Chaplainmike

Another Look: Now. On Earth.

Another Look: Now. On Earth. Is that it? Is what we read on this church sign the message? Is this what Jesus and the apostles announced? Are we in rehearsals? Is this prep time for the final exam? Are we taking batting practice? Is this pre-season and we’re sorting out the team, making the cuts,Continue reading “Another Look: Now. On Earth.”

Another Look: A More Grounded Gospel

Note from CM: Back in 2015, I was reading the book mentioned below, and offered this post as part of my response to what I was absorbing from it. I’ve edited this in an update for today. • • • And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things toContinue reading “Another Look: A More Grounded Gospel”

Monday with Michael Spencer: On Transactionalism

Monday with Michael Spencer On Transactionalism I am setting out to do something that is unlikely to be extremely popular. I am writing a theologically tentative essay about a word most of my readers have never heard and an issue I’ve only heard one other person discuss. Why this word would inspire serious theologizing onContinue reading “Monday with Michael Spencer: On Transactionalism”

Pentecost: How to Convey the Un-conveyable?

Ring out, you songs, resound, you strings! Oh blessed times! God will prepare our souls to be his temples. • • • How to Convey the Un-conveyable? At Working Preacher, Karoline Lewis makes a good point about preaching on Pentecost Sunday. I think too many of us preachers go into Pentecost Sunday with the pressureContinue reading “Pentecost: How to Convey the Un-conveyable?”

The Saturday Internet Monks Brunch: June 8, 2019

The Saturday Internet Monks Brunch: June 8, 2019 More on Franklin Graham from Paul Wilkinson: A massive exercise in spin? Later this month ” 3,235 boxes of paper items, 1,000 scrapbooks of news clippings dating back to the 1940s and more than 1,000 linear feet of videos, cassettes, reels, films and audio” which “documents theContinue reading “The Saturday Internet Monks Brunch: June 8, 2019”

When Prayer Is Something Else Altogether

Note from CM: I will moderate closely today. Mind your Ps and Qs. • • • Sunday’s event is a near-perfect embodiment of political evangelicalism in the Age of Trump: It blends Christian nationalism, the idea that the United States has a special place in God’s plans and Trump is God’s agent; social media, whereContinue reading “When Prayer Is Something Else Altogether”

God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey

God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey We will begin our review of God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey. Jon blogs at The Hump of the Camel and you can buy his book here. As of the writing of this post, Amazon is only showingContinue reading “God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey”

Another Look: My Journey Alongside the Spirit-Filled

Another Look: My Journey Alongside the Spirit-Filled I have a distinctly non-Pentecostal/Charismatic/Third Wave Christian heritage. (For the sake of easier reading, these three waves of “Spirit-filled” movements will be simply called “charismatic” in the rest of the post) The steps of my ecclesiastical journey look like this: United Methodist (before charismatic influence) — Southern Baptist —Continue reading “Another Look: My Journey Alongside the Spirit-Filled”

Tuesday with Michael Spencer

Note from CM: Whenever the subject of the Holy Spirit comes up, as it does in even the most traditional churches during the time of Pentecost, questions regarding “second blessing” theology, miracles, spiritual gifts — especially those involving supernatural manifestations such as speaking in tongues and prophecy — healing, and “God speaking” directly to theContinue reading “Tuesday with Michael Spencer”

Prayer, Power, and Proclamation

Ascension Sunday 2019: Prayer, Power, and Proclamation In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared toContinue reading “Prayer, Power, and Proclamation”