Will They Come Back Next Week? The Challenges of Preaching at Christmas
We’ve seen them. We know them. We’ve shaken our heads over them, worried about them, prayed for them. Who are they? They are the “C&E”
John Bowen is Professor Emeritus of Evangelism at Wycliffe College in Toronto, where he was also the Director of the Institute of Evangelism. Before that, he worked a campus evangelist for Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. For over thirty years, John has been a popular speaker, teacher, and preacher, on university campuses, in churches and in classrooms, and at conferences, across Canada and the USA. His most recent book is The Unfolding Gospel: How the Good News Makes Sense of Discipleship, Church, Mission, and Everything Else (Fortress 2021).
We’ve seen them. We know them. We’ve shaken our heads over them, worried about them, prayed for them. Who are they? They are the “C&E”
I don’t remember much from my seminary days, and the things that I do remember would, I suspect, surprise those who said them. One professor,
“Mission,” “missional,” and even “missionality” seem to be everywhere. Bishops are talking about it. Candidates for ordination are talking about it. The leader’s guide to
Starting new churches has been a normal part of church life for 2,000 years. In the New Testament alone, 30 towns are mentioned where a
I don’t often read books more than once, though I feel I should. C. S. Lewis said it’s the mark of an educated person—though that’s
A few years ago, I got an email from an old college friend, Denis Alexander, at that time director of the Faraday Institute for Science
In Western societies, as I suggested last time, science and faith began with a warm and close relationship. But then there were misunderstandings, and the
I need to start with a confession: I am not a scientist. So, you might ask, what would I know about science and faith? I
Some people watch the movie Groundhog Day every February 2. Not me. The story is about a character who has to live the same day
Last time I checked, self-advertisement was not among the nine-fold fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace—all that good stuff—yes. Self-advertisement, not so much.
I can’t remember who it was that said it, but it stuck with me: “What the church needs is not better arguments but better metaphors.”
We have a tendency to tame the Bible—indeed, to tame Jesus. As one friend says, “Jesus was not your average Rotarian.” Life is safer and
Until then, we had done no more than exchange pleasantries on a Sunday morning. But one day Catherine asked if she could talk to me.
I do not consider myself “a person of faith.” There, I said it. Are you shocked? Yes, I attend my parish church regularly. I say the creed without crossing
What holds everything together? For many of us, the Christian faith is made up of fragments. Over here is the story of David and
Just the other day, I was challenged about the idea of “mission” and being “missional.” My friend said, “You can’t put mission before discipleship.” He
I remember once doing a debate on the rationality of faith with a philosophy professor in Montreal. In the course of the debate, I said
The camera always lies. Yes, yes, I know it’s not what we were taught, but think about it. Here is a photo of a child
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