Raw Christianity was born one year ago today. There’s a lot I’d like to say about the title and purpose of the blog and the range and power of the phrase “Raw Christianity.” But words have been failing lately. So I’ll say it with some words from a year ago. Everything below is still an aim and not … More Raw Christianity: One Year Later
O Lord, by the truth of your Word, and the power of your Spirit and the ministry of your body, build men and women at Bethlehem . . . Who don’t love the world more than God, who don’t care if they make much money, who don’t care if they own a house, who don’t … More “A Prayer for Our Church” by John Piper
Here are some approximate quotes from John Hannah’s lecture on Jonathan Edwards’ 1757 work The Great Doctrine of Original Sin Defended. The technical term for the doctrine of sin is “hamartiology,” from the Greek word hamartia). If there’s one doctrine that we instinctively revile or at least ignore, it’s this one. It devastates our perceived … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah (15)
I took a half-day away this morning, hoping to read through the four gospels. I was able to read three — Matthew, Mark, and John. For the past several years, Jesus has fascinated me. This fascination is increasing exponentially as I get older. His absolute boldness is awe-inspiring, and His undefeatable wisdom is mind-blowing. Time and … More Thinking About Jesus
Here are more loose, assorted quotes from John Hannah and his Winterim class that I took in January on the Life and Writings of Jonathan Edwards. These are from his lectures on three separate topics: (1) Edwards’ History of the Work of Redemption; (2) the “Communion Controversy” (which ended in Edwards’ dismissal from his pastorate); and … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah (14)
(Before you read too far, it might be good to answer the question for yourself. It’s worth thinking about.) This was the question I asked at a recent student leadership meeting. There were various answers given, and all had fair (yet different) reasons for their answers. I don’t think the answer is simple, though I do think it’s … More Should Everyone Be Passionate About Missions?
I was planning to preach on holiness at a summer retreat a few months ago but decided to change my topic a few weeks before the retreat. I had scribbled down some thoughts on a torn-out journal page, and that page has been sitting on my desk since mid-summer, waiting to be typed or discarded. … More Misconceptions About Holiness (1)
Half-hearted Christianity is the mark of the American church. We are infested with doctrinal compromise, cheap professions, nominal commitment, moral failure, and half-baked passion. No doubt most of you would agree. But I think that one of our biggest weaknesses in the conservative church is that we tend to think that these problems are limited … More What I’m Saying Tomorrow Morning
I know — no one probably thought that I had more John Hannah quotes from my class on Jonathan Edwards seven months ago. But I do. And I’m not recycling them. When taking classes from masterful professors, I lose all self-control in note-taking and basically end up with a partial transcript. Actually, it’s a choice I made awhile back in my … More Wit and Wisdom from John Hannah (13)
In my Theology of Missions class this past week, a missionary came in and spoke to us about his life and missionary work. He’s from America and he serves in a closed country. I recorded a few things he said and thought they were worth passing along. These aren’t direct quotes, and I’m obviously not … More Missionary Insights
Over the weekend I read an article on Paul’s missionary endeavors. The article was good but the writing was occasionally constipated. I’m not wanting to embarrass or criticize anyone, but I think that some of the following examples illustrate the lack of verbal clarity that plagues a lot of scholarly writing. Long words and complex … More Isn’t There a Better Way to Say That? Scholarly Writing and the Need for Clarity
From time to time I find it personally helpful to type out a variety of thoughts that seem worth recording at least for my own personal benefit. Usually they are fairly disconnected except for the fact that every element of life is intertwined when related to God and His purposes. I record them together because there’s … More Some Recent Thoughts on Life, Eternity, Sacrifice, and Giving
I’m currently taking a two-week class on the theology of missions and hope to share a number of the things we’re discussing. Although Cindi and I have not yet discerned how God would have us spend the next season of life, my twenty hours of class this past week along with various reading assignments have … More Imitate Me? Thoughts on Humility and Paul’s Call to Imitation
A lot has happened since my last post on May 10: The college semester ended with the seniors graduating and all the students moving out of the dorm for the summer; the seminary semester also ended and I graduated along with about sixty-five other men from the M.Div. program at TMS; our families flew out from Oklahoma to … More Thoughts from a Seminary Graduation
Before, during, and after our recent three-week trip to Uganda, I’ve had a lot of thoughts about missions. So many, in fact, that most people think that Cindi and I are locked into being career missionaries (which isn’t true; we’re still deciding that). A lot of those thoughts coalesced a few days ago during a … More Thoughts on Missions and Missionaries
Like any journey to a significantly different culture, our trip to Uganda provided us with fresh (though cracked) lenses through which to see aspects of the American mindset. The lens is fresh because it’s tinted with an African shade that enables us to see American culture from a new perspective. And the lens is cracked … More Kingdom Culture
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