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Quick thoughts
This morning I was meditating on spiritual heritage. Two things I am thankful for this morning: The theological roots of being Anglican. It sharpens my mind and widens my theological perspective. It roots me in the blessedness of the Kingdom and delivers me from the escapist sectarianism I knew before. The spiritual roots of my Pentecostal heritage and my connection…
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Book Review — Spiritual Theology
I have been working my way through Spiritual Theology by Simon Chan. IVP sent it to me as a review copy, but I’ve been lost in this marvelous work so much, I’ve lost sight of a “quick read” for a review. Simon Chan is a Pentecostal in Singapore who makes a call for the Church to return to its roots, which in…
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Prayer of Self-Examination
“One of the great neglected duties of the Christian life is self-examination, and maybe self-examination is neglected because it is so humiliating an exercise.” — William Barclay
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Abusing prayer
Even with our technological advances, we can still be tempted with the ancient practice of magic in our prayers. Magic is trying to manipulate natural or supernatural powers to serve our purposes. The self stands at the center of the universe, not God. Modern technologists are the successors to pagan magicians. The magical attitude exists among technologically minded Christians as…
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The preaching of the Word
The priority needs to be given to the public reading of Scripture. We need to systematically read the Scripture in public. The story needs to be impressed into our collective memories. “If the sermon follows some form of lectio divina (in which the whole of Scripture is read over a period of time), we are more likely to avoid the habit of…
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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 of “church” just doesn’t get…
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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 and avoiding hell represent just…
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Should we keep striving for “relevance?”
“Modern Christians are not lacking in ‘relevance.’ What they do lack is a disciplined life and a critical mind to resist the temptation to conform to what everybody thinks or does (Rom. 12:1-3).” — Simon Chan, Spiritual Theology
Tag: Spiritual Theology
