Apprentice 2 Jesus

Theology

  • The when and where of the Kingdom of God

    An extension of the interview with Gary Black, Jr., over at BibleGateway included this blurb from his just released book: What is important to understand here is that there is no “then” or “when” to the kingdom of God. This reign is a current, progressing, maturing reality, which means Jesus rules today. Jesus is the… Read more

  • The true POWER of our discipleship in the Kingdom of God

    Dallas Willard and NT Wright both ignite my soul for so much more in this life. They do it in a quiet way that doesn’t sound nearly intrusive as others I’ve heard… yet it rings true somehow. Ortberg in his book Soul Keeping quotes Dallas as saying this: Your eternal destiny is not cosmic retirement; it… Read more

  • Understanding the power of the Kingdom right here and right now

    One of the things I love about NT Wright’s writing is he uses phrases that scare the living daylights out of people like me who are used to the abuse of those words. When Wright dares to move into territory that sounds a lot like the old “Kingdom Now” theology I studied in college, I get nervous.… Read more

  • The paradigm of kingdom thinking

    One of the more important chapters in Simply Jesus by NT Wright is on Space, Time, and Matter. It’s a mind-bender for me, which I enjoy. The contention is that Jesus wasn’t about telling people how to get to heaven. Jesus was about announcing the coming of the Kingdom HERE… NOW. Not in some “Kingdom… Read more

  • He is KING Jesus

    Jesus isn’t someone we “elected” and now we present him with a list of our expectations. It is HIS Kingdom. He sets the priorities and our greatest joys aren’t found in him fulfilling our expectations, but in us fulfilling his expectations. Read more

  • The obligation of the Kingdom

    Reflecting on society, laws, cultural wars… and having a lot of time to think while I was driving across Iowa… I began to think on what I practice but do not articulate very well. I am not sure I can still articulate it well, but this is my attempt. No matter what laws are passed… Read more

  • Missing theology

    One of the least developed areas of theology in the evangelical church is ecclesiology. We just don’t quite know what to do about this whole concept of the Church. We know about “local church”… maybe. We are so bent on “me and Jesus” and those who theologically agree with me 100 percent… the whole idea… Read more

  • Christianity — Rescued “from” and born “into?”

    “The Christian story is not primarily about how God in Jesus came to rescue sinners from some impending disaster. It is about God’s work of initiating us into a fellowship and making us true conversational partners with the Father and the Son through the Spirit and, hence, with each other (1 John 1:1-4). Attaining heaven… Read more

  • Mind and Soul

    With one foot squarely in the ministry world and another foot barely in the academic world, I am constantly challenged by our “either/or” thinking. I may be wrong about the world truly being “both/and.” Maybe it’s not. Maybe you have to be either uber-smart… and an academic who is very capable at writing, but not very capable… Read more

  • Surrendering our allegiance to the magisterium of the state

    Thoughts from NT Wright’s Simply Jesus. I blame him. Don’t shoot me. 😉 The church for centuries lived in the true power of the Kingdom (not fully, but more at times than others). The church lived out what was demonstrated in the life of Christ and they simply believed him when he commanded them to go… Read more