Monthly Archives: September 2009

The Suffering and Advancing Church: A Look at Matthew 11:12

NASB: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”

NIV: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”
Is the Kingdom of heaven suffering violence under [...]

The Translatability of the Christian Gospel

The following is a message that I gave at Asbury’s Fall Convocation.  You can download both the audio and the video of the message for free on iTunes.
In April of 1739 John Wesley was preaching in an upstairs room in London.  About halfway into his sermon the supporting post which held up the floor of [...]

Honest Theology

Many years ago I took a course on the theology of missions.   It was in the opening lecture of that course that the professor, a very wise and seasoned missionary practitioner turned scholar, said, “missions is what keeps theology honest.”  It is an insight which, I think, is self-illuminating for anyone who has actually taught [...]

The World is IN my Parish

It is not uncommon to hear complaints about the lack of connectivity between ministerial preparation and the actual ministry settings our students our entering.  For example, David Tracy laments what he calls the “three great separations of modern Western culture,” all of which have served to separate the task of theological education from actual ministry [...]

Scholars on Fire

Have you ever read something that you knew the minute you read it, you would never forget it.  I had that experience almost thirty years ago.  I read a statement in Christianity Today which I have never forgotten.  It was a letter to the editor.  Apparently, in a previous edition of Christianity Today, an article [...]

Ordinarily Extraordinary

I follow the church year.  The very idea of re-tracing the life of Jesus during the course of the year absolutely sets my heart ablaze.  It is one of those great “checks and balances” which lovingly reminds the church to remember – and to remember well.   In today’s world of emails, Facebook, blogging, twittering, IM, [...]