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Genesis Versus Science: Which Camp Are You In?

July 8, 2010 in Faith by jls | 2 comments

campclip13Back in the day when I was a high school and college student (late 70’s, early 80’s), I recall young people wrestling with the issue of whether or not the opening chapters of Genesis require us to believe that the earth was created in 6 x 24 = 144 hours and that macroevolution could not possibly have occurred. Because I was brought up as a Roman Catholic, and the Catholic church doesn’t seem to have a problem with non-literal reading of Genesis, this was not a burning question for me personally. But I remember young evangelicals and their friends arguing about this a lot, and the vast majority aligned themselves with either of these two camps.

1. The world was created in 144 hours, evolution didn’t happen, and if you don’t believe that, you are stepping in deep spiritual doo-doo.

2. The world is billions of years old, evolution did happen, and if you don’t agree you must be ignorant, foolish or intellectually dishonest.

Although these two positions seem like polar opposites, their proponents did agree on one thing: the Bible and Science are at odds. If you believe one, you must discredit the other.

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Steve Lutz on Missional Campus Ministry

June 22, 2010 in Videos by jls | 3 comments

On Sunday, June 13, Steve Lutz visited University Bible Fellowship and delivered a sermon titled Made for Mission based on Jeremiah 29:4-14. This passage is a letter that the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. Instead of telling them to oppose the idolatrous Babylonian culture, he gave them advice that seemed counterintuitive:  “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer 29:7).

Steve is a full-time campus minister for CCO at Penn State who specializes in reaching out to students who are culturally distant from Christianity.  Steve has been successful in forming relationships with these students and engaging them in Bible study in interesting ways and nontraditional places. He maintains a blogsite called the SENTintel where he posts articles and materials on missional campus ministry. He is also the founder of Commontary, a free online Bible commentary with user-contributed content.

Steve’s message runs about 45 minutes. We have broken up the video into five segments of about nine minutes each. Here is the first segment:

Additional segments continue below.

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InterVarsity is Back on Campus

June 22, 2010 in Videos by jls | No comments

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) maintained a chapter at Penn State for fifty years (1941-1991), and for much of that time, it was the Christian student fellowship on campus. After nearly two decades of inactivity, IVCF is back. Two full-time staff members — Michelle McCotter and Sara Achenbach — moved to State College in 2009 to restart the chapter. After gathering a core group of interested students, IVCF is an officially recognized student organization once again.

On Sunday, June 13, Michelle McCotter spoke at University Bible Fellowship  and gave a brief update about IV at Penn State. After her report, Ruthie — our current Seed President — offered a prayer for Christian unity on campus.

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What Would You Say to the Fighting Atheist?

June 10, 2010 in Spirituality by jls | 5 comments

If you are reading this article, then it is likely that you believe in Jesus Christ. I hope that your belief is not simply a mental assent to some doctrinal statements about him (he is God; he died for my sins; etc.) but an actual commitment to trust in him and follow him as your life’s primary directive.

But what about those people who do not believe? Why don’t they accept what we have accepted? What’s wrong with them?

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Is This an Authentic Work of the Holy Spirit?

May 28, 2010 in Holy Spirit by jls | No comments

If you have read my previous articles, then I hope you are now convinced that what Christians think about the Holy Spirit really does matter.

But maybe you are not convinced. Perhaps you are wondering, “What’s all this fuss about the Holy Spirit?” We do, after all, identify ourselves as Christians or followers of Christ. Shouldn’t our attention be focused on Christ – to trust in him, know him, follow him and imitate him?

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The Holy Spirit: Does What We Know About Him Actually Matter? (Part 4)

May 27, 2010 in Holy Spirit by jls | No comments

Below the surface, Christians have many unofficial, unstated, and untested notions about the Holy Spirit that profoundly impact their spirituality.  These ideas casually spread from one person to another and become a de facto orthodoxy, a set of positions that are rarely taught but are nevertheless deeply embedded in the collective psyche of a faith community. In this article, I will try to uncover some of these assumptions and demonstrate that they really do matter. Try asking yourself the following questions.

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The Holy Spirit: Does What We Know About Him Actually Matter? (Part 3)

May 26, 2010 in Holy Spirit by jls | No comments

Praying

If you are a Christian, then you ought to call the Holy Spirit “he” rather than “it.” The Spirit is not  an invisible power or force, but a person who thinks, communicates and decides. And you ought to agree that the Holy Spirit is God. On that point, Scripture is very clear. For example, Acts 5:3, Peter said, “Ananias,… you have lied to the Holy Spirit.” One verse later, Peter adds, “You have not lied to men but to God.”

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The Holy Spirit: Does What We Know About Him Actually Matter? (Part 2)

May 26, 2010 in Holy Spirit by jls | No comments

In the last post, I argued that the Holy Spirit plays an indispensible role in our understanding of the Christian gospel. We see abundant evidence for this in Scripture. And we see abundant evidence in the history of the Church.

One defining moment in Christian history came in 1054 A.D. in an event known as the Great Schism, when the Church split into Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic) branches. The tension between these camps had been building for some time. It was exacerbated by poor communication between leaders from the East who spoke Greek and those from the West who spoke Latin. But the immediate issue that caused these tensions to flare was a seemingly obscure argument about the Holy Spirit known as the filioque controversy. Filioque is a Latin word meaning “and the Son.” The Nicene Creed, which was written in 325 and expanded in 381, declared:

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The Holy Spirit: Does What We Know About Him Actually Matter? (Part 1)

May 25, 2010 in Holy Spirit by jls | 7 comments

DoveXPThe importance, nature and work of the Holy Spirit is not well understood by many Christians today. And in that category, I definitely include myself.

Since my college days, I have belonged to an independent church that emphasizes textual Bible study, prayer and evangelism. Over the years, we have constantly spoken of God and Jesus, and in passing we have often mentioned the Holy Spirit. We formally uphold the doctrine of the Trinity. But in-depth discussion of the Holy Spirit has been rare. As far as I can tell, this experience is common among evangelical Christians, especially those of the non-Pentecostal variety. The implicit message seems to be: If you believe that Christ died for your sins, that is enough to make you a real Christian. But is it enough?

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A Church in Denial and Infatuated with Itself

May 21, 2010 in Commentary by jls | 1 comment

iStock_000012122130XSmallI recently ran across this presentation by Gary Hamel, an author and management consultant who has been called “the world’s most influential business thinker” by The Wall Street Journal.  Hamel advises Fortune 500 companies and writes for Harvard Business Review. He is also a deeply committed Christian. In 2009, he was invited to speak at the Global Leadership Summit, an annual gathering of pastors and church leaders organized by Willow Creek Community Church. Hamel spoke with thoughtfulness and passion about the need for churches and ministries to change. Some of his basic arguments are found in this WSJ blog post. But if you can do so, please watch the full 57-minute video presentation; you won’t be disappointed.

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