherence to church. What is shifted is the amount of people who claim no religious affiliation, which is about…
By: gfesadmin on February 28, 2013
Evangelicalism in Modern Britain by D.W. Bebbington was an interesting read for me because it gave me a broader perspective as to the origins of evangelicalism and it shed some light on the evangelical movement in America. Bebbington pointed out, early in his book, that he notes four characteristics that branded evangelicalism. They were conversion…
By: gfesadmin on February 28, 2013
What does it really mean to be an Evangelical? Am I an Evangelical? If I am, do I want to be associated with other Evangelicals? This is an ongoing conversation I’ve had with myself over the past 10 years, and this week’s reading helped further my thought. In Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, D.W. Bebbington argues…
By: gfesadmin on February 28, 2013
…time and chance happeneth to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11 Throughout the past two hundred plus years of world history, much has changed. Horse drawn wagons have given way to automobiles. Hand written letters have given way to instantaneous text messaging. Stories of far away lands have given way to sitting on your couch and connecting…
By: gfesadmin on February 27, 2013
It seems to be in fashion to question the future of Evangelicalism. On the more progressive side, Evangelical leaders are calling for change in the church that can re-captivate the imagination of a society seemly bent on secularism, and highly critical of serious Christian faith. On the more traditional side, there is a call for…
By: gfesadmin on February 26, 2013
another test for scheduling.
By: gfesadmin on February 25, 2013
Imagine a conversation I have with a non-christian friend from Germany, talking about my dissertation and my studies at george-fox EVANGELICAL seminary, Portand, USA… If I was asked by him about the EVANGELICAL in the name of the university I study at; if I was asked to define this „EVANGELICAL, what would I say? What…
By: gfesadmin on February 24, 2013
With the advent and advancement of communication technology, the globe is networked and informed of every happening in real time. The terror of 9/11, the Asian tsunami, the war in Iraq, famines in Africa or the recent incident of violence in Delhi that claimed the life of a young girl, are streamed into our living…
By: gfesadmin on February 22, 2013
Two days ago I was in a village in Central India. We dedicated a small Life Center for the use of the Believers there. Village church buildings are called ‘Life Centers’ since it becomes a resource in the hands of the congregation to reach out to the community to meet various needs during the week. New Believers…
By: gfesadmin on February 22, 2013
Value is in the heart of the beholder. Just about everything is marked with meaning and carries some level of value. Often times, value is ascribed to something that is sentimental. The value of something can have a major impact on culture or society at large. In some cases, it may not go any further…
By: gfesadmin on February 22, 2013
Wayne Muller in his book Sabbath tells a story about Harvard President Neil Rudenstine oversleeping one morning in November of 1994. For this zealous perfectionist, in the midst of a million-dollar-a-day fund raising campaign, it was cause for alarm. After years of intensive, nonstop toil and struggle in an atmosphere that rewarded frantic busyness and…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
Since the life of Christ, believers and churches have pursued the ministry of discipleship in obedience to the great commission text of Matthew 28:19-20 and out of the desire to bring back the King, Matthew 24:14. Two dynamics have thwarted the ministry of discipleship. The first was the clergy and laity division. The idea that…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
A few years ago, I had the privilege of participating in a golf tournament near Celebration, Florida. This entirely planned community was built by and located near the fantasy land of Disney World. After the tournament, the organizers shared the benefits of living in a community dedicated to relationships and then took us on tour…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
Catholic theologian Vincent J. Miller unpacks the intersection of religion and consumerism in Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture. The strong point to Miller’s sketch is the depth and breadth of how he draws late modern capitalism, globalization, postmodernism, and Western Christianity together to show how culture has become fully commoditized. …
