Tuesday with Michael Spencer Jesus Makes Things Complicated for Us Jesus makes things very complicated for American Christians. If you simply follow him around in the Gospels, you are going to get into trouble. Why? Because he isn’t just talking evangelism. He’s talking about a whole life of Kingdom-dominated, life-transforming discipleship. Let me use anContinue reading “Tuesday with Michael Spencer: Jesus Makes Things Complicated for Us”
Category Archives: Jesus Shaped
Monday with Michael Spencer: Some thoughts about the institution
If you look at the church throughout time, cultures and history, I believe you will conclude there are three aspects to the church. (Consider this semi-original with me.) The church is a movement started by Jesus; a culture crossing, church planting movement that proclaims the Gospel in the power of the Spirit. This movement takesContinue reading “Monday with Michael Spencer: Some thoughts about the institution”
Brueggemann: Jesus Is Enough
In the midst of our quest for orthodoxy to be sure people believe right, or our quest for morality to be sure people act right, or our quest for piety to be sure people pray right, the little ones know, this Jesus is enough. It is enough to know Jesus, for in Jesus you seeContinue reading “Brueggemann: Jesus Is Enough”
When the child falls in the well… — On being too biblical
I love the Bible. I have come to have little patience with biblicism. The most “biblical” Jews in Jesus’ day were the Pharisees. We commonly criticize them for their hypocrisy, for exalting human traditions over God’s Word, or for adding a multitude of rules in their attempt to interpret scripture for religious practice. I thinkContinue reading “When the child falls in the well… — On being too biblical”
Mondays with Michael Spencer: Searching for a Community of Strugglers
Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. (Paul the Apostle, Letter to the Galatians, 4:19, NLT) This line from Paul has stayed with me for two days. It comes from a section of theContinue reading “Mondays with Michael Spencer: Searching for a Community of Strugglers”
Wednesday in Holy Week: Following Jesus or Drinking the Kool-Aid?
From 2008 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”….And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and calledContinue reading “Wednesday in Holy Week: Following Jesus or Drinking the Kool-Aid?”
Tuesday in Holy Week: The Abbreviated Jesus
From 2008. The other day a strange feeling came over me. Don’t get me wrong about what I’m about to say here. It was just a feeling. I’m not claiming any powers of discernment or certainty. I got the distinct feeling there’s something wrong with a lot of people who say they are Jesus-followers/believers. IfContinue reading “Tuesday in Holy Week: The Abbreviated Jesus”
Monday in Holy Week 2018: The Jesus Disconnect
Note from CM: Back in 2009, Michael Spencer some posts exploring what he called, “The Jesus Disconnect.” Here is an edited version of the first post in that series. In my experience, one reason people fail to enter in to a deep appreciation of Holy Week and miss its full significance is that they have failedContinue reading “Monday in Holy Week 2018: The Jesus Disconnect”
The Shape of the Jesus Story and the Jesus-Shaped Life
The Shape of the Jesus Story and the Jesus-Shaped Life Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. • 1 Corinthians 11:1 • • • Michael J. Gorman calls the narrative celebrated in the Christ-hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 “Paul’s Master Story.” Less widely recognized is the evidence that this text permeates all his letters,Continue reading “The Shape of the Jesus Story and the Jesus-Shaped Life”
Fridays with Michael Spencer: October 28, 2016
A saint is capable of loving created things and enjoying the use of them and dealing with them in a perfectly simple, natural manner, making no formal references to God, drawing no attention to his own piety, and acting without any artificial rigidity at all. His gentleness and his sweetness are not pressed through hisContinue reading “Fridays with Michael Spencer: October 28, 2016”
The Internet Monk Archives 