On Saturday, my family laid to rest my wife’s grandmother. On Sunday morning, Christians throughout the world gathered to celebrate the resurrection. I missed both gatherings. Continue reading The Lord of the Dance
Monthly Archives: March 2016
The Question of Evangelical Identity
James Pedlar, Assistant Professor of Wesley Studies and Theology at Tyndale Seminary, arranged for the faculty to share in conversation over lunch today with visiting scholar Donald Dayton. Dayton is a theologian who has done extensive work on the Holiness and Pentecostal traditions. Two of his most well-known works are Discovering an Evangelical Heritage and Theological Roots of Pentecostalism. The conversation centered on questions surrounding evangelical identity and narrating the history of evangelicalism. Continue reading The Question of Evangelical Identity
Renewing the Church Starts with Learning to Love It
In recent weeks, as I’ve been preparing my paper for the upcoming “Participating in God’s Mission” conference, I have re-immersed myself in the writings of the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The other day I came across a passage that caught my attention on account of both its humorous and its prophetic character. Continue reading Renewing the Church Starts with Learning to Love It
A Matter of Life and Death: A Samson Sermon
The following is the text of a sermon I preached this past Sunday as a guest speaker at Toronto Chinese Alliance Church. The congregation has been working its way through a sermon series on the book of Judges. I was assigned the daunting task of preaching on the Samson story (Judges 13-16).
For the past week, my thoughts have been preoccupied by a single figure. A blustery and boisterous man, noted for his both his crudity and his cruelty. A man whose track record of troubled relationships with women is well-known. A man who is thought to stand as a paragon of strength and power, despite the strange coif of hair on his head. A bully, who always seems to be the last man standing. A man seemingly tasked with the responsibility of making his nation great again. Continue reading A Matter of Life and Death: A Samson Sermon
Martyrdom and the “No” of Faith
“The church makes disciples in order to form a company of faith, a theater of martyrdom” (218). Kevin Vanhoozer elucidates this claim in the concluding chapter of his recent book Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014). The chapter sparked some thoughtful discussion in my systematic theology class this past week. During the discussion it occurred to me that we privileged Western Christians are sometimes enamored with overly romantic conceptions of martyrdom. Continue reading Martyrdom and the “No” of Faith
Upcoming Conference Presentation
I’ve had a lot on my plate in recent days – including wrapping up an intensive theology course at Tyndale Seminary and preparing to preach on the Samson narrative at Toronto Chinese Alliance Church this coming Sunday – which has contributed to somewhat of a lull in my production of blog posts. Also quickly approaching is the “Participation in God’s Mission” conference at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY, where I will be presenting a paper. Continue reading Upcoming Conference Presentation