Category Archives: iMonk 101

iMonk 101: Previous Posts on Missional Churches + Bob Hyatt + Ed Stetzer on Culture

Here are some previous posts on issues relating to the missional church. Missional Isn’t A Bad Word. This is my most extensive discussion of the missional church question. The Missionary Headache: Why Evangelicals Need to Support the Missionaries Among Us. This is a piece I wrote last year as I was beginning to grapple withContinue reading “iMonk 101: Previous Posts on Missional Churches + Bob Hyatt + Ed Stetzer on Culture”

iMonk 101: Our Problem With Grace

One of my all time favorite Internet Monk essays is this one: “Our Problem with Grace.” If you know my admiration for the writing of Robert Capon, you’ll recognize his influence on this piece. I’m convinced that grace is one of the most difficult concepts for Christians to live with and live by. But ifContinue reading “iMonk 101: Our Problem With Grace”

iMonk 101: Bill Mackinnon’s “I’m Not Spiritual”

I’m not feeling particularly spiritual these days. Of course, even that sentence is a symptom of how much revivalistic ways of thinking are still running around in my brain. The Gospel is good news for the unspiritual, am that is good news indeed as far as I am concerned. Anyway, the BHT’s Bill Mackinnon pennedContinue reading “iMonk 101: Bill Mackinnon’s “I’m Not Spiritual””

iMonk 101: “Read It Again…and Don’t Skip The Hard Parts”

iMonk 101 revisits some of my more popular essays from the past.” “Read It Again…and Don’t Skip the Hard Parts” is an essay about discipleship in the Gospel of Mark, and how difficult it is for some American Christians to get what the Bible is talking about. It’s a good Thanksgiving season essay that willContinue reading “iMonk 101: “Read It Again…and Don’t Skip The Hard Parts””

iMonk 101: Subcultural Christianity or “I know he’s a Christian ’cause I saw it on his bumper sticker.”

I’m cranky and not posting anything new. Here’s a fired up iMonk essay from the archives: Subcultural Christianity or “I Know He’s a Christian ‘Cause I Saw It On His Bumper Sticker.” An early stop on the road to post-evangelicalism, this essay is all about American Idolatry in the church. Read: Subcultural Christianity or “IContinue reading “iMonk 101: Subcultural Christianity or “I know he’s a Christian ’cause I saw it on his bumper sticker.””

Glenn Lucke on TRs/The “Humility Zone”

Chief blogger at Common Grounds Online Glenn Lucke responds to my discussion of “TRs”, and adds his two cents on epistemological humility, a term I call the “humility zone,” and which TRs hate more than Mark Driscoll teaching ESL. Glenn “gets it” when it comes to the irony of believing in total depravity but findingContinue reading “Glenn Lucke on TRs/The “Humility Zone””

The Passion of the Haggard Part II

UPDATE: Read Gordon Macdonald’s comments at Out of Ur. Compelling. “The hardness of God is softer than the kindness of men, because His compulsion is our liberation.” -Henri Nouwen Some thoughts from the archives, and then a few thoughts from the last 24 hours. For starters, say a prayer for Ted Haggard, his wife, children,Continue reading “The Passion of the Haggard Part II”

The Great Pumpkin Proposes A Toast

Every year since I first published this piece, someone has linked it and I get requests for it to reappear. It’s one of my favorite IM pieces, and is dedicated to all of those writers and artists who believe in the holy and wholesome use of the imagination. Here’s a toast to Halloween, and allContinue reading “The Great Pumpkin Proposes A Toast”

A Persistent Irrationality by leif rigney

leif rigney, University English prof and original Internet Monk writer, penned a great essay on superstitous, irrational Christians. It’s an older IM piece, but still funny, truthful and helpful. Put it in your Imonk 101 folder and reread it. Then pass it around. To all those hiding from $6.66 in change, this essay’s for you.Continue reading “A Persistent Irrationality by leif rigney”