Renewing the Evangelical Mission: Book Review
A recent Forum essay explored the theological contributions of David F. Wells, particularly those over the last 20 years. His work has been appreciated by so many that it wasn’t surprising when the Forum recently acquired a copy of Renewing the Evangelical Mission (Eerdmans, 2013), a volume dedicated to Wells. Edited by theologian Richard Lints, Renewing is a collection of essays based upon a symposium about a collaborative project...
Hauerwas: A (Very) Critical Introduction: A Book Review
Mainstream magazines seldom get involved in theological affairs—at least not in expressing approbation for theologians. Yet in 2001 it named one seminary professor “America’s Best Theologian,” to which he responded, “‘Best’ is not a theological category” [1]. This snarky reply is something of an attitudinal trademark of Stanley Hauerwas, who retired recently after many years as the Gilbert T. Rowe professor of theological ethics at...
Reforming Youth Ministry
A LifeWay study recorded that 70% of young adults stop attending church after graduating from high school [1]. Another study in TIME said that 61% of churched teenagers leave church to never return [2]. Whatever one’s theological leanings, these statistics are sobering for any Christian to hear. They beg the question, “Why the mass exodus from the Church?” Books and speakers of decades past heralded entertainment-driven pragmatism as...
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...
Reclaiming the Supper: A Reappraisal of the Memorialist View
Eating is an important aspect within the life of the Christian Church. In the Book of Acts, it is recorded that Christians devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship of believers, to prayer, and to the breaking of bread (2:42). Church history also records Christians participating in Agape (love) feasts, which served as communal or fellowship meals that accompanied the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Even today,...
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