Church Revitalization: Myths and Realities
Evangelicals have been having an extensive conversation about church health and renewal for nearly fifteen years. This conversation occurs under the banner of many names, but none more common than revitalization. Search online and you’ll be inundated with titles, seminars, and words like revitalize, renew, reclaim, restore, and even resuscitate. Free Will Baptists have also joined the fray through investing in revitalization...
In Honor of Jackson Watts
The Helwys Society is always sad to see its regular (and, in this case, long-term) contributors conclude their time with the forum. Regrettably, that time has come for member and co-founder, W. Jackson Watts. It would be difficult to overestimate the value of his contribution to the forum. Jackson, or “Jack” as we affectionately refer to him, has been a part of the forum from the beginning. His unique influence and tireless work have...
Recommended Books (Summer 2020)
Words are powerful. In the beginning, God spoke the universe into existence and ordered it according to its kind. At the crux of history, the “Word became flesh” (Jn. 1:14), and through His Spirit all of our disordered desires are being refashioned into a new harmony that will be consummated when His name will be on our foreheads (Rev. 22:4) and all creation will have been reconciled to the Word (Col. 1:20). As image-bearers of God,...
On Writing
I suppose I’ve been writing in a serious way for a dozen years. I’m not considering the occasional article during college or the many research papers I had to write in high school or college. After all, everyone writes—if only to make the grade. Even the shorter little pieces for a local newspaper or denominational publication were, more than anything, testing the waters: Can I write anything that’s worth reading? The jury is...
When Even Our Heroes Are Flawed
Few things are more discouraging than learning that one of your heroes had significant flaws, erred theologically, or committed grievous sin. Even when your heroes are historical figures, making such a discovery can leave you feeling disoriented and potentially unsure about the otherwise valuable contributions that person made. “If my hero did this or thought that,” we might ask, “then does it discredit all of the other things I love...
Book Reflection: The Making of Stanley Hauerwas
Recently I read The Making of Stanley Hauerwas, a book adapted from David Hunsicker’s doctoral dissertation. Hunsicker is a Presbyterian minister in Alabama and former theology professor. Published dissertations usually aren’t a type of reading material that gets me very excited, but the subject matter of this one intrigued me. For the last thirty years, Stanley Hauerwas has been among the most discussed and debated theologians in the...
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