Parchment & Pen Blog

Warning, long post ahead: Download as PDF How does one define the emerging church? This is not an easy question to answer. Are you emerging? Maybe you are and you just don’t know it. It is very difficult to define exactly what it means to “emerge.” Sometimes its characteristics sound a lot like what “Evangelical” [...]

Being in ministry—being in theological ministry—the passions run high. You are going to say some wrong things and you are going to have some wrong things said about you. Such is ministry. One needs to develop some thick skin if they seek to surf these waters. As a consequence of being misunderstood, you get mislabeled. [...]

Get PDF version I am thoroughly orthodox. No, not Eastern with a capital “O”, but orthodox meaning that I believe all the right things. Well . . . at least I think I am. But, really, it depends on how one defines “orthodox.” What does it mean to be orthodox? It would seem that this [...]

Being in ministry—being in theological ministry—the passions run high. You are going to say some wrong things and you are going to have some wrong things said about you. Such is ministry. One needs to develop some thick skin if they seek to surf these waters. As a consequence of being misunderstood, you get mislabeled. [...]

“Converstionism.” This is one of the few marks of Evangelicalism spoken of by Evangelical historian Mark Noll. Evangelicals believe that people must experience a sincere personal conversion to Jesus Christ. This is a hallmark of Christianity—to be a convert. Please understand that what follows in no way detracts from this. Conversionism is essential to Evangelicalism. [...]

I have been in some recent conversations with people and have come to find out something very interesting. We cannot use the “L” word any more. LIBERAL. It is “not helpful.” That really stinks. I thought it was a helpful term. I used it quit often. Why am I always the last person to find out that we cannot use [...]

Phil Johnson of TeamPyro started a series on contextualization of the Gospel and Act 17 (Part 1, Part 2). He is combating what he believes to be a compromise of the Gospel shrouded in the name “contextualization .” In his words, some in the “postmodern missional ministry” (i.e. emerging/Emergent church) believe that Paul, in Acts 17, “adopted the [...]

Christians have different presuppositions that they bring to their theology. This does not make it right or wrong, but we must understand that the unexamined presupposition is not worth having. Our view of history is no different. It is a presupposition that we bring when asking the question What does it means to be “orthodox”? [...]