The Worship Artist » Christianity

If this comes true, are we ready?

James — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:12:08 +0000

If this comes true, are we ready?

At some point in the twenty-first century, Christians in Africa will become more numerous than Christians in any other single continent & more important than ever before in articulating a global Christian identity in a pluralist world”

Kevin Ward (found in quotations from the book “The Changing Face of Christianity” edited by Lamin Sanneh and Joel A. Carpenter, 122).

Will our Christian-Western-centric pride be hurt? Are you ready to start reading commentaries, theology books, and take church advice from Africans? Sometimes I think we can be more racist that we realize.

God deals with all peoples-Dr. Nelson Jennings

James — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:35:14 +0000

Nelson Jennings makes a great point to remind us that God is dealing with all peoples and we can avoid our arrogance to think God only dealt with the Israelites, and he now only deals with American Christians.

The Bible gives specific examples of God’s various dealings with peoples whom we might study in school but not consider in connection with God is Jesus Christ. In Genesis 15, God covenants with Abram to multiply his descendants and to give them the land of Canaan. He adds, however, that they will spend several generations in Egypt before returning to Canaan to occupy it. God’s stated reason for this delay is that the current occupants’ sin “is not yet complete” (15:16). Their judgment will have to wait 400 years more until the Israelites come and conquer them under Joshua’s leadership.

This implies that God’s dealing with the people of Canaan did not take place only insofar as he related to Israel. Rather, God, to whom all peoples throughout world history have been responsible as their Covenant-Creator-Master, was offended by the Canaanites’ sin and rebellion against him–irrespective of his special dealings with Israel. Ultimately he would provide for the Canaanites’ and all other nationalities’ salvation in Israel’s Messiah, the world’s Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. That special work of God was interlaced with his ongoing dealings with all the peoples of his rebellious world.

-J. Nelson Jennings – God the Real Superpower: Rethinking Our Role in Missions

Encountering the Whole Person

James — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:59:25 +0000

In today’s age in Christianity we know a lot about other religions and how to “deal” with them. We know how to logically disprove Islam or virtually any other religion. We also know how to scientifically “prove” the historical facts of the Scripture to the Atheist. But lets remember that we’re dealing with an actual person, not a mere belief system.

Preaching must thus be an encounter, an encounter not with a part of a person, not only with his reason, or with his poetic feeling, but an encounter with the entire person, with the whole man, as he exists in this world, as he is in flight from God, as he plays a role in that tremendous drama that is enacted between God and the rebellious human heart.
J.H. Bavink, An Introduction to the Science of Missions

Are you a church or a club?

James — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:53:36 +0000

Quote: Why I Am a Calvinist #fb

James — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:19:07 +0000

I read an article from the newest “Christian Research Journal” yesterday titled “Why I Am a Calvinist” by Kevin DeYoung. It’s one of those articles that if you were to highlight it, you’d end up highlighting the whole page. Here’s a specific excerpt that resonated with me:

I’d like to think that we are Calvinists because of what we see in the Bible. We see a God who is holy, independent, and unlike us. We glory in God’s goodness, that He should save miserable offenders, bent toward evil in all our faculties, objects of His just wrath. We rejoice in God’s electing love, which He purposed for us before the ages began. We are grateful for God’s power by which He caused us, without our cooperation, to be born again and enabled us to believe His promises. We take comfort in God’s all-encompassing providence, whereby nothing happens according to chance, but all things–prosperity or poverty, health or sickness, giving or taking away–are sent to us by our loving heavenly Father.

A Forward by Sally Morgenthaler

James — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 12:32:36 +0000

Who would have thought a forward in a book would stand out to me so much. Here’s Sally Morgenthaler in the forward to Dan Kimball’s book, “Emerging Worship:”

When it comes to irony, worship in late twentieth century evangelicalism takes the prize. Just as the world was reenchanting the universe (think Deepak Chopra, The X-Files, candle-and-teddy-bear grief vigils, Final Fantasy video games, and Lord of the Rings), user-friendly Christianity was practicing religious reductionism: shrinking the divine to the size of a three-point outline and four songs in the key of perpetual happy.

New Calvinism

James — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:23:56 +0000

Time magazine lists their top 10 Ideas that are changing the world right now. Coming in at number 3 is “New Calvinism.” Check out Pastor Mark Driscoll, he has some great thoughts on Time Magazine’s article on New Calvinism:

1. Time Magazine Names New Calvinism 3rd Most Powerful Idea

2. More Thoughts on Time Magazine and New Calvinism

Do You See?

James — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:06:57 +0000

What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church?

James — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 02:56:00 +0000

Beach Hut Advent Calendar

James — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:55:57 +0000

Sense my last post about Beyond Church in the UK, Martin Poole has kept me informed with what they’ve been up to. Each month they have an event purposed to merge creativity with the spiritual. BBC covered this month’s Beach Hut Advent Calendar. You can also check out the Beyond Church blog post here: Advent Light, Beach Hut 1, Beach Hut 2, & Beach Hut 3.