Archive for April 2007
Mission as invitation to life
After my last post on ne0-evangelism, I picked up Jurgen Moltmann’s book, God For A Secular Society. I like Moltmann’s idea of "mission as invitation to life," and agree with Moltmann that we "need a new concept for mission." Moltmann notes three major epochs in the history of Christian "mission:"
- With Constantine, the church’s mission was spreading the Christian imperium — the holy rule of the emperor of Rome.
- With the decline of the emperor and the rise of the Church in Rome, the mission of the Church became the spread of Christian churches.
- Since the 19th century and the advent of evangelical thought, the mission of the church has been the evangelization of the world — the salvation of individual souls.
Neo-Evangelism
I have been thinking a lot lately about missional evangelism. Others commenting on evangelism and the emerging/missional church seem to fall into two categories: missional evangelism is a redundant phrase, or missional evangelism is an oxymoron. But I’d like to explore what missional evangelism, i.e., neo-evangelism, might look like and get your take on it.
What did Jesus really say?
I’m doing something I’ve never done before. I’m reading the words of Jesus. I don’t mean the New Testament, I mean just the words of Jesus. You know, the red-letter words. I’m trying this little experiment to see what Jesus really said.
Where is God?
This is an excerpt from the sermon I preached today, Sunday, April 22, 2007, at Chatham Baptist Church in Chatham, Virginia. For the full text click here.
Where is God?
So, “Where,” you ask, “is God in the tragedy at Virginia Tech?”
There are those who will trot out the ancient question, “If God is all-powerful and all-good, then why didn’t he prevent the carnage on the campus?”
On a quiet university campus
The Virginia Tech campus nestles in the rolling, green hills of southwest Virginia. The town of Blacksburg is quaint and charming, and the perfect home for an outstanding state university. But today, great violence came to that pastoral setting, and 33 people are dead, scores wounded, and another scar is gouged into our communal consciousness.
Why Imus Matters To Missional Christians
This is my fifth post on the Imus incident. I realize that I’m bordering on the obsessive here, but this thing resonates with me. And, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why evangelicals are so strangely silent on this issue. Here’s why this matters to me:
MSNBC does the right thing
CBS Fires Don Imus. Click here for CBS president Les Moonves’ statement.
MSNBC has done the right thing by discontinuing its relationship with Don Imus. Plus, MSNBC apologized again to the Rutgers’ women’s basketball team for Imus’ remarks. This is exactly the course of action I suggested a couple of posts back, and I am heartened by the values that MSNBC expresses in its decision.
Forgiving Imus and social responsibility
In the I-Mess, as media pundits are now calling it, many are saying, "Imus made a mistake, asked for forgiveness, so we should forgive him and move on." Good point, after all, as missional followers of Christ forgiveness is a big deal. God forgave us, Jesus modeled forgiveness, and Jesus suggested that we forgive 70×7, or an infinite number of times. So, I forgive Don Imus. I still want him off the air. How do I reconcile those two statements?
Why we need a social ethic
The Imus affair goes on. While I am writing this on Tuesday evening, MSNBC hosts two talking-heads discussing this incident. I’ve read several big-time blogs and the "nappy-headed hos" comment has sparked an interesting Imus defense from commenters. Its main points are:
Doing Justice: Don Imus has to go
Don Imus, syndicated radio talkshow personality, last Wednesday described the Rutgers’ women’s basketball team as a bunch of "nappy-headed hos." Imus has done the standard mea culpa, apologizing for the remark that he said was an attempt to "be funny."
