The UmBlog

I was talking to my neighbor yesterday about my research on the Emergent Church. He too is charismatic and I realized as we chatted that I have yet to read anything about the Holy Spirit's role in revival among EC blogs. The Assembly of God seems to do just fine growing the church without the need for the "conversation." My friend told me he was just reading M. Lloyd-Jones' book, Revival, and was fascinated with Jones' conclusion that revival comes after people become concerned with their depravity after becoming aware of God's holiness. What are these things of which they become so aware? First and foremost, the glory and the holiness of God. Have you ever noticed, as you read your Bibles, the effect on these people as they suddenly realized the presence of God? Like Job, they put their hands on their mouths or like Isaiah they say, 'Woe is unto me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.' They have just had a realization of the holi-ness...

Kan. Woman Begins Speaking After 2 Years - Yahoo! News Good thing her husband didn't suddenly recall her desire to starve to death if she ever became a vegetable.

Joseph Smith's various First Vision accounts If Joe Smith's Jesus told him that no sect is acceptable, then how can the Jesus I worship in my unacceptable sect be the same as Joe's? Here are Joe's words: My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right--and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight: that those professors were all corrupt; that "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrines the commandments of men: having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." He again forbade me to join with any of them: her...

Jesus Creed: Emergent Reaction Scot McKnight does an amazing 6 paragraph summary of the EC. The comments are helpful too. I think his view is contaminated by being old church because those ideals are not necessarily held by some writers, for example at TheOoze. So I see a couple real negative "solutions" to the "problem" of the "system." Legalism, toss out grace, cause people need to start living it or else, or liberalism, always saying Yes and embodying the good news, never saying No, and waiting for the community to gel and spontaneously be orthodox.

Worship Leader - Transforming Communities Through Worship A quick intro to some leaders in the emergent church, or people who responded to Worship leader's request for info.

LeadershipJournal.net - The Inadequacy of "Yes" Theology This article turned up an hour after I wrote I want to write more on the missiological church. Specifically, my thinking is prodded by the emergent church at large and some excellent reading I had done in January, The Celtic Way of Evangelism , by George G. Hunter, 2000 and Evangelism Outside the Box , by Rick Richardson, 2000. I enjoyed both books. However, as I reflect on those books, I'm not sure their message is that much different from Becky Pippert's Out of the Saltshaker and into the World , 1979. The combined synopsis is to be the salt of the earth, make your friends thirsty, and introduce them to the one who can slake that thirst. One of the keys is to make friends outside of the church. So maybe our friends are no longer asking what is true, but rather is there truth? But we also have to deal with lies. I haven't read McClaren's books but the concept of a "generous orthodoxy" sounds ...

At Communio Sanctorum: Our Witness to the Mormons Paul Owen defends Eerdmans for publishing a Mormon apology by BYU prof Bob Millet. Paul Owen is an editor of The New Mormon Challenge , which is an excellent critique of the more academic, sophisticated defenses of Mormonism. Owen claims Eerdmans is not poisoning the well from which dumb Christian sheep buy their latest version of The 40 days of purposeful praying with power like Jabez but countering some awful anti-Mormon books that are collecting dust on the bookshelves. I guess the slippery slope isn't that steep to lside from carrying books by Benny Hinn to putting a Mormon book there too, in the name of an "open-minded approach." Although it looks like Eerdman's does not print the health and wealth flavor of books they do print Catholic books. Is that so bad? No, but there is plenty to disagree about with Catholics too. Can i fellowship with Catholics, sure, can i fellowship with Mormons? NO. Apparently, Owen a...

A Physicist's Perspective: Michael Behe: "The Argument for Intelligent Design in Biology" I guess if you don't want to read Behe's Darwin's Black Box then you could read this short blog report on a recent Behe lecture. Behe posts here.