The Crooked Mouth - Latest Comments

Re: So You Have a DMin…

Anderson Campbell — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:07:38 -0000

No? Bummer.

Re: So You Have a DMin…

Donna K. Wallace — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:01:38 -0000

Yeah, thanks. It didn't really make my day.

Re: So You Have a DMin…

Jason Clark — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:12:18 -0000

:-)

Re: So You Have a DMin…

Christian Piatt — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:23:41 -0000

Ahh ministry

Re: Just Call Me “Bea”

John Stauffer — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:50:29 -0000

Good Morning (Bea) Dr Campbell, I feel your pain or is it just your bounding. I have bounded out of full time church ministry to being an attender and in June will bound into Samaritan Health in Corvallis to spend the summer as a CPE intern. I turn 70 May 6, and will most likely continue to bound following my summer. It is not the bounding that is worrisome to me, it is in the landing and not responding to the current call. I have never stood in awe of people who stay in one place for twenty years and then stated that they wished that they had bounded. You have done good in each landing and maybe wondered if you had done good when bounding again. I served ten years during my two degree sessions as GFES as interim pastor at three churches. They have all finally settled on new pastors, bounding from one to another after I bounded out to something else. As I see it , if I do God's work as I feel it is at the time and I do not leave damage behind I shall continue to be that way. I do not see the process any different than the person who finds satisfaction to their passion in teaching at several universities at once and as a guest speaker at a retreat while writing a new book. I beleive you are a man of God and I hope that as you bound you remain bonded to Christ.

Re: It’s Not the Labels, It’s the Labeling

zhoag — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:07:12 -0000

dude! honor's all mine. thanks for the update from tony's twitter - that's really helpful.

Re: It’s Not the Labels, It’s the Labeling

Anderson Campbell — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:45:14 -0000

Thanks for reading and commenting, Zach. It's always an honor. I think only Tony can address the source of the reaction, but he seemed to agree with the overall thrust of this post. See: https://twitter.com/jonestony/...

Re: It’s Not the Labels, It’s the Labeling

zhoag — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:39:53 -0000

Thanks for posting this man, a needed perspective. After going back and forth with Tony a bit, my feelings are mixed as to where his reaction is coming from (i.e., if it's really about the label or more about Tony's brand). But, I'm hoping that there can be better conversation between these guys and not just defensiveness, etc.

Re: It’s Not the Labels, It’s the Labeling

Theresa — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:59:51 -0000

How about we just drop the lables on ourselves? I have a very good friend whom if anyone would meet her, they would place a label on her....hair in bun, wears dresses always and no make up. By now, most readers already have her labeled.."Oh yeah...I've seen "those "people. They are________." Yet she gives herself no label. She loves the Lord and although we differ in some things ( speaking in tongue for example) it does not take away from our Christ center faith we both have. It is such a kill joy to see so many "leaders" of this group or that publicly debate SO OFTEN. Its like they thrive on it. Can't see how that can be a witness to anyone.

Re: Jesus Peed His Pants!

Anderson Campbell — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:59:39 -0000

Thanks Chris. I am often amazed at how much I learn about from my kids.

Re: Jesus Peed His Pants!

Chris Morris — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:32:12 -0000

Andy,
I love this idea. We grow far too comfortable with the idea of Jesus as a holy God. Thinking about the idea that Jesus peed His pants brings it down to reality for us. I would personally do well to recall this more often.

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Pete Garcia — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:44:33 -0000

Deal.

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Anderson Campbell — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:25:12 -0000

Thanks Pete for your insights. I'd written up a long, point by point response but it bordered on another blog post itself. Suffice it to say that, as a member of Generation X, I stand between Olson and his Boomer friends on the one hand, and Evans and her Millenial friends on the other. I am invested in the critique of labels and structures, but cannot so quickly discard them and proclaim them dead because they become problematic. I have a lot of thoughts on what biblicism is and is not, thoughts rooted in an historical understanding of that term and of the evangelical ethos, and how it differs from the inerrantist's biblioaltry. All these things I'd love to discuss, but perhaps over a beer.

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Pete Garcia — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 19:50:30 -0000

I've been thinking about all this since the event and want to weigh in a bit. Don't have many fully worked out thoughts, but I'll throw in my two cents.

1. As Rachel and Roger differ on the helpfulness/vitality of the term, we observe that Rachel--who I resonate with--is critical of and "outside" of the church, whereas Olson remains denominationally affiliated (whereas many Millennials, myself included, resist this) and a part of a large Christian institution. The generational difference between the two is important as well in this discussion. Olson is holding onto and fighting for something that many young Christians aren't convinced is worth it.

2. Olson didn't really expand on this evangelical ethos. Namely, the relationship between the ethos of "biblicism" and the authority of the scriptures. This is important as the question of authority determines much of how we engage doctrine. Which brings me to the next point.

3. What doctrines do his evangelical ethos imply? Doctrine is an increasingly uncomfortable and messy area for many of us (if I may project a bit), and Olson's insistence upon orthodoxy is more of the same evangelical problem us questioners rub up against. What room is there within evangelicalism for a radical theology, for doctrinal--not just ecclesial--critique?

I think that many of the concerns of this conversation actually hinge upon biblical authority and biblicism. Even though I am myself "outside" of the church for now, I resonated with what Rachel said in evangelicalism being her mother tongue; this is the faith and expression and identity that has shaped and formed me. With that said, though, the name by which we call a transformative Christianity is less important to me than whether or not we are radically inclusive and critical of the certainties that hold us back from faith.

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Anderson Campbell — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:00:34 -0000

In a lot of ways, being in the center is the most difficult. You get pulled by folks on both sides of you. Olson mentioned that one of the ways you know you are in the center is if you are taking hits from both sides. He also mentioned wanting to be off the left-right spectrum. I can resonate with that. The problem is that people who find comfort in that spectrum and its boxes are quick to put you right back on it. I suppose we all just need some thicker skin!

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Warren — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:27:43 -0000

Andy, for me the question is about more than just the word. What I see is that the evangelical world is fragmenting into the 3 streams Roger mentioned (and perhaps more) and this fragmentation is real on the ground and catching people. Yes, there is overlap, but the voices you mentioned (Keller, Mouw, McKnight) are the moderate and reasonable voices. There are a lot out there that aren't. in my local context, i find there is not a lot of middle ground; you are either in the neo-fundamentalist camp, (which in my area is coming to define the larger and bigger churches) or you are a liberal. (my apologies to liberals, but in the theological world I grew up in and still live 'being liberal' is about the worst thing you can be); there is not a lot of room to exist in the middle or on the boundaries (I would put myself between conservative-moderate and post-conservative).

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Dan Stringer — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:40:04 -0000

Very true, Anderson. I totally hear you. It's a loaded term for sure, but so is "Christian" (or Catholic, Mormon, Muslim etc). None of these labels poll very well among non-adherents. They all get externally stereotyped, oversimplified and misunderstood (except for Red Letter Christians of course :-).

It also feels very evangelical to fret about PR and perception management. Perhaps it's a habit we acquired during the political glory days. We have such an impoverished sense of tradition and (small c) catholicity that we've become more trend-dependent than other faith groups. Are Jesuits or Quakers this worried about their image?

So I wonder if the issue of evangelicalism's reputation is more of a discipleship/idolatry problem than a PR one. Better favorability numbers would be nice, but so would a unifying tradition (and a name for it) to keep us grounded. Maybe then we could embrace the best of our complex, vibrant and multifaceted heritage to break the cycle of reactionary, individualist, "chronological snobbery" as Lewis called it. And if this movement could be understood as something broader and deeper than the socio-cultural preferences of a single generation on a single continent, we'd probably be less concerned with test marketing it for our intended audience.

Sorry for the long comments. Love your blog. All the best to you at George Fox Seminary, an important hub on the evangelical landscape.

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Anderson Campbell — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 22:14:20 -0000

Great thoughts, Dan. I think you are spot on regarding the internal blurring of the three threads Olson pulled out of the dead NAE movement. However, "evangelical" still suffers from a PR problem. Those who are not evangelical reduce the complexities into a voting block. While the forces which animate evangelical sentiment may be alive and well, I'm not sure the word will ever be helpful again, at least externally. Thanks for your thoughts.

Re: Is Evangelicalism Dead? Does It Matter?

Dan Stringer — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:40:05 -0000

Evangelicalism doesn't need to fit snugly to be alive and well. Divorcing "movement" from "ethos" requires a narrow, culture-bound understanding of the former (white, American, late 20th century) and a broader, inclusive definition of the latter (namely all the vibrant, diverse, global, Bebbington-Noll features extracted from a white/American/C20th context).

Even if we use Olson's 3 sub-streams represented by voices like Keller, Mouw and McKnight respectively, a huge overlap exists. For example, Keller frequently recommends Mouw's work on culture/vocation, while Fuller Seminary is a significant sponsor and alma mater for many in MissioAlliance. All 3 have written for CT and published with Zondervan. Granted, the blogosphere gets ugly whenever we antagonistically focus on who/what we're "not" (cherry picking sound bites from other camp's worst moments), but this is hardly a seas-apart schism. It's what evangelicals do. We actively critique, adapt, re-imagine and voice our ideas. We begin new projects we hope will make a difference.

If "evangelical" is not still the best one-word descriptor of the kind of Christianity embodied by the likes of Keller, Mouw and McKnight (as well as organizations like InterVarsity, IJM and World Vision) on this continent, not to mention many other non-white expressions both locally and in the Global South, I'm not sure what is. To simply call it "Christianity" ignores the significance of RC & Orthodox traditions. To call it "Protestant" misses something too. We may not always like who we are or what our reputation has become in recent times, but we still need the e-word for now until something better sticks.

Re: Cafeteria Spirituality, A Wild Lion, & the Death of Death

Anderson Campbell — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:18:22 -0000

Thanks, John! I think you're right about the "head in the sand" bit. James Luther Mays' commentary on the opening verses of this chapter refers to Israel as "zombies . . . the walking dead" who go through the motions of religion without paying much attention to what any of it means. And this was decades before AMC's show!

Re: Cafeteria Spirituality, A Wild Lion, & the Death of Death

John Stauffer — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:01:33 -0000

Andy, You have scared us all, well not really, but you have cause reason for provoking thought. I admit that I have never even considered delivering let alone creating a sermon or five minute talk on this chapter. I have read and re-read the passage trying to come up with a comment worthy of what you must have developed. What I can take away without going to commentary and other books is that specifically the Scripture is speaking to a head in the sand nation of people who do not want to believe that the impending destruction is coming. Application for me and those to whom I minister may be to act now on the need for repenting of sin. Now I know that is simplistic, but I am a simple man. All to often we who call ourselves Christians find it very comfortable to not do what Scripture leads us to do in obedience to God's will not to mention instruction and command. Wish I could be there to hear. Hope you will send me the message.

Re: Lent for Newbies

Jennifer Morrison Breen — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 09:05:56 -0000

This was great. Thanks for sharing these helpful hints for people who maybe new to Lent or struggling how to participate in Lent. I am giving up fiction books for Lent. I read alot so my reading time will be spent in my bible or study books for the next 40 days.

Re: Lent for Newbies

Anderson Campbell — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 17:53:30 -0000

That's great! I should ask to join the page. I'm always interested in what OCMC is up to.

Re: Lent for Newbies

Leonard Dow — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:58:51 -0000

Yo you went viral on OCMC's fb page! Ok maybe not viral but your posted ... so thank you!

Re: 3 Features of Future Evangelicalism

1WayPublishing — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 14:16:30 -0000

Fair enough. Appreciate your emphasis on practical theology.