Sturtz Stuff

Alexander Campbell is a revered figure within what American Church History calls the Restoration Movement. It is a movement that seeks unity among those who call themselves Christian and places the Bible as its sole guide for local church praxis. Alexander Campbell is known as a man who studied the scriptures night and day. He debated and debated with just about anyone over a host of topics and Bible doctrines. In his life and writings he sought to bring Christians as well as the Church in line with Bible teachings/doctrine. Thus it is interesting that his man who is known for his study of God’s Word offered up his thoughts on war in his day and time. What follows is an address that was delivered at Wheeling, Virginia in 1848. It was placed into the US Congressional record on 1937 during a session of Congress. The address is as follows: Ladies and gentlemen, has one Christian nation a right to wage war against another Christian nation? On propounding to myself, and much more ...

The following thoughts come from Brian Jones. A minister in a Christian Church in PA. You can click here to find out more about him. I found his thoughts challenging and thought I would share them. Perhaps you might find them challenging as well. Twelve years ago our family visited a church in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, that has since closed its doors. It sat directly across from an Intel plant that employed thousands. I was impressed by the incredible evangelistic opportunity this church had been given. You can understand my utter shock then when in the middle of the service, held on Fourth of July, the pastor led us in a rousing rendition of patriotic songs, ending with, “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.” I kid you not. We sang “I’m a Yankee doodle dandy.” I leaned over to my wife and said, “I’m going to shoot myself in the head.” While I’m positive you and your church won’t do anything quite as ridiculous as that, can I ask you to cross-your-heart-hope-to-die-stick-a-needle-in-yo...

Interesting thoughts by Roger Olson. What does “inerrancy” actually do? During this week’s brouhaha over possible semi-Pelagianism among Southern Baptist theologians (see the previous two posts and the comments here), one response has stuck in my mind and given me reason to worry. It worries me more than the possibility of semi-Pelagianism in the ranks of the theologians. I confess that throughout this budding controversy I have occasionally broken a personal policy. Normally I do not go to other blogs to see what others are saying about the subjects we talk about here. But the policy isn’t iron clad; it’s not a rule, just a rule of thumb to protect my time. If I went to every blog someone recommends I read, I’d never get anything else done. So, normally, I only go if the blog is by someone I respect or whose opinions I consider influential and the subject is directly relevant to a matter I’m working on here. This week I followed a link one commenter provided to a blog containing ...

Found this article insightful. Made me wonder if sometimes we Christians and/or Churches are not guilty of scapegoating just so we can justify harming others. By the way the article is writen by Richard Beck who is the Professor and Department Chair of Psychology at Abilene Christian University. I had a blast at the recent Theology and Peace conference. I thought I'd devote the week to posts about stuff I said, learned, or thought about at the conference. Let's start with my Plenary talk. Toward the end of my talk I compared Axe Body Spray to scapegoating. That comparison might need some unpacking. Keep reading . . .

Here is an article by Thomas E. Bergler in the June 2012 Christianity Today. Got a lot out of it and thought others might as well: The house lights go down. Spinning, multicolored lights sweep the auditorium. A rock band launches into a rousing opening song. "Ignore everyone else, this time is just about you and Jesus," proclaims the lead singer. The music changes to a slow dance tune, and the people sing about falling in love with Jesus. A guitarist sporting skinny jeans and a soul patch closes the worship set with a prayer, beginning, "Hey God …" The spotlight then falls on the speaker, who tells entertaining stories, cracks a few jokes, and assures everyone that "God is not mad at you. He loves you unconditionally." After worship, some members of the church sign up for the next mission trip, while others decide to join a small group where they can receive support on their faith journey. If you ask the people here why they go to church or what they v...

In his book Finding Our Fathers, psychologist Samuel Osherson tells about a forty-two-year-old doctor who came to him with a problem. His younger brother’s wedding had brought the entire family, including their divorced parents, together in St. Louis. The physician spent most of the time with his mother to the neglect of his father who seemed isolated and distant. As the weekend ended, his father gave him a ride back to the airport. Osherson reports that his client sobbed as he reported how they traveled in silence; a father and son with nothing to say to each other. The doctor said, “I was scared of what he thought about me. But what difference does it make? It does no good to try to talk to my father.” The doctor is not alone in his feelings. Hosts of men have awkward and damaged relationships with their own fathers which not only cloud their past, but also shadow the present. Osherson points out that the doctor’s distance from his own father damaged his internal image of what it me...

Jonathan Leeman asks Hunter Powell and Mark Dever about authority in the church. What authority does the congregation have? What about the elders? And what did the congregationalists at the Westminster Assembly have to say about it? The link will take you to the 9 Marks website to hear the interview. The Power and Importance of Polity

Our culture is built for speed. We often wake up, get a shower, maybe spend a moment in prayer then stumble into the kitchen. If you have children then you have to get them up and ready for school. Then we rush off to work and rush home to get dinner ready.   After dinner we might have some playtime with the kids, followed by bath time and then bed time. If there is any time left at the end of the day it becomes   “my time”. All of these activities are done with an eye on the clock so that time can be used well and not wasted. What is worse we might think then “our time” or “my time” being wasted.   Yet, is it possible that being a slave to the clock affects the fruit of the Spirit known as patience? Patience has its roots in the character of God. The Old Testament speaks frequently about God being “slow to anger”.   One of the most repeated characteristics of God found in Ex. 34:5-7 are echoed throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament as well. ...