When Technology Comes to Church
What happens when technology comes to church? For kingdom-minded Christians, this is the logical question to ask following my prior essay, Is Technology Neutral? Once we’ve agreed in principle that technology is no neutral force in human affairs, this raises questions for its usage in all areas of life. For those who worship in most Protestant churches today, technology is everywhere. Technologies aren’t just overhead screens and...
Is Technology Neutral?
After conversing with a 22-year-old following a service, I realized my mistake. I had used iPods in a sermon illustration as a point-of-contact with my twenty-first century, media-saturated congregation. Yet the young man disagreed—“I don’t think most of them knew what you were talking about”—and he was right. I remembered that over half my congregation was 65+ years old. Few iPod owners were in my midst. Though many Americans today...
The Thought and Writings of N. T. Wright: An Arminian Appraisal
Occasionally a theologian emerges and sends ripples through the waters of academia. Martin Luther shocked Christendom by challenging Roman Catholicism’s abuse of authority and her teachings on justification. In the mid-twientieth century, Karl Barth challenged the Protestant liberalism deeply rooted in Europe and America. At the same time, however, his neo-orthodoxy challenged the authority of Scripture, which resulted in evangelicals...
Examining the “Call” to Ministry
In almost every ordination board meeting, the inevitable question arises, “Will you share with us your call to the ministry?” On many occasions candidates for licensure or ordination fumble a bit and then share how they “felt” the call of God on their life for the ministry. But is it sufficient to be “called” in this way? Does the calling require more? What is the biblical basis for the call to ministry? And is a subjective call...
The Church’s Relevance to Your Health
By Eddie Moody And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Mt 16:18 ESV Today many are concerned with making the church relevant. Perhaps this concern has arisen because of waning church attendance. Recently Mark Chaves published a book on trends in American religion. His research indicates that today 20% of all Americans say they do not belong to any...
Fighting to Feel: The Importance of Prompt Repentance
Through one man, sin entered into the world. And sin has waged war against the human soul ever since (Rom 5:12). The flesh and the powers of the air are viciously seeking to drive an eternal wedge between God and man—and they’re having a great deal of success. We’re surrounded by defeated fathers, mothers, deacons and pastors who have been ravaged by vice. This is a harsh reality of life in this world. An even greater reality is that...
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