UPDATE: I’ve been linked at Out of Ur, GetReligion and all over today. I want to say two things to all of them: 1) The CSM piece was on the commentary page. It is commentary, not news or research. 2) I did not say that evangelicalism is dying. I said it is going to declineContinue reading “The Original Coming Evangelical Collapse Posts”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The ARIS Study: Christianity On The Decline In America
UPDATE: Welcome to all of you stopping by from the Drudge Report and Real Clear Politics. Glad to have you. The American Religious Identification Survey published its results this week, and if you go to the USA Today graphic and punch in Catholics, Other Christians and Non-Religious, you will get the picture. (Touchstone Magazine hasContinue reading “The ARIS Study: Christianity On The Decline In America”
iMonk at Christian Science Monitor + Podcast Icon
A 1500 word version of “The Coming Evangelical Collapse” is now up at the online version of the Christian Science Monitor and will be in the print edition later this week. Thanks to the good folks at CSM for this opportunity. Also, there is now an icon on the sidebar for a direct subscription toContinue reading “iMonk at Christian Science Monitor + Podcast Icon”
Liturgical Gangstas 7: Can the Church Require Fasting and Other Spiritual Disciplines?
Welcome to IM’s popular new feature, “The Liturgical Gangstas,” a panel discussion among different liturgical traditions represented in the Internet Monk audience. Who are the Gangstas? Father Ernesto Obregon is an Eastern Orthodox priest, who as a result of this IM feature, now has a fan club of several million :-). Rev. Peter Vance MatthewsContinue reading “Liturgical Gangstas 7: Can the Church Require Fasting and Other Spiritual Disciplines?”
Recommendation and Review: Vintage Jesus DVD Curriculum
A few months ago, friends of this web site contributed over $600 worth of curriculum resources so my students could study Jesus along with Mark Driscoll. I’ve been using the resources with three of my high school Bible survey classes, and I wanted to do a brief review for those who might be considering theContinue reading “Recommendation and Review: Vintage Jesus DVD Curriculum”
Appalachian Solutions: What the Government Can Do.
I’m not an economist, I don’t want to argue politics, and I probably had no business posting this. It’s the lack of TV. I have to make up my own punditry. ABC’s 20/20 did a special on Appalachia this month, which caught my interest for three reasons: 1) They called me and asked me forContinue reading “Appalachian Solutions: What the Government Can Do.”
Liturgical Gangstas 6: Unappreciated Strengths and Overlooked Weaknesses
Welcome to IM’s popular new feature, “The Liturgical Gangstas,” a panel discussion among different liturgical traditions represented in the Internet Monk audience. Who are the Gangstas? Father Ernesto Obregon is an Eastern Orthodox priest. Rev. Peter Vance Matthews is an Anglican priest and founding pastor of an AMIA congregation. Dr. Wyman Richardson is a pastorContinue reading “Liturgical Gangstas 6: Unappreciated Strengths and Overlooked Weaknesses”
Some Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts
If you haven’t read them recently, the relevant passages on Spiritual gifts are 1 Corinthians 12-14, Romans 12, and 1 Peter 4. Most of us who are old enough recall when we first heard teaching on the subject of “spiritual gifts,” or charismata. For me, it was in the Charismatic movement’s first wave, which involvedContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Spiritual Gifts”
Poetry Slam ’09
One of the events I am responsible for at the ministry where I serve is a poetry slam. Competitors must perform an original poem. Non-competitors are either adults or are performing non-original work. Here are four of the poems from last week’s slam. I’ll add some more later. First, my wife Denise Day Spencer. Second,Continue reading “Poetry Slam ’09”
Talk Hard II: Defending Dissent
The Original Talk Hard: Defending the Role of the Critic in Christianity. Lots I would change in that essay, but it still holds up 6 years or so later. Recently, I received an email from someone who has been a longtime reader of this blog, giving his reasons for being a regular reader and generousContinue reading “Talk Hard II: Defending Dissent”
The Internet Monk Archives 