In preparation for an upcoming paper I will be delivering at the annual conference of the Canadian American Theological Association entitled, “Reimagining Ethical Preaching,” I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in Garrett Green’s insightful work on imagination. Here is a particularly rich passage from his recent book Imagining Theology: (more…)
Tag: church
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Vaccines, Restrictions, and the Church
As areas of Southern Manitoba continue to lag behind the rest of the province and country in vaccination rates, Providence will be hosting a Zoom Panel Discussion on July 13 entitled, “Vaccines, Restrictions, and the Church.” A recent news story that ran on all of the major networks highlighted the plight of a local pastor who has been bombarded with complaints on social media for his involvement in a recent vaccination advertising campaign. Joining me on the panel will be: Dr. Rebecca Dielschneider an immunologist who serves as Assistant Professor of Biology at Providence University College; Dr. Chris Burnett, a local physician who was recently honored with the medal of excellence from Doctors Manitoba; and Terry Kaufman, a longtime pastor and current denominational executive within the Evangelical Free Church in Canada. More information about the event and registration can be found here.
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Newbigin’s Prophetic Insight
When I was teaching in Toronto, there was a period of several years in a row where I read Lesslie Newbigin’s Foolishness to the Greeks with my students. I consider the book, written in 1986, to be something of a 20th century theological classic. As evidence of that, I did try a few years ago to blog through Newbigin’s seven essentials for a church seeking a genuine missionary encounter with Western culture. I only made it through the first four before other endeavors required my attention, but you can find links to those previous posts here. (more…)
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The Church Post Pandemic Forum on YouTube
Recordings of the sessions from the recent Zoom forum on the theme “The Church Post Pandemic” hosted by the Biblical and Theological Studies Department at Providence Theological Seminary are now available on YouTube. These include excellent presentations from my colleagues Lissa Wray Beal and Joshua Coutts and three Southern Manitoba pastors. Alongside of these presentations is my paper that draws upon the work of St. Augustine of Hippo as a resource for understanding ourselves, our world, the identity of the church, and the vocation of pastors in the time of the COVID pandemic.
You can watch the videos here.
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The Church Post Pandemic Zoom Forum
There is still time to register for “The Church Post Pandemic” forum offered by Providence Theological Seminary on Monday, October 19. Due to recent COVID restrictions the forum will now be offered completely on Zoom and will be free to all participants. However, you do need to register to ensure your spot and to receive the Zoom invitation. (more…)
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The Preacher as Bridge-Builder: A Misguided Metaphor
Photo by kyler trautner on Unsplash One of the more prominent homiletical metaphors that is operative in the imaginations of preachers of many different stripes and backgrounds is that of the preacher as a bridge-builder between the ancient world of Scripture and our current cultural moment. Through careful rhetorical engineering, the preacher is able to construct a bridge that is capable of carrying the biblical freight across the chasm of the ages, in the process demonstrating its relevance for today. (more…)
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A Letter from Paul to Christians in the U.S.
Michael Gorman, a New Testament scholar whose work I have found to be both insightful and refreshing, has recently published a fictional letter from the Apostle Paul to Christians in the United States in the Christian Century. I heard Gorman present an earlier version of this letter during an address at a theological conference at Northeastern University in Rochester, NY, a couple of years ago, which was subsequently published in the Canadian Theological Review. It is well worth the read. I will be incorporating it into my upcoming Christian Ethics course. You can access it here.
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It’s Still the End of the World!
It was able to share an enjoyable evening last night with an engaged group of people at the McNally Robinson bookstore in Winnipeg. One of the things I was attempting to do in my lecture was to recover the eschatological character of the Christian faith, bound up as it is with the coming of Messiah and the pouring out of the promised Spirit. The irruption of the eschaton introduces the distinction between church and world, which is clearly elucidated by Hauerwas and Willimon in the following quote which appeared in my lecture: (more…)
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The Church Lives in Advent
“The church lives in Advent. That is to say, the church lives between two advents, Jesus Christ has come; Jesus Christ will come. We do not know the day or the hour. If you find this tension almost unbearable at times, then you understand the Christian life. We live at what the New Testament depicts as the turning of the ages. In Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God is in head-on collision with the powers of darkness. The point of impact is the place where Christians take their stand. (more…)
