Nov
02
2011
Worth a Look 11.2.11
Al Mohler and Jim Wallis debate justice and the church. Matthew Lee Anderson has some good analysis:
The demands of social justice are something more than merely implications of the gospel. They are also conditions that help us see the gospel’s uniqueness, for we bear witness to that shalom inaugurated at the cross. Framing the gospel/justice relationship this way potentially reveals their inter-relationship more accurately than describing justice as a one-directional “implication” of the gospel. It opens the possibility that the church has unique insight into the nature of social justice (Christian ethics) that is not itself the same as the gospel. And this framing avoids making social justice something that is brought into the atonement in ways that potentially undermine its distinctiveness.
Western Seminary has just launched a new blog that you might find interesting. And, to celebrate, they’re giving away a bunch of books.
Bob Glenn on what to look for in a church
Jonathan Leeman - The Kingdom Gain of Congregationalism:
In a congregational church, every member jointly shares the authority, and therefore every member jointly owns the responsibility. By giving every new member a “vote” (in some cultural contexts) or by requiring some type of congregational “consensus” (in other cultural contexts), congregationalism says to every member joining the church, “You now have a share in the authority of this congregation, and therefore you now have a responsibility for this congregation and its gospel witness.” In other words, congregationalism involves more than participating in the life of the church. It involves owning a church’s gospel witness.