In 1992, Sara Faye and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with a trip to England. We still chuckle about a recording on the London "Tube" or "Underground" (subway) that admonished at each stop, "Mind the gap!" The voice was telling us to pay attention to the short empty space between the train and the platform, across which we had to step as we exited. "Mind"--a word of many uses. You have a mind that reminds you to mind authorities, to mind your business, and sometime not to mind irritations and slights real or imagined. The proper use of the mind (as well as the body) involves what … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2012
THE ‘MISSIONAL’ VISION: Old Truths in New Clothes (3)
In an "attractional" church, success is usually measured by the number of people in attendance, the size of the offering and (using those calculators) the growth of the institution itself. In a "missional" church, success will not be measured by counting heads or dollars but by faithfulness to God's mission, deepening faith and the development of Christ-like disciples. Obviously these intangible indicators are much harder to assess than those borrowed from the business world. That does not bother missional people, however, because their focus is not on the institutional church to begin with. … [Read more...]
THE ‘MISSIONAL’ VISION: Old Truths in New Clothes (2)
If the church is to have a future in the countries that once composed "Christendom," missional church advocates tell us, we who constitute the church must undergo what the Apostle Paul calls a "renewal of the mind." That means that we must re-imagine the ideal which God calls the church to become. We must rethink the church's character and reformulate its purpose and goals. The word "missional" is crucial to this new understanding in several respects. It reminds us that Christian "mission" is not only something for special people who go overseas to foreign lands. It is the work of every … [Read more...]
THE ‘MISSIONAL’ VISION: Old Truths in New Clothes (1)
Everywhere we turn these days, people are talking about the church of the future -- indeed, whether the church as we have known it in America even has a future. That is a valid concern and the fault is not God's but ours. G.K. Chesterton nailed the problem squarely. "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting," he wrote. "It has been found difficult; and left untried." Christian thinkers through the centuries have attempted to visualize this "ideal" church. Many thinkers today envision the ideal in terms of what they call the "missional church." The church with a future, they … [Read more...]
THE ANGLICANS
1. The Christian Church began in England: a. About 200 years after the apostles died; b. During the Norman Conquest of William the Conqueror; c. In the reign of Henry VIII; d. With American missionaries after World War II. 2. The Archbishop of Canterbury preaches in: a. Canterbury Church of England; b. Cathedral Anglican Church; c. Canterbury British Cathedral; d. Cathedral Church of Christ, Canterbury. 3. John Wycliffe of Oxford was: a. a reformer 200 years before Martin Luther; b. a great fan of Martin Luther; c. a notable opponent of Martin Luther; d. a Fulbright scholar … [Read more...]
FOLLOW ME (2)
There is a time to analyze, to study, to reflect. There is also a time to respond, to move, to act. Mark's Gospel is intended for the second occasion. It is 65-67 A.D. Nero is Emperor in Rome. He has just beheaded Paul and crucified Peter upside down. Now he is unleashing a wave of lethal persecution against Jesus' followers in the imperial capital. Some he ties to stakes, drenches in oil and burns as human torches. Others he dresses in animal skins and exposes to killer beasts. Others he crucifies. Jesus' followers remember the master's challenge: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him … [Read more...]
FOLLOW ME (1)
Most likely, the earliest Gospel was written by John Mark of Jerusalem, helper to both Peter and Paul. The time was probably A.D. 65-67 and the purpose was to inspire believers in Rome against whom Emperor Nero had unleashed a wave of horrific persecution after having executed the two apostles mentioned above (see Acts 12:12; 2 Tim. 4:11; 1 Pet. 5:13). Mark's is the only canonical Gospel with a title: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1:1). Early church tradition says that Mark wrote what Peter preached. Peter himself hints at plans for something like that (2 … [Read more...]
GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING
That's what you give loved ones when you give books by Edward Fudge. Choose from the following (see pictures and descriptions at www.EdwardFudge.com/written ). GracEmail: Daily Answers to Life's Big Questions (HillCrest Publications) The Great Rescue: The Story of God's Amazing Grace (New Leaf Books) The Sound of His Voice: Discovering the Secrets of God's Guidance (New Leaf) Two Views of Hell, co-authored with Robert Peterson (InterVarsity Press) The Fire That Consumes (Paternoster Press edition). To order using major credit card for shipment anywhere, call toll-free (in U.S.) … [Read more...]
THANKSGIVING FOR FAMILY
It is Saturday afternoon, July 14, 2007. Sara Faye and I are at a Fudge family reunion hosted by my brother Benjamin and his wife Susan at their home in beautiful Upland, California. Nestled at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in San Bernardino County, this little section of Planet Earth must make "San Gabriel" the archangel smile with pleasure. I can just imagine him rejoicing in its magnificence, even now after thousands of years of spoilage by human sin, trembling with delight in anticipation of its fulfillment in the new heavens and new earth. To my mind, Paradise connotes a … [Read more...]
OUR MORTAL MINUTES
We know in our heads that we cannot take life for granted because the Bible says so, but we learn it in our hearts through experience on the ground. During the past three days, I have received three reminders that our earthly life at its best is both fragile and brief. Two reminders took the form of emails, bringing word of friends who have received devastating diagnoses. The other was a phone call reporting the death of a relative. It is evidence of godly wisdom for us to pause at such news and to reflect with sober mind on the lessons it has to teach. The first word came as a prayer … [Read more...]