Secularization. Disunity within the faith. Christians standing by—even participating—in horrific acts of genocide. These acts are some of the sobering issues that Brian Stanley explores in his ambitious, one-volume history of twentieth-century Christianity.
"The Kingdom of God Has No Borders" provides us with a wide-ranging, closely researched account of just how American evangelicals have been involved overseas—and to a lesser extent, of how that involvement played out back home.
Brad Littlejohn states that, "One of the most frequently-misunderstood Reformation doctrines is Luther’s assertion of the 'priesthood of all believers'" and gives an in-depth, historical look into this doctrine.
A careful reading of African-American church history reveals that African Americans have a long history in Presbyterianism. Despite the small numbers of African-American Presbyterians relative to the overall numbers of African-American Christians, they must be considered an important population within the broader scope of the African-American church tradition, owing to their beginnings in slavery and their prophetic voices within the Church and American society.
If we spend all of our time trying to discern who is the truest “true church”, I believe we contradict the vision contained in Revelation. As churches and denominations, we should continue to develop our unique accent or voice in God’s great choir—realizing that we might miss a note from time to time, and that there will be some dissonance, but that the most important part is that we are all singing the same song, glorifying the King.
Is it ever appropriate to acknowledge national symbols in corporate worship? These questions, like all questions related to worship and devotional practice, are deeply personal and depend as much on the motives behind what we do as the actual practices themselves.
