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Posts Tagged ‘Bible Speak’

Your Church Is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ’s Mission is Vital to the Future of the Church

By: John H. Armstrong; ISBN – 978-0-310-32114-9   Zondervan Publishing

FUTURE (Part 3) “The Missional-Ecumenical Movement”

John Armstrong begins this concluding section of Your Church is Too Small by discussing the nature and definition of the “True Church.” He also poses the question whether the “True Church” exists at all. The answer, he says, is “yes;” the True Church does exist… it is God’s community of people on earth. Quoting Paul, he writes: “This ideal church is made up of all people everywhere ‘who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’”

Personally, I agree with Armstrong that we need an objective starting point if we are to work toward a believable, Biblical, and sustainable unity in the Church. He says the great problem with the famous dictum: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, freedom; and in all things charity” there still remains that one Christian’s non-essential is another’s essential. How true, but we must still find a grounding point or points to proceed on the path toward Biblical (Love) unity. He cites Lesslie Newbigin’s convicting remarks below:

“The world will always, consciously or unconsciously, judge what the church says by what it is. They will interpret the printed epistle by the living epistle.” (p.139)

I continue to wrestle with and process the thinking in this final section, especially chapter fifteen. I’m not sure I fully understand the subtle nuances and intricacies of what Dr. Armstrong purports with regard to “fruit inspection” and determining “who is a real Christian.” As I said, I’m still processing this chapter (and likely, will be doing so for some time), so I don’t have a lot to speak on it at this juncture. I will say that some of the questions I am sorting through regard church discipline, “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” “wheat and tares,” and whether or not (and how) “judgment and/or fruit inspection” precludes discipline…there are more questions, but these are dominating my thoughts rather prominently at the moment. Suffice it to say, this is a very thought-provoking chapter; at least it is for me.

Chapters sixteen through eighteen discuss the missional-ecumenical paradigm that Armstrong hints at throughout the book. It is here that he really spends some time and focus developing the heart of his passion; additionally, he shares his mentors and some of the more significant influences that have helped him formulate this missional-ecumenical paradigm.

I mentioned that I first became aware of Your Church is Too Small from a review by Michael Bird on the euangelion blog site. He brings to light a repeated point and call by Armstrong to return to paleo-orthodoxy as a springboard toward unity. I think Michael Bird captured this call very well, so rather than repeat it myself I will share his thoughts here. Michael writes the following:

A recurring theme is that unity is important for our mission and also the necessity of returning to our ancient roots. Armstrong’s recipe for trying to achieve that is sevenfold: (1) Cultivating a commitment to restore the sacraments; (2) increasing our appetite to know more about the ancient church; (3) express love for the whole church and desire to see the church become one; (4) blend practices of worship, devotion, and prayer from all three streams of the Church (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant); (5) increase interest in integrating more liturgical depth and structure with spontaneity and freedom in the Holy Spirit; (6) provide greater involvement in signs and symbols of worship such as crosses, banners, and clerical vestments; and (7) continue a commitment to personal salvation, solid biblical teaching, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

I was greatly inspired by the examples and resultant fruit that was shared by communities that are practicing this spirit of missional-ecumenism. Personally, I long for this type of community. I stand in the camp with those who agree that One Church is what the Lord has intended for His people.

The final chapter is Armstrong’s concluding thoughts and prayer for the Church. I not only agree with his thesis, but have been refreshed and inspired to press on in pursuit of the vision. As I said in my opening statement, I believe this is a very important book. It raises many questions (some of which I am still working through myself), and prompts us to do some serious examination of our own hearts and ambition. I am reminded of something I read from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together where he proposes that many of us (Christians) are in love with our own version of God’s Church…we fight tooth and nail for it, but our version is not the Vision of God for His Church (my paraphrase). We build idols from our beliefs and destroy each other in the process of worshiping those beliefs over the God whom we claim to be serving. I am thankful for this book. I am sure I will be referring to it and the well-documented resources and bibliography. I think it should be read by pastors and lay leaders alike. Armstrong includes a few discussion questions at the end of each chapter that are helpful to kick-off  conversations if a group or leadership team wanted to read the book together.

Disturb us, Lord… disturb us from our idols and disturb us from being idle. Disturb us, O Lord, indeed.

A Link to many more reviews of Your Church is Too Small

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I received a copy of the Voice New Testament from Thomas Nelson for review. I’m not sure if I like it or not. My first impressions are a mixed bag; there are definitely some things that I like, but there are also things that I do not like. Let me explain my reasons…

It goes without saying this is a personal review and my opinion only; however, I’m a bit of a translation junkie when it comes to Bibles and the Greatest Story Ever Told. I love reading different translations and versions…always excited to read a “fresh” retelling of the Story. I’m always a little bit leery when the story seems “too fresh.” While I haven’t gone cover-to-cover in the Voice New Testament, it seems there are some portions that are, in my opinion, too fresh. By this I mean, there might be some biased interpretation, or so it seems by the way the reader is led through interpretive “call out” boxes and italicized statements placed in the text for inference. This isn’t necessarily wrong or bad, but I don’t particularly care for it (personally). I find that it can be misleading when trying to accurately understand the text; not always, but sometimes. In fairness to the Voice, I feel the same way about most study Bibles. Also, with respect to the translation team, they do qualify the nature of the italicized statements and the call-out boxes and instruct the reader these elements are not in the original texts.

I appreciate the “spirit” behind the translation. I also respect the teams that have put in work to make the translation. I enjoy the flow and screenplay format of the reading; I found it to be very fluid and easy to follow…definitely as though I were reading a story rather than a verse by verse recounting. There were no repetitious stumbling through the verses, chapters, and books; this made the reading easy and pleasant too. I do think a chronological approach to this work might be something I’d enjoy more than the present version.

I want to spend more time with the Voice, but my recommendations for now are as follows: I recommend it with a few caveats. I don’t think it should be a primary study Bible; I don’t care for the liberties taken that I observe when I place the Voice alongside versions like the ESV, NSRV, and even NIV, and NLT. I think it would serve very well as a devotional-supplemental reader (once again, the authors and publishers call this a “personal devotional Bible”) as it is titled in point-of-sale material. I’m up in the air as to whether I’d recommend it for curious seekers or not. I’d probably be more inclined to determine that on a case by case basis. I think if it did not have the call-outs and italicized inferences I might be more open to those recommendations…especially when I consider other dynamic translations and paraphrased Bibles that would serve this same purpose without leading interpretation.

All in all, I plan to spend more time with it, do additional side-by-side comparisons with other Bible translations and checking some of the “call-outs” and italicized inferences with my study Bibles and commentaries. I will update my review at a later date when I have had the opportunity to be more thorough. In the interim, try it, you may enjoy it. Mine is just one opinion, and even with my points of contention, there are many things that I still like.

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Here is an embedded player that has all the audio files updated into a single player. Scroll through the list to select the sermon/message you’d like to hear.

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“Listen carefully to me. Procure books [of the Bible] that will be medicines for the soul… Don’t simply dive into them… swim in them. Keep them constantly in your mind.” John Chrysostom

“When we submit our lives to what we read in Scripture, we find that we are not being led to see God in our stories, but our stories in God’s. God is the larger context and lot in which our stories find themselves.” Eugene Peterson

“The hope of their faith lies in heavenly reward. When they truly know what the fruit of believing is, they will become more eager in acts of worship.” Ambrosiaster; Epistle to the Ephesians 1.18.1

“End time influences present, ordinary time, not by diminishing or denigrating it but by charging it, filling it with purpose and significance. The end time is not a future we wait for but the gift of the fullness of time that we receive in adoration and obedience as it flows into the present.” Eugene Peterson as quoted by Bobby Gross; Living the Christian Year

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40 Days Living the Jesus Creed [Day 18-19]

Still continuing on meditations from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount…

One of the things that I really enjoy about the writings from Scot McKnight is his continuing focus to bring our attentions back to the simple truth that is God-reality. One of the core truths that Scot reminds his readers is God created man in His own image. We are eikons, image-bearers of God. This is such a huge deal…we (broad-brush generalization) have disconnected ourselves from that truth. We don’t like to hear it…the knowledge of that truth bears with it way too much responsibility and entirely too much accountability. It is much easier to say; “I am faulty flesh-man, subject to failure,” and keep the standard low for ourselves. How dishonoring is that toward God? Especially if “we” are created in His image, right? Read the rest of this entry »

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The Word of Promise: The Gift of Psalms

I really liked this little devotional…for a number of reasons.

First, it is aesthetically pleasing. It is hardbound with a padded cover and “feels” very good in my hands. The pages on the inside are printed on a semi-glossy stock quality paper and embossed with a simulated texture that I find visually gratifying. I really like the look and feel of this book.

Secondly, I really enjoy the Psalms for my own devotional reading and particularly enjoyed the selection (50 were chosen) that were provided for this work. The layout of the daily readings is nice and there is section at the end of the book that provides space for reflective journaling or note taking.

Finally, and this is where I think this book really separates itself from other devotionals, the multimedia interaction and enhanced CD’s are wonderful. This can be especially beneficial for people with exceedingly busy lives. Listening to the Psalms (I personally think this is the intended way of learning and growing in God’s word) is a marvelously inspirational exercise. The authors and editors have done an awesome job of putting these works into a multisensory experience.

I’m sure this would be a wonderful addition to any home library, and it would serve as a cherished gift to anyone who might receive it as such.

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Bible Reading : Exodus 7-19

The last couple days of my Bible reading has taken me through the account of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.  This account serves as a perfect illustration of humanity’s obstinacy, disbelief, and stubborn heart toward God. Generally speaking, we are incredibly self-centered people. I confess that I continue to struggle with this natural propensity to “favor self.” I must stand vigilant guard in constant submission to Christ-in-me in order to keep “self” restrained. This is… the heart of iCrucified.

I think (again generally speaking) we tend to villianize Israel of the Exodus and Old Testament history, much in the same way that we are so highly critical of the disciples in the Gospel accounts from the New Testament scriptures. How easy it is to be armchair quarterbacks and criticize the players as we watch safely from the sidelines of our annotated study Bibles, questioning and judging every action of the people we read about…

I have to wonder, as I examine my own heart, and God tests my obedience (Exodus 15:25) (Exodus 16:4) and faith… How often do I fail Him; how often do I disobey…how often do I fall short? (Exodus 16:27) After He has faithfully and victoriously led me out of my personal Egypt, why do I find myself sometimes struggling to trust Him in all the areas of my life? Why am I reluctant at times to fully consecrate myself in complete obedience to God’s will? How come I am prone to miss the “Big Picture” of God, if I am walking closely with Him as did the disciples of Jesus? Could it be that roots of rebellion still exist in my heart? Could it be that the voice of self can shout louder than the voice of Holy Spirit? Might I like “myway” more than Yahweh?

…nah, I’m not like those losers I read about in the Bible, those rebellious dummies. I know Jesus, I’ve got it “going on” …don’t I???

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I’ve been attending other reading and other studies, but have been drawn back to my “Romans Road Rules” thoughts and wanted to pick back up again with that exploration.  I’m picking up with chapter 10 of Paul’s letter to the Roman believers and following through chapter 13.

The passage that grabbed my attention on this reading adventure follows:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.  As the Scriptures tell us, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.’ Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him.  For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.’” Romans 10:9-13   

My question is; “what does it really mean to believe in your heart“? Read the rest of this entry »

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I’ve been blogging and maintaining my church website for the last two plus weeks and it’s causing me to feel like my own site is reeling from “Cinderella syndrome,” so I’m going to give it a little love today by throwing down a few posts.

First up, I thought I’d let you in on what’s in my bookbag. I’ve got a scheduled reading list, but occasionally I have the odd book or two (or three) bump the lineup. You can see from the “Current Book List” in the left-hand frame of my blog what is on my current “scheduled” list. Looking into my bookbag reveals a somewhat different story…sorta. So, is the suspense killing you? Let’s look inside (sound of bookbag unzipping):

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I recently received an advance copy of The Blue Parakeet, the latest book by Scot McKnight. The sub-title pretty much sums up the subject of the book; it reads, “Rethinking How You Read the Bible.” When describing The Parakeet, I use the term “pretty much sums up…” because I think a second question the book posits is part of the bigger picture of The Blue Parakeet; that is for me, anyway. The bigger picture question is “How do I (we) live out the Bible today?”

Scot proposes the “how do we live it” question while tossing out a number of difficult passages from the Bible. These difficult passages are what he calls the “blue parakeets” (you’ll have to read the book to find out the story behind that label; it’s a pretty cool illustration). Without giving a definitive answer to how we live it, Scot suggests the answer to “how we live” can be found in “how we read” the Bible.

The opening chapters describe some of the various methods people employ for reading the Bible. Each of these methods produces unique outcomes which bring with them certain challenges when the reading moves to life application. I enjoyed the descriptions of the different styles (or ways) that people read the Bible and was able to personally relate to what was being described. I have approached reading the Bible in some of the ways that Scot illustrates, and I have experienced the general outcome (incongruous application) which results from reading the Bible in a way that was not intended. McKnight proposes that the Bible was meant to be read as a story and he walks the reader through his reasoning for this belief. Although I do not need convincing (I share the same belief), I think the points put forth by the author to build his case are very persuasive. Read the rest of this entry »

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