Here is a link to the audio from a recent symposium at Wheaton College, where Nathan Hatch (Democratization of American Christianity), Mark Noll (Scandal of the Evangelical Mind), and John Piper (Desiring God) discussed the strengths and weaknesses of American Evangelicalism over the past 40 years.
HT:JT
The ancient Arminian/Calvinist hornet’s nest has been stirred. In his Resurgence address, Piper commented:
Here’s my rule of thumb: the more responsible a person is to shape the thoughts of others about God, the less Arminianism should be tolerated. Therefore church members should not be excommunicated for this view but elders and pastors and seminary and college teachers should be expected to hold the more fully biblical view of grace.
Piper clarifies in a follow up blog post:
What is not precise here is the implication of the word “should.” “The less Arminianism should be tolerated.” By way of clarification, I would say: In an Arminian institution, Arminians should be allowed to teach. But in institutions that regard Arminianism as defective view of God’s grace, they should not be allowed to teach. Or, more broadly, in an institution that thinks the truth is better served by having advocates of Arminianism and Calvinism, both should be allowed to teach.
After being out of a week-to-week pulpit for about two years, I have been forced to rethink and redevelop homeletical rhythms. In trying to develop these rhythms I have re-listened to a few preachers from my past—I have been fortunate enough to sit under some great preaching: Tommy Nelson, Haddon Robinson, Michael Quicke & John Piper, as well as soak up influence from Tim Keller.
All of these experiences have been formative in different ways. One thing I have learned is that I am none of these men, nor will I ever have such preaching stature, but that has not kept me from trying to learn how to preach the Scriptures better. Here are a few more things I have learned from them:
We read This is No Fairy Tale children’s book to our son once or twice a week. It is among the best I’ve come across. In fact, I read some excerpts from it to a group last night and people seemed to really like it.
Dale alternates between what the fairy tale version of the Jesus story would be and the biblical version. For example:
If this were a fairly tale, the young prince Jesus would have been taught to rule over people so that when he grew up, he would become their king.
The truth is, Jesus learned to work hard with his hands. His father taught him how to make things for people out of wood.
Dale Tolmasoff also happens to be a friend. His big heart and a deep love for God and others really come through in this book. The book concludes with a delightfully simple, Christian Hedonistic phrase (you’ll have to read it to find out!). Fittingly, the book’s forward is by John Piper.
