Many of you know that I have always felt a tension and tugging in my soul between my desires and gifts for academic study and writing on the one hand, and my commitment to leading real people to experience the life of the Kingdom in the church today. I am a pastor-scholar at heart in a world … More Announcement: Doctoral Studies with Scot McKnight!
Here’s a repost from 2009. Enjoy! -JB “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself.” -Jesus As fall stares tired youth pastors in the face, weary from summer trips and fun-in-the-sun adventures, we try to take a deep breath, grab a mini vacation before ramping up for another year of bringing the good … More Worship at the Altar of Self
This is a repost from a couple years ago. -JB The Christmas story is all too familiar for most Christians today. We’ve seen two dozen pageants, have basically memorized Matthew and Luke’s accounts of wise men, shepherds, overbooked inns and barnyard manger scenes. The problem with familiarity, as Dallas Willard puts it, is that “Familiarity … More Merry Parachoresis! A Christmas Reflection
From Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed: Rodney Reeves’ new book, Spirituality according to Paul: Imitating the Apostle of Christ, is one of the most courageous sketches of Paul’s view of the Christian life I’ve seen. I think he takes Paul at his word and then turns Paul’s words on us so we can see ourselves in the … More Ludicrous Faith & Apostle Paul
Scot McKnight is sharing his own journey of wrestling with Calvinism at Jesus Creed. Here’s a snippet, and I recommend you read the rest of the forthcoming series. I found two major weaknesses in Calvinism’s theology (and also a disorientation in its architecture): first, the emphasis of its architecture is not the emphasis of the … More Are Calvinists Right?
Scot McKnight recently delivered 4 watershed lectures for many of us misplaced Evangelicals who want to take back the big tent Evangelicalism of the Billy Graham and John Stott era from those trying to narrow down Evangelicalism into their much narrower theological categories. I’m speaking primarily of the so-called “young, restless Reformed”, the Gospel Coalition, … More Parchman Lectures on Evangelicalism by Scot McKnight
Scot McKnight hits the nail on the head today. One of the best reminders I’ve had in a long time. Everywhere I go and nearly everyone I read has a theme, whether central or peripheral, and I think the theme is getting too much attention and it’s getting too much play and it’s setting us … More The Cracked Fellowship of Cracked Pots
“I find an increasing number of young Christians are willing to say “enough is enough” when it comes to militarism, to military budgets, and to embracing a peace orientation toward how Christians are to live in a world of international conflicts. Ronald Sider (Christ and Violence) and John Howard Yoder (The Politics of Jesus ) have … More QUOTABLES: Scot McKnight on Non-Violence
One of the most simple but important driving lessons we learned in kindergarten: stay between the lines! In driving you must keep yourself from veering to the left and the right. We must keep ourselves between the yellow center line and the white shoulder line. What do these two colored lines represent on the road … More STUDENT DRIVER 4: Life Between the Lines
What do you think of Dr. Scot McKnight’s perspective on the place of politics in the pulpit from Jesus Creed? It is commonly asserted that we should keep politics out of the pulpit, but what most people mean by that is that we shouldn’t endorse a specific candidate — and who’s kidding whom on that … More Politics and the Pulpit (Jesus Creed)
We’re all like lumps of clay that over time have been shaped and molded by dozens of influential hands — and experiences and words and ideas and moments and conversations and books and dreams and successes and failures — but mostly people. I am a firm believer in learning from people of different persuasions, and … More Some Key Influences
Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed is my first stop for a thoroughly Jesus-shaped perspective on all things. Here’s his thoughts on the death of a bin Laden. There are a number of places to begin and ideas to consider. But I have to begin with this. Jesus said, “Put your sword back in its place,” … More Scot McKnight on the Death of Bin Laden
Scot McKnight is starting a new, and significant, discussion at Jesus Creed today called “The End of Evangelicalism.” I think this is an important discussion to have, and he begins by asking two key questions. Enjoy. Many today are predicting the (even imminent) collapse of evangelicalism. Others, like Brad Wright, show that evangelicalism is flourshing, … More Who decides who is evangelical?
If you are in high school or college, or at any point in your life, make Scot McKnight’s One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow mandatory summer reading. Here’s a taste from Scot’s blog: I grew up with the idea that I could only be happy if I found “God’s will.” People do weird things because they … More Discovering God’s Will (Scot McKnight)
The Christian blogosphere is often a nasty place, where stones get tossed back and forth around the clock with very little listening to the other side. I think I’d give up all together on the hope for balanced and grace-filled conversation if it weren’t for Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed. He’s a kindred spirit in … More Widen Your Perspective
From Jesus Creed: CT has a new interview with Billy Graham, and I clip only one question and answer: If you could, would you go back and do anything differently? Yes, of course. I’d spend more time at home with my family, and I’d study more and preach less. I wouldn’t have taken so many … More Billy Graham Interview at CT
Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed is raising that touchy but crucial issue of national idolatry. I love America, democracy and the freedoms we enjoy in this great nation. I listen to my share of political talk and love keeping up on the latest debates. BUT….I also see many Christians who are far more interested and … More Church or State: Where do our hopes & passions lie?
This is a big deal for those like me who find themselves, as the Internet Monk used to say, “wandering about in the Evangelical wilderness in search of a more Jesus-shaped Christianity.” I think Scot McKnight is spot on in his analysis of the recent Albert Mohler cover story in Christianity Today and I stand … More McKnight on Al Mohler & the ‘Evangelical Shift’
Scot McKnight has a great post and challenge to the American church — especially conservative Evangelicals — to avoid the politicization of the church. He makes the claim that the most influential voice upon Evangelicals today is not Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham or James Dobson, as in past decades, but FoxNews. Specifically he names Sean … More The Voice Influencing American Evangelicals (by Scot McKnight)
McLaren’s latest and largest full frontal assault on evangelicalism and historic orthodoxy is now available in stores: “A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith”. I cannot think of anyone better to offer a fair and balanced review of this book than Dr. Scot McKnight. The review is found in Christianity … More McKnight on McLaren’s “A New Kind of Christianity”
Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed is exploring Christian Smith’s new book: Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. What do emerging adults think of religion? This next chp in Smith and Snell discovered in their fantastic new book: Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults will be of use to all … More Today’s Emerging Adults 2
Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed is exploring Christian Smith’s new book: Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. Today the question is: What is the cultural world of the emerging adult? We’re talking about 46 million emerging adults… so generalizations need careful backing of evidence and all kinds of nuance. What … More Today’s Emerging Adults 1
Scot McKnight’s thought on Haiti: Last night I read this from Randy Harris, God Work – Confessions of a Standup Theologian: One of the things we do as Christians is to try to pay attention to what God might be able to do in the world, especially with the broken places in our lives. These … More Prayers for Haiti
1. My number one favorite blog that is a part of my daily diet of reading is Jesus Creed with Scot McKnight. It’s hard to top the variety of topics and the depth of discussion found there. I have been honored to have some of my writings featured there. I admire Scot as a reputable … More My Top 3: Blogs
Jesus Creed Blog has generously published another piece of my writing today. Go check it out HERE. McKnight’s award-winning Jesus Creed has been rated by Technorati.com as the #1 site for Emerging Church and is found at Beliefnet.com, read by millions. =) Thanks for welcoming your readers, Scot.
Jeremy L. Berg 