UPDATE: Here is the Peter Kreeft material on the resurrection that I refer to in this post and podcast.
I have several apologetics presentations that have developed here at my ministry setting. I’m going to do some of them as posts and podcasts. I’ll call the series “Coffee Cup Apologetics.”
Here is “Why I Am A Christian: Ten Reasons. (This has appeared as an IM post in the past.)
Coffee Cup Apologetics Website.Continue reading “Coffee Cup Apologetics: Why I Am A Christian: Ten Reasons”
Every time I feel like I have lost my way in the Christian life, I find myself back looking at monasticism, and the lessons I learned in two decades of reading Thomas Merton.
I’m not attracted to Catholicism, but I am very much attracted to the tradition of self-conscious, disciplined spiritual formation into a disciple of Jesus Christ. This is a great failing of our side of the church.
As much as we Protestants talk about being shaped by the Bible alone, most evangelicals are thoroughly formed and shaped by the communities where the Bible is handled, taught and practiced according to a “rule” or accepted authority, and by the media that supports and communicates the values of that community.
It is, without a doubt, one of the most appealing and positive aspects of Catholicism that it is self-conscious about its “rules” and authorities for spiritual formation. (Rule as in “way,” as in The Rule of Benedict.) It surely must be humorous to knowledgeable catholics to look at the various sects, denominations and varieties of evangelicalism and fundamentalism, all claiming to “just read the Bible.”Continue reading “Who and What are Forming You?”
After reading Stephen James’ and David Thomas’s twin book excursion into popular complementarianism, “Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?” and “Yup. Nope. Maybe,” I’m ready to say that complementarians at least write more interesting, entertaining and readable books than egalitarians.
Here are two books- don’t read just one- that explore the relationship between the sexes using common stereotypical questions that have been water cooler/coffee shop/bar standards for years. The questions make you smile, but the issues raised are serious and important. Thomas and James have backgrounds in counseling, and just beyond the entertaining dialogs and recognizable conversations is real help for couples who may feel they can never really understand each other.Continue reading “Review: “Yup. Nope. Maybe.” and “Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?” by Stephen James and David Thomas”
When you’ve been in the same ministry for fifteen years, experiences tend to repeat themselves. It’s deja vu, only for real.
I’m going to tell you about one of those experiences.
New staff are always excited about being in Christian service with other believers. Sometimes in those first few weeks, they will look me up. They see me leading worship, they hear that I am the campus minister and they come to talk to me about their excitement in being a servant of Jesus in our ministry.
Those conversations almost always go well. We’ll be friends. They will come to the things that I lead. They will say good things about my sermons. I’ll be encouraged. Partnership in the ministry is a good thing.
Then something will happen. It doesn’t happen all of the time, but it happens so many times that I live in the strange feeling of a repeating cycle.
It goes like this.Continue reading “All the Little Reasons That Matter Too Much: Thoughts on Christian Unity”
iMonk 101 is a selection of essays from the past five years of IM.
From the Internet Monk archives, here’s one of the most popular pieces I’ve ever written: How Religious Parents Royally Screw Up Their Children.
This is one of the few iMonk 101 pieces that I wouldn’t change at all. I still feel as strong about these things as ever. If you are about to be a parent, read and take heed. Raising the perfect Christian child isn’t possible. Consider, instead, an approach that values “normal” more than being the most religious second grader in town.
We all want to influence our kids. Let’s also try not to mess them up.
Thoughts on the tragedy. (Sorry about saying West Virginia a couple of times.)
IM Radio is on iTunes. Search for Monk and ignore the other guy.
And that’s about it, friends. Be glad in God! I don’t mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters, and I hope you don’t mind hearing it again. Better safe than sorry — so here goes. Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they’re interested in is appearances — knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it — even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book. The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash — along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant — dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ — God’s righteousness.
-The Message, Philippians 3:1-9
Christ’s righteousness.
That’s an important phrase in Christianity. Christ’s righteousness is the gift of righteousness that makes everything in salvation possible. Receiving the righteousness of Christ is the heart of the Gospel.
Our righteousness.
That’s another important part of the Christian message. God requires righteousness, and he commands it many different ways. He describes his people as righteous and he describes many characters in the Bible as righteous.Continue reading “Hunger and Thirst After (Christ’s) Righteousness”
It’s a great book that needs a better title. Seriously good book. The title has gotta go.
Nate Larkin’s Samson and the Pirate Monks is a five star book. As far as men’s books go, it may be one of the best books I’ve ever read, far surpassing most of what comes out of the Christian “men’s†movement.. There’s a great story, tremendous insight into real life, humbling vulnerability, practical application and the kind of humility, humor and honesty that IM readers value.
Why is this book special? This is a gripping story of how a seminary trained pastor became involved and addicted to porn, prostitutes and the world of sexual immorality. Larkin’s story of growing up in evangelical revivalism and a pastor’s home will be familiar to many, but no one knows how many will relate to his descent into the dark side even while he was in the pulpit and in the ministry. I imagine it will be thousands upon thousands.
Nate Larkin tells his story of his journey into and out of sexual addiction with brutal honesty. It will be a rare person who won’t wince and then weep at what Larkin’s wife went through as he bounced between deception, efforts at recovery and religious enthusiasm. There are moments you will be angry at Larkin’s hypocrisy and arrogance. If you are like me, you’ll hate the kind of religious subculture that promotes this sort of double-life. There will be other moments when some will closely identify with Larkin as he keeps secrets and justifies his sin. And you will be excited as his journey takes him into a community of men who are bound together by addiction, grace and loyalty to Jesus. It’s a great story that will involve you on many levels, and if you have addictions and struggles, it will be a very hopeful book you’ll want to share with others.Continue reading “Review and Recommendation: Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin”
“Roger” is a co-worker who asked several questions about my review of Dr. John MacArthur’s “The Truth War.”
I’d like commenters to suggest good books on postmodernism and the emerging church. Thanks.
Roger asked me for complete definitions of postmodernism and the emerging church.
That’s a lot of reading, listening and work, Roger. There are no shorthand, quickie ways to get all you need to understand the terms and the movements that appropriate them. Let me try and point you in the right direction for your own reading.
The critics of the emerging church have hit the ground early and hard with their own definitions of both of these important terms. I can only ask you to remember what it would be like if Democrats offered three hours of a free seminar called “What is conservativism? and What do Republicans really believe?” Or if Muslims said “Buy our book on what Christians believe.” That’s the same kind of propaganda you will read on the net.
Some critical sources are more careful than others. I believe you can read for yourself and learn a lot. Here’s a quick list.Continue reading “A Response to Roger (Questions on my review of “The Truth War”)”
Follow up on the Battle Cry post; Roman Catholicism and Post-evangelicalism.
The Internet Monk Radio Podcast is available on iTunes.
The Internet Monk Archives