In 2006 Brian McLaren called for a moratorium on pronouncements on the subject of homosexuality. He proposed, We’ll keep our ears attuned to scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields. Then in five years, if we have clarity, we’ll speak; if not, we’ll set another five years for ongoing reflection. [...]
Category Archives: 2. Commitment to a cause
Slow down!
24 October, 2011 – 4:06 AM
If you ever wondered what it’s like to be on the inside of a dynamic movement? Read this letter by William Booth to the movement he founded. They say we go too fast! This accusation comes from all directions. Our enemies do not like our speed and our friends are afraid of it. What do [...]
It’s not about you
30 August, 2010 – 7:47 PM
Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us. Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal. Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the [...]
Looking for trouble?
3 May, 2010 – 10:54 PM
Glenn Townend asks a good follow up question to my post on the link between church planting movements, suffering and persecution: HI Steve Thought provoking! So we need suffering to see a movement happen in Western Australia? What kind do you think we should expect? Glenn Here’s my response: Hi Glenn I think the best [...]
The trouble with missionary movements
22 April, 2010 – 10:23 PM
I had sought out someone with a lot of experience in church planting movements who could help me make sense of what I was learning. There’s one line I will never forget—”We’ve never seen a church planting movement without persecution.”
Interview with Jay (3)
19 January, 2010 – 3:14 AM
Jay: The first characteristic was white-hot faith. What’s next? Steve: The second one is commitment to a cause. Movements aren’t just about my experience of God; they’re about changing the world. Every movement has a unique gift that God has given them. In the Catholic religious orders refer to their founding charism. Each order has [...]
The Church confronts (Post?) Modernity
26 August, 2008 – 1:32 AM
I’m reading Catholicism and modernity: Confrontation or capitulation? by James Hitchcock. Written in the late 1970s in the wake of Vatican II. He writes as an orthodox Catholic facing the growing liberalisation of his faith from within the Church. There are striking parallels in the story of the Episcopalian demise in the US and Canada [...]
A new kind of gospel?
4 August, 2008 – 9:33 PM
Dynamic movements are committed to a cause. But what if you’re not sure what that cause is any more? Tim Keller writes: A generation ago, it would have been hard to imagine evangelicals unable to agree on what the simple gospel is: 1) God made you and you must have a relationship with him, 2) [...]
Heart of a founder: CT Studd
1 July, 2006 – 2:26 PM
Heroism is the lost chord, the missing note of present day Christianity! Every true soldier is a hero! A Soldier without heroism is a Chocolate Soldier! Who has not been stirred to scorn and mirth at the very thought of a Chocolate Soldier? In peace true soldiers are captive lions, fretting in their cages. War [...]
Floyd McClung: Apostolic passion
2 June, 2006 – 8:39 AM
I did a great job of messing up my faith and my life as a young adult. Until I met a guy back in Australia who had come to faith on the hippie trail in India through Dilaram House—a ministry pioneered by Floyd and Sally McClung. Six months later I ended up half way around [...]
