A Rebuttal of a Pastor’s Letter Defending the Pledge

A friend introduced me to an article written by a pastor defending the church’s right to say the pledge of allegiance to the flag in a church service.   Below I have offered my own response to the arguments made in that letter.   It is by no means exhaustive and much more can be [...]

I Pledge Allegiance…

Another civic holiday is upon us, the Fourth of July, and churches all across America will once more bring into question their allegiances.  Many churches will deck themselves in red, white and blue while parading the flag down the center aisle only to then direct everyone’s attention to it as they pledge their loyalty.  And few [...]

Reflections on Revelation: Chapters 17-18

Revelation 17
 
The Whore of Babylon 
 

The woman is called “Babylon” which is John’s name for Rome (14:8, 16:19).
Tim LaHaye identifies the “whore” as the Roman Catholic Church due to its use of tradition and rosaries.   
Painted as luxuriant, ostentatious, gaudy.  She is dressed in scarlet and purple, colors depicting high status and wealth.  She has extravagant [...]

Blessed From an Unlikely Source

Tonight was the opening worship service kicking off Holston’s Annual Conference in Lake Junaluska.  It was a Service of Remembrance where we name those clergy and clergy spouses who have died since last year’s conference.  It was a memorable service, full of Spirit, with outstanding singing, preaching and capped off with Holy Communion.   Yet, [...]

Reflections on Rev. 12 & 13

INTRO

Chapter 11 ends with the seventh trumpet.  The Kingdom has been established, God’s enemies are defeated, judgment has been pronounced and punishment dispensed and rewards given. But John is not ready to have the final curtain call.   The next few chapters unfold in a different way the struggle between God and evil.  
The specific [...]

Performing the Imago Dei

 
 

So God created humankind in his image,
 
in the image of God he created them;
   male and female he created them. 
- Genesis 1:27
This is Israel’s most nascent reflections on her beginnings.  It was out of nothing that the first male and female came into existence.  It was out of nothing that Israel became a people.  Both were [...]

The Priest as Pastor: Pastoral Care (Chapter Four of Pastor)

Creating New Worlds in Pastoral Care
by Chad Holtz 
Saint Augustine observed the human condition as one of disordered loves.  Our hearts are restless, he wrote, until they find their rest in God.  In the second chapter of Pastor, titled, “The Priest as Pastor: Worship as the Content and Context of Pastoral Care,” Will Willimon laments the [...]

Ordinary Time

Next week the Church enters into what is called Ordinary Time.  Easter Season has come to a close.  The white and red vestments that have adorned our sanctuaries over the last many weeks signaling celebration and victory will come down, replaced by the color green.  Green will run the gamut for nearly 34 weeks of [...]

Reflections on Revelation chapters 10 & 11

Reflections on Revelation 10 & 11
Visit HERE for Reflections on chapters 6-9.  Again, the bulk of this material comes from Mitchell Reddish’s fantastic commentary, Revelation.  
 
Woodcut by Albrecht Durer:  St. John the Divine Devouring the Scroll 
 
CHAPTER 10
 

Verse 7 reads: “but in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of [...]

Dancing with God

Gregory of Nanzianzus used the term perichoresis, an image of a dance, to describe the mysterious union of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   Clark Pinnock, in his wonderful book Flame of Love, writes, 
The metaphor suggests moving around, making room, relating to one another without losing identity.  The divine unity lies in the relationality of [...]

The Pastor as Priest: The Leadership of Worship (Chapter Three of Pastor)

If you are just joining us, feel free to check out the Welcome, the Introduction, Chapter One and Chapter Two.   
 
Get Real:  The Pastor as Priest
by Thomas Parkinson 
The highly influential theological realism advanced by Reinhold Niebuhr has been the source of a great deal of criticism in recent years.  At the heart of Niebuhr’s realism [...]

Ministry for the 21st Century: Images of the Pastor (Chapter Two of Pastor)

We would love to hear your feedback on this chapter (and the others).  This is chapter two of Willimon’s book, Pastor: The Theology, and Practice of Ordained Ministry.

Celebrating the Emerging Tapestry of Pastoral Vocation
by Chad Holtz
One of the first great pastors of the Church, while chained in a prison cell, penned these words:

Some [...]

David and Goliath: The Story They Didn’t Tell Us

Below is the address I will be giving to the senior class of Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Oxford, NC.
It’s an honor to be with all of you this afternoon.  Ever since I met Brian I have been looking forward to the opportunity to speak at one of your events and what a privilege it [...]

Ordination: Why Pastors? (Chapter One of Pastor)

Chapter One of William Willimon’s book, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry.  

The Function of Ordination 
by Thomas Parkinson 
Ever since the beginning of the Reformation, the place and necessity of ordination has been up for debate in the Protestant church.  Prior to the Reformation, ordination was a sacrament, an operative sign of God’s grace.  [...]