It’s a serious thing to sack a seventy year old priest. The Catholic church has a shortage of them. Yet it strikes me as strange that someone who doesn’t believe in the Trinity, the virgin birth—who doesn’t believe Jesus ever existed—should want to be a priest, or should even expect to remain a priest. Father [...]
Category Archives: Movement case studies
Catholic church sacks Father Kennedy. Father Kennedy sacks Jesus.
28 July, 2011 – 11:47 PM
At the end of a long dispute the Catholic church has finally decided to excommunicate Father Kennedy. Two years ago the Socialist Alliance posters outside St Mary’s Catholic Church in Brisbane said it all. “Dump Intolerance, not Father Kennedy.” “Who would Jesus sack?” The father in question is Peter Kennedy, the 70-year-old Catholic priest who [...]
Two great commentaries on Acts
23 July, 2011 – 11:39 PM
Still working on the next book about the movement Jesus founded. Here are the two commentaries on Acts I keep returning to. “The Acts of the Apostles (Pillar New Testament Commentary)” (David G. Peterson) “The Acts of the Apostles : A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary” (Ben Witherington) Anyone else have recommendations?
What to do when you don’t know what to do
22 July, 2011 – 5:33 PM
Ever considered how haphazard the mission of the early church was? Jesus’ commission to the disciples was clear, but he has left behind no specific instructions on how the task is to be completed. There were no precedents for what they were trying to achieve. As the story of Acts unfolds, the followers of Jesus [...]
Jesus didn’t wait
21 July, 2011 – 7:35 PM
I’ve been away the last few weeks working on my next book about the mission of Jesus and the early church. Above is the proof that it was all about long walks on the beach with Saffie. Here’s what I’m learning about what Jesus’ ministry looked like . . . Jesus didn’t wait for people [...]
“Shocking innovation” introduced by Jesus
13 July, 2011 – 9:32 PM
The active, expansive missionary work among Jews and Gentiles carried out by the early Christian movement was a shocking innovation in antiquity. Eckhard Schnabel The spread of the Christian movement was not a fluke. Jesus intentionally founded an international missionary movement. In just forty years the Christian missionaries had planted churches in the Roman provinces [...]
Our African future
24 June, 2011 – 3:18 AM
According to Auguste Comte, demography is destiny. If he’s right, the future is African. By October this years there will be 7 billion of us on the planet. Sometime around 2025 world population will reach 8 billion. We’re not talking about more of the same. Europe is shrinking. Africa is exploding. Africa’s population has almost [...]
Bell’s hell
18 April, 2011 – 8:05 PM
A great deal of what is being published by writers in the religious tradition is a scandal and is actually turning people away from the church. The liberal writers who are continually accommodating and whittling down the truth of the Gospel are responsible. I cannot understand how a man can appear in print claiming to [...]
Floyd McClung on the joy of not leading
18 April, 2011 – 8:13 AM
Floyd McClung shares one of his happiest moments so far in Africa. . . Anyway, my D-Group on Wednesday evenings is with 4 Malawian men who are new believers and future church planters. They live in shacks, are dirt poor, but most important, they have a vibrant, growing love for Jesus and a willingness to [...]
Bell on Hell
11 March, 2011 – 7:12 AM
Rob Bell has been “stirring the possum” regarding the doctrine of hell, ahead of the release of his book on the topic. Last time I checked it was #14 on Amazon’s best seller list. Rob’s a good communicator and controversy sells. Questioning hell is not a new thing for western theologians and church leaders to [...]
