Archive for the ‘john stott’ tag
A Faith & Culture Devotional
A Faith and Culture Devotional
If you don’t already have a copy of A Faith & Culture Devotional, click here to learn how to enter a drawing for a free copy. The first drawing is on August 31st and the second on September 7th. Whether or not you win a copy, consider starting off the new term with a copy in hand.
Thank-you to Kelly Monroe Kullberg for her work on this project and the gift of this week’s devo from John Stott, see excerpt below. Note: You may remember our June study Stott’s classic Your Mind Matters.
I believe that anti‐intellectualism and fullness of the Holy Spirit are mutually incompatible. And I dare to say it because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. Jesus our Lord himself referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth, and therefore, it is only logical to say that wherever the Holy Spirit has given his freedom, truth is bound to matter. So I have argued, and argue still, that a proper, conscientious use of our minds is an inevitable part and parcel of our Christian life. …
Is there a Christian intellectual presence on your campus?
One form of Christian presence on campus.
A few different strands of thought came together for me this morning in the form of a question. Let me throw out the question first, and then elaborate.
Is there a public Christian intellectual presence on your campus?
Here are the threads that came together for me. First, in our recent book discussion of John Stott’s Your Mind Matters, Stott describes a kind of intellectualism that is very public. For example, in chapter 3, he “examines six spheres of Christian living, each of which is impossible without the proper use of the mind”: worship, faith, holiness, guidance, evangelism, and ministry. These have internal and private aspects, but also external, public aspects. I’d be willing to bet that, on your campus, there are at least two or three of these which are very public indeed. Picture the sidewalk evangelists who roam through each year, or campus ministry student outreach events. On some campuses, worship or holiness might have similar public aspects.
Image credit: falonyates via Flickr.
Your Mind Matters 4: Acting on Our Knowledge
Your Mind Matters
John Stott wraps up Your Mind Matters with “Acting on Our Knowledge.” He begins by pointing out that we avoid the swing from anti-intellectualism to hyper-intellectualism, by remembering “just one thing: God never intends knowledge to be an end in itself but always to be means to some other end.”
As a corollary to the mind and biblical knowledge being essential to the six spheres of Christian living, see Your Mind Matters 3: The Mind in Christian Life, Stott highlights the truth that:
“the acquisition of biblical knowledge must lead into these things [i.e., the six spheres] and enrich our experience of them. Knowledge carries with it the solemn responsibility to act on the knowledge we have, to translate our knowledge into appropriate behavior.”
As a result, we find knowledge leading to worship, faith, holiness, and love.
Knowledge is indispensable to Christian life and service. If we do not use the mind which God has given us, we condemn ourselves to spiritual superficiality and cut ourselves off from many of the riches of God’s grace. … What we need is not less knowledge but more knowledge, so long as we act upon it. …
How have you found knowledge leading to worship, faith, holiness, and/or love? Do you have particular illustrations in your own life and/or those of other followers of Christ (present or past) to share with the ESN community?
To inspire you, below’s a quote from A Priest Serving in Nature’s Temple: Robert Boyle’s Career Blended Faith, Doubt, and the Use of Science to Heal Disease and Fight Atheism.
Robert Boyle (1627-91)
As he [Robert Boyle, 1627-91] stated in A Disquisition about the Final Causes of Natural Things, he desired “that my Reader should not barely observe the Wisdom of God, but be in some measure Affectively Convinc’d of it.” There was no better way, in Boyle’s opinion, to “give us so great a wonder and veneration for it,” than “by Knowing and Considering the Admirable Contrivance of the Particular Productions of that Immense Wisdom,” by which he mainly meant the exquisitely fashioned parts of animals both great and small. Thereby, Boyle believed, “Men may be brought, upon the same account, both to acknowledge God, to admire Him, and to thank Him.” A pious and humble man, Boyle always sought to cultivate the same attitude in others. — Ted Davis Christian History 21(4) (November 2002): 28-31.
Note: For more visit the Robert Boyle Project and read Davis’ longer article Robert Boyle’s Religious Life, Attitudes, and Vocation Science & Christian Belief 19.2 (2007): 117-38. If you’re interested in my notes from Davis’ 6/29/2009 lecture on Robert Boyle’s Religious Life, Attitudes, and Vocation, drop me an email.
Your Mind Matters 3: The Mind in Christian Life
We continue our ESN Book Club discussion of John Stott’s Your Mind Matters with chapter 3, “The Mind in Christian Life.” Stott “examines six spheres of Christian living, each of which is impossible without the proper use of the mind,” namely:
- Christian worship
- Christian faith
- Christian holiness
- Christian guidance
- Christian evangelism
- Christian ministry
We could discuss all of these if we had time, but two items on this list which particularly struck me were holiness and guidance. Read the rest of this entry »
Your Mind Matters 2: Why Use Our Minds?
Your Mind Matters
In the section entitled thinking God’s thoughts, John Stott argues Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:18-21
refer to God’s self-revelation through the created order. Although it is a proclamation without speech, a voice without words, yet as a result of it all men to some degree “know God.” This assumed ability of man to read what God has written in the universe is extremely important. All scientific research depends upon it, upon a correspondence between the character of what is being investigated and the mind of the investigator. This correspondence is rationality. Man is able to comprehend the processes of nature. They are not mysterious. They are logically explicable in terms of cause and effect. Christians believe that this common rationality between man’s mind and observable phenomena is due to the Creator who has expressed his mind in both. As a result, in the astronomer Kepler’s famous words, men can “think God’s thoughts after him.” — Your Mind Matters, p.28
Do you agree? Can human beings think God’s thoughts after him? Is this the basis of science and possibly even the use of the mind in general? Is that how you approach decision making, research, teaching, and writing?
Let’s begin chatting. … In a few days I’ll throw out a couple more questions from the Chapter 2.
Your Mind Matters 1: Mindless Christianity
Your Mind Matters
This week starts our first ESN Book Club. Over the next four weeks, Tom and I will be leading our discussion of John Stott’s classic, Your Mind Matters. If you don’t have a copy of the book, our introduction to the ESN Book Club includes several options where you can buy it. This week, we’ll be discussing the Mark Noll’s foreword and chapter one, “Mindless Christianity,” which are available as free PDF downloads from InterVarsity Press.
Here’s how this will work: Tom and I will alternate with a post about the book each Tuesday (Thursday and Friday will be other topics as usual). The key is that we want to discuss the book, not simply review it, so we’ll highlight key passages and raise questions about the chapter, with your thoughts eagerly desired. I’m the first to admit that it won’t be as fun as a face-to-face book club, but if you want to take your laptop to your local coffee shop and sit in a comfy chair while commenting, that might help recreate the effect.
[BTW, if you are hosting a physical ESN book discussion, let us know and we'll be happy to spread the word.]
After the jump: Mark Noll’s Foreword and John Stott’s chapter on “mindless Christianity.” Read the rest of this entry »
Week in Review
[Editor's note: This is a new weekly feature from your blog contributors. Each week, we'll be posting articles, books, news, etc., that Tom, Mike, and the ESN community have been pondering. If you have a book or article you'd like us to add to next week's Review, add it in the comments or send it to either Mike or Tom. Thanks!]
After Accepting Students, NYU Asks Them: Are We Too Costly for You? (Chronicle of Higher Education, $) – NYU is asking admitted students to consider whether they can truly afford to attend.
Not Moving On Up – The MLA’s new report (Standing Still) finds that women are promoted to full professor at a slower rate than men, and that pregnancy and childrearing may not have much to do with the trend.
Following Christ 2008 track audios: Lots of good material! Join Tom in digging in, discussing, and passing along to those with interest.
Pastor and Scholar: John Piper and D.A. Carson recently spoke together on the topics “The Pastor as Scholar” (Piper) and “The Scholar as Pastor” (Carson) at an event sponsored by TEDS. They mostly focused on theological/seminary scholarship, but lots of good stuff about vocation, the integration of faith, life, and learning, and personal experiences. Audio, video, and manuscripts are available for download.
Do you need a PhD to teach in higher education? Rob Jenkins doesn’t think so.
Tech Stuff
Amazon releases the Kindle DX
Omeka – A new open-source project for online archives, scholarly websites, and other “complex narratives.” (HT: Dan Cohen)
Free Amazon Web Services for Academics – Mike has no idea what this actually means, but he’s sure it will be useful to someone. (HT: MacWorld)
Books
Your Mind Matters by John Stott. In June, we’re going to begin an on-line discussion series of this 93 page classic introduction to Christian thinking. In order to be prepared, Tom once again picked up his heavily notated edition. If you don’t already have a copy of Your Mind Matters, borrow one from your InterVarsity staff or order one with your Emerging Scholars Network discount for InterVarsity Press. More details tba ;-)
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive & Others Die by Chip & Dan Heath (HT: Mike). In the first chapter, Tom’s most impressed with Commander’s Intent, what he summarizes as the compact, core idea which guides good decision making in the field as one’s best laid plans unwind in the midst of the daily grind. Love this quote, “No plan survives contact with the enemy. No doubt this principle has resonance for people who have no military experience whatsoever. No sales plan survives contact with the customer. No lesson plan survives contact with teenagers” (p.27, italics in original text).
Reaching the Campus Tribes by Benson Hines is a free on-line book exploring campus ministry in the USA (HT: The IVY Jungle Network Campus Ministry April 2009 Update). Tom encourages you to take the time to download, skim, enjoy the pics, and share your thoughts. He’s posted some initial reflections here and more here.
