Our wayback machine today takes us to the first year of Internet Monk.com, where you’ll find a lengthy essay called “Those Magnificent Young Men and Their Pastoring Machines.” (Excuse the spelling errors. No proofreading in the old days.) It’s my original rant about what was happening to the practice of the pastorate at the time.Continue reading “iMonk 101: The Magnificent Young Men and Their Pastoring Machines (Revisited)”
Category Archives: iMonk 101
iMonk 101: Mainlines….We’re Having A Moment Here
I wrote this piece in July of ’07. It garnered 70 comments and some grousy updates on my part. (You can read the original here.) I’m reprinting the post with a clear comment thread because I feel the sentiment I expressed in this piece is even more true now than ever: there are thousands ofContinue reading “iMonk 101: Mainlines….We’re Having A Moment Here”
iMonk 101: Dan Edelen and A Gospel That Speaks To Failure
I’m too sick to write anything, but I looked back in the archives and found this Riff on an outstanding post by Dan Edelen that fits in nicely with “Ted the Loser.” I noted that I was talking about the effects of a major economic downturn on evangelicalism in this piece, written two years ago.Continue reading “iMonk 101: Dan Edelen and A Gospel That Speaks To Failure”
iMonk 101: “Lo, How A Rose:” Experiencing the Power of Beauty
In 2004, I wrote this piece about discovering the power of beauty in one of the most wonderful of Christmas songs. “Lo! How a Rose…: Experiencing the Power of Beauty.” I was a kid from a home without music or books, and it was public schools that gave me these experiences in the late 1960’s.Continue reading “iMonk 101: “Lo, How A Rose:” Experiencing the Power of Beauty”
While We’re Talking About the Gospel….I Have a Story
I wrote this as part of a post from February of 07. It goes so well with what I want to say to all of you who may wonder if going on and on about the Gospel is really necessary. Yes, it is. Read and think about it: There is another reason I care deeplyContinue reading “While We’re Talking About the Gospel….I Have a Story”
iMonk 101: Where Have You Gone, Thomas Merton?
December 10 will be the fortieth anniversary of the death of the closest thing I’ve got to a famous best friend, my brother Thomas Merton. His influence on my life is very substantial indeed. You can always pick someone and become a fan, but Merton really has been more of a guide to all ofContinue reading “iMonk 101: Where Have You Gone, Thomas Merton?”
iMonk 101: The Tactics of Failure: Why the Culture War Makes Sense to Spiritually Empty Evangelicals
From 2006, this is my diagnosis of why evangelicals are increasingly drawn to the culture war. It’s not, contrary to what the rhetoric wants us to believe, because we have a Jesus shaped mission to the world, caring passionately about the issues Jesus cared about. No, it’s a bit less flattering. I’m suggesting that spirituallyContinue reading “iMonk 101: The Tactics of Failure: Why the Culture War Makes Sense to Spiritually Empty Evangelicals”
A Short List of Troublingly Common Sins
Paul made a lot of sin lists. You know, lists of sins. If you’re a preacher or teacher, you’ve probably used Paul’s sin lists a few times as the raw material for a talk or sermon. You’ve walked through the list, one sin at a time and said a little something about each one. ItContinue reading “A Short List of Troublingly Common Sins”
iMonk 101: Beyond the Bizarre and the Arbitrary: How I Became Pro-Life
Reprinted from November, 2004. Also read this recent Uwe Siemon-Netto Collective Shame. “Doctors should not be aborting fetuses at a stage at which another doctor “operating under a different set of instructions” could give that same baby a reasonable chance of leading a full and healthy life.” Charlotte Edwardes, undercover reporter for the London Telegraph,Continue reading “iMonk 101: Beyond the Bizarre and the Arbitrary: How I Became Pro-Life”
iMonk 101: The Problem With Real Christians
Going back to December of 2007, here’s a post that begins with some provocative words from C.S. Lewis and then continues into a discussion of what’s happening when we claim to be Christians, or “real” Christians and all of that. The Problem With Real Christians. At the heart of so much that we say andContinue reading “iMonk 101: The Problem With Real Christians”
The Internet Monk Archives 