Miroslav Volf on New Identity

 
Miroslav Volf (born 1956) is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale University Divinity School and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.
I heard Dr. Volf lecture at Trinity Western University a few years ago.  Always provocative and challenging.
 

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Marketing vs. Missional

A couple days ago I read a blog post about approaches people use to grow their congregations.  Alas,  I can’t find where I read it. (If someone knows, please leave a comment so I can give credit.)
The gist of it was a question:
What’s the difference between trying to attract people to come to a worship [...]

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Calvin on the Gospel – Justin Taylor

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made
children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom
the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.
See the full post here:
Calvin on the Gospel – [...]

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Eduard Thurneysen on Pastoral Care

“No passage of Holy Scripture places the emphasis on man’s sinful wretchedness as such or makes it the exclusive subject of presentation and discussion. Rather, all its affirmations, even those concerning sinful man, testify to forgiveness and forgiveness alone.”  –A Theology of Pastoral Care (1962)
Posted via email from Lacunae

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Thomas Merton on Peacemaking

Instead of hating the people you think are war-makers, hate the appetites and disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed – but hate these things in yourself, not in another.
- Thomas Merton,
New Seeds of [...]

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R.J. Neuhaus on Christian Community

Community clutched is community lost. Our sacramentum, our pledge of allegiance, is not to our self-fulfillment in community but to the beloved community of God's promised Kingdom in which alone we will find fulfillment. Paul is emphatic in his assertion that it does not yet appear what we shall be. Therefore, any community conforming to [...]

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Richard John Neuhaus on Reconciliation

Reconciliation, then, is not an adjustment to limitations, nor is it a negotiated settlement. It is not reciprocal in the sense that man and God were enemies and have now worked out terms of settlement by which they can live as friends. The supremacy of God and the priority of God’s initiative in Christ are [...]

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Second Question

Dallas Willard’s second question (see below) is “Who is well off?”
A.  Even the spiritually bankrupt, when they trust in Jesus, enrolling as his apprentices.
Obviously, Dr. Willard is taking his cues from the Beatitudes.  From Matthew 5:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed [...]

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First Question

After almost a month since I last posted, I’m ready to get back into the blogging scene–at least a little bit.
Dallas Willard’s first question (see below) is “What is reality?  What is really real?“
Not too surprisingly,  Dr. Willard’s answer is “God and the kingdom of heaven”  Or, to  use Dr. Willard’s translation of “kingdom of [...]

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In a Nutshell

The Bible is the story of God’s determination to woo people with his heart so he can transform them with his love and partner with them in his redemption of the world.
Reggie McNeal, The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (p. 81)

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