The Theologian's Table

Alternate title: What I Know Only Based on Observing and not Actually Participating. So, because I blog, I often read other blogs. Some of them are entertainment blogs, but most have to do with Christianity. There are certain blogs in the Christian sphere that have really become beyond annoying. They are whiny, preachy, and don't offer a lot in the way of solutions. They all have to do with kids Sunday school and youth ministry. Most of these blogs say, and I'm paraphrasing, "We need to stop doing this, we need to stop doing that, stop with the lock-ins, the Superbowl parties, and turning worship into a rock show!" The criticism mounts to the point that what the church is doing is not working. Some of these criticisms may have some validity, but most of the time they come off as condescending, insulting and insinuate that the kids and youth group leaders are being lazy. When presenting solutions, all we get from the authors is that we need to re-evaluate how the c...

People in the ministry are always in someway under the microscope. I often have loved ones coming to me and saying, "Should you be saying things like this, or that?" and "Should a pastor be into those types of things considering this, or that?" I understand their concerns, however, I have always tried to be unflinchingly honest with both where I am and where I've been, especially in regards to my Christian faith. I don't want people thinking they have to sort out any baloney in what I say, or that the past of those who serve in the ministry are squeaky clean. With that said, the chapter in my life right now seems to be about reflection and revelation. In a previous post I had mentioned that for a time in my early twenties I had walked a way from God. During that time I had a brief flirtation with Scientology, in fact it was right around the time Tom Cruise was being criticized for what he said about Psychology and medication for psychological conditions....

Millennials Find Jesus - J Ward - Flickr There have been a lot of noisy articles and blogs out there about how my generation of Millennials have been leaving the Church, or how the contemporary worship model is not cutting it for them anymore. Popular Christian bloggers, such as Rachel Held Evans, have written  why they left their traditions, whereas mainstream news outlets have only speculated on the issues of the church and Millennials based on statistics from the Pew Research Center . Luckily, for the 5 whole readers of my blog, I have decided to add my voice regarding this subject! My church-going history has been somewhat diverse, it went from Pentecostal to Baptist to Anabaptist to Non-denominational (Baptist lite) and currently back to something resembling Pentecostal. The latest transition has been transformational yet challenging as my wife and I decided to leave the non-denominational church we have attended for the past two years. We are now struggling to find a ...

Well, now that I have fixed some formatting issues along with a few typos, I can finally re-post this. Below is a paper I wrote for my Christian Theology class concerning the Christus Victor view of the Atonement and why it is a relevant, Scripturally sound, albeit incomplete, view that adds more richness to the Christian faith.  THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHRISTUS VICTOR VIEW OF ATONEMENT  Introduction  Finding salvation through Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, but many people seeking faith and those who are living an atheistic, or agnostic lifestyle may not understand why they need to be saved, or what s/he needs to be saved from. The next issue for these people may happen to be the issue of what Christ’s sacrifice on the cross does for their potential salvation. For the church today, we are blessed by God to have been given many great thinkers over the past twenty centuries that have mulled over these issues and created detailed accounts of ho...

Mary Ann Morgan  - "Worshiping hand on blue" - Flickr Disclaimer : They say honesty is the best policy, but it can sometimes lead to hurt feelings or offense. What I have to say in this post may hurt some. All I can do is apologize in advance and tell you that writing posts such as this helps me sort through my thoughts and clarify my positions. Of course, feedback is always welcomed. Generalizations           I'm not sure if the average Southerner is aware that there are certain stereotypes pitted against them when it comes to spirituality. It may not be the case for every Northerner to hold these views, but this one did. What I'm talking about of course is the stereotype that most Southerners who go to church are swinging off the chandeliers, speaking in tongues, falling over in the aisle types of worshipers. Or they are people who check their mind at the door, sing hymns and passively listen to a preacher shout fire and...