Every Sunday, we’ll be posting articles and links that are saying something important about church, culture, and mission. Here’s what resonated with us this week on the web:

Church & Theology

Scot McKnight asks a question alongside Aaron Chalmers: What is a prophet?

One must, I would add, also ask if the Bible’s sense of prophet can be transferred to criticism of The Man and The Man’s Systemic Forces. One must at least ask if a prophet is not a calling of God to speak a word from God to the people of God? That is, that prophecy is about a calling that leads to “friendly fire” — critique of the church and its leaders from within.

Greg Boyd writes at ReKnew about the Cruciform Trinity:

This means that, when the Son emptied himself to identify fully with our limited humanity, our sin, and our God-forsakeness, he was not doing something that was alien to God’s eternal nature. Rather, as Bauckham puts it, “[i]n this act of self-giving God is most truly himself and defines himself for the world.” The perfect, humble, other-oriented love that is displayed in the self-emptying of the Incarnation and Crucifixion, considered as one revelatory act, reveals God precisely because it reflects what God is like within himself and throughout eternity. Torrance argues that, “the atoning act perfected in the cross of Jesus Christ is grounded in the very being of the eternal God, that is, in the eternal being of the Holy Trinity.” 

The V3 Movement blog introduces us to Praxis presenter Gideon Tsang:

In 2013, The New York Times published an article about Gideon, Vox Veniae, and Space 12. The article, “Breaking the Evangelical Mold at a Church With Ethnic Roots,” touches on the arc of Gideon’s jouney as pastor of an Austin Chinese Church church plant intended to reach university students in the heart of the city. It goes on to reveal how this missional community organically grew to becoming a diverse, neighborhood church with a heart for the plight of the less fortunate living on the city’s historically overlooked east side.

News & Views

Sarah Bessey writes at Christianity Today about being a charismatic Christian:

After a season when I walked far away from our traditions, gathering the greater story of our church, I eventually found myself corkscrewing back over and over again to the teachings of my childhood, the songs, the practices, the theology, even the emphasis on empowerment of the Spirit for living. I’m learning to reclaim my tradition’s great gifts to me.

Jonathan Merritt interviews Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore at Religion News Service:

Q: Why do you think the Christian cake baker should be able to refuse service on religious grounds to an LGBT couple, but should not be able to refuse service on religious grounds to an interracial couple or Muslim couple?

A: I don’t think the issue is refusing service, but participating in a wedding that is a moral violation of their conscience. The belief about human sexuality is one held by every major religion. This is not some novel idea.

Brian Zahnd makes a Transfiguration comparison on the anniversary of Hiroshima:

The face shining brighter than the sun that saves the world is not “Little Boy” over Hiroshima or “Fat Man” over Nagasaki, but the Son of Man shining over Tabor. When Jesus was transfigured, God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” Jesus is what God has to say.

Favorite Podcasts

Don Coleman on the Fresh Expressions US podcast.

Brad Jersak on the Newsworthy With Norsworthy podcast.

John Mark McMillan on the Seminary Dropout podcast.

On The Missio Blog

Am I Really Non-Violent? by Matt Tebbe.

The Patrick Option, by John Hawthorne.

Theology On Mission Podcast #7: Not Sharing THAT Gospel, by Missio Alliance.

Race, Gender, Justice: How Should The Church Respond When People Reach The Boiling Point? by Kris Beckert.

10 Reasons Our Existing Church Planting Conferences Aren’t Enough, by Missio Alliance.

The Spirituality Of Jesus: Stop And Go? by Karina Kreminski.