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	Can Rethinking Heaven Improve Life on Earth? Part 2
	May 14, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   In the previously mentioned TIME article on heaven, (April 16, 2012), editor Jon Meacham (April 16, 2012) suggests that “a more intimately connected heaven and earth is worth a deeper look.” He adds, “The debate doesn’t fit easily on the usual left-right, blue-red, liberal-conservative spectrum.” The reason is because this is a faith issue, not a political one. The way you understand this question is rooted in salvation history and our understanding of the Scripture.
	Can Rethinking Heaven Improve Life on Earth?
	May 7, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   Decades ago I was told that every pastor should have a copy of the Bible in one hand and  a current copy of TIME magazine in the other. Well, the Bible in one hand (even on an iPad version) I would highly recommend. In recent years I would have been a little less certain about TIME. The point made here is actually quite serious. Pastors should know the Word of God and the times in which we live. They should be aware of what is going on in the world of the Bible and in the world of their culture, a culture that is increasingly global. This advice, generally stated and properly understood, is both missional and biblical.
	Can Rethinking Heaven Improve Life on Earth?
	May 7, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   Decades ago I was told that every pastor should have a copy of the Bible in one hand and  a current copy of TIME magazine in the other. Well, the Bible in one hand (even on an iPad version) I would highly recommend. In recent years I would have been a little less certain about TIME. The point made here is actually quite serious. Pastors should know the Word of God and the times in which we live. They should be aware of what is going on in the world of the Bible and in the world of their culture, a culture that is increasingly global. This advice, generally stated and properly understood, is both missional and biblical.
	How a Small Band of Jesus’ Followers Become the World’s Largest Religion: Part Five
	April 30, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   In my final article interacting with Rodney Stark’s massively important book, The Triumph of Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 2011) I want to share a few of his conclusions and interact with them from the perspective of my missional-ecumenism.
	How a Small Band of Jesus’ Followers Become the World’s Largest Religion: Part Four
	April 23, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   The subtitle of Rodney Stark’s magnificent book, The Triumph of Christianity, explains his thesis well: “How the Jesus Movement Became the World’s Largest Religion.” I have worded this a little differently by asking, “How did a small band of some 3,000-5,000 people, in the middle of the first century of the common era, eventually become the world’s largest religion in the 21st century?” This is Rodney Stark’s focus in this amazing book that I encourage all who receive the ACT 3 Weekly to read in 2012.
	How a Small Band of Jesus’ Followers Become the World’s Largest Religion: Part Three
	April 16, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   In this third part in my series we shall look at parts three, four and five of Rodney Stark’s impressive book, The Triumph of Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 2011). In part three he addresses what he calls “Consolidating Christian Europe.” This is where he breaks new ground since he wrote his 1996 book.
	How a Small Band of Jesus’ Followers Become the World’s Largest Religion: Part Two
	April 9, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I introduced you to one of the most stimulating and important books that I have read in recent years. Rodney Stark, an award-winning writer and esteemed Christian scholar at Baylor University, has given us a game-changing book in The Triumph of Christianity (HarperOne: New York, 2011). At $27.95 it is pricey but Amazon.com lists it for $16.78 and it is $14.99 in the Kindle edition. If you are a leader, and thus called upon to think deeply about the faith, then you should buy or borrow this book and read it.
	How a Small Band of Jesus’ Followers Become the World’s Largest Religion: Part One
	April 2, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   In his oft-quoted book, The Rise of Christianity (1996), author Rodney Stark, professor of the social sciences and co-director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, addressed the question of how an obscure Jewish sect became the world’s largest religion. He applied some new social science principles to the question and considered some often overlooked possibilities. He even used simple arithmetic to explain the early success of Christianity. In the end he suggests the ways in which this faith created a movement that eventually conquered, through peace, the great Roman Empire.
	“Storms, Calvinism and the Role of a Sovereign God”
	March 27, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   In the light of the recent tornadoes that struck the Midwest and South some of Christians raised the question of divine providence and these storms. Did God send, or direct, these storms? Did God thus directly take human life through this means? What is God’s active role in these events? I wrote a blog at www.johnharmstrong on Wednesday, March 7, responding to John Piper’s strong statements about God’s direct role in these storms. If you would like to read this you can go to my blog site. (I did a series of ACT 3 Weekly articles on God and evil last year as well.)
	Our God is an Awesome God: How Churchless Christianity Hides the Reality of Christ from the World
	March 19, 2012 by John H. Armnstrong   “Our God Is an Awesome God,” by musical artist Rich Mullins, is a popular modern song. Mullins wrote the following (which is only a part of the song):   He spoke into the darkness And created the light. (Our God is an awesome God.)   Judgement and wrath He poured out on Sodom Mercy and grace He gave us at the cross. I hope that we have not Too quickly forgotten that Our God is an awesome God.   Our God is an awesome God He reigns from heaven above With wisdom, power, and love Our God is an awesome God.
	Apostolicity and Community (No. 9 in a Series on Churchless Christianity)
	March 12, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   Following a recent Internet posting of a rap, spoken-word You Tube video, titled “Why I Hate Religion,” a wide-ranging discussion ensued on the pros and cons of the author’s response to Jesus, religion and the church. The video went viral within hours. Author Jefferson Bethke’s clever and well-done piece attracted more than 10 million views in 10 days. I have rarely seen anything like this in the brief history of the Internet, at least from a Christian source.
	Western Culture and the Rise of Churchless Christianity
	March 5, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   Over the last few months I’ve done research into the rise of what I’ve called “churchless Christianity.” From this research I have written this series of articles. By this term, churchless Christianity, I have referred to the idea that it is perfectly acceptable, to follow Christ as a true disciple and remain outside the visible church. I am convinced, the more that I have surveyed a considerable body of literature and anecdotal evidence, that this phenomenon is growing. In fact, I think it is growing rather significantly from what I have seen in the last five years.
	A Young Person’s Perspective on “Churchless Christianity”
	February 27, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   I have been writing and thinking about the issue of “churchless Christianity” for several weeks now in this current series of ACT 3 Weekly articles. I feel that a perspective from a young Christian brother will prove to be extremely helpful to you as my readers. I thus asked my friend, Ryan McGinnis, who did not grow up in the church or in a devout home for that matter, to share his own account of the church as he has experienced it. Ryan McGinnis is a social worker and a third-year seminary student at Biblical Theological Seminary in suburban Philadelphia, where we met a little over a year ago. As a guest contributor he will afford you an opportunity to see the kind of challenge the modern church faces in seeking to minister to a person of deep faith who has come to Christ from “outside” the church of our collective past. Ryan’s comments follow below with a comment or two from me at the end.
	My Conversation with Francis Cardinal George
	February 20, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   Many of you know that on Monday, March 26, at 7:00 p.m. (CDT), ACT 3 will host a dialogue on missional-ecumenism in the Edman Memorial Chapel at Wheaton College. I will be sharing this conversation with Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago. The event is free and open to the public. I advise you to arrive early just in case we get a large crowd. The event will also be streamed live in a video format on the Internet. (Go to www.wheaton.edu and choose the WETN link to the Wheaton College radio station where you can watch it in real time. A few days after the event it will also be posted on the same web site as an archived video so that you can see it later if you miss it on March 26.)
	Missiological Reflections on Churchless Christianity, Part Two
	February 13, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   In my last installment in this series on churchless Christianity I raised a question about the connection between conversion and community. I said this connection was inseparably clear in the New Testament. Indeed, I believe that it is a connection created by our Lord Jesus Christ himself (cf, Matt. 16:13-20; 18:15-22). Whatever else we can conclude from these two important texts it is apparent that Jesus intended for the church to “bind and unbind,” an expression that Jews would have heard to mean “allowing and not allowing.” In Matthew 18 it is apparent that troubles among Christians were to be settled by the church; i.e., the gathered community. The very Jewish background of Matthew underscores all the more that this was not a vague (spiritual as meaning unseen) community that could not be outwardly recognized and brought together in “the name” of Jesus Christ.
	Missiological Reflections on Churchless Christianity, Part One
	February 6, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   In 2003 the late Ralph Winter, one of the most highly regarded missiologists of the last half of the twentieth century, wrote the following about our unique moment in church history:             Apparently, our real challenge is no longer to extend the boundaries of Christianity but to acknowledge that Biblical, Christian faith has already extensively flowed beyond Judaism and Roman Catholicism (“Eleven Frontiers of Perspective,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 20, No. 4 (2003), 136). There is enough in this statement to stir a pretty good debate but he did not stop there. He went on to conclude: “Our task may well be to allow and encourage Muslims and Hindus and Chinese to follow Christ without identifying themselves with a foreign religion. The Third Reformation is here! (“Eleven Frontiers of Perspective,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 20, No. 4 (2003), 136.)
	Two Theologians Who Debated Churchless Christianity in the 20th Century
	January 30, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   As we saw last week, churchless Christianity is clearly a departure from historic Christianity as expressed in Catholicism, Orthodoxy and classical Protestantism. But the present growth of this movement is not entirely new. Most movements are not new if the truth is known.
	What Has Church History to Do with Present Reality?
	January 23, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   The famous Henry Ford once said, “History is bunk.” A lot of sincere Christians agree. I do not count myself among them. C. S. Lewis said, “History is a story written by the finger of God.” That perspective is one I commend to serious Christians.
	Should We Use the Name “Christian” in the American Context?
	January 16, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   The growing phenomenon of churchless followers of Jesus challenges a number of widely held beliefs most of us assume as Christians. It clearly raises questions about the relationship of the church, as well as the sacraments, to one’s personal faith. In short the big issue here is ecclesiology (the church). Put simply, “Can we follow Jesus and check out on the church?”
	The Growth of Churchless Christianity
	January 9, 2012 by John H. Armstrong   For several decades missiologists have written about the rise of a modern phenomena they call “churchless Christianity.” This term, generally used only by academics, means just about what you think. There are a growing number of people who have become devoted followers of Jesus Christ but have not joined a visible church. (Most have also not been baptized!) The best example that most students of missions cite can be found in South India. Herbert Hoefer, in his book Churchless Christianity (Pasadena, California: William Carey Library, 2001, revised edition), provides data about a growing group of people in rural Tamil, Nadu, India who profess personal faith in Christ while they remain Hindus. In the 1980s I preached the gospel and baptized scores of converts in rural India. I also helped to plant new visible churches. For this, and several more reasons that will become apparent, this movement has particular interest for me. I believe the time has come to talk about this phenomenon since it is now growing in the American context. From what I can tell, this rise is not limited to newly emerging church forms that are predominant among younger adults.
	Our Vision and Hope for the New Year
	December 26, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I want to thank all of you who read my various posts, whether you do so via the ACT 3 Weekly articles such as this one, or on Facebook, Twitter or through my regular blogs. Each Monday we send the ACT 3 Weekly to over 1,500 readers. Your interest in this series of articles, and your love for me personally over the past year, has been a blessing. I want to thank many of you who have faithfully and generously supported us. This ministry simply could not exist, at least in its present and rapidly-growing form, without you!
	Worship: The Ultimate Communal Act Part Two
	December 19, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   In this final article in this series I want to show how worship must ultimately transform our vision of faith and practice so that we escape from the grasp of cultural individualism.
	Worship: The Ultimate Communal Act - Part One
	December 12, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   The point I have been making is missional. This might not be apparent at first glance but it really is a simple one. Committed American Christians simply cannot afford to ignore the culture in which they live. We should be wise and faithful.
	Why Unity Is Countercultural
	December 5, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   The Bible is not a collection of truths, though it certainly reveals truth. The Bible is not a guide for living, though it most assuredly helps you live wisely. The Bible is a story, a divine story told in human words and historical texts.
	The Decline of Social Capital
	November 28, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Robert D. Putnam’s best-selling book, Bowling Alone (2000), genuinely caught many people off guard. Putnam, a Harvard professor of political science, argued that loneliness was related to depression and that the incidence of depression was often related to age cohorts. This astounding observation has now been proven for over a decade. Here is how he expressed this reality:
	American Culture and Our Unity - Part Three
	November 21, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   When a culture chooses personal freedom over corporate responsibility the results are ultimately catastrophic for social well-being. And the results aresocially and spiritually antithetical to the gospel. I began several weeks ago to demonstrate how this has happened in our own culture since World War II.
	American Culture and Our Unity Part Two
	November 14, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   If we are to understand how American Christians can recover unity we must better understand the specifically American context in which we live. Culture is for most us like water to a fish. We do not think much about it. We just swim in it unaware of what it does or does not do to us. This needs to change if the church is to faithfully engage in Christ’s mission as one.
	American Culture and Our Unity Part One
	November 7, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   The biblical ideal of Christian unity, which is powerfully revealed in Scripture and Christian writings throughout the ages, is not a compelling message for most modern Americans. We do not easily resonate with this theme.Most people who attend our respective churches have little or no interest in the subject. And most pastors rarely, if ever, mention it.
	The Early Church, the Eucharist and Unity
	October 31, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   The theme of Christian unity is underscored over and over in the New Testament. I am amazed at how I missed this for the first forty years of my life. I am persuaded that I did so because I read the Bible as an American individualist, not with a clear understanding of the social and covenantal context of the first century.
	Unity and the Lord’s Table
	October 24, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   There is a parable in Luke’s Gospel (14:7−11) that should startle us if we really bothered to read it carefully. When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
	Unity in Diversity
	October 17, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   The Apostle Paul says that the same Holy Spirit operates among all Christians everywhere, in all communities of believers. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians he writes:
	The Prime Example of Unity
	October 10, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   First-century Jews, for a number of reasons, had a hard time accepting non-Jews. If you know their story, and the oppressive context in which they lived, their response makes a great deal of common sense. The Gospels depict just how far they went in rejecting diverse people groups and individuals.
	How Love Creates Unity
	October 3, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I began this series last week by showing the importance of God’s love. It called it the leitmotif of John’s Gospel. Jesus revealed God’s love perfectly in all that he did and taught. This love is the basis for our lives and becomes the means of divine grace for fighting sin and its effects in our world.
	The Reality That Transforms Everything
	September 26, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   In the high priestly prayer recorded in John 17 Jesus plainly prays for Christian unity in verse 22 by asking “that they [all his disciples who will believe down through this present age because of the witness of the apostles] may be one.” And in the next verse, John 17:23, he prays that we shall all be brought to “complete unity.” Why? So that the world would know the Father had sent the Son to save it (cf. John 3:16−17).
	Living the Gospel of the Kingdom in Unity with Christ’s Followers
	September 19, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   What is the importance of Jesus’ prayer for the unity of all his followers (John 17:20–23)? How does this prayer actually bear upon your life day-in and day-out? One simple fact is clear to me after six decades-plus of life and ministry ― most Christians have never even asked this question, much less attempted to work it out in their actual practice. The reasons are many but I believe the compelling one is clear ­­— this is a vision that is so simple, clear and obvious that we refuse to actually pursue it with our whole heart due to the demands it places upon us personally in a fractured and confusing time in history. The church, as we know it, is being changed rather dramatically by circumstances beyond its control but the mission of Christ remains the same ―love our neighbors, share the good news in word and deed and make new disciples. How do we remain faithful to this mission, Christ’s mission, in such a time as this?
	The Intellectual Task: The Role of the Mind in Discipleship, Part Two
	September 12, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   In this final article on The Two Tasks (Wheaton, Illinois: The Billy Graham Center, second edition, 2000) I will take up the author’s call to reform the universities and colleges as a direct task of Christian discipleship.
	The Intellectual Task: The Role of the Mind in Discipleship, Part One
	September 5, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I began the first of three articles on an amazing address given in 1980 at the opening of the BillyGrahamCenter at Wheaton College. I recently read this address and was profoundly moved by the powerful arguments made by Ambassador Charles Malik (1906−1987) regarding the two tasks that the church must undertake today.
	The Spiritual Task: A Call to Unity
	August 29, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   On September 13, 1980, the BillyGrahamCenter at WheatonCollege was formally opened in Wheaton, Illinois. Lebanese Ambassador Charles Malik (1906–1987) joined with 10,000 people in dedicating this building. Nearly thirty-one years later I have the privilege of teaching as an adjunct professor in the BillyGrahamCenter at WheatonCollege. On that historic day Dr. Malik gave an address titled: “Two Tasks.” Dr. Malik’s two tasks were evangelism/mission (and its relationship to unity and the church) and the intellectual training and formation of modern disciples.
	The Role of People in Community and the World
	August 22, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I conclude this series on the church and modern mission by looking at the role the laity must have as we go forward. This theme is so large that I will only scratch the surface. I purpose to write a new series, before year’s end I hope, on the theology and role of the laity in the modern church. I believe this is one of the most important biblical recoveries we are beginning to witness in the 21st century.
	Mission in the New World Must Be Contextual
	August 15, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   When I studied missions in the early 1970s contextualization was a strictly overseas oriented subject. I studied it formally but never realized that my study would later become important to me as an American church planter. It would then become important to my ministry as a local pastor and later as a teacher and equipper of leaders.
	Our Mission Must Be Ecumenical
	August 8, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   If we are to live as “resident aliens” in the West, as I suggested at the end of my article last week, then we will have to understand that there are several significant elements to the real success of our mission. One of these is to recognize the deleterious impact of hedonism on everything we think and do in this culture. This means we must seek to be countercultural without becoming escapists or Gnostics.
	True Mission Must Be Countercultural
	August 1, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I said that if what I believe to be most true is really true then this “true” truth is my truth because I’ve experienced it. Truth may include certain propositions (“God is Trinity!”) but truth is first about life and our experience. What does this way of framing the matter mean for mission? Is “my truth” worth sharing with others for whom it will become, by the Spirit, “their” truth? How do we avoid arrogance on the one hand and timidity and disobedience on the other?
	Exposing the Foundations: Building Life on a Solid Foundation
	July 25, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I ended by saying Christian theology, and ultimately all true mission, can only proceed on the basis of a growing faith commitment. In the process of such a commitment we can have rational discourse and we must rightly employ reason. But true theological inquiry will always be, first and foremost, the fruit of faith not science. When this happens theology can once again help us to “cleanse the fountains of our faith.” When this happens theology will become a healthy servant for growing mature Christians for the 21st century.
	The Loss of Objectivity and the Doubts of True Faith
	July 18, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Enlightenment scientism, as we’ve seen over the course of this series, taught Westerners that the acceptance of unproven beliefs was the broad road to intellectual darkness. In droves Western intellectuals turned against Christian faith, believing that since it could not be tested and proven through science it was foolish myth.
	Why Should I Give to ACT 3?
	July 11, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I often consider why questions. If I do not know why I should do this or not do that I will not understand my choices and actions well. Why should I pray? Why should I faithfully attend and support my church? Why should I give to Christian missions and specific workers? These types of questions press upon each of us day-in and day-out.
	Donor Fatigue and Mission
	July 4, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   It is my intentional practice to rarely ask for donor support. ACT 3 does not sponsor donor meals, hire donor fund-raising companies or development personnel or do unsolicited phone calling to ask for your support.
	The Future of the Church in the Twenty-first Century
	June 27, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I finished my weekly article by saying the bottom line for Christian mission is clear: Christian mission in the twenty-first century either shares in the same experience as the first Christians or there is no mission worth saving and propagating.
	The Myth of the Irreligious West: Proclaiming Christ to Rootless Moderns and Post-moderns
	June 20, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I ended by saying that Christians have a promise that no other religion or ideology can offer to the secular West: a crucified Savior who is also the risen Lord over all life! I finished my final paragraph by quoting Charles West, who was offering variations on the theology of Lesslie Newbigin. West suggested that we must “wade into the human struggle with our gospel of hope, side with the victims, find ways to confront, influence, modify and make responsible the powers around us . . . and above all [we must] let others know who the Lord of the struggle is. (Charles West, “Gospel for American Culture: Variations on a Theme by Newbigin,” in Missiology: An International Review 19:431-41).
	Understanding Our Mission in the Modern West
	June 13, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Fundamentally mission is “alerting people to the universal reign of God” (Believing in the Future, Bosch, 33). That future is an approximation of God’s coming reign, as we saw last week. Our task is not to inaugurate the kingdom of God on earth but rather to make it as visible as possible. This reign will always be greater than human utopias. While we remain “resident aliens” (Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon) this does not mean that we are called to be quietists who passively adjust to the brutalities and inequities of our present age while we simply wait for the sweet by-and-by. After all, our future is not a bodiless existence somewhere else. It will be a complete recapitulation of the created order that will become the new heavens and the new earth (cf. Romans 8:18−30; Revelation 21:1−22:4).
	Initiating the Approximation of Christ’s Kingdom
	June 6, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   When one looks back over the last one-hundred years of mission theology and history you will quickly observe that the kingdom of God became the dominant motif for gospel ministry in the world since 1910. What becomes readily apparent is that the language and conception of the kingdom was dominated by ideology. By this means Jesus was removed from the center of the global conversation about mission.
	Christ and His Kingdom: The Key to Understanding Mission
	May 30, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   My perspective on our present moment in church history is as hopeful as the promises of God and as big as Christ’s kingdom on earth. These “last days” are filled with the promise of Pentecost and the coming reign of Jesus. And I believe that God, who is rich in mercy, loves the church and has even better things for it to accomplish on the earth than we can imagine.
	The New Meaning of Mission: Toward a Missional Understanding of the Church
	May 23, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   When I did a master’s degree in missiology in the early 1970s I had no idea how important my research and study would be to my life forty years later. Now I devote all my energy to “equipping leaders for unity in Christ’s mission” because I believe this is the greatest missionary need of our time.
	The End of Western Culture as We’ve Known It
	May 16, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Modern Western society (culture) is deeply rooted in both dogmatic scientism and extreme relativism. These two realities have been so profoundly injected into our way of thinking that we unconsciously live in them without serious thought regarding how they have become a soul-destroying elixir. Christians are not immune to these ideologies. Various fundamentalist Christian responses, rooted in the certainties of a modernist foundation, will not help the church recover its missional mandate in the 21st century.
	Postmodernism and the Christian Faith
	May 9, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Presently there is a rigorous debate going on in intellectual circles about Christian faith and postmodernism. There are many wonderful Christians who believe that anything remotely associated with postmodernism must be rejected. There should be no conversation or we drink with the devil and make things far worse. It is argued that postmodernism stands for the rejection of reason and truth. If it was really this simple I would happily join my friends in their reaction.
	The Enlightenment: How Did We Get Here?
	May 2, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I suggested last week that we have a crisis moment in Christian mission because of the influence of the Enlightenment. The thorough going secularism and radically anthropocentric perspective of the West is profoundly rooted in the Enlightenment.
	Onward Christian Soldiers
	April 25, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Having recently returned from an eight-day journey to Rome (March 6-15), a journey directly related to missional-ecumenism, you will understand why I am thinking a great deal more about the church’s mission in the present age. I experienced some of the oldest artifacts that we have of the first and second century church while at the same time I talked candidly with priests, ministers and missionaries from many parts of the world who are deeply engaged in our very modern questions that have immense implications for the future.
	Come Over and Help Us
	April 18, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   We read in Acts 16:9 that the Apostle Paul had a vision one night of a man in Macedonia urging him to “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When Paul had seen this vision he “immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia” (Acts 16:10). I have thought of this account many times. More than twenty years ago I had a vision. I rarely talk about it in concrete terms since I still do not fully understand the way the Lord spoke to me. But I am sure it was Christ who spoke. That vision was one of a mission to leaders and churches with the goal of renewal in the Holy Spirit. That first vision, as I recount in Your Church Is Too Small, was strengthened and renewed by a second vision. In the second vision it was made clear that I was to take this message to the whole church for the first vision to be fulfilled. This was my vision of unity in Christ’s mission rooted in John 17.
	ACT 3: Living in Community, Seeking Convergence
	April 11, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   In the previous two issues of the ACT 3 Weekly I have explained our mission and vision. I have described the model that ACT 3 follows as that of a starfish (Cf. The Starfish and the Spider). In this third article I want to explain the importance of community, the role of convergence, and show how both of these connect in the vision of ACT 3.
	ACT 3: How We Can Make a Difference
	April 4, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I laid out the vision of ACT 3, a vision embraced by our board in February. I ended by saying that “Nothing less than a major shift in both our thinking and living will give the church what it needs to face the uncharted future that is before us.” Everything I write and teach is based on this premise.
	ACT 3: The Starfish and the Spider
	March 28, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Now and then I write an ACT 3 Weekly that gives perspective on the work of ACT 3. What do we believe about our mission? The readers of these weekly articles are the core of our leadership constituency. Most of you are pastors, church leaders, visionaries and teachers. It is very likely that all of you are serious Christians. These articles are read by you and by others who visit our web site. I generally write these articles to teach big ideas about church, theology, mission and unity. This week I write the first of four articles about ACT 3 itself.
	The Liturgy of the Last Days, Part Two
	March 21, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   In several earlier articles I made reference to the centrality of the ascension to properly regaining the importance of the liturgy in these “last days.” I ended last week by saying that the church is a sacramental mediation between God and man. I did not say “how” this sacramental mediation happens. I recognize that we have varying views of this operation. But I stand by the statement in itself that the essential point is true.
	The Fullness of Christ and the Liturgy of the Last Days, Part One
	March 14, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Maximus the Confessor (c. 580 – 13 August 662) was aChristian monk, theologian and scholar. In his early life he served as an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclitus. He later gave up his work in the political sphere to enter monastic life. Maximus grasped the idea of mystery well when he said: “In the mystery of the incarnate Word lies the power of the symbols and figures of Scripture as well as the knowledge of all creatures.”
	God’s Plan Is a Liturgy
	March 7, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I have already spent time showing that our salvation, intimately connected with God’s eternal plan for the whole world, is treated in Scripture as a mystery; a mystery that has now been finally revealed in Christ. This mystery is expressed wonderfully in words like those in the early part of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (1:3−14). And this mystery, as I have concluded in previous articles, is the keynote in John’s revelation given in the last book of the Bible.
	Recovering Christian Mystery in the Modern Age
	February 28, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   Protestant Christians have fallen prey to religious rationalism in the twentieth century. We now live within the flow of a new movement in which many young Christians, and some older ones like me, are throwing off an emphasis which stripped us of divine mystery. There is a real danger that we could go too far in throwing off this philosophical straightjacket but right now I welcome all challenges to the rationalistic tendencies which have taken away our God-given hunger for the bread which comes from above (John 6:25−59). When I hear Christians begin to say: “I feel like the church cheated me out of a rich and deep experience of Christ” I come alive. I get excited. I want to fan a flame.
	How the Liturgy of Christ’s Ascension Transforms History
	February 21, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I concluded last week by saying that evangelicals have generally undertaken great mission for Christ, often with little appreciation of liturgy. This commitment to mission is a direct result of a deep, personal faith. I added that evangelicals will continue to undertake great mission for Christ so long as their hearts burn within them for Jesus. This is the great strength of evangelical faith: it directly leads to deep, burning heart love for Jesus that looks outward in Christian mission. But the great evangelical weakness is too rarely understood. When the heart of love weakens then Jesus becomes a concept, a proposition. This results in Jesus not being a living person who thrills the soul with beauty and delight. Jesus is someone we knew in the past but is now an absent, long lost friend that we know by memory only. This has created what my Orthodox friend referred to as a “brass ceiling.” (I feel this ceiling in so many evangelical churches where the styles of worship varying considerably.)
	The Doxological Celebration of True Liturgy
	February 14, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   We have seen that “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flow[s] from the throne of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1). The picture of the new heaven and new earth given in Revelation 21-22 is beyond human imagination, though we do well to contemplate its mystery and consider what it has to do with our present worship on earth. Part of my argument has been that the worship in heaven is one with the worship on earth since there cannot be two worships. It is the physical place that separates us, at least for now, but it is the ascension that brings the future/eternal into the present/temporal. This happens in divine liturgy. (Remember, liturgy is the holy work of God’s people entering into this river that flows from the throne of Jesus.)
	The Ascension and the Liturgy
	February 7, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I have previously attempted to show, in two articles, that the liturgy is the truest work of the people of God and thus should be at the center of life in this age. In the words of the late Fr. Jean Corbon (1924-2001), professor of liturgy and ecumenism at the University of the Holy Spirit in Kalik, liturgy is the “wellspring,” or true source, of the church’s life and worship in this age.
	What Happens in the Liturgy?
	January 31, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).   Jesus was asked, by the Samaritan woman at the well, where worship was to take place? He does not answer her question directly but elevates the discussion to the proper manner in which people ought to worship the true and living God, the God of Israel (4:24b-26). Even more important is the direction in which he turns the woman’s heart when he says that we must pay attention to the One we worship: God Himself. The answer to this is clearly Trinitarian. We are to worship God the Father in spirit (the Holy Spirit working in our human spirit) and in truth (Christ is the truth; cf. John 14:6).
	Liturgy in the Church
	January 24, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   If you want to start a real disagreement among many Protestant evangelical Christians bring up the subject of liturgy. Part of the problem we struggle over is truly biblical, though I am convinced not nearly as much as we think. Another part of our struggle is historical and theological. But I am convinced that an even larger part of our disagreement is cultural. And this particular disagreement is deeply rooted deeply in human emotion and has led to countless worship wars in my lifetime.
	Forming Culture
	January 17, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   There has been a great deal of talk in evangelical churches over the past two-plus decades about culture and how we should (can) change it. We adopted the questionable rhetorical device of “the culture war” and then married this ideology of war to a worldview that we now teach as if it was the good news of Jesus Christ. In the process we have demonized people who do not agree with us, especially morally and politically. By this means we have done great harm to the cause of the gospel in the wider culture. This is so obvious that I will not spend time explaining further. (See unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, if you want a good overview of what I am saying here.)   What I want to consider rather is the question of how we actually transform culture. What is the church’s primary role in culture transformation? How can we best contribute to the public well-being?
	The Lies We Tell Ourselves Regarding Human Meaning
	January 10, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   I have been a student of advertising and the consumer culture for at least two decades. I am no expert on the subject but I have given it a great deal of thought. To varying degrees all of us have come under the spell of lies we tell ourselves because we have made consumption central to our life’s meaning.   A decade ago a British newspaper ad showed a smiling three-year old girl who said, “What’s a customer? I don’t know, but he sounds really important. My dad says the people at his office work all day just to make the customer happy. My dad works for ___. And he told me that when customers need something everyone in the office tries to get it for them. That sounds great. When I grow up I want to be a customer. Then I will be real important.”   Writing in the newsletter of Gospel and Our Culture Network (UK, summer issue, 1999) David Kettle noted: “The advertisement repeats a lie: the lie that being someone who ‘counts’ is worth something which we badly want, by nature lack; that such worth is given by the regard of others and our consequent self-image; and that we can take steps to achieve this worth by aiming for it. It is a lie, fundamentally, of our personal redundancy. It makes us self-regarding and vulnerable.” (In British use redundancy here refers to one becoming unnecessary.)
	On Not Being in Control
	January 3, 2011 by John H. Armstrong   More than a decade ago a British journalist by the name of Madeleine Bunting gave a lecture in the UK about the negative way in which the modern Western media treats religion. Bunting listed five causes for this negative response. I pondered this lecture recently and found a great deal in it that helps me think about the time in which we live. I was particularly struck by Bunting’s final cause for this decided bias against faith and religion. She noted that there was a direct clash between religious faith and the illusions created by the consumer culture. She added that modern media is actually designed to promote this consumer culture so that it is only logical that religion would not fare favorably.
	The Danger to Democracy in Our Time
	December 27, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   When I began this series, at the end of September, I wrote of the profound influence of the late Donald G. Bloesch on my thinking. I spoke to Brenda Bloesch a few weeks ago and told her I was using Donald’s written work on ideology to write a series of articles for the present generation. She said, “O yes, that clearly was one of Donald’s most significant concerns right up to the end of his life.” I finish this series by again drawing rich ideas from my late friend. This time I want to delve into his concerns about democracy.
	Now What? Living at Odds with Ideology: No 13 in a Series: “The Danger of Ideology to the Church"
	December 20, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The late Michael Spencer began blogging right after the elections in 2000. Very few people knew who Michael was at that time, but before his death on April 15 of this year Michael had become one of the most-popular Christian bloggers in the world. Known simply as the iMonk, Michael embraced what might be called classical Christianity. In his blogs he routinely responded to the evangelical wilderness of our time. His posthumously published book is thus titled: Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus Shaped Spirituality. I highly recommend the book and the continuing ministry of the web mission he began: www.internetmonk.com. A comment of Michael’s stands out in our consideration of the role of ideology in the contemporary church:   It’s not that evangelicals preach about Muhammad or Buddha or Krishna. It’s more that they are interested in so many other things, like gays, the culture war, the coming election, creeping socialism, how to raise better kids, how to beat stress, gays, and how many people got baptized last month. They also are intent on other things such as vision, leadership, and destiny. Stop by any number of evangelical churches on Sunday morning, and you’ll hear about all of these in terms that seldom mention Jesus and that totally miss what the Jesus movement is supposed to be about.   In such a context true reform has little or no place in the modern church.
	Learning (Again) to Speak the Word of Christ with Power: No 12 in a Series: “The Danger of Ideology
	December 13, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The Christian mystic Isaac of Turin wrote:   A swimmer plunges into the water stripped of his garments to find a pearl; a monk stripped of everything goes through his life to discover in himself the pearl−Jesus Christ; and when he finds him, he seeks no longer for aught existing beside him.   Esther de Waal, in her classic book, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2001 rev. ed.), notes in her opening chapter that the world St. Benedict was born into (5th century Italy) was:   . . . a troubled, torn part, uncertain world. It knew little of safety or security, and the church was almost as troubled as the secular powers. It was a world without landmarks. It had this in common with the twentieth century; life was an urgent struggle to make sense of what was happening” (15).
	Ideology and Heresy: No 11 in a Series: “The Danger of Ideology to the Church”
	December 6, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I use the word heresy, in my title, to refer any “refocusing of the Christian message and mission so that the claims of the gospel are muted or down-played” (Bloesch, FO, 262). Heresy is not a wild-eyed denial of the obvious but a subtle “refocusing” of our mission. I believe this is a constant threat in every age. When the church aligns itself with an ideology, then the path to heresy is paved with good intentions that lead to tragic consequences.
	Behind Every Ideology Is a Mythology
	November 29, 2010 by Dr. John H. Armstrong   The relationship between ideology and mythology is extremely important if we are to grasp how serious this danger really is. Donald Bloesch wrote:   Behind every ideology is a mythology, an imaginative projection of human hopes and aspirations on the plane of history. A mythology connotes a vision of reality set forth in primal symbols that give meaning to and purpose to human existence. Such a vision is rooted in a cultural faith that is invariably idolatrous, for it means enthroning cultural values and ideals (italics mine, FO, 259).
	Discerning More Modern Types of Ideology
	November 22, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   It must be kept in mind, as you read these articles, that I am not saying that everyone who is influenced by a particular ideology is a partisan ideologue. Like you, I have a relationship to certain ideologies. These vary from one form to another in my own attempts to live faithfully, but these do not make me a strict ideologue. This does, however, require me to be honest and to judge all things by the gospel, not by my bent toward an ideology. I am certain that none of us can live without some form of ideology that influences us but if we realize this we are at least better prepared to live faithfully.
	Discerning Modern Types of Ideology
	November 15, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   As we’ve seen an ideology presents a picture of the world around us. It helps us make sense of what we think is actually happening in our lives and the surrounding culture. When we watch the news, talk about everyday life and express opinions about what should or should not be taking place in America we are generally engaged in some form of ideology. Ideology gives legitimacy to both our cultural values and social/political/religious goals. While ideology emphasizes “social-empirical realities” it has the powerful effect of coloring everything in our lives and thus it can influence how we understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is how ideology becomes dangerous to the church.
	How to Restore Prophetic Ministry and Check Ideology at the Door
	November 7, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I attempted to show how leadership in the church had lost its way with regard to prophetic ministry. I have argued that a major reason for the loss of a proper view of mission and ministry is the role we have given to ideology. I defined ideology in the first article in this series in this way:   Ideology refers to visionary theorizing, or to a systematic body of concepts, especially regarding human culture or life. I have in mind not only a body of systematic concepts but particularly the integrated assertions, theories and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program of some type.   Ideology, in effect, substitutes as a form of salvation in place of complete reliance upon God. It also leads to totalistic claims about truth that penetrate every area of life and thus cannot tolerate alternative views of reality and thought. Ideology tempts both liberals and conservatives into believing they know what is right and best. Joined with rationalistic approaches to knowledge it becomes an intoxicating drink for many in our day.
	What Happened to Prophetic Preaching?
	November 1, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   How we identify ourselves is central to our self-awareness and thus to our practice of Christian faith in the modern world. I have suggested that Christians in America have increasingly identified themselves by their ideology, not by their living faith in Jesus Christ, faith that leads them to “love their neighbor.” James D. Hunter concludes:   Next to their occupation or profession, their commitments as Democrats, or Republicans, pro-lifers or pro-choicers, conservative, liberal, gay, and so on, compete to form the largest part of a person’s identity in pubic. These tendencies are more pronounced within the professional classes than among business people or wage earners but it is a pervasive tendency all the same. Taken to an extreme, identity becomes so tightly linked with ideology that partisan commitment becomes a measure of their moral significance; of whether a person is judged good or bad. This is the face of identity politics (To Save the World, 105).
	What Has Eschatology Got to Do With Our Problem?
	October 25, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Eschatology, from the Greek word eschatos, refers to "the study of last things.” Biblically it is traditionally concerned with the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world. The Oxford English Dictionary defines eschatology as being concerned with “the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell.”
	Discerning the Times: Learning to Live Christianly in the Present Age
	October 18, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The wise man said, “Intelligent (discerning) people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge” (NLT, Proverbs 18:15). And “Knowledge comes easily to those with understanding” (NLT, Proverbs 14:6b). My desire in this series is to provide to Christian leaders the kind of knowledge that will allow them to understand (discern) the times in which we live and to see the way that ideology has undermined the power of the Word of God in the church.
	Ideology, Philosophy and Theology: Whither the Church
	October 11, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   When I began writing this series of articles in the late summer I referenced the influence of my mentor and long-time friend Donald G. Bloesch. Sadly, Donald passed away just a few weeks ago. His presence in the church militant is thus lost to me and countless others but his work remains vital in a large number of published books. I have felt Don’s loss quite often in recent days but I rejoice that he is in the presence of the Christ whom he loved and served for a lifetime.
	The Relationship Between Christian Faith and Ideology
	October 4, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I began, last week, the first of several articles in a series on the danger of ideology to the mission of the church. I turn this week to the most recent contentious issue that divides Christians and churches: illegal immigration and how to respond to this present challenge to the nation.
	The Danger of Ideology to Christ’s Mission
	September 27, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The apostle Paul urges us to be transformed through the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:1-2). The mind is clearly where transformation begins for the Christian. But real transformation will always move our will to choose and our emotions to follow. Today we are barraged by a number of ideologies that seek to transform our minds and stir up our most basic actions and emotions as Christians. Much of this transformation involves the church tinkering with various ideologies and philosophies that are not directly related to the gospel. This temptation is powerful and often extremely subtle. Human ideologies can and do challenge the power of the gospel to be our primary word to both ourselves and our neighbors. Theologian Donald G. Bloesch is right when he warn us: “Christian faith can ill afford to align itself with any ideology lest it lose its anchor in the transcendent” (Freedom For Obedience, New York: Harper & Row, 1987, 249).
	A Response to the Gay Rights Debate Part Two
	September 20, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The point I made last week, that gays should not be discriminated against by civil law, was rooted in the principle that freedom from legal discrimination is a basic human right. This freedom needs to be respected as far as possible and curtailed only when absolutely necessary. I realize some will argue that all homosexual practice destroys society thus sodomy laws should be retained and strictly enforced. I am not addressing the question of “the protection of society” for a number of reasons but it should be evident, from my reference to Uganda last week, that I strongly reject this thesis as grounds for legal punishment of homosexuals. This is where I think Rick Warren was both misunderstood and properly explained himself in the intense debate created by the Ugandan situation.
	A Response to the Gay Rights Debate Part One
	September 13, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   We seem fixated on the homosexual debate at this moment in history. Conservatives use the issue to rally people to the defense of the faith and Christian culture. In Protestant mainline churches we run head long toward a cliff that will most likely mean greater decline. To discuss this issue is to invite misunderstanding from two emotionally charged sides. It is with some trepidation that I undertake this issue but I believe the mission of the church is now at stake. The problem is that people on every side agree with me about the church’s mission but some will not agree with my conclusions.
	Human Rights and Missional-Ecumenism
	September 6, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   If you have read my larger body of written work for very long you know how very deeply I am committed to what I have called missional-ecumenism (cf. Your Church Is Too Small, 2010). This is, if I have one big idea, my one and only big idea. This idea drives everything I do. I believe that the divided church has a mandate to seek unity in “Christ the center” (Bonhoeffer). This pursuit will lead us to go where we have deeply feared going in order to express our love for all our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is a demanding and faith-challenging work. The goal of this unity is not unity for unity’s sake. The goal is that the people of God will live in community and personal relationship in a way that will compel the world to see that the Father has sent the Son to save it (John 17:20-23). The good news that we proclaim will work its way into any culture more effectively when the people of God are living life in Christ together, praying together and witnessing together.
	Christian Priorities in the Struggle for Human Rights
	August 30, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   As I draw this series of articles on human rights toward my conclusion I want to ask a practical question: What are our essential duties and priorities if we are to define and defend human rights from a Christian perspective? How then should we live out a deep concern for human rights in a way that will actually influence what we say and do?
	Two Negative Reactions to Be Avoided in Human Rights
	August 23, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Human rights discussion has become almost ubiquitous in modern Western culture. Popular references are made to one’s “rights” routinely. But this does not mean most people understand human rights at all, either what the term means or why it is so important. Rarely can a person who defends these two words even begin to explain them. But it seems to be increasingly imperative that Christians become conversant about this discussion. We ought to be able to explain why we embrace human rights and then become some of the leading advocates of human rights in our time. Father Richard McCormick, S.J., is right when he concludes, “Unless the church at all levels is an outstanding promoter of the rights of human beings in word and deed, her proclamation will be literally falsified.” This statement lies behind the reason I am writing this summer series of ACT 3 Weekly articles.
	The Right to Religious Freedom: Understanding & Defending Human Rights
	August 16, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The modern cultivation of human rights began in the 1940’s when Christianity and the Enlightenment seemed incapable of delivering on the promises made by their best proponents. Both talked about protecting liberty and freedom but neither had fully delivered, in a modern way, the fruit of their talk. John Witte, Jr. writes of this period of history by saying:
	Living as Missional Christians in a Modern Diaspora
	August 9, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I concluded by addressing what the New Testament does, and doesn’t say, about civil government. I then referred to our time as a modern diaspora. The term diaspora (Greek) literally means “a scattering of seeds.” It is a people movement in which persons of a common national and/or ethnic identity are relocated. I am not using the term in this normal sense but rather to describe the role that Christians should have as a scattered people in a post-Christendom culture. The term diaspora refers to a displaced people, a people who live outside of their historic location or home. There is a growing sense in which this is true of Christians in the West.
	New Covenant People & the Present Order
	August 2, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   It must be frankly admitted that the modern concept of human rights, though rooted as I have attempted to show in Christian ideas and ideals, is not textually normative within the Bible. Add to this the admittedly bad record of the church over the centuries and there is sufficient reason to humbly express a measure of serious consternation about the role Christians have actually played in advancing human rights.
	The Role of Love & Justice in Human Rights
	July 26, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Since human rights are rooted in the Creator we have a responsibility to care for the whole creation (Genesis 1:26-27). This view limits human rights in some sense. When human rights are exploited by attacking nature, by plundering people, by needlessly mistreating animals or the earth, then the abuse of human rights must be addressed by the stewards of planet earth, human beings.
	The Ethic of Reciprocity
	July 19, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   In a previous article I mentioned the German experience and the blatant denial of human rights in Nazi Germany. The church plainly failed to understand its mission when the German state assumed too much power and then systematically abused it. The German church had lost all meaningful connection to the biblical story and the practice of the early church. When this loss of faith transpired the people of the light, and the people of the darkness, were so blended together that German patriotism became more important to most Christians than prophetic fidelity to the gospel. Eventually it was hard to tell any significant difference between a Christian view of human rights and a Nazi German view. Because of this tragic compromise the church (on the whole) failed to save the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable in society. The result was a virtual loss of all credibility to the mission of Christ.
	The Impressive Contributions of the Early Church to Human Rights
	July 12, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I believe the modern church faces some significant challenges regarding the understanding and application of human rights. The story changes, given a particular political and social context, but the need to embrace and defend human rights will always remain. The intricacies of human rights issues will continue to challenge us if we are faithful to Christ’s call to be “martyrs” who bear true witness to the grace of God. We can see the seeds of this witness in the first centuries of the Christian Church. Let me elaborate.
	The Christian Relationship Between Theology & Human Rights
	July 5, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   We saw last week how the modern understanding of human rights developed from classical Greek and Roman law through the teaching of the early Christian church fathers. This emphasis was not lost in the Middle Ages but it wasn’t fully developed either. Eventually the Reformation opened new opportunities for rethinking a Christian contribution to defining and defending human rights. I previously showed how the Enlightenment had a deep impact upon human rights thinking and practice. But in considering this historical development the tendency, of both Christians and non-Christians alike, has been to miss the vital role that Christian theology had in these historical developments.
	Human Rights: What and Why?
	June 28, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The subject of human rights has gained a great deal of attention in my six-plus decades of life. Following World War II the world community began to engage in significant discussion of this idea. Until more recently I have personally considered the subject very little. I was aware of the term, and even acknowledged the danger of various threats to human rights (whatever they were), but I saw little or no organic connection between the modern movement and the message of the Bible
	The Value of Proper Worldview Thinking: Restoring the Christian View of Grace and Nature
	June 21, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Philosopher and theologian A.M. Wolters says the idea of a worldview, the subject that we have considered for the past several weeks, is often restricted to differences among Christians with respect to how they see the world. If we restrict the worldview concept to the traditions of historic Christianity (i.e. where adherence to the ecumenical creeds of the early church is central) then we are able to distinguish four types of Christian worldviews. These four distinctions are based, at least theologically, upon how we understand grace and nature. H. Richard Niebuhr’s classic book, Christ and Culture, was built on this very type of thinking, as some will readily see.
	Can Good Worldview Thinking Make a Comeback?
	June 14, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The now popular concept of worldview came originally from the German word Weltanschauung, which initially seemed to have had no unique importance in its earliest use. Over time this German word came to denote a global outlook, something like a comprehensive philosophy without rational pretension (A.M. Wolters). Educated Germans knew the idea and seriously talked about it by the 1840s. By the end of the 19th century the word had reached a level of popularity in both academic and popular circles. It even began to find expression in other languages. By 1858 the anglicized equivalent assimilated this German idea into our English word “worldview.”
	Why Worldview Thinking is Misused By So Many Modern Christians
	June 7, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   For several weeks I have critiqued the widely used concept that is popularly called “a Christian worldview.” For some this type of thinking has been used to promote THE Christian worldview. I have sought to show why this approach is as harmful as the opposite, namely a pious reaction to all serious worldview thought based upon a private, personal faith that has no coherent understanding of how Christian faith can/should work in modern life. While I reject the checklist of so many conservative worldview schemes I also reject the abysmally weak opposite extreme which has no interest in speaking and living the faith missionally in the marketplace.
	Using the Concept of Worldview Well
	May 31, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   A worldview, as we’ve previously seen, is a conceptual scheme by which we attempt to place or fit everything that we believe into a framework through which we can then interpret and judge reality (Ron Nash). Missiologists speak of differing worldviews because of their study of various people groups and how hear and receive the gospel and put it into practice. The term worldview actually comes from eighteenth century German philosophy. (I’ll write more on this subject next week.) For many conservative Christians in America the term has come to refer to a systematic approach to theology.
	The Worldview Debate: Are You a Scribe or a Real Disciple?
	May 24, 2010 by John H. Armstrong
	A Whole Lot of Assuming Is Going On
	May 10, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I wrote about the concept of worldview as it is often employed by modern Christians. In popular usage the term worldview refers to nothing more than a particular point of view. It is a way to look at something. Most of us have such a worldview whether we think about it or not. People will often say that they will not talk about religion and politics but in both cases they generally have strong views on both subjects. In effect they are saying, “Do not discuss these with me as my worldview on the matter is settled.”
	True Faith Does Not Necessarily Equate with a “Christian” Worldview
	May 3, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Somewhere, in my intellectual formation as a young Christian, I was taught that one of the most important things that I could do, if my faith was to become intelligent and robust, was to develop a coherent and extensive Christian worldview. I still generally agree with this perspective if the terms are carefully explained. But I have come to question how we employ this concept of “Christian worldview,” especially in some circles.
	The Problem of Belief, Part Two
	April 26, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   What we saw last week is that Jesus regularly called people to believe in him and follow him. (He did not separate believing from following.) But he also understood what was in the human heart and thus knew that we find it difficult to believe. It’s as if he is saying, “I know a phony when I see one but I also know how hard it is to truly believe.”
	The Problem of Belief, Part One
	April 19, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I am sometimes accused of asking for trouble. I plead guilty. I do enjoy thinking beyond the expected formulas and probing things more deeply. I have enjoyed “thinking outside the box” for as long as I can remember. Because of this I have gained a reputation for asking questions. Some years ago I wrote a series of articles titled: “How I Changed My Mind.” Of all that I have written over the years nothing has been more often criticized, and more frequently used against me, than those six articles on changing my mind. I thought they were honest, reflective and very orthodox.
	More Questions About Your Church Is Too Small Part Three
	April 12, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The last two weeks I have answered some of the questions that I will be asked by radio hosts during the month of April as I promote the readership of my new book, Your Church Is Too Small. Now that the book is formally published, and it is being discussed in interviews, on blogs and in various public forums by speakers, I want to candidly address some of the important questions that flow out of the content of this book. I have covered six questions so far and will conclude with four more in this last article.
	More Questions About Your Church Is Too Small Part Two
	April 5, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I mentioned that I was asked to prepare ten questions for radio interviewers to ask me about my new book, Your Church Is Too Small. We looked at three of these questions last week. I want to give you answers to three more questions this week by providing short response to each of them.
	Some Questions on the Book Your Church Is Too Small
	March 29, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I mentioned last week the launch event for my new book. That event was held last Monday evening at the Billy Graham Center. I begin this week’s ACT 3 Weekly by thanking all of you who attended last Monday. I also want to thank all of you who prayed for this special evening, both near and far. Remember, the whole evening will be posted online soon.
	Why Unity in Christ’s Mission is Vital to the Future
	March 22, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   There is a certain sense in which the comments that I write this week are the answer to the question: “Why did you write your new book, Your Church Is Too Small?” The reasons I want to write about the book are several. First, on Monday evening, March 22, we have a special book launch event at 7:30 p.m. at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton. We will gather in the Wilson Suite on the Fourth Floor from 7:30 until 9:00 p.m. If you live in the Chicago area please come. The evening will include much more than a presentation by me. Three wonderful friends will respond to the book, having already read it before its release. Fr. Wilbur Ellsworth, an Orthodox priest and former chairman of the ACT 3 board, will speak. Fr. David Turner, a priest who serves at Benedictine University in nearby Lisle, Illinois, will also respond. And Dr. George Kalantzis, director of the Center for the Study of the Early Church at Wheaton College, will speak as well. Rev. Chris Castaldo, author of Holy Ground and a pastor at College Church in Wheaton, will moderate the event. For those who cannot attend we plan to post a video of the event on our new Web site in a few weeks. That new book site is: www.yourchurchistoosmall.com. You can order a book through this site and this means of getting the book from Amazon.com actually helps ACT 3 in the process as we get 4-5% of the sale when you go through our site. You should also tab this site and follow the book and the various events around the country that will follow its public release this week.
	Leadership That Makes Real Disciples, Part Three (Number Eighteen in a Series on Discipleship)
	March 15, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   In this, my final installment in this series on discipleship, I want to conclude with a summary of different leadership styles we’ve seen, based upon the Nygren/Ukeritis study. I will show how this directly impacts the making and equipping of real disciples. Finally, I will summarize several of the things I have said to this point to conclude the series with a few points of remembrance.
	Leadership That Makes Real Disciples, Part Two (Number Seventeen in a Series on Discipleship)
	March 8, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I believe that every true Christian is called upon to engage in the making of disciples. But I also believe that this does not mean that every true Christian is called upon to become an evangelist or to be a leader, or a teacher of the faith. I think when we personalize these texts to us as individuals we make a huge mistake. The Great Commission was not given to Joe, Jim, Sally or Sue. It was given to the apostles who passed along the story of Jesus, and his teaching, to the next generation so that the gospel would be announced to the whole world. All who now believe the good news, nearly two thousand years after the apostles, are mystically united with this same apostolic community in the one holy catholic church. As a member of Christ’s one church we all (collectively and personally) bear responsibility for the mission of that church. But our gifts differ and our service will never be the same. To promote the idea that very Christian must “make disciples” personally is a great mistake. The reasons are complex but the point I wish to make here is simple: we should cultivate genuine diversity in real unity.
	Leadership That Makes Real Disciples (Number Sixteen in a Series on Discipleship)
	March 1, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   In the late fall of 2009 I began this series on discipleship by suggesting we desperately need to recover a new understanding of discipleship and disciple-making. No term, or what we think of when we hear or use the term, seems to have become more clearly associated with programmatic, cookie-cutter techniques and outcomes.
	The Significance of Vision, Strategy & Structure (Number Fifteen in a Series on Discipleship)
	February 22, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   If the essence of visionary discipleship is seeking new possibilities and developments how are we to respond to actual closed doors? How can we truly hope for something better when things seem so plainly closed up to us? I think we best understand the way imagination actually works to open new doors by examining vision, strategy and structure. When we take this approach we can see a way forward that has real promise and hope.
	The Significance of Imagination, Part Four (Number Fourteen in a Series on Discipleship)
	February 15, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I have previously demonstrated that God uses our imagination to lead us toward repentance and living faith. The prophets showed us the way this happened in ancient Israel. The principles are still the same, though the times and context is quite different. We follow the spirit of the prophets, as Jesus followers, when we walk in their footsteps and we walk in their footsteps by imitating their bold faithfulness.
	The Significance of Imagination, Part Three (Number Thirteen in a Series on Discipleship)
	February 8, 2010 by John H. Arnstrong   I embarked some weeks ago on a series of articles about discipleship. I am convinced that we have reduced the meaning of this extremely important word to: (1) Learning information from the Bible, or content about faith, and; (2) To relating our lives to the local church and its programs. In the process we have emptied the word disciple of deep meaning and allowed people to profess a faith that does not require them to imagine what can or should be done as radical followers of Jesus Christ.
	The Significance of Imagination, Part Two (Number Twelve of a Series on Discipleship)
	February 1, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I ended with a reference to Acts 2:17 where the apostle Peter refers to the day of Pentecost as “the (beginning of the) last days.” A balanced understanding of the Scripture reveals that these last days” will continue until the end of this present age. I concluded that experience, reason and common sense—as important as they are when properly used—often restrict our imagination and fail to inspire in us the hope of a new and better day. Spirit-filled disciples, living in the shadow of Pentecost, will never reduce their lives to reason and common sense, not as long as they believe that they have been called to live as faithful disciples.
	The Significance of Imagination, Part One (Number Eleven of a Series on Discipleship)
	January 25, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I wrote of the balance that disciples of Christ need between a faithful conservatism and a healthy imagination. We must always make sure that we conserve the truths that are vital to confessional Christianity. At the same time we must be completely willing to imagine new ideas which can impact a new world. My late friend Robert Webber called this kind of Christianity: “ancient-future faith.” I share that perspective.
	When Discipleship Becomes Creative (Number Ten of a Series on Discipleship)
	January 18, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   I argued in my last ACT 3 Weekly that it was time for Christians to ask: Why not? It is time to also ask: What if? As I personally embrace what is the final phase of my public ministry life the temptation is to accept what has happened as the expectation for what should or will happen. I am determined to think and live otherwise. Because I embrace the virtues of faith, hope and love as the core of my being I ask how living as a mature disciple can make a real difference in the lives of others, especially those who come behind me.
	The Disciple of Jesus Must Learn to Ask the Right Questions (Number Nine of a Series on Discipleship
	January 11, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   Most Christians see the world in an extremely limited way. They only see what is, not what God has promised or what he assures us will eventually come to be. Most of us pray for the “kingdom to come [on earth] as it is in heaven” but we do not really believe in the present reign of Christ. The kingdom of God has no real bearing on how we actually live from day-to-day. Some of us have embraced a particular brand of eschatology, a theology that buys into pessimism and defeat. Others have become locked into the indicative mood. When this happens we live in a way that can only describe what appears to be. We lack imagination about the future.
	The Limits of Our Christian Language (Number Eight in a Series on Discipleship)
	January 4, 2010 by John H. Armstrong   The Holy Spirit is always working in the disciples of Jesus bringing about “new creation.” Ultimately, the Lord himself will bring about the final work of the new creation when he comes to create the new heavens and new earth at the end of this age. For now the church faithfully prays, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) God hears this kingdom plea and equips us (personally and collectively) do kingdom work on earth in his name/authority. His name, remember, refers to the very same Jesus who inaugurated his kingdom in the first century. It is through this same authority that we now experience his work on earth, especially on the margins of society.
	How You Can Get Involved with ACT 3
	December 28, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Each week, for the past seven years, I have published an article that has been sent to subscribers via the Internet. I did not originally plan for these articles to be done every single week. The response was so encouraging in the early days that a habit was established and I have been writing one each week ever since. I want to end this year by telling you a bit more about why I write these articles and what the ministry of ACT 3 means. My goal is to encourage you to become more involved in the mission of ACT 3 in 2010.
	The ACT 3 Story: Advent 2009
	December 21, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Each year churches and missions express gratitude to their benefactors at the end of the calendar year. Most will also appeal for year-end gifts. I have followed this pattern for seventeen years. But this year we have done something different. We mailed a special thank-you gift to all 425 of our donors. This gift was a new 29-minute video: “The ACT 3 Story.” Here our friends can see and experience the unique vision that God has given to me. I now invite you, the 3,000 plus subscribers to the ACT 3 Weekly, to see this same video. You can watch it on our Web site at: www.act3online.com. It will download as soon as you open the homepage so plan to take a half hour and watch our story at your earliest convenience.
	Equipping Leaders for Unity in Mission: The Campaign for ACT 3
	December 14, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   The evidence is clear that the church in America is in spiritual, moral and numerical decline. Since the Second Great Awakening (1800-1830) we have not seen decreases like those we now see in the American Church. The church seems to have become a dysfunctional family with little or no impact. God’s solution is found in the prayer that Jesus prayed in John 17. It is that we would be united in Christ, and that thereby we would advance his mission. Christ’s call to all churches and Christians is to embrace this apologetic of love, because only by this means may people know that God the Father is real. Please prayerfully consider what is presented in these few pages, especially in light of how God has called you to serve Him in His Kingdom.
	How the Spirit Disturbs the Disciples of Jesus, Part Two (Part Seven in a Series)
	December 7, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   It might seem, at this point my series, that I am suggesting Christian discipleship consists primarily in the capacity to become a presence that disturbs others. The truth is that far too many conservative Christians have settled for such an idea. Conservatives tend to think this happens by proclaiming the gospel so boldly that opposition to their preaching and public stance on cultural issues invites a disturbance. Liberal Christians fall into the same trap, believing that their political stance on various public and social issues disturbs those that oppose them so strongly.
	How the Spirit Disturbs the Disciples of Jesus, Part One (Part Six in a Series)
	November 30, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   I began this series on discipleship and imagination six weeks ago by saying that true discipleship is rooted in divine joy. But this joy will create a real disturbance when we encounter the living God. I showed last week that the Holy Spirit will sometimes bring chaos to the church in order to lead the church into the way where it can be used to renew the cosmos. Sometimes the church resists the Spirit’s ministry, thus we quench the flame of God among us. This is what Ephesians 4 is all about.
	Do Not Put the Spirit’s Flame Out (Part Five in a Series)
	November 23, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Catholic writer Anthony J. Gittins correctly speaks of the “relative disarray in which the Christian churches find themselves today” (Gittins, 22). I agree and think this very simple observation cannot be overstated. Nothing can trip up a football team quite like over-confidence. The same could be said about the general attitude of churches and their leaders. Over-confidence is leading us from one loss to another.
	A New/Old Understanding of Mission (Part Four in a Series)
	November 16, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   I grew up in a context where following Christ’s mission to the ends of the earth, what has been technically called missio ad gentes, was continually stressed. I believe in this mission to reach unreached peoples that I heard from meeting missionaries from all over the world. At one time I thought I would become such a career cross-cultural missionary. I often wish that I could have gone to some far flung place to preach Christ to people who had never heard of him. One of the greatest thrills of my life was two extended periods of time I spent in India in the 1980s when I had the joy of preaching Christ to thousands upon thousands of people, many of whom heard Christ’s good news for the first time, multitudes of whom entered his kingdom. I prayed over the sick, assisted in casting out demons and baptized many new converts. It was an amazing experience. If I could do that full-time I would be crazy not to do it. But God called me in a different way and to a different mission context.
	Discipleship and the Mission of Jesus (Part Three in a Series)
	November 9, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   The past two weeks I have reflected upon the call of Jesus to “follow” him in humble faith and obedience. I have defined discipleship in terms of call and commission. This is what we find in the narrative of the four Gospels. I would further suggest that the word Christian, a term so commonly misunderstood today, might actually have become a real hindrance to our living and sharing the faith in our modern post-Christendom context.
	Searching for Meaning as Christ’s Disciples Part 2
	November 2, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Millions of people have ceased being active followers of Jesus Christ in the last two decades. A British theologian has written that in two generations historical-geographical Christendom has collapsed. American Christians are only now discovering the implications of this collapse as most churches and denominations are experiencing significant decline. Until recently only the older, so-called mainline, groups were in decline. In 2008 a noticeable change began to surface as both the Roman Catholic Church and many of the evangelical churches experienced a net loss in membership and attendance. I expect this trend will continue unless we see a spiritual awakening of immense depth and power.
	The Real Challenge of Christian Discipleship
	October 26, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   The poet William Wordsworth wrote a poem in 1798 titled “Tintern Abbey.” Wordsworth was not a Christian; at least he was not in any normal sense of the term. From what I can tell he viewed nature as synonymous with divinity. But the ruins of a twelfth-century Cistercian Abbey prompted him to write “Tintern Abbey.” This poem still has the power to disturb those who hear it. I find its words a fitting place to begin a series of articles on imagination and Christian discipleship. Wordsworth wrote:
	My Vision and a Personal Appeal for ACT 3
	October 19, 2009 by John H. Armstrong and S. Michael Craven   The ministry of ACT 3 faces a great new opportunity in the months ahead. With the publication of my book in April, Your Church Is Too Small: Why Unity in Christ’s Mission Is Vital to the Future of the Church (Zondervan), we will enter an uncharted course of incredible missional opportunity. Let me explain.
	How the Filioque Impacts the Way We Live
	October 12, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   At various points in Christian history and doctrinal development Christians seem to have lost sight of the personal character of God as a fellowship of three divine persons. I believe this danger is quite obvious in our own day where we have exchanged a robust understanding of God for a popular misconception that speaks not of God as a Trinity of persons but more in terms of a philosophical construct. This danger, as we’ve already seen, is not new.
	Does One Word Really Impact the Doctrine of God?
	October 5, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Face it—the doctrine of the Trinity remains a great mystery. The late evangelical theologian Harold O.J. Brown wrote: “We may say that further efforts of Christian thinkers to deal with it do not advance significantly beyond the limits set by the theology of the Cappadocian Fathers [those Fathers of the church in Cappadocia in the latter part of the fourth century; e.g., Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus]. While the East was preoccupied with the Christological issues that arose out of the doctrine of consubtantiality of the Son with the Father [meaning the Father and Son have the same essential nature], in the West Augustine made a monumental but only partly successful effort to develop the theology of the Trinity” (Heresies, Harold O.J. Brown. New York: Doubleday, 1984, 154).
	The Filioque: Does the Debate Really Matter?
	September 28, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Most thoughtful Christians, who study classical Christian doctrine carefully, will soon realize that differing views of the Trinity have often troubled the church. Some of these differences are crucial to a solid confession of faith. Others are slightly less important. Many can and do make a real difference in faith and practice.
	Jesus, the Crucified, Reigns: Part Two
	September 21, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   In a moving essay on the subject of divine power and human evil, author Donald McCullough writes:   Jesus, the Crucified One, reigns as our suffering Lord. That means he understands and participates in our pain; his regal throne sits not in the clouds but in the middle of broken human life. Therefore we assert that the essential character of his power is not domination but suffering love. We need a revolution in our thinking. We may no longer think of power as control over something or someone; the Lord who freely takes our pain unto himself teaches us that authentic power reveals itself as power for self-sacrifice with and for others (“If Jesus Is Lord, Why Does It Hurt?” in The Reformed Journal, 35:7, 1985, 14).   It should now be very obvious that I completely concur with McCullough’s words. “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.” When I think of this almighty God as the sovereign God I remember that his reign is clearly centered in his suffering, sacrificial love, not in a naked power that flows from an impassible God of first cause.
	Jesus, the Crucified, Reigns: Part One
	September 14, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   For some weeks I have considered the perennially vexing question of God’s goodness and the presence of real evil in the world. We have placed this issue under the microscope of God’s revelation and looked at the probing questions that all thinking people ask who read the Word of God with any degree of care. We even looked at this question from the perspective of the Jewish response to the Holocaust, the representative problem of good and evil in the twentieth century.
	The Limitations of Our Ability to Speak of God
	September 7, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   The longer I have wrestled with the nature of God and the problem of evil, the more I am drawn to see a major part of a solidly biblical answer involves what is called apophatic theology. This word, apophatic, is new to most readers, I am sure, so before I explain the value of this theological concept let me define it as simply as possible.
	How Can One Believe in the Face of the Holocaust?
	August 31, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Classical Christianity affirms that God is truly good. This is why the unmitigated evil that we see in the world prompts us to seriously question if God is really all powerful. It seems utterly incomprehensible that God could be truly good and not stop the great evil that we see around us. But classical Christianity also affirms that God is almighty. These affirmations prompt the faithful to ask questions.
	God’s Nature and Character Revealed
	August 24, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   When it comes to understanding the problem of evil and God’s nature there is no more important text than that of Exodus 33:18–23. Here we encounter the very character and nature of God revealed to his servant Moses.
	The Lessons of Job
	August 17, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   We have seen that we can resolutely affirm the goodness and love of God and confess with the creed: “I believe in God the Father almighty!” When we affirm that God is the Father almighty we do so believing that he is the omnipotent sovereign who suffers, sacrifices and governs the world in powerless humility through the Lamb seated on a throne. This sovereign is non-violent and seemingly weak. He is not a potentate like the kings of earth, seated on a throne dispensing his will as arbitrary will so as to fulfill his monarchical purpose. He is the crucified and risen Lord who is King of kings and Lord of lords. With the Father and the Holy Spirit he deserves our praise. The enigmas and tragedies of human life baffle us but we rest in the God of love who “does no wrong, upright and just is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4b). This is the God of Abraham, a God who will judge all the earth and “do right” (Genesis 18:25b).
	Evil and the Triumph of God
	August 10, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Over the last four weeks I have looked at the problem of providence and the power of God. I have stated that there are three non-negotiable truths that Christians must affirm if we are to remain faithful to the witness of Scripture and the creedal tradition of the Christian church. First, God is almighty. Second, God is all-loving. Third, evil is utterly real.
	The Weakness of God Is Stronger Than Human Strength
	August 3, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   With the ecumenical creeds of the early Christian church I have strongly affirmed God’s almighty power in my three previous articles. I have also indicated that God’s almighty power is the “superior power of holy love.” This gives the Christian a “well-founded hope” without creating the problems of a sovereign power that causes (or delights in) death and evil. God’s redeeming power is thus “a gracious unwillingness to be almighty, without us and against us . . . so he has involved himself in a history with us” (The Christian Faith, 146).
	A New/Old Understanding of Divine Power
	July 27, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   In two previous articles I looked at the question of God’s providence and the problem of evil. Dr. I. John Hesselink suggested in the 1986 lecture that I previously cited that there are two approaches to reconciling God’s power, justice and love with the tragedies and mysteries of human life. Last week we considered the first, found in process theology. This thinking, popularized in the 1960s, eventually impacted some evangelicals who developed a perspective that is seen in different versions of the openness of God paradigm. Open theists share an affinity with process theologians since their view of the world is open by necessity. For open theists, this openness is an act of God’s freedom. We see this thinking in a small group of evangelical writers that have created a significant discussion.
	The Nature of Divine Power
	July 20, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I stated that no question has more often troubled Christian theology since the middle of the twentieth century than this: “How can an all-powerful God be a God of both love and justice?” This question takes us to the very nature of God and divine power.
	If Jesus is Lord Then Why Does Evil Increase?
	July 13, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   No question has more often troubled Christian theology in the twentieth century that this: “How can an all-powerful God be a God of love and justice?” In a world where evil often prevails how can we still believe in a sovereign, loving God?
	The Chosen Nation: What Should We Make of America’s Identity?
	July 6, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   For some weeks now I have looked at the role that the American jeremiad has played in shaping our national understanding. This rhetorical device, rooted in a particular understanding and lamentation over our past, has been powerful in shaping social and political movements in America. We have seen that it has been used by both liberals and conservatives.
	Is the Past the Model for the Future?
	June 29, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Over the last several weeks I have examined how the Christian Right (CR) has used the unique rhetorical form of the jeremiad to place itself at the center of partisan politics. I have not argued that the jeremiad, in and of itself, is wrong. It is a rhetorical device that helps us understand our past, present and future. This device has been used by liberals and conservatives, or progressives and traditionalists if you prefer a different way of stating it.
	How to Understand America’s Origins
	June 22, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   I hinted in a previous article that Abraham Lincoln embraced the American jeremiad but later came to refine his views about this subject considerably. Other thinkers and religious leaders, including many who were quite conservative and orthodox in their theology, have done the same since Lincoln’s time. Lincoln is, for me, a model of how we can hold a high view of providence while at the same time we refuse to read our understanding of God’s mind into acts of providence. It is healthy that we have a national awareness of God’s role in our public life, but it is not healthy to act as if we know precisely what he means through his actions in our present or historical past.
	Civil Religion and the “Christian Right”
	June 15, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   I can still recall, as vividly as if it was yesterday, when it dawned on me that conservative and fundamentalist Christian leaders were going to try to mobilize political power to change America. President Carter had been chosen, in 1976, because Americans wanted a reformer to clean up the mess of Watergate. He was also seen as a Washington outsider who was decent and “born again.” (This last phrase captured media interest through a number of sources, including an interview in which he discussed the sin of lust with Playboy magazine.)
	America's Civil Religion from the Civil War to Today
	June 8, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Last week we considered the influence civil religion had on America before and during the Civil War. What we saw in this era has continued to impact American civil religion down to the present, especially in the form of the jeremiad. We have heard a number of classic expressions of the American jeremiad from ministers during the last thirty years or so. Many of these jeremiads have made it into the mainstream and created quite a discussion, or one might say quite an adverse reaction. Here is one modern jeremiad, which is an illustration of many I could provide:
	America’s Civil Religion on the Eve of the Civil War
	June 1, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   I have defined and explained the American jeremiad, a form of national, cultural lamentation about our present moral situation that is deeply rooted in a very specific understanding of our past. This understanding is often couched in biblical terms like covenant, compact and “a city set on a hill.” Such jeremiads have done three things in the American context: (1) They have been used to identify problems that show our decline vis-à-vis the past; (2) They have been used to identify specific turning points, and; (3) They are calls for reform, repentance or renewal. We grow up on simple cultural narratives that join calls for political reform with specific particularities in America’s development. Sociologist Robert Bellah has argued that the American jeremiad is part and parcel of “civil religion.” We saw last week how civil religion is used by the Left and the Right to explain and motivate their views of social change. President Obama is the most recent example of this phenomenon, from the Left, while President George W. Bush also strongly employed the same method, from the Right.
	The Root and Fruit of American Civil Religion
	May 25, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   During America’s moral decline, spanning now over five-plus decades, a number of prescriptions have been offered. Most of these have been advocated by Christians. Since the mid-1970s the majority came from conservative Christians. These prescriptions grew out of what we’ve defined as the American jeremiad. The jeremiad is a lamentation, a form of complaint that heavily relies on an Old Testament form of rhetoric. Many social movements in America’s history have been heavily influenced by drawing a sharp contrast between a glorious past and a lamentable present.
	America: “A City on a Hill”
	May 18, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught his disciples (Matthew 5:1) what life would be like in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God, in the teaching of Jesus, is all-embracing, i.e., nothing in this life falls outside his authority. Those who are his disciples enter this kingdom by grace and obediently follow his way.
	America’s Moral Decline and the Role of the Jeremiad
	May 11, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   No Christian I know seriously doubts that America has declined morally. Evidence abounds inside and outside the church. What is to be questioned is the correct way to respond to this decline. Both evangelicals and progressives have commonly responded with political and religious rhetoric that draws heavily on a tradition that is almost universally misunderstood by Christians.
	How the Gospel of the Kingdom Produces Missional Apologetics, Part Five
	May 4, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   In this, my final article in this series on apologetics, I want to show you how the gospel of the kingdom creates Christian unity and how this unity establishes missional apologetics in actual practice. In our modern context, where postmodernism and post-Christendom are developing realities, I have argued that we need to reexamine the questions that non-Christians are actually asking about Christianity. And if apologetics is removing the roadblocks that keep people from the highway that leads them to saving faith in Christ then we need to develop new strategies for spiritual and intellectual rubbish removal.
	How the Gospel of the Kingdom Produces Missional Apologetics, Part Four
	April 27, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Theologian and apologist William Dyrness suggests that there are three main elements found in all true apologetics. Dyrness, who has mission experience in a non-Western context, understands clearly that the message of the kingdom of God is central to the apologist’s response. He also understands that there are historical and theological questions that must be engaged in serious apologetics.
	How the Gospel of the Kingdom Produces Missional Apologetics, Part Three
	April 20, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Some years ago a very popular song asked the probing, almost haunting, question: “Is that all there is?” This refrain still rings in my mind. (Music does have a way of super-gluing things in your memory!)
	How the Gospel of the Kingdom Produces Missional Apologetics, Part Two
	April 13, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   We saw last week that the loss of a proper emphasis upon the gospel of the kingdom has had major impact upon the church. It has radically altered how we do apologetics and present the gospel. This loss must be overcome if the church is to be renewed by the Spirit.
	How the Gospel of the Kingdom Produces Missional Apologetics, Part One
	April 6, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   The Bible is a book of truly big ideas. We often miss the really “big ideas” because we spend too much time on the lesser ones, often the ideas that we enjoy debating with other Christians. If we are to become missional apologists then this all has to change, sooner than later. I believe we must return to the one really big idea of the gospel of the kingdom.
	A World Marked By the Love of God
	March 30, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   If this is a world marked by the love of God (cf. John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9, 10) then observing and interpreting culture, and inviting wholehearted response to the God who loves the world, is always an appropriate goal for Christians. As I have attempted to show, this is where my apologetic originates.
	The Postmodern Turn: Is it Antithetical to Christian Faith?
	March 23, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   I have tried to show, in previous articles, why the present condition in which we present the story of Christ is very different from the cultural context in which I grew up in the 1950s and 60s. I have referred to this change as a shift from modernism to postmodernism or, if you prefer, hypermodernism. I have also shown why these labels are not that important. What is very important is our understanding of this new context for mission, an understanding that is quite vital for serious apologetics and faithful evangelism.
	Modern Apologetics: Learning to Paint
	March 16, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Each person is unique thus each conversation with another person is unique. This truth is rooted in both the doctrine of creation and the doctrine of God. And no two of us has had the exact same experience of life. We often make the mistake of misreading the Scriptures at this point and the result is harmful. A more careful reading of the text would disabuse us of several false views about apologetics.
	Doing Apologetics in the New Context
	March 9, 2009 by  John H. Armstrong   I have argued that the cultural context in which we do apologetics and evangelism has radically changed and will likely continue to change even more with each passing year. The regnant position of modernism has been eclipsed by a new social and cultural reality, a reality that we call postmodernism or hyper-modernism. Along with this cultural change the role of the church within the culture is changing every year. The goal is to always be the same: to make obedient disciples of Christ who are true worshipers. The evidence for the change I am writing about is overwhelming. But many are still unaware, blissfully or otherwise.
	Engaging in Missional Apologetics
	March 2, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   The writer of the letter to the Hebrews says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8). This means Christ is changeless. His nature will always remain the same, thus the reality of his person and work is eternal. This confession follows a verse in which the writer had spoken of the faith of faithful leaders who had taught the Christian faith to the Jewish readers of this epistle. The word “today” here is very likely a reference to the words of the eyewitnesses who observed Christ (cf. Hebrews 2:3). The Christ these eyewitnesses had seen was still the same Christ now that he had ascended into heaven and was seated on a throne. And that same Christ remains the same now, nearly 2,000-plus years later. This truth about the changeless and eternal Christ is not one for this age and then a different one for another age. What the eyewitnesses said about him at the beginning, and thus the witness they bore to him in the first century, remains unchanged in the twenty-first century. He is the absolutely supreme Lord over all!
	Are We Ready to Be Apologists in a Brave New World?
	February 23, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   We cannot ignore what is going on around us in the culture. All our lives are caught up in the massive religious and social changes that are coming at us at a speed that no one could have imagined only a few decades ago. We tend to feel as if life is changing so fast that we cannot grasp it all. “The good ole days” no longer exist and the future seems uncertain at best. Many are fearful and more than a little confused. Some retreat into escapist eschatologies and lifestyles that are geared to preserving their own families while everyone else goes to hell.
	The Postmodern Context and Apologetics
	February 16, 2009 by  John H. Armstrong   Christians have engaged in various types of apologetics down through the ages. The reason for this is rather simple—the questions that each age poses to the faith have required us to provide “a reason for the hope that we have within us.” Doing apologetics is actually as basic as being obedient to Christ. If we love God with all our “heart, mind, soul and strength” we can never afford the luxury of avoiding the questions and issues of our own time. The church must engage in mission and mission requires us to know and understand our own age. This will lead us to engage in apologetics as a critical part of our mission.
	Reason, Rationalism and Waterbuffalo Theology
	February 9, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Apologetics is not exactly a household concern among modern Christians. Generally speaking, those who know much about the subject at all are people who have a mathematical or philosophical bent of mind or they simply love to debate ideas with non-Christians. This propensity to take up apologetics as a form of intellectual combat does fit a particular mindset or temperament type that has hindered everyday Christians from seeing the importance of this subject.
	The Criticism of Pascal's Apologetics
	February 2, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Pascal's "wager," which I have advocated as a useful apologetical method for defending the ultimate reality of Christ and the truth, has been variously criticized by both Christian and non-Christian alike. There is much more to this debate than initially meets the eye. In order to show you some of "the much more" I will take up the "wager" one more time in this series on apologetics.
	Pascal's Wager: Not the Proof of God but the Way of Wisdom
	January 26, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   I ended last week's article by introducing and explaining the concept of Pascal's "wager.â€� Here is a summary of Pascal's very important point in his own words: Either God is or he is not. But to which view shall we be inclined? Reason cannot decide this question. Infinite chaos separates us. At the far end of this infinite distance a coin is being spun which will come down heads or tails. How will you wager? Reason cannot make you choose either, reason cannot prove either wrong. . . .
	Pascal: "The Wager" and the Modern Context
	January 19, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   We discovered, in two previous articles, that apologetics (the defense of the Christian faith) is both important and biblical. In fact, every Christian is an apologist, in one important sense, because we are called upon to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone . . .â€� (1 Peter 3:15). We have further discovered that apologetics rightly became a field of academic study in Christian thought early in Christian history. And it has continued to play an important role in disseminating the faith down through the ages. Whether the church has been required to answer skeptics, or the earnest questions of inquiring disciples, apologetics has served a
	The Reason for Apologetics
	January 12, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   Many Christians in America have grown so comfortable with their own language, culture and context that they are isolated from the people who live around them. This is why the arguments they often find satisfactory are inadequate for their neighbors.
	Be Prepared: The Necessity of Christian Apologetics
	January 5, 2009 by John H. Armstrong   The Boy Scouts have a well-known motto: “Be Prepared.” I think this motto should be emblazoned on the minds and hearts of Christians and churches everywhere. We are often unprepared for many of the important challenges that we face day-to-day. And the typical church is not doing a good job in helping us remedy this problem.
	A Year-End Appeal for ACT 3
	December 29, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   For the past seventeen years I have sent a letter to our donors and friends in the month of December asking them to prayerfully consider giving a special gift to ACT 3 before the year ends. This year I sent a recorded appeal on CD a few weeks ago. (Some of you no doubt received this appeal and if you did not we can send you one or you can hear it online.) Included on this CD was the sermon preached by Steve Brown at our seventeenth birthday celebration in September. My desire was to give those who are interested in this mission a better perspective on our current needs and financial challenges.
	The Four Classical Marks of the Church, Part 2
	December 22, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Some say the word catholic simply means universal. While this is true it is much less than the whole truth. As I've already noted some have changed the word in the creed to say, “I believe in one, holy Christian church.” This is not only weak but wrong. It is redundant since biblically there is no other church but the Christian church.
	The Four Classical Marks of the Church, Part 1
	December 15, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   When I first began to deeply reflect upon the words of the Apostles' and the Nicene Creeds1 I was brought face-to-face with a single word that troubled me: catholic. I now believe this one word is so important that it is difficult to remain faithful to Christian truth without it. For me this has become a word that is just too precious to give up. The reasons for the importance of this word lie in the way the early Christians used it and what was meant by it in the classical Christian tradition.
	Church Next: Christ at the Center
	December 8, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   The Christian church has been around for 2,000 years. What will the next 1,000 years look like if Christ doesn't bring the curtain down on this present age? This question engaged me recently as I pondered again the impressive work of Philip Jenkins. Jenkins has written a number of important books on the way the church is growing and changing around the world.1 Then I came across a brilliant article titled: “The Next 1,000 Years of Christianity.”2
	The Divided Church and Our Sense of Oneness
	December 1, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   We have seen how our Lord prayed for the unity of all his disciples. We have recognized that this is an incarnational reality that results in a relational/co-operational unity that existed between the Father and the Son during his earthly ministry. And we have seen that this unity is the basis for our unity with other Christians. We have also begun to see that this unity is inextricably bound with the success of Christ's mission in the world.
	Love is the Center
	November 24, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   As we previously saw the love of God is the greatest force in the entire universe because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). There has never been any serious disagreement in the Christian tradition over the centrality of this understanding of God's nature. The love of God is central to who God is and can best be seen in the unity of the divine life: “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). This unity was a unity of redemptive purpose (John 17:20–26) thus the love that God has for the world was demonstrated in the giving of his unique Son to save the world. In response to the love that God has for us our love is thus to go back to God: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). This can seem remote and sentimental unless we understand words like these: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Thus the whole of God's will is summarized in these words: We are to love God and our neighbors (Luke 10:27). And Jesus plainly said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). There is no dispute here between various Christian churches or people, or at least there shouldn't be.
	Our Greatest Apologetic
	November 17, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I teach apologetics formally. Apologetics is the “defense” of the Christian faith against anti-Christian ideas. The late Francis Schaeffer was a great evangelical apologist who once said that the greatest apologetic for evangelism was the oneness of Christians. He also said that our truest identifying mark is love, thus when we love one another the world will observe this love and hear our message. I tell all my students, “Schaeffer was right. Now what will we do with this challenge and how does this work?”
	Why Does It Matter If We Pursue Unity?
	November 10, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I have argued that relational unity is the central point of Jesus' prayer in John 17:20–23 But why is this so important? In the prayer Jesus plainly says that his mission hangs upon our becoming the corporate answer to his prayer. The mission of Christ is so closely linked with the church relationally that the world will not understand and experience God's love until we are “brought” to experience this unity.
	The Unity Jesus Actually Prays for in John 17
	November 3, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   We saw last week how badly some have misinterpreted John 17:20–23 in their attempts to make this prayer fit with the present realty of the divided church. Even many local congregations have used this kind of interpretive approach to justify their continual divisions and arguments. The question we need to ask now is what does this text really mean, positively?
	The Jesus Prayer for Christian Unity
	October 27, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   The prayer Jesus offers in John 17 is that he will be specifically glorified in his impending death and resurrection. He further prays for his immediate disciples who will be commissioned to carry on his work. His words to them are deeply moving. This prayer, if considered in a strictly biblical sense, is “The Lord's Prayer.” It is a prayer that only our Lord could offer to the Father, not one that we could ever pray as a model. And it is the longest and most sweeping recorded prayer Jesus ever prayed. But note carefully that Jesus doesn't pray for his immediate disciples only but for entire church; i.e., for all of those who will believe in him throughout all the ages to follow. He prays that all believers “may be one as we [Father and Son] are one.”
	How a Deeply Conservative Christian Discovered the Catholic Church
	October 13, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Seventeen years ago I completed a twenty-one year pastoral ministry and began the work of ACT 3 (formerly known as Reformation & Revival Ministries), a ministry of mission and renewal to the whole church. This new work has been my God-called ministry ever since. During the last two years of my pastoral experience I began to preach through the Gospel of John. I never finished the entire Fourth Gospel, to my consternation. But it has since seemed more significant to me that I finished my expositions of John with the words of Jesus in John 17:20-26.
	A Portrait of Christian Unity
	October 6, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Beginning around the middle of the first century the nascent Christian church found itself involved in open disunity. Paul's Corinthian letters in the New Testament bear ample witness to the truth of my statement. I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought (1 Corinthians 1:10).
	Questions & Answers: Part Three
	September 29, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   This is the last installment in a three-part series answering common questions addressed to me about the mission of ACT 3. These three articles provide me with a bridge to the subject of church unity which I will take up next week in a new ACT 3 Weekly series.
	Questions & Answers: Part Two
	September 22, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I began a three-part series answering common questions addressed to me about the mission of ACT 3. I am using these three articles as a bridge to the subject of church unity which I will take up next in the ACT 3 Weekly series. These forthcoming articles will share some of the work I have done in writing my forthcoming book: Your Church Is Too Small.
	Questions & Answers: Part One
	September 15, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I am asked a lot of questions in the course of my ministry. The next several weeks I will do a question and answer series that provides a response to some of the most commonly asked questions that I receive about ACT 3 and my ministry. Since I just completed a long summer series on the Trinity, and will soon launch a mini-series on the unity of the church, I would like to use the articles over the next few weeks as a bridge to the things that I will write for the ACT 3 Weekly in coming months
	Can We Recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in Our Mission?
	September 8, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   In this final article, in my extended summer series on the Trinity, I want to end where all good theology should always end—with the mission of Christ in this world. I am committed to making the missional mandate of Christ central to the renewal of the Church in the new millennium. I am convinced that no doctrine can more adequately help us restore the mission of Christ to its proper place than the doctrine of God and thus, in particular, the doctrine of the Trinity.
	Can We Recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in Our Experience? Part 6
	September 1, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   When we begin to consider the truth of the Trinity seriously we have questions about prayer as well as worship. How should the doctrine of the Trinity affect our experience of God in prayer? We turn to this question as we further consider what this vital truth means for the Church catholic.
	Can We Recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in Our Experience? Part 5
	August 25, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   We have considered how and why we should take the Trinity seriously over the months of this summer. In the last few weeks I have sought to show how we can recover the doctrine of the Trinity in our practical Christian experience. This is not a doctrine for scholars to debate but a truth that feeds and nourishes the soul of the Church and each believer personally. This has been my purpose—to show how this truth can and does feed the human soul at the deepest levels.
	Can We Recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in Our Experience? Part 4
	August 18, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Perhaps the most pressing personal question we face at the beginning of the new millennium is: “What does it mean to be a human person?” Scientists and social scientists work from every angle seeking to give Western people a reason to have meaning and purpose. I suggest the recovery of the doctrine of the Trinity, in our human consciousness and experience, is the only meaningful answer to our quest.
	Can We Recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in Our Experience? Part 3
	August 11, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Non-Christians often seek to understand the doctrine of the Trinity and find it totally incomprehensible. The famous American, Thomas Jefferson, was one such person. He called the Trinity “incomprehensible jargon.” The medieval Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, would have agreed with Jefferson, but he would have also said that which is “incomprehensible” is “not unintelligible.”
	Can We Recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in Our Experience? Part 2
	August 4, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Theologian Charles Lowry has called the doctrine of the Trinity “the most comprehensive and the most nearly all-inclusive formulation of the truth of Christianity” (“What Is the Doctrine of the Trinity,” in Millard J. Erickson, ed., The Living God, Vancouver: Regent College Reprint, 1973, 419). I believe the doctrine lies at the heart of the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and thus it is vital to the true mission of Christ's Church. I also believe that Karl Barth was correct when he said “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” is rightly the “Christian name” of God
	Can We Recover the Doctrine of the Trinity in Our Experience? Part 1
	July 28, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   In five previous articles we have surveyed the importance and development of the doctrine of the Trinity in the history of the Christian Church. I have maintained that modern Protestant Christians pay way too little attention to this central Christian truth. Whether it is out of sheer ignorance, or from a dismissive assumption that we already know this truth, it does not really matter if we are not committed to the confession of, and our personal and corporate experience of, the divine Trinity. Our preaching, prayer life, worship and music all reflect the virtual absence of Trinitarianism, in both our private lives and in our church practice. The results are serious. So how do we get this truth back and then begin to take it very seriously in our Christian experience?
	Rightly Recognizing God as Trinity, Part 4
	July 21, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   On a Sunday, during the era of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther entered his pulpit to preach on the doctrine of the Trinity and said: This article is so far above the power of the human mind to grasp, or the tongue to express, that God, as Father of his children, will pardon us when we stammer and lisp as best we can, if only our faith be pure and right (cited by Lloyd A. Arnett, Taking the Trinity Seriously (in the Anglican Agenda Series, published by Anglican Essentials, Milton, Ontario, Canada, 2007). No doctrine, as we have already seen, is more profound than that of the Trinity. And no doctrine is more important to the life and health of orthodox Christian faith and practice. Luther gets it right. The human mind cannot grasp it and the tongue cannot adequately express it. I had a professor who once said, “If you try to figure this doctrine out you will lose your mind, but it you deny it you will lose your soul.” Surely this is the article of faith, the article by which true Christians will stand or fall. Before we turn our attention, in several forthcoming ACT 3 Weekly articles, to the practical benefits of a robust doctrine of the Trinity I want to offer a final reflection upon the truth of the Trinity itself. We have looked at the East, and thus to the contributions of the Cappadocian Fathers. Now we look at Augustine and the West.
	Rightly Recognizing God as Trinity, Part 3
	July 14, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Too much of American Christianity has been reduced to slogans about Jesus that can be placed on bumper stickers and billboards. To some extent this is the result of marketing the Christian faith in popular culture. I am more concerned with the loss of the doctrine of God which is behind this marketing. We have a doctrine of God that is both distorted and undeveloped.
	Rightly Recognizing God as Trinity, Part 2
	July 7, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   By the early fourth century a number of the important issues surrounding the doctrine of the Trinity came into much clearer focus. A very popular leader by the name of Arius became a star in northern Egypt, at one of the most important centers of early Christianity. His claim was straightforward and clear. He believed that there was only one eternal, invisible God. As a consequence Arius argued that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was begotten from God, and thus created. The Son had a beginning before which he did not exist. In a letter to Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, Arius argued that the Son “was fully God, only-begotten, unchangeable” while at the same time he argued that “before he was begotten or created . . . he did not exist.”
	The President’s Report 2008
	June 30, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   This edition of the ACT 3 Weekly is different. Usually I write a biblical or theological commentary on some aspect of the Church's faith, life, or mission. This week I want to tell you about ACT 3. Who are we? What do we do and why do we do it? What are my dreams and hopes for the future of this unique mission?
	Rightly Recognizing God as Trinity, Part 1
	June 23, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   In the full flush of the overwhelming joy of the resurrection of Jesus, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the earliest Christians were profoundly constrained to come to grips with the question: “Who is God?” A passage like 1 John 1:1–7 made it clear to them that they had seen the living and true God in Jesus Christ. Here divine revelation (“that which was from the beginning . . . the Word of life”) was linked with human sensory perception (“heard, seen, looked at, touched”), thus revealing that the apostolic witness was to a person who had two natures, one divine and the other human.
	The Proper Basis for True Christian Faith
	June 16, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   True Christian faith is distinctly rooted in the settled conviction that the one, unique God is revealed to us as triune, existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The word triune points to the historic but mysterious Christian belief that God is revealed, and known, as both three and one. No truth has prompted more debate, more scandal and more misunderstanding. And no truth is more important to the renewal of Christian faith in our time.
	Recovering Real Wisdom in an Age Gone Mad
	June 9, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   James M. Houston writes: “The reality of Christ as Creator-Redeemer makes little or no sense to our society because the world is no longer seen as creation” (I Believe in the Creator, 148). The structure of Western life is built on the Creator/creature distinction, a distinction that allows us to understand that we are vice-regents made in the image of God, the designer. But we have rejected the roots of the West, the very roots which nourished art, music, literature and freedom for centuries. The result is that our age has gone mad, that is, “wildly disordered or insane”.
	Learning to Live Wisely
	June 2, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Can there be any serious question that ours is an age preoccupied with technology? We want to know, almost more than anything else its seems, “What works?” Thus we no longer marvel at the question: “What is wise?” Or, “How do we get real wisdom in the first place?” We marvel at our newest gadgets like iPods and iPhones, while we pass by the holy and the divine with little or no abiding interest. This way of living so permeates our culture that we rarely see how much it is a routine part of our daily lives. But it is there with us, influencing all we do and say, night and day. Simply put, we have come to value our technicians, not our sages. And this spirit has captured the Church in a deep way, making it crave techne much more than pneuma, the Spirit's power. Is there a solution?
	The Dangers Inherent in Getting Divine Providence Wrong
	May 26, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   We began, a few weeks ago, to consider the way in which divine providence can provide a gentle and powerful reminder in this election year that the nation is in God's hands. This confidence can embolden Christians to live righteous and godly lives in times when terrorism and fear grip many of us. We then looked at the definition of the doctrine of providence and how theologians have constructed this definition over the last twenty centuries. Finally, I would like to show some of the dangers that are inherent in getting this truth “by the wrong end of the stick.
	Constructing a Theology of Divine Providence
	May 19, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   At times well-intentioned Christians treat theology as if it were an exact and precise science through which they can construct a logical and humanly reasonable system of thought. They then conclude that this reasonable system parallels God's revelation in virtually perfect ways. This is not only an abuse of the task of good theology but it leads to human pride, in both theologians and those who embrace this type of theology. Individuals find a “system” they can believe and then rely upon the logical proofs and arguments related to this system to make the case that their system is tantamount to God's Word. This has been particularly true with regard to how the Church has tried to understand and confess the doctrine of divine providence.
	The Providence of God
	May 12, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I tried to show how we can face the future without fear because the Word of God plainly says: “Heaven rules” (Daniel 4:26). This whole subject is what we call, in theological language, the doctrine of providence. My spiritual life is deeply rooted in this doctrine and has been for as long as I can remember. But the longer I ponder it the deeper it takes me and the more facets I see in the truth.
	24: Some Reflections on Heaven's Rule Prompted by a Television Series
	May 5, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I have previously written that I went through the first five seasons of the Fox television series 24 last year. I actually did it rather quickly, which is a sure sign of addiction at some level. (I dare you to sit and watch one or two episodes of 24 and not watch another and then another if you have the time to do it.) Anyone who watches the show will confess to a certain level of "addiction" once you get started. I was forewarned, but now so are you. It is a combination of (bits of) reality and (a lot of) fantasy that makes for gripping drama and an emotional thrill ride.
	Equipping Lives for the Ministry of the Gospel, Part 3
	April 28, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   In the past two ACT 3 Weekly articles I laid out several of the points I shared with a seminary class in Florida in March. I was asked to contribute from my own experience to the preparation of these students in a divinity school setting. In this third and final installment of my three-part series, I add these further points that I made to the seminary class in Florida.
	Equipping Lives for the Ministry of the Gospel, Part 2
	April 21, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I began a mini-series on the life of the minister of the gospel based upon my teaching at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando in March of this year. I gave four points from my presentation. This week I begin with the fourth point and expand it and then go on to three more points.
	Equipping Lives for the Ministry of the Gospel, Part 1
	April 14, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I am often afforded the unique opportunity of teaching future ministers in a seminary setting. I was given such an invitation recently, by my good friend Steve Brown. I thus spent several hours in a class at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando in mid-March talking to future ministers. To prepare for this class I jotted down some thoughts and then spoke out of the experience of my own life from these simple notes on a hotel scrap. I then thought that I should write out some of what I spoke that morning and thereby share it now more widely. I make no claim to being profound in these insights. I do think there are some practical things here that might be helpful to many readers, whether you are in the ministry or not.
	Positive Affirmations Are Genuinely Powerful
	April 7, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I would never have thought, even ten years ago, that I would write an article praising the idea of positive affirmations in the Christian life. Let me explain before I proceed to my argument.
	The Church as Many and One
	March 31, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   As you read the book of Acts and then the New Testament Epistles, it becomes increasingly apparent that the early church took shape and form beyond what we read in the teaching of Jesus and in Acts 1 and 2. For example, the latter chapters of Acts and the letters clearly present a growing organizational pattern that included leaders and members.
	What Constitutes a True Church? - Part 2
	March 24, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I previously addressed the question: “What constitutes a true church?” (ACT 3 Weekly, 3/17). I traced the development of ekklesia (church or congregation) from the Old Testament through the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels and into the first chapter of the Book of Acts. I pick up my answer in this second article by looking at the second chapter of the Book of Acts. What we concluded before was simple, but profoundly important. The idea of ekklesia was not a novel creation that Jesus dropped on people out of nowhere. Nor did Jesus' disciples introduce into history, after the resurrection, the idea of a church for the first time. Israel was clearly God's ekklesia, as the LXX demonstrates (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures). No one who related to God in faith, under the old covenant, would ever think of relating to him outside the community of Israel. (This does not mean that no one else could have been saved since it appears quite clear that the Ninevites were saved and never became a part of Israel. There are other illustrations provided in the Bible.) But my central point stands—salvation meant inclusion in the community. The Church was not, and still is not, unimportant or secondary.
	What Constitutes a True Church? - Part 1
	March 17, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   It is important that we establish the essential elements of what constitutes a true church. Calvin said there were three marks of a true church: (1) A right preaching of the gospel; (2) A right administration of the sacraments, and; (3) Discipline. I have suggested elsewhere that mission is also a mark of a true church and a friend has said the fifth mark should be commitment to the poor. I suppose such a list could be shrunken or expanded based on how we read the Scriptures and tradition both.
	The Transfiguration
	March 10, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   During this season of Lent some Christian traditions focus on the account of what we commonly call “The Transfiguration.” This event is recorded for us in all three synoptic Gospels: Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–8 and Luke 9:28–36. So many Christians know this story so well that they have ceased to wonder at the mystery of this strange event.
	Sexuality and the Lord’s Supper: Part Two
	March 3, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Christianity should have a strikingly different view of sexuality than other non-Christian religions or philosophies for one primary reason—we cherish creation, and thus believe sexuality is fundamental to our humanity as creatures made in God's image. Christians believe, if they are orthodox, that the human body is good. The body is central to all other Christian teaching. God creates our bodies and then draws us to himself in the human flesh and blood of the man, Christ Jesus.
	Sexuality and the Lord’s Supper: Part One
	February 25, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   The linking of the two terms in my title seems rather shocking at first glance. What does sex have to do with Communion? How can any Christian theologian connect the two this closely? Well, the fact is this—this is exactly what theologians have done for centuries, and for very good reason. My defense for this connection comes from none other than the apostle Paul himself. In 1 Corinthians Paul moves from the subject of sexuality to that of union with Christ in the Eucharist and then back again. Thus this connection has always been rather deeply rooted in the best of Christian tradition. It is we moderns who have broken this link, especially in the last three centuries, and thereby we have destroyed sexuality as Eucharistic.
	Why Lent?
	February 18, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   My own spiritual tradition never mentioned the season of Lent. My first recollection of Lent was, therefore, quite negative. I remember Catholics getting ashes on their forehead on a Wednesday (there weren't many Catholics where I grew up in the 1950s) and I thought in my simple mind that these very confused people were just showing their piety off in public. My second thought, formed a few years later, was that Lent was a time to abstain from something you enjoyed (ice cream, chocolate, hamburgers, etc.) so that you could help add something to your good works in the hope that you would get into heaven when you died. Even when I entered the ministry, and remained a pastor for twenty years, I never thought about participating in Lent. It was, put simply, foreign territory for my spiritual life.
	Fundamentalism and the Renewal of the Church
	February 11, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   What is fundamentalism? We hear the word used routinely in the wider culture today. From the news media to the pulpit the term is used to describe various people and groups, ranging from Muslims to Christians. Scholar Bruce Lawrence says fundamentalism can be defined as “a twentieth-century phenomenon, with ‘historical antecedents, but no ideological precursors.”' I find this observation extremely useful since fundamentalists generally claim to uphold the orthodoxy of the past, believing it has been eroded by the compromises of modernism and contemporary thought. In point of fact, fundamentalists have often used “modernism” as the one word description of all that is wrong in the Church. (The irony, as some of you know, is that fundamentalism relies heavily on a modernistic philosophical foundation to make its central points, proving to be captive to modernism in a different form.) Since fundamentalists generally look at the world from a reactionary perspective they eventually developed their own set of traditionalist forms to express their theology. These forms often become crucial to theological and ecclesiastical debate.
	The Difference Wisdom Makes
	February 4, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I have tried to show over the course of two previous articles to demonstrate that what we most need, right now, is divine wisdom. I have shown what that wisdom is and how it is to be related to Christ who is “the wisdom of God” for us. By our union with Christ, and through the ministry of the Advocate he has given to live in us, we are to become like the one who astounded and amazed people. We are to reflect the manner in which he spoke and lived, and thus demonstrate that we have authority from God.
	Finding True Wisdom
	January 28, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   I previously cited Richard Rohr's question, in the book Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go (Crossroad Publishing: New York, 1991), about how he asked himself at the commencement of a new year: “What is the most important thing for Christians (in the West) for the future?” Rohr says he seriously considered that the answer was love. After further contemplation he chose wisdom. I proceeded to demonstrate why I agreed with Rohr by defining biblical wisdom and then by showing how we moderns have plainly lost it and don't know it.
	What We Really Need Is Wisdom
	January 21, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest, is a noted author and retreat leader. He is also the founder and director of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On several occasions I have had friends suggest to me that some of my thoughts have the ring of Richard Rohr about them. The truth is that I had never read Rohr when these comments were made. I decided that I should read Richard Rohr since I kept hearing about him from people I highly regarded who commended his contemplative insights and commitment to Christian simplicity.
	Coming to the Eucharist as God’s Gift
	January 14, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   In November, a book that I had edited and done extensive writing for myself was finally released. That book, Understanding Four Views of the Lord's Supper (Zondervan), forced me to think a great deal over the past eighteen months about the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist. The book clearly brought me into fresh contact with the views of serious Christians like Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics and Reformed Christians. The more I studied the subject, and reflected upon my own experience of the Lord's Supper over five plus decades as a communicant Christian, the more I came to ask a simple, practical, question: “How do I get more out of the celebration of this meal when I come to it as a Christian?”
	The Faith of Epiphany
	January 7, 2008 by John H. Armstrong   Yesterday marked the ancient Christian practice of celebrating the epiphany. Different Christian traditions have varying practices (liturgies) and thus there are several ways in which they remember this ancient Christian tradition. The simple historical fact is that the celebration of epiphany predates the celebration of December 25th as the birthday of Jesus. Epiphany always falls twelve days after the Christmas date. Epiphany was originally associated in the East with the baptism of Jesus and eventually, in the West, with the nativity. It also ranked with Easter and Pentecost as the one of the three central feasts of the Church. But none of these feasts, or their specific dates, is given to us by Scripture, which in itself is not an argument pro or con for the celebration of such an event by the Church.
	The New Political Year Ahead
	December 31, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I often tell friends that I am a political junkie. I love politics. I first got interested in 1956, at the age of seven, when I wore an “I Like Ike” button. By 1960 I was engaging in debates with school kids about Nixon vs. Kennedy. By 1964 I was involved at an emotional level that had me hooked. I thought I knew my future. Study government, go to law school, run for office, become the governor. I loved the whole process. I even kept signed pictures of political leaders, from both parties, as a hobby. By college I chose to major in history, with an emphasis on American political history, and minor in political science. Only the Lord's calling to “preach the gospel” changed all of this dramatically. But I still enjoy politics, just in a different way. This is one reason I write so much about the subject on my blog spot: www.johnharmstrong.com.
	Christmas as a Christian Holy Day: Why Secularists Have Successfully Attacked It
	December 24, 2007 by P. Andrew Sandlin   What is the origin of the Christmas holiday (Holy Day)? Jesus' birthday is obviously not observed in the Bible, so when did this observation start, and why?1
	Let No Doubt Stand in Your Way
	December 17, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Doubt is common to Christians, indeed to all people. But most of us fear our doubts, even equating them with unbelief. I have thought a lot about this during Advent as I studied the gospel text, Matthew 11:2–11, set aside in the lectionary for the third Sunday of Advent this year. I was invited to preach in a Lutheran Church and the congregation follows the lectionary. The readings for this third Sunday (December 16) were: Psalm 146, Isaiah 35 and Matthew 11:2–11. There is an appropriate connection here since a great deal of what is being said in Isaiah links very clearly to this gospel reading itself.
	Is the Church Sleeping Through the Death of Christendom?
	December 10, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The German film Good Bye Lenin, a charming and witty comedy that works very well, is a 2003 production that won a number of prestigious awards, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for best foreign language film and the Academy Award in the same category. It won nine German film awards and six European. It's a truly delightful film that will make you laugh out loud and then ponder its story with a large degree of amazement at the same time. In the end it is simply a wonderful and humorous family story which makes a great point about reality and how we all try to deal with change. The point the film makes is one that I think is extremely valuable for Christian leaders more than ever. Are we passing through a time of upheaval in our culture that will force change on Christian churches whether they ultimately want it or not?
	On Walking Through the Valley: Reflections on the Recent Death of My Mother
	December 3, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Many of you already know that my mother passed into the presence of Christ on November 19, 2007, just two days before her ninety-second birthday. You also know that I was afforded a unique opportunity to arrive at her bedside a few days before she died and to be present at the precise moment she took her last breath on this earth. For all who followed this journey with me in prayer over recent weeks I say, from the depths of my heart: “Thank You.” You will never know, nor will I, how much this meant in God's plan and purpose. I believe in a prayer hearing and prayer-answering God who loves his children and who grants them great mercies because of intercessory prayer. You have given to me and I want to give, in this short piece, something back to you.
	Humility: One of the Greatest Rarities of Our Time, Part 2
	November 26, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The great doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, is admired by all Christians who bother to read his life and work carefully. You may disagree with him, as I do, but you cannot ignore him unless you intend to refuse to listen to one of Christianity's greatest voices for truth.
	Humility: One of the Greatest Rarities of Our Time, Part 1
	November 19, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   In Dante's Divine Comedy there is a graphic picture of the burden of the whole human race. Characters are walking about with great weights bearing down mercilessly upon them, bending them low with the crippling and unbearable burden of pride. If you are a Christian living in North America you must surely agree that the church is in continual need of being reminded that pride is a major part of our present spiritual condition. The Puritan, John Flavel, understood our modern problem centuries ago and thus said: "To see a man humble under prosperity is one of the greatest rarities in the world."
	I Believe in One Church
	November 12, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I believe in ecumenism. I really do. This confession makes many conservative Christians uncomfortable. It even tends to raise their level of distrust in me personally when I confess this belief with such open passion. The reason that I believe in ecumenism is rather simple—I believe it is the will of our Father in heaven based upon the prayer of our Lord in John 17. Here is what our Lord prayed:
	What Does it Mean to Bear the Cross? Part 2
	November 5, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). In the first part of this two-part article we considered the need for the church to rethink the role and place of suffering in the West. We considered the message of the cross and our call to co-suffer with Christ, a message almost never heard in the pulpits of our time. I suggested that the voice of the martyrs, past and presents, was desperately needed again.
	What Does it Mean to Bear the Cross? Part 1
	October 29, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). Every Christian has been called to live life under the cross. There are no exceptions. But what exactly does this mean in the West where a fading Christian consensus, and the lingering impact of Christendom, still allows us to live freely with little serious opposition to our daily choices and lifestyles? We still preach from the Scriptures, invite people to embrace the good news, and even get involved in public issues, especially in opposing what we do not like. And we do all of this with little or no threat to our personal safety.
	Keeping Christ Primary: Still the Church’s Greatest Task
	October 22, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   "Primary: earliest, original, of the first rank, of first importance, chief." So reads the entry in the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1976). What, I ask you, is the church's primary task? Not what are the many good things the church should be doing, since there are a number of good answers to this question. But rather, what is really of first importance in the life of the church? How should leaders in your church think about doing the primary thing, that which is truly of first importance?
	The Ultimate Gift: A Delightful Movie
	October 15, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The film, The Ultimate Gift, is based upon a hugely successful novel (it sold in excess of three million copies) of the same name (River Oaks, 2000), written by Jim Stovall. I confess that I have not read the novel. I have seen the film, which came out on DVD in September. Only twice have I devoted an entire article to a film (The Apostle and The End of the Spear), but this film was so completely charming and genuinely valuable that I have to recommend it as widely as possible.
	Learning to Do Theology as a Tapestry
	October 8, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Doing theology is a continual faith process that the Church has pursued throughout the ages. The Church must pursue this work in the twenty-first century as well. This work of doing theology feeds the Church. It also protects it from heresies and foolish mistakes. Further, it helps to keep the streams of pure water clean and challenges all who believe to practice their Christian faith faithfully. This is why J. I. Packer referred to his work as a theologian, some years ago, as that of a faithful "plumber."
	Weeping in the Desert
	October 1, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   In this third, and final, look at how Christians live in the desert, I want to stress at the outset that the perfection we seek (Matthew 5:48) is entirely different from the success that we generally think of as moderns. Biblical perfection is most definitely not worldly success. Nor is it something that we achieve or a self-idealization of my own personal likeness to God. We all instinctively know these things but we make all kinds of personal deals within ourselves that cover this up and make us look like we are making it by our good efforts. The perfection that we seek comes only as a divine gift, not as a human achievement. We long for wholeness, for true integrity. I suggest that the desert experience is where we discover and complete it, always by grace and never without a limp here and a bump in the road there.
	Believers Dying in the Desert
	September 24, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Previously I tried to demonstrate how the ancient tradition of the desert fathers impacted the way Christians sought to preserve personal godliness while living in a perplexing time. This desert experience became a paradigm over the centuries and is one that I believe can still serve the recovery of spiritual formation in our own fast-paced complex era. The desert way of understanding the life of faith arose, you may recall, at a time in Church history when the lines between the Church and the "principalities and powers" were becoming much too blurred. They are again very blurred thus Christians need to understand how to live wholly (thus holy) lives in ancient/future ways. I believe our present forms of pietism have failed us, thus some of these older forms are making a comeback for very good reason.
	Believers Living in the Desert
	September 17, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The longer I attempt to live in Christ the more I discover that many things that I thought were so clear need to be continually challenged. This is disturbing. It is disturbing for me and sometimes disturbing for others since I am a teacher and writer. I find that people want their security blankets left intact and people like me refuse to do that. They want their religious teachers to comfort them, not trouble them.
	How Reductionism Impacts Evangelism
	September 10, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Last week I wrote about the problem of reductionism. I argued that reduction itself is a necessary part of our being human, thus it does not necessarily need to be a problem for faithfulness to the message and work of Christ. But it can easily become a problem precisely because of our sinful human desire to control the message and all things associated with it. This leads to what Nietzsche called "the will to power." We may reject much of what the radical anti-Christian philosopher had to write, but in this case he is more often right than wrong. We have a deep desire to control and to make sure the outcomes are what we want them to be.
	Lost in Translation
	September 3, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   "Lost in Translation" is a superb movie, starring Bill Murray in a basically non-comedic role. It recently got me to thinking about how the gospel is communicated across various social, linguistic and religious barriers. In the film Murray plays the role of an American movie star, sent to Tokyo to film a commercial, who gets "lost" in the culture of Japan for several weeks. He is unable to grasp most of what is going on around him, not knowing the language or the ways of Japan. In the process, he constantly seeks to understand both himself and the world that he experiences around him far away from home.
	What Kind of Teaching Makes True Disciples?
	August 27, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   When you read the Gospels you soon discover that various phrases and ideas occur again and again. This is not an accident. We are meant to pay attention to these things. The frequency of some words shouts to us if we are not totally dull.
	Protestant Church Splits and the Ongoing Homosexual Debate
	August 20, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Supporters of gay clergy are impatient and want changes right now. They believe that traditionalists are too slow in responding to their appeals for justice and mercy. They do not intend to stop short of making as many changes as quickly as possible in every ecclesiastical setting that will hear them out and accept their views. Last week the goal of the gay advocates was to change the present policy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at its annual meeting in Chicago. By the time you read this article a decision will have been made. I find this whole debate deeply troubling and quite revealing of where we are in North America in terms of the power and real impact of the gospel.
	Equipping Church Leadership for an Emerging Generation
	August 13, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Over the past ten years or so I have become increasingly convinced that our traditional models of education are simply not adequate for equipping the kinds of pastors and teachers that we need in the Church in the coming decades. I still believe in higher education. Most people rightly expect their leaders to possess a good solid education. I further believe that we must love God with our mind and our heart both, thus those who lead the Church should be as thoroughly equipped as possible, both spiritually and intellectually. I would not argue that in every single case a pastor/church planter must have a seminary degree to be a faithful leader. I would argue that in most cases, at least in North America, it is still the preferred course to follow if one is to be adequately prepared to teach the church and explain the whole of Christian theology well. Men and women who are called to lead should prepare their entire being for the serious work of pastoral care, preaching, teaching, evangelism and counseling. As important as local church experience is, and it is hugely important, seminaries can still help us prepare leaders in ways that the local church simply cannot do alone.
	The Mission of ACT 3
	August 6, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I have discovered that even my best friends cannot read my mind. This means that it is imperative that I make our needs clearly known to each person who appreciates this mission and benefits from its work. I want you, our readers and friends, to understand our hope and vision for the future, as well as the specific needs that we have for your present financial support.
	The Central Importance of the Reign of God and the Difference It Makes, Part 2
	July 30, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I have tried to show, through four previous articles, that we need to better understand the big picture of the Jesus story much better if we are to really get at the question of what Jesus was doing in his life and ministry. What was his purpose? And, finally, how does this purpose relate to us who are his disciples twenty centuries later? I have argued that his central purpose is clearly revealed in the Gospels—namely to bring about the reign of God in the world and thus to call sinners to himself and the chesed of his Father.
	The Central Importance of the Reign of God and the Difference It Makes, Part 1
	July 23, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   We have considered, in three previous articles, the question of what Jesus was really doing in his earthly life. Put simply: What was his mission? And how did the parables he told inform his followers with proper understanding of his present and future ministry in this world? Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent book, Jesus of Nazareth, offers comment on the point I made in my previous articles by suggesting that "we have good grounds for interpreting all the parables as hidden and multilayered invitations to faith in Jesus as ‘the Kingdom of God in person'" (Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth. New York: Doubleday, 2007, 188).
	The Reign of God and the Parables of Jesus: Getting the Story Right, Part 2
	July 16, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   We have previously (July 2 and 9) seen that Jesus came to establish God's reign in this world through his life, death and resurrection. He teaches us this important truth in the Gospels, especially in the stories of the Gospels that we call the parables. We will look a little further into this truth as our story continues to unfold.
	The Reign of God and the Parables of Jesus: Getting the Story Right, Part 1
	July 9, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   In the first installment of this series of articles (which was published on July 2) we saw that the central question posed by the ministry of Jesus had to do with the reign of God. Jesus came to make that which was wrong right, to bring the victory of Yahweh. He began a redemptive process, through his death and resurrection, which will culminate in the final manifestation of his kingdom at the end of this age. We are living in the already part of this kingdom. The not yet, or the final expansion and expression of that kingdom, is still to come. This should fuel optimism in an age of Western moral confusion and growing pessimism. The story is not over. The final chapter will yet be written and it will be glorious when it is.
	What Was Jesus Doing?
	July 2, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The central question posed by the ministry of Jesus, at least as it is revealed to us in the four Gospels, has intrigued me for most of my Christian life. Put simply: What was Jesus' purpose? What, to put this in even more clearly biblical terms, was his mission?
	The Cause and Cure of Poverty
	June 25, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   What causes poverty? The question presently plagues many serious Christian thinkers and leaders. The answers vary but the proposed solutions are the stuff of our political campaigns every four years. We can already hear the discussion from the various candidates for the presidency in 2008, both Republican and Democrat. One candidate, John Edwards, actually wants to make poverty a major issue in the next election, maybe as important as the Iraq War. He openly presents his version of a solution and thus makes it a major part of his stump speech these days.
	The "Real" Christian Debate Continues, Part Two
	June 18, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Recently, considerable debate has raged in the public square about the question: "Who is a ‘real' Christian?" This matter was recently brought to the fore by the comments of Dr. James Dobson about Fred Thompson's faith, or lack of faith as he put it. I believe this debate offers us a real opportunity to do some serious thinking about how we define who is, or is not, a "real" Christian.
	The "Real" Christian Debate Continues, Part One
	June 11, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The May 21 forum section in the national newspaper USA Today, written by U. S. News & World Report senior editor Dan Gilgoff, provided some fascinating material for a serious conversation among America's evangelicals. The question is basic: What does it mean to be a "real" Christian? Or, put another way, How do we know who is or is not a "rea"l Christian? Dan Gilgoff, the same writer who interviewed James Dobson when he suggested that Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee Senator, was not a Christian, also wrote the May 21 article. You may recall that Dr. Dobson, at the time of the earlier interview, said frankly: "I don't think he's a Christian, at least that's my impression." At that time I questioned on my blog site whether individuals like James Dobson should be the people who stir serious conversation in the wider culture about who is, and who is not, a real Christian. (I am told that Dr. Dobson has further clarified his statements and believed that he was misunderstood, all of which is quite possible.) This newest discussion interests me far more than the previous one because it pushes the discussion a step further and leads to my own reflections on this question.
	The Life and Legacy of Jerry Falwell: R.I.P.
	June 4, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   For over thirty years the name of Jerry Falwell (1933–2007) had been associated with both a movement and a media personality that became known to millions of Americans. It was not so in the early days of his ministry. Falwell was first, and foremost, an evangelist. His goal was to bring people to faith in Christ. In any critique this must be remembered and honored for what it was and for what he actually did to reach many people with the good news.
	When Leaders Differ
	May 28, 2007 by E. Glenn Wagner   Since the early days of my ministry I have witnessed the way in which God's leaders respond and react to differences of opinion and perception. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I've even participated in a few of these "discussions." They seem to start out OK with a particular topic in mind but end up like a shouting match between Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Riveria. (I wanted to use as my example the Jerry Springer show, but thought I should control myself.) But I've got to admit, my reaction flipping through the channels has often been, "Where do they find these people?" When I "flip" through "the church" I often find myself asking the same question.
	Beyond the Gates of Splendor: The Meaning of Biblical Faith
	May 21, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   My closest friends know that the book, Through Gates of Splendor, deeply shaped my life as a twelve-year old boy in Tennessee. The story of the five martyrs who died in the jungle of Ecuador in 1956 was a testimony to me of courage, faith and deep Christian love. For some days this story caught America's attention in 1956 and deeply stirred the prayers of millions. For me, it eventually was used by God to compel me to think of sacrificing my own life for the cause of Christ and his kingdom. This sense of divine destiny would, in time, lead me to transfer from the University of Alabama to Wheaton College as a mid-year sophomore in January of 1969. The rest is history, so far as my own life has gone. Within twenty miles of Wheaton I have learned and grown in God's grace since 1969. Here I experienced a student revival, met and married my dear wife of thirty-six years, reared my family and have given my children in marriage. Here I planted one church and served another for sixteen years, until 1992. And here, reaching out to minister to other ministers and leaders, I began and developed my present ministry for more than fifteen years. As much as I have sometimes wanted to live somewhere else, God has kept me here. I expect, unless the Lord has some unusual plans for me, that I will complete my earthly journey here and then be buried here. This is my home.
	Why Christians Ought to Make a Difference in the Marketplace
	May 14, 2007 by David L. Bahnsen   I have heard it said in my life on more than one occasion that God sent his Son to save souls. Indeed, for evangelicals, that is certainly true. However, for the professing believer who talks of a deep concern for individual souls my question and answer will either be a gigantic disappointment or it may be a true experience of edification. While all Christian men and women ought to be interested in the salvation of individual souls—God is truly in the redemption business—I contend that, as Leslie Newbigin masterfully argues in his gem of a book, Foolishness to the Greeks, the souls of individuals have been spiritually ravaged as a result of our complete surrender of the key institutions and spheres within our society. Newbigin wrote this a generation ago in reference to the inexplicable surrender of modern science and advanced analytical philosophy to secular humanists. His argument actually simple—in a short-term effort to prioritize souls over spheres and people over institutions, we actually lost both. My belief is that where Newbigin was astutely right decades ago, today's sphere of surrender from the covenant community of God has actually taken place in the marketplace of our day.
	An Evening with Francis Cardinal George in Chicago
	May 7, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   "I am Francis, your neighbor." With these words Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, began his ministry in the great city by the lake on May 7, 1997. Last Monday evening (April 30), the special tenth anniversary celebration week for Cardinal George began at the Parish Center of Holy Name Cathedral. I was a specially invited guest and thus had the opportunity to meet Cardinal George for the first time.
	E. Stanley Jones and the Question of Authority Reconsidered
	April 30, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Eli Stanley Jones (1884-1973), born in Maryland, was converted to Christianity at the age of seventeen. He studied law and worked in a Baltimore courthouse law library as a young man. He attempted to become a preacher and was a dismal failure. He quit and walked away from the sense he had that God was calling him to the gospel ministry.
	Understanding and Confessing the Reformed Faith in Our Time
	April 23, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I am a Christian. That is the most basic thing one could say about who I am and how I live my life. But I am also a Reformed and evangelical Christian. I have been an evangelical Christian since my childhood. Growing up a Baptist, I made a profession of faith at age six. I was baptized by immersion at the age of seven. This was the only form of Christianity that I knew until college. I remained a died-in-the-wool Southern Baptist until I came to Wheaton College in 1969, as a transfer student from the University of Alabama. At Wheaton I began to meet Christians, very serious and thoughtful Christians, from many, many different traditions. This puzzled me at the time. I had no category for what I was experiencing. Much of my life followed suit until around age fifty.
	Explaining Some of Our Historical Changes in Method and Ministry
	April 9, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Now and then I get letters from longtime friends who care deeply about me and ACT 3. Some of these letters are from people who have been involved in this ministry for more than a decade. (We began in 1991 as Reformation & Revival Ministries.) These folks have observed our changes and developments over the past sixteen years. They very often have excellent questions for me, questions that I need to answer as honestly as possible. I received one such letter a few days ago and decided to make my response to this personal letter into an ACT 3 Weekly article. By this means, many who have come to this ministry later in our historical development can see how I respond to good and fair-minded questions.
	Why Being an Evangelical Catholic Matters
	April 2, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I do not expect every Roman Catholic to agree with me in how I am making a case for using the term evangelical in conjunction with Roman Catholicism. I am convinced, however, that the use is not only appropriate but quite desirable. I believe renewal is really taking place around the world, and in many different Christian settings, and I further believe that what drives this renewal movement is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is restoring the centrality of Jesus to the church's life and faith and giving us back a great confidence in the good news of the gospel. This, at its core, is what the term evangelical really means and why it can be a useful term for expressing this new kind of ecumenism.
	What Is an Evangelical Roman Catholic?
	March 26, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Many conservative evangelicals would consider the question this article poses as the pursuit of fool's gold. There simply cannot be such a thing as an "evangelical Roman Catholic." The two are mutually exclusive, at least in theory. No true Catholic can be a true evangelical and no true evangelical, could ever become a true Roman Catholic. I would have numbered myself among those who believe this way about ten to fifteen years ago. I have changed my thinking, and this has caused considerable interest and opposition. I want to explain, in a rather succinct way, why I believe that there are evangelicals who are Roman Catholics and why I think this question matters. I can still hope more and more evangelicals will agree with me.
	Partisan Political Engagement in the Church
	March 19, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I grew up in the South. I also grew up during the Jim Crow era. I asked a lot of questions and made a lot of white folks very angry when I did. I hated the "separate but equal" hypocrisy and I was never, in my heart of hearts, sympathetic with the illogic of racism as I knew it. As a teen I was called into the senior pastor's office and told to stop spreading racial unrest among the youth of the church. I was threatened and reprimanded by an angry and imposing authority figure. I learned there were deep feelings about race in Memphis and I had better be careful.
	A Soul Friend and My Journey to Catholicity
	March 12, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The writer of Ecclesiastes puts it simply: "Two are better than one" (4:9). He states that this is true because two "have a good return for their labor" and "if they fall down, they can help each other up." But, the ancient writer also says, "pity those who fall and have no one to help them up" (10). And he concludes: "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves."
	Preaching and Hearing Good Sermons
	March 5, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   When the Lord Jesus appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, he commissioned him with a clear divine revelation. Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 16:16-18).
	"Whatever Happened to Good Sermons?"
	February 26, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   The state of preaching in America seems anemic, at least if the evidence I've seen over the past fifteen years is any indication of the actual reality. The "spirit of the times" has impacted the pulpit in both negative and positive ways, but I think the negative outweighs the positive in most instances. Let's explore this a bit more fully.
	“True Evangelical Theology Should Be Modest Theology”
	February 19, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   I have been making an argument, over the past three weeks, that the place to begin our journey with Christ, and the place to go back to again and again in order to continue our journey, is humble faith in Christ. I have also argued that faith must always begin with a proper object. Only when faith is in Christ does it make a difference. I concluded the last article by noting that such faith is a living, active trust that should rightly be called "the obedience of faith." In this final article, we shall see that a proper theological procedure will always lead us to a truly humble and modest evangelical theology, a theology that is solus Christus, centered in Christ alone.
	"True Faith: Absolute Dependence"
	February 12, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   We have previously seen that faith is the basis for our coming to know Christ. This same faith, not some heroic or special faith, is the same basis for our growing into maturity in the Christian life (cf. Colossians 2:6-7). We have further seen that faith does not seek to "prove" Christianity through human logic. Nor does it try to establish faith in a human theological system, as an unshakable foundation, that gives us certitude that we know the truth without any room for mistake. We further saw that faith is both a human decision and a divine gift. The Bible calls upon each of us to believe, not to ask someone to believe in our place. It also reminds us that we who now trust Christ were at one time "dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world . . ." (Ephesians 2:1-2). But "because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions . . ." (Ephesians 2:4-5).
	“The Place of Faith in Knowing God”
	February 5, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   It may seem patently self-evident that faith must be primary in knowing God. But nothing seems more frequently and easily missed, especially by those who profess the greatest loyalty to Christ theologically! Protestants will often argue about the nature of faith alone in order to keep out all human works, or merit, in salvation. This is generally done in fierce opposition to Rome's teaching, because of the long debates about justification. The phrase sola fide becomes a kind of rallying cry for the faithful as if saying the words makes you faithful to the gospel. This is an argument that I have great sympathy for since I am persuaded that nothing I bring to God contributes a meritorious thing to my salvation. Catholics have responded to this sola fide argument by saying that real faith is always active. Thus any notion of “faith alone” that separates faith from love and active Christian obedience is not real faith at all. For Catholics, sola fide sounds like bare faith with no love and no action. I can also find biblical support for this argument in places like Hebrews 11. The Scripture puts this very simply: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
	“We Must Always Begin at the Beginning”
	January 29, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Christianity is not theology. Christianity is Christ. This distinction is vital, but quite often missed. Indeed the failure to grasp it can be destructive to true faith. But few conservative Christians, especially if they love theology, bother to wrestle with this adequately, assuming that a grasp of "right beliefs" equals living and active faith.
	“Flip-flopping: When Is It OK to Change Your Mind?”
	January 22, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   A popular modern phrase, used most often in politics, is "flip-flopping." To be perceived as a "flip-flopper" is to be seen as weak and lacking in deep convictions. I am not sure who created this much-used phrase. but the Republicans used it very successfully against John Kerry in the last presidential election. Somehow the word conjures up a sense of opportunism, of outright compromise, or moral spinelessness.
	Christ’s Mission Compels Us to Reform
	January 15, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Christianity is not the same as ecclesiasticism. Christianity is centered upon Jesus Christ, as he is presented to us in the foundational document of Christianity, the Bible. Ecclesiasticism is centered in the church—its development, dogma and practice. Make no mistake about it, we cannot have Christianity without the church, at least in one vital sense, but the church is reformable and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Christ does not change, thus the Christian gospel never changes. But the church must change if it is to be truly faithful to both Christ and Scripture.
	New Evidence and New Hope for Treating a Chronic Illness
	January 8, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   Many readers and friends know that I have struggled with a chronic illness, variously labeled and treated, since 1998. That illness is now officially called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). At one point during this eight-plus-year process I got significantly better, during 2005. However, in February of 2006 I descended back into the darkness and trials of this strange malady. I still struggle mightily with it to the present moment. (I shared a bit about this process and how I was seeking to listen to my physician, and the Lord's speaking to me through him, in the ACT 3 Weekly article "Learning to Live with Chronic Illness: A Journey in Faith," May 22, 2006.)
	“Single Mothers and America’s Future”
	January 1, 2007 by John H. Armstrong   No single social trend threatens the future of millions of Americans more than single motherhood. Every indicator imaginable suggests that this is the case. But few will admit that this problem is really all that great. And those who do admit it, and dare to talk about it, fear that they will be labeled as intolerant and judgmental. It is time for this to change.
	"Joy to the World! The Lord Has Come"
	December 25, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   My favorite Christmas carol, beyond any doubt, is the well-known Isaac Watts hymn, "Joy to the World." In many ways this Advent hymn is not a Christmas song if you look at it carefully. But its place in the canon of Christian music rightly suggests that we should put it right in the middle of our celebration of the birth of Christ.
	“Financing Our Vision”
	December 18, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Twice each year I personally ask the friends of ACT 3 to support this mission financially. I have not always found this request an easy one to make. I frankly admit that there is something about asking for money that works against my nature. I have learned, however, that people generally will not be inclined to give unless you ask them to do so, and then tell them specifically of the need for which you have asked them to give. Since ACT 3 is a donor-supported non-profit ministry we do need your help very much thus I am asking you to prayerfully consider a gift to this mission during the month of December. I want to tell you very specifically why I need your help, especially during the closing weeks of 2006.
	“Two Career Marriages”
	December 11, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   A genuinely thorny pastoral issue that often arose in the course of my counseling was the question of two-career marriages. What should a couple do if the wife wanted/needed to work outside the home when children were present, especially when the children were young? Because I served suburban churches (from 1972-1992) some of my congregants needed to be two-income families just to survive. Others did not but made a choice to pursue two careers anyway. The scenario always varies from place to place. In urban and poorer communities the need for two incomes is so great that there is little choice but to have both husband and wife fully employed at all times. The choice is never an easy one and always filled with real pressures no matter which way you decide to go.
	What Kind of Fruit Does Your Church Produce?
	December 4, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The apostle Paul urged the Christians in Galatia, and therefore us, to “live by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). He also urged them and us to be “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18). And this way of living is clearly contrasted with “the works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19). And, by way of even further contrast, we are all to grow in producing “the fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). I have been thinking about how this section of Paul's letter relates to the local church, particularly to how we do church.
	Understanding Grace and Rewards Biblically
	November 27, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I recently received a letter asking me about God's judgment and rewards in heaven. Since I pondered this subject for several days, I thought it would be a positive use of my response to my friend's letter to share my answer more widely. What follows is edited for this use but provides something of my reflection on a frequently misunderstood biblical subject.
	Lift High the Cross of Christ
	November 20, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   For the Christian no symbol is more universally precious than the cross. Whether East or West—Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant—the cross is perhaps the one common symbol that we all agree on. We do not worship the cross as an object of affection or veneration but we all treasure what it represents, believing that it is remains a powerful symbol for those who follow Christ in apostolic faith. The reason for this is really quite simple—Christians have always believed that this ancient torture stake represents the crucifixion, thus the death and atoning sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. For us, as orthodox Christians, the cross is at the very center of our faith.
	The Sad Fall of Ted Haggard: The Stain That Stays
	November 13, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Some years ago I wrote an article for Christianity Today, with co-author R. Kent Hughes, on the problem of sexually fallen ministers in the modern church. We were later told that this piece was one of the top-five articles for reader response that year. We were not surprised. This problem will not go away. The events of this last two weeks prove our point again.
	The New Evangelical Role in the Public Square, Part 2
	November 6, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   In my previous article, Part One, I showed how a conservative political and social movement has evolved over the past fifty years in America and how the evangelical church began to get involved in this movement. This movement led to what has been commonly called the “Christian Right.” This abused, and misused word, is now used to disparage almost everything conservatives attempt to do in the larger culture. The result of this political debate over the past thirty years has been an increased partisanship in America that threatens to derail the church both missionally and culturally. As a result we seem to have reduced the public witness of the church to support for the Republican Party, or at least to a set of a few talking point issues, in some cases. It is time to take a new look at all this and ask, “How do we engage the public square in a more effective way?”
	The New Evangelical Role in the Public Square, Part 1
	October 30, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The role of evangelicals in the public square has been a major development in American life over the past twenty-five or thirty years. A recent spate of popular books has looked at this phenomenon very critically. The number of books from the political and religious left, arguing against the rise of the newer evangelical right, makes for a full shelf of books by now. Most of these popular and poorly written books sound like dire warnings about a coming religious takeover of the country. (Do not fear, blue state America is still pretty strong and this feared religious change is about as likely as a snow storm in Chicago on July 4th!)
	How the Gay Marriage Agenda Can Still Succeed
	October 23, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The gay marriage agenda appears to have been seriously slowed down by recent developments, though very recent polls show some conservatives are losing interest as the fall election approaches. The overwhelming majority of states have already adopted measures opposing gay marriage. And the large majority of Americans, well over 60%, still do not want gay marriage made legal.
	Why Some Christians Love Conspiracy Theories
	October 16, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   A few months ago I read an intriguing editorial in the Wall Street Journal that got me to thinking about what I have seen in the church over the course of my lifetime. The editorial addressed a story about a University of Wisconsin lecturer, Kevin Barrett, who believes that the U. S. government actually staged the September 11 terrorist attacks. The response, when the story became public, came in two forms: 1) Fire him! 2) Is this guy nuts or what?
	Why I Believe in Renewing Mainline Churches, Part 5
	October 9, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   In this final installment in the series I have written about renewing mainline churches I want to show you why division ought never to be sought as a goal in renewing churches and why recovering our missional identity is the real key to church renewal.
	Why I Believe in Renewing Mainline Churches, Part 4
	October 2, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I have been considering, over the past three weeks, why mainline churches should not be abandoned by those who love Christ and remain interested in promoting the gospel of grace in their midst. In this fourth installment about renewal in mainline churches I want to show you how evangelicals, who are most often the people most eager for renewal in the church, have some serious dangers to overcome in this context.
	Why I Believe in Renewing Mainline Churches, Part 3
	September 25, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   If we would love and renew the whole Christian church we need a new, but actually very old, paradigm. We need a paradigm of love and hope that will carry our human efforts for Christ's people, for his church. I believe this starts with a right view of church history and of historic theology. I also believe it is carried along by a deep love for people, especially people we do not have the tendency to love or regard as highly as we ought.
	Why I Believe in Renewing Mainline Churches, Part 2
	September 18, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   In my previous ACT 3 Weekly article I told a little of my own story about how I came to embrace the doctrine and practice of catholicity with regard to the church and why I believe the effort to renew the mainline is a correct choice for serious Christians who find themselves in these churches.
	Why I Believe in Renewing Mainline Churches, Part 1
	September 11, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I grew up a Southern Baptist boy, in a godly Christ-centered home, in a small town in middle Tennessee. I experienced a real conversion to conscious faith as a six year-old-boy on February 10, 1956. I was baptized, by immersion later that year, at age seven-and-a-half. The only Christianity that I knew firsthand was what I saw lived in my pious home, in my very denominationally-based First Baptist Church and in my small southern town where Methodists and Presbyterians were about the only other variety of Christians I knew. Terms like “globalization” and “the worldwide church” had little or no meaning at the time.
	“The Mystical Element in True Faith”
	September 4, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Several months ago I wrote an article, “Evangelical or Mystic, or Evangelical Mystic?” (June 12, 2006). In that article I looked at the relationship between mysticism and evangelicalism. I continue to think about this subject almost daily. Perhaps this is because I have lived long enough to witness various excesses in the church which I have either encountered in strands of teaching, or personally experienced by means of trying to live my out my Christian calling for over fifty years.
	My Journey and Our Financial Need
	August 28, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The New Testament records Jesus saying, in two different contexts, that “you cannot serve God and wealth” (Luke 16:13; Matthew 6:24). Last week I noticed that immediately following this statement in Luke 16 comes a contextual marker, which serves as a clear transition to the teaching that follows in Luke's Gospel: “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him” (Luke 16:14). What struck me as I read again these previous verses, which contain Jesus' direct teaching about the danger of wealth, is that Jesus' sayings about money and wealth directly offended conservative religious leaders. Somehow, if the church got this matter right I am quite convinced many would be again be offended by such teaching. This has to be one of those places were we have tamed Jesus' insights so profoundly that we no longer “have ears to hear.”
	The Problem of Evangelical Tribalism
	August 21, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field, God's building (1 Corinthians 3:5–9). I was asked several years ago, on the spur of the moment, “What is the greatest problem in the American evangelical church today?” My answer was, and still is: Tribalism.
	The Problem with Labels
	August 14, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Terms like “liberal” and “conservative” increasingly have little meaning to my way of thinking. Don't get me wrong, I have strong opinions about many things and I distrust people who will not be honest about what they believe and why they believe it. And I believe that consistent theological liberalism, of a certain sort, ends up denying the gospel of Christ. But I have discovered a few revealing things about human nature and the myriad of ways that we express theological/social disagreements. Furthermore, many of the modern views that I actually encounter in the mainline churches are neither liberal nor conservative, at least in the older sense of these terms. This has forced me to listen to what a person is actually saying and then respond carefully to what I disagree with. And all of this must be done without employing a convenient label that ends all discussion and future relationship.
	The Modern Prayer Movement
	August 7, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Several of my friends are deeply involved in the international prayer movement. I have deep respect for these friends and for this movement. It is clearly one part, and maybe the most important part, of my growing hope that we will see a full-scale revival and cultural renewal in North America. One of my very good friends, Phil Miglioratti, directs the work of the National Pastors Prayer Network (www.nppn.org), as well as other prayer ministries. Phil and I converse now and then and clearly share many similar convictions about the church and the place and ministry of prayer. Rather than curse the darkness Phil lights real candles that assist churches and leaders to actually pray. Phil’s articles and writings have appeared in a number of places and can be found by using the Web site above. I heartily commend Phil’s ministry and encourage you to utilize it yourself. You may also consider inviting Phil to help you in your efforts to teach and practice prayer in your congregation or city.
	Confessing the Faith Faithfully in a Time of Confusion
	July 31, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   In 1967 the Presbyterian Church, which was then the northern branch of what is now the union of both the northern and southern branches of mainline Presbyterianism into the Presbyterian Church USA, drafted and approved a new confession of faith. This particular document, called The Confession of 1967, created some controversy at the time of its adoption. Most Presbyterians eventually went along with the new confession, thus it became a new mainstream statement of faith for the church. Whether or not this document was a good one has been a point of controversy among historians, theologians, ministers and lay people ever since. On the surface it seems to have been within the parameters of orthodoxy, thus it was generally applauded. But some doubts have persisted over the years. A look back is worth consideration in our present time of theological and ecclesial confusion.
	“Why Same-Sex Marriage Still Fails”
	July 24, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   On Thursday, July 6, the New York Court of Appeals ruled against same-sex marriage, demonstrating again why both the people and the courts of the United States are still unwilling to redefine marriage. The Georgia Supreme Court also issued a decision the same day, ruling unanimously that same-sex marriage has no equal protection under the law. The 4-2New York decision left the Massachusetts appellate court as the sole defender of the “right” to same-sex marriage. And efforts are underway, even in Massachusetts, to reverse this decision in a forthcoming 2008 referendum. Four other states have court cases pending-California, Connecticut, Maryland and Iowa. New Jersey has a particularly intriguing case that may offer the same-sex marriage advocates their best hope of all, given the history of that state’s progressive interpretation of the law.
	“A Great Lesson in Character”
	July 17, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Most everyone in America knows by now that Enron founder Kenneth Lay died from a heart attack, on Wednesday, July 5. Most are also aware that Ken Lay was an active Christian layman who regularly spoke about his personal faith. Earlier this year Ken Lay was convicted of ten counts of conspiracy as well as fraud and lying to banks. He will, at least for a time, be powerfully connected to one of the most amazing business frauds in U. S. history. His name provoked all types of response over the past few years, ranging from pity and defense to spite and hatred. Within hours of his death the blogosphere was full of these various responses, some even suggesting he had not died and that this story was part of a grand conspiracy to flee the country before his sentencing came this fall. I do not pretend to know the full story of Ken Lay, but I have given a great deal of thought to his story. Even if I did know his full story, and even his motives, it would not be my place to render final judgment. However, I do find his life a very sad irony and one that has several immensely important lessons for all Christians who think about the subject of money, fame and power.
	“Few Things Reveal the Condition of Your Heart Like Money”
	July 10, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I am convinced that none of us, especially living in the modern West, will ever be deeply spiritual until we truly learn how to use our money for the kingdom of Christ. I was reminded of this last week after some meditative reading in the thought of the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta. As I read her thoughts about money I was reminded that it was this little woman who spoke so powerfully and courageously to the President of the United States in front of a national audience in the 1990s. She didn’t cower, seek approval from the powerful or bargain for special favors. I can still vividly remember how she very simply spoke the truth about human life and the unborn, thus representing Jesus and his kingdom with real grace and conviction. The press was dumbfounded by it all precisely because such actions speak so powerfully.
	“The Role of Miracles in Ancient Christianity”
	July 3, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The miraculous made a comeback during the past century. We really shouldn’t be surprised at this development, since from the time of the Enlightenment and the rise of modern scientism, miracles became passé. Science ruled and faith was ridiculed. Even the definition of a miracle shifted during the last two centuries. As a result we now use the word “miracle” either sparingly or incorrectly, at least in terms of the Christian tradition.
	“The Place of Patrology in Church Renewal”
	June 26, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Even the word sounds foreign to us-patrology. “What on earth is patrology?” you ask. Well, it is the science or study of the life, writings and doctrines of the orthodox writers of the earliest Christian centuries. Generally patrology includes the period of the first eight centuries of the Christian church. It includes the early post-apostolic writings, the eras of intense persecution, the time of Constantine and Theodosius, and ends around the time of Charlemagne’s death. Patrology includes the writers from both the Latin (West) and Greek (East), thus the writing from this period is generally respected by the whole of Christianity.
	“Popular Misuses of the Reformation Idea of Sola Scriptura”
	June 19, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Perhaps no doctrinal emphasis in Protestantism is more commonly misused and misunderstood in our time than the idea of sola scriptura. This constant misuse is rooted in several major fallacies. The harm done by this misuse is very often tragic, leading to prideful falls on the part of individuals and many completely unnecessary church splits.
	“Evangelical or Mystic, or Evangelical Mystic?”
	June 12, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   There is a widespread and growing interest in mysticism in our time. This is especially evident among younger Christians who hunger for something beyond rational categories of faith. But the word mysticism is notoriously difficult to explain since definitions vary from one writer to the next, both in the ancient world and the modern. The most fruitful line of approach is to examine mystical experiences for common patterns.
	“God Opposes the Proud”
	June 5, 2006 by S. Michael Craven   Several times during the course of the year I like to introduce readers to a new writer and their excellent work. I look for thinkers who edify readers and serve the cause of Christ and his church faithfully. I have chosen to do that this week by sending you this excellent article by my very good friend Michael Craven. Michael’s excellent work can be found at www.battlefortruth.org. I encourage you to read his material and support his fine ministry.
	“God’s Calling and Our Daily Work”
	May 29, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Before the Protestant Reformation, Christian vocation, in everyday contexts, was understood and experienced in one of two ways. Each person was assigned to a particular station in life. It was commonly argued on the basis of Scripture (1 Corinthians 7:20) and tradition. This was why a person was assigned to the task of being a feudal lord or serf. The other way to experience one’s calling in life was to be called directly by God to a religious order, either priestly or monastic. It was commonly assumed that this calling put the person on a path that led to a closer relationship with God. The medieval church made so much of this religious calling that it became a “higher” vocation.
	Learning to Live with Chronic Illness: A Journey in Faith
	May 22, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Many of you have prayed for me over a number of years. As a result you know that I began to struggle with an immune disorder called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). When the symptoms first began I simply felt unusually tired. Then I felt more than simply tired, being overwhelmed most days with a fatigue that kept me from having energy to do the smallest tasks. Before long muscle pain, headaches, nerve damage and sleeplessness were added to the cluster of physical problems. By God’s grace I found a physician in Chicago who knew how to diagnose and treat my illness with compassion and a whole health approach. My CFS lasted until 2005, when by September of last year my physician and I agreed I could be labeled as “well.” To say that I was filled with praise and profound hope would be an overstatement. But the good health did not last very long. By early 2006 the CFS had returned, this time adding new problems to the previous ones. It would appear that a surgery on my foot, combined with several colds and a busy travel and personal schedule all conspired to set me back and the result was a new round of CFS. I would be less than honest if I did not admit that this trial has also impacted my emotional and spiritual well-being.
	Learning How to Share a Vision and Finance a Mission
	May 15, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Most of what I learned about donor-based mission was learned by watching negative examples over twenty years in pastoral ministry. Simply put, I did not like the way many ministries and individuals were reduced, by various strands of bad teaching and practice, to “peddlers of God’s Word” (2 Corinthians 2:17).
	Leaning into Some Questions, Losing Some of My Answers
	May 8, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I previously described (May 1 ACT 3 Weekly) how I have slowly moved away from my separatist and sectarian neo-Puritanism over the last twenty years. My movement has not been without profound struggles. Most of these struggles have not been within me, for there I have thrived and grown as I leaned into an assurance of faith that is still deeply rooted in Christ alone. No, my struggles have been with misunderstanding and misrepresentation in the minds of confused people who have heard all kinds of stories about me and my beliefs. Simply put, the passionate zeal of others to correct me (in their public utterances) has had an effect. This concern is probably driven by a desire to protect the church from error. But what it produces is half-truths and distortions that allow virtually anyone to tell me in print, or to tell others in public, where I have gone bad in my theology and faith.
	Leaning into Some Questions, Losing Some of My Answers
	May 1, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Some tensions within the Christian community will simply not go away. All the good will that we can muster will not change this, at least in our lifetime. It seems to be the nature of the situation historically. America is a religiously diverse nation. Protestantism has had the greatest impact upon this development. Here, in America, we have created more new churches than anywhere else. One reason for this is that within Protestantism we have encouraged questions, many questions. In some ways this was what the Reformation was all about. And in our best contexts we still encourage lots of questions, except in our more fundamentalist Protestant settings. (Some conservatives have a hard time with what I would term a collective fear, believing that certain questions should not be asked and discussed. This response seems to grow out of the old modernist/fundamentalist debate which divided us so deeply nearly a hundred years ago!)
	“What Are You Trying to Prove? On Learning to Know Myself”
	April 24, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The ancient philosopher said it well: “Know thyself.” The Scriptures, in various ways, echo the same emphasis. Each of us needs to know God and ourselves. The better we know both, the better we all will live. John Calvin, in the opening paragraph of his classic book, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, states that these two forms of knowing are intimately connected: “True and substantial wisdom principally consists of two parts, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves.” Calvin later writes, again in The Institutes, that “Spiritual wisdom . . . consists chiefly in three things-to know God, his paternal favor towards us, on which depends our salvation, and the method of regulating our lives according to the rule of law.”
	“Abraham Kuyper and Transformission Christianity”
	April 17, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I spoke on Friday, April 7, in Costa Mesa, California, to a banquet that was designed to encourage and support Christians who believe that the marketplace is a proper place to use one’s gifts and calling to serve the living God. This event was part of the ministry of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Newport Beach, California (www.redeemerpres.com). The basic premise of the ministry is that those who are called to the marketplace do not work there merely to “earn a living” to support their family and local church, but that they work in the marketplace “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
	“Learning to Listen to the Voice of God”
	April 10, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Christians have always believed that God spoke, or revealed himself, in various ways. Of course they have always understood that God speaks to them through the study and preaching of the Bible. “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). But Christians have also believed that God speaks to them, and reveals the love of Christ again and again, in the sacraments, e.g., both baptism and the eucharist. Though there are numerous ways by which these two sacraments have been understood within the Christian tradition, one thing remains central-God speaks through both word and sacrament. The sectarian disputes about the exact meaning of the sacraments have sadly been a tool the enemy has used time and time again to keep multitudes from entering into the fullness of the Christ-given revelation to those who receive these signs as the real actions of God’s self-revealing grace.
	“A Prayer for the PCA with Hope That It Will Thrive in the Next Generation”
	April 3, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I love the people and the vision of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). These people are some of the finest and choicest believers in North America. They have a great vision for church planting, for overseas missions, and for college and university ministry that is second to none. Some of the finest supporters of ACT 3 are members of PCA churches and some of our best supporting congregations are PCA churches. Over the course of this year I will speak in more PCA churches than in any other churches of any other denomination in America. I will speak in PCA churches in every region of the US and in PCA churches of every size and form. I will also speak on seminary campuses where the dominant influence is PCA.  And my association with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) groups on college campuses allows me to meet some of the best and brightest Christian collegians I know. I will further be asked to counsel and pray with many dear friends who are elders in the PCA. Simply put, the PCA is a major part of my life even though I am not a PCA minister. I love the heart and soul of the PCA very deeply.
	We Are Relational Beings Who Must Love and Be Loved
	March 27, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   It should go without saying, you would think, but we must remind ourselves of this inherent and essential truth every day-we are relational beings and as such we need love. Made in the image of God, each of us was made for God, and for one another. This truth is profoundly rooted in the very nature of God as a triune relational being.
	“On Hearing John R. Stott”
	March 20, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Everyone has mentors, good ones and bad ones. I have written about several of my best mentors in recent months. Parents, teachers and pastors have mentored me in profound ways. A few of my mentors, at least informally, have been people that I have only known via a handshake or brief introduction. Such has been the case with John R. Stott, a man who has profoundly shaped my view of the gospel, the church and the world.
	“Did Namoi Wolf Really See Jesus?”
	March 13, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The Glasgow Sunday Herald (Scotland) reports, in a February 2006 edition, that Jewish feminist author Naomi Wolf recently felt herself overwhelmed by the presence of a divine being that she concluded was Jesus. Wolf says this presence “wasn’t this crazy theological thing.” She reports: “It was just this figure who was the most perfected human being-full of light and love. It was complete joy and happiness and there were tears running down my face.”
	Is There a New Evangelical Orthodoxy?
	March 6, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Debates about orthodoxy have become more commonplace in recent years. In my childhood I almost never heard the term. We were Baptists and thus we believed the Bible. What difference did orthodoxy really make for us since orthodoxy was what our beliefs were and our beliefs were right.
	Reflections on Late Mid-Life
	February 27, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I turn fifty-seven this week. I am not quite sure why this is called mid-life to be truthful. You figure the math. I have lived, most likely, two-thirds or more of my life. Even if you count only adult life years I have lived thirty-six of them, which puts me well beyond mid-life by my old-fashioned math. At best this is really late mid-life as I see it. But this doesn’t trouble me at all. I have already been blessed with much more in life than I deserve and whatever time I have before I fall at the feet of Jesus, lost in wonder, love and praise, is a precious gift. To live is a blessing, but to die will be gain. I have believed that since I was a boy and see no reason to stop believing it at this stage.
	The Greatest Gift My Mother Gave to Me
	February 20, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Some of you know that my mother turned ninety last November. That in itself is a rather remarkable thing, though it is becoming more and more common in recent decades. But then my mother is a rather all-around remarkable woman when I think about her life. I want you to know why.
	A Lesson from Burkina Faso for American Evangelicals
	February 13, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I am an adjunct professor of evangelism at Wheaton College Graduate School. Because of this role I am allowed to teach two or three courses each academic year and this year has allowed me the great privilege of teaching students from all over the world. I sometimes feel as if I am paid to learn from my students. They are bright, eager and very passionate for the gospel of the kingdom. Why else would someone take a master’s degree in evangelism if they were not?
	"Art, Culture and Missional Evangelization"
	February 6, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   The nation’s culture war struggles have once again reached into movie theaters across America. The success of the increasingly popular movie, Brokeback Mountain, a love story that involves two cowboys involved in a homosexual relationship situated in 1963 and beyond, has put the issue of same-sex relationship (and marriage) on the front burner in a hugely emotive way. And just last week Brokeback Mountain was nominated, to no one’s surprise, for the Academy Award’s best picture. I would not be surprised if the Hollywood moguls give it the award, and probably many more. All of this will be done with great fanfare and more cultural discussion will surely follow. (This does sell tickets for heaven’s sake!)
	“The End of the Spear, or How Evil Worked for Great Good”
	January 30, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Whatever you do, and wherever you live, do your best to see the newly released film, End of the Spear. Forget what the movie critics, and secular pundits, say about this movie. They miss the story (in most cases) completely and choose to focus on the obvious technical weaknesses of the film. (There are a few, like the repetitious musical background with its poor attempt to create a sense of the savage ways of the Waodani tribe and the use of the same scenes again and again without creative originality.)
	“The Importance of the Great Tradition for Renewing the Church”
	January 23, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   My last two ACT 3 Weekly articles have demonstrated the importance that tradition plays in renewing the church and in recovering vital Christianity in the modern age. Many evangelicals question this emphasis, believing that the relationship between Scripture and tradition is irretrievably confused. They honestly wonder if there is any positive connection between post-apostolic Christianity and the modern church. In this final installment I want to show why there is a connection and define what I mean by “The Great Tradition.” In the process I hope to demonstrate why this concept of tradition is important for renewing the church in the third millennium, thus why we have chosen this name for our ministry.
	“Why Advance Christian Tradition?”
	January 16, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Previously I demonstrated that both biblical and early church writers used the word tradition in negative and positive ways. In spite of these observations there are many evangelicals who react quite negatively to the word tradition. It just sounds anti-biblical to their minds. Such people think almost entirely, so it seems, that the word represents mere “human traditions,” i.e., dead and useless doctrines, or practices, advanced in opposition to Scripture. Others suggest that even if tradition does not necessarily stand against Scripture it just sounds “old,” like an emphasis lacking in freshness and life. If anything is “robbed of the Spirit” it is tradition. So, they ask, “Why would you seek to advance tradition?”
	Why Seek to Advance Tradition?
	January 9, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   Of all the questions asked about our choice of our new ministry name, ACT 3, the most common has been: “Why advance tradition?” After all, tradition is plainly a negative word in the Bible, it is argued. It is quite clear that the word tradition makes many evangelical Protestants nervous.
	“How We Grow in Theological Understanding”
	January 2, 2006 by John H. Armstrong   I am a theologian, at least in a non-professional sense. I am not a highly trained professional theologian, since I do not have a PhD degree in theological studies nor teach theology in an academic setting. But I am a theological reader and writer with at least a modicum of ability to follow important arguments and process major doctrinal issues theologically. I did an MA degree in theology and have taught theology, both professionally and to Christians in the church-at-large. I believe in the discipline of theology for the whole church. In fact, this is one of the reasons why ACT 3 exists.

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