Scottish pastor-theologian discusses charismatic renewal

Much to chew on if we are serious about the Holy Spirit working in and through us 🙂

” … A lot of charismatic preaching stopped being exposition at all and simply became testimony, dramatic experiences. When that happens, you are off with Schleiermacher and the whole liberal agenda. Even though you’re using evangelical language and going on about the Lord, your criterion is “What’s happening to me now,” not what God did in the culminating coming of his Son.

… There is no such thing as completely raw experience. Everything I am seeing in this room I am able to interpret only because I come with all sorts of presuppositions. Similarly, there is no religious experience that doesn’t have a theological component. The only question is is it a good or a bad theology. There is no non-theology.

… The gifts of the Spirit are most clearly manifested when you’re out on a limb of some kind in your participation in Christian mission. Then, the insights and healing things can begin to come in very remarkable ways.

A lot of people see the spiritual gifts as a means of assurance, just as Jesus was tempted to leap from the pinnacle of the temple to reassure himself that he really was the Son of God. But that is not what they are for. You find assurance not in a multiplicity of signs, but by trusting what God has done for you in Christ. “

“Being Disciples”

First time I’m reading an article by Elaine Storkey.

CCM General Assembly Ended Successfully

good job Jaime!

Happy Birthday Uncle John – John Stott 86

I missed this news … great links and a wonderful personal message.

Ten propositions on being a minister

I’ll pick out two:

“5. Ministers are not called to be scholars, but they need to rediscover their roles as community theologians (as teachers, not just “facilitators”). Breaking “the strange silence of the Bible in the church” (James Smart), they must ensure that the scriptures are at the centre of congregational life, and that their churches are cultures of learning. They must also ensure that the hermeneutical and ethical tasks are one, shaping character as well as transforming minds.

8. Ministers are shepherds – though many a member would prefer a pet lamb. As they call their flock to new pastures, and to experimental patterns and models of ministry, they are inevitably going to piss off some of the fat sheep. So ministers must expect to be butted. Another zoological metaphor: ministers should be horseflies, not butterflies – better to be swatted than mounted.”

Robert E. Webber memorial tribute page

The tributes pour in …

Brief Thoughts On Labour Day

Not that brief actually …

Theology and the Arts

A feast of articles for people who like both. I’m one of them.

The Church through Many Eyes

this is one subject which is close to my heart and mind always. The articles with the words “Emergent” and “Prosperity gospel” caught my attention.