To this day, I remember a well-meaning college student teaching on this passage at an event when I was part of a youth group. With all the wisdom of a church father, they read the passage and then waded into interpretation by saying: “Christians are here to give flavor to the world” as they attempted to explain the meaning of “you are the salt of the earth.” I remember how strange and unhelpful that was for years to come. However, for all the weird and uninformed hermeneutics available, there are some great historical examples of references to this passage that will be sure to add flavor to any sermon or Bible study.
Read More
C.S. Lewis on Theology as a Map
At the risk of beginning an article sounding like an ancient curmudgeon, kids these days can’t appreciate one area of life that has become infinitely easier over the last ten years: navigation. No more printing out eight-page documents with step-by-step instructions (and then shuffling through these going 75 down the highway). No more buying Mapscos at the beginning of a cross-country trip. Now, just turn on the data and you have a handheld portal that can lead you to anywhere in the world.
Read More
D. L. Moody & the Art of Using a Story to Get to THE Story
Methods of using stories in sermons have long been debated. Typically, evaluation is given to their quality, length, and volume. One great example of how this can be done effectively is in a particularly powerful sermon by D. L. Moody (1837-1899) that was so riddled with testimonies of God’s work in the lives of famous theological figures that one could criticize the good evangelist for excess if one dares censure the portly statesmen of the faith. Regardless, from Moody’s example the modern pastor can learn better the craft of weaving in the real-life testimonies of saints past and contemporary without distracting from the narrative of the Gospel in their own sermons.
Read More
Take Up and Read
“Tolle lege. Tolle lege.” Augustine heard a voice, perhaps of a child nearby, saying, “Take up and read. Take up and read.” He took this as a command from God, and therefore opened his Bible to Romans 13. From that day forward, Augustine would profoundly shape how believers read and understand the Bible. While the turn-to-a-random-passage and read approach is not encouraged, in this case it had incredible ramifications down to the present day.
Read More
"Karli" and Kids Music
Karl Barth was a complex figure. He’s always had a tenuous relationship with evangelicals. In fact, this site derives its name in part from a simultaneously hostile and humorous conversation between Barth and evangelical theologian Carl F. H. Henry. As recent research has confirmed, Karl Barth was no perfect man. [1] He harbored sin in his life and attempted to justify it to avoid repentance (as we are all prone to do). But he also made significant contributions to Protestant theology, many of which helped steer a new course away from liberalism and toward a renewed appreciation for Christ and Scripture. If you view theological liberalism and traditional evangelical theology as a road trip from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Barth gets you all the way to about Jackson, Mississippi. His theological program has much to commend and leaves much to be desired.
But this post is not focused on Barth the adult or Barth the theologian. Rather, it will look at Karl Barth the child, “Karli” as his parents called him. As Mark Galli points out in his new book Karl Barth: An Introductory Biography for Evangelicals, young Karl had a mean-streak in him that led to his share of fight fights. But alongside this proclivity to confrontation, Karli was captivated by music. He first heard Mozart at age 5 or 6 and was gripped from then on. But Mozart was not the watershed musician for young Barth; his mother was.
Read More
Lesslie Newbigin on the Mission of the Triune God
Lesslie Newbigin was a missionary, theologian, author, and pastor. He was an endearing man with a gregarious personality. Newbigin loved to tell jokes, “Did you hear the one about John Baillie and Karl Barth?” his friend Rev. Dan Beeby recalled. He also had an adventurous spirit. When Newbigin left the mission field, he made his return journey with wife Helen from Madurai to Bromely (through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey) toting only two suitcases and a rucksack, hitchhiking and bussing their way from south-central India to southeast London. One of Newbigin’s greatest contributions was his Trinitarian perspective on the mission of God.
Read More
Jonathan Edwards on the Necessity of Good Preaching
For Jonathan Edwards, good preaching gets at the sin-hardened hearts of people, and works to soften these hearts to love God above all. Good preaching causes a holy zeal in people for the things of God. Good preaching penetrates the will of a person, so that the word of God permeates her volition. Good preaching enlivens the soul of a person, so that he is set to carry out the work of God in his body.
Read More
Meaningful Membership at Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle
In 1854, when Charles Spurgeon began pastoring at the New Park Street Chapel, he had a handful of deacons assisting him and a membership of 313 (though the actual attendance was much smaller). In just twelve weeks, they outgrew their space and began making plans to enlarge their building. But as soon as that was done, they found themselves immediately once again in need of more space, and so began making plans to build a new building, which would eventually be the Metropolitan Tabernacle. However, more than just a space issue, Spurgeon found himself caring for a congregation that was beyond his capacity to shepherd.
Read More
3 Filters for Teaching Historical Theology in the Church
Historical theology is a scalpel: both dangerous and vital. In the right hands, it breathes life into the everyday truths of our beliefs. It stretches human skin onto abstract doctrines and warns of errors long passed. But without the proper filter, the historically-minded theologian waits like a nineteenth century Roman brigand among shadowy ruins flush with their crusty bag of anecdotes. The unsuspecting sermon that does pass by doesn’t stand a chance as the words of God are forced to fit into a clever, human narrative.
Read More
The Humility of Billy Graham
As historian Grant Wacker was working toward his 2014 America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation, he had the opportunity to spend time with Graham at his North Carolina estate. Wacker recalls one insightful conversation: “After a few minutes, Mr. Graham’s special assistant, standing nearby, said, ‘Billy, Grant is writing a book about you.’ Obviously puzzled, Mr. Graham responded, ‘Why? Why would you want to do that?’ Taken aback, I finally mumbled, ‘Well, you have done some important things.’”
Read More
The Faith and Politics of John F. Kennedy Before He Became the First Catholic President
As our nation's only Roman Catholic president to date (unless you count Jed Bartlet), John F. Kennedy spoke of a separated yet passionate faith. Even if you take issue with his application of the concept of separation of church and state in the rest of the speech, the modern person of faith must appreciate the blunt honesty of the soon-to-be 35th president on this topic. We can all learn a lot from his ultimate assessment of personal ethics in the life of the public servant.
Read More
Book Review: The Colson Way
In The Colson Way: Loving Your Neighbor and Living with Faith in a Hostile World, Owen Strachan provides Christians a stellar resource in how to navigate and respond to the growing hostility aimed at traditional Christian belief. Using the life and ministry of Charles (Chuck) Colson as a lens, Strachan helps believers see that they too can engage the watching world with the good news of Jesus Christ in a winsome and courageous way.
Read More