From the title alone it is clear that this has the potential be a controversial article. Anytime one mentions the dreaded phrase “grace and works” thoughts of endless dispute swirl in one’s head at a pace that can only bring theological vertigo before the conversation even begins. Unless one is poised to duke it out, […]
Category Archives: My Journey with the Orthodox Church
“Are you Spirit filled?” This was the number one question on everyone’s mind in the charismatic, independent, evangelical churches I grew up in. This was also the question we projected on other groups or people who claimed to be Christian: “are they Spirit filled.” If they weren’t it did not mean they weren’t Christians, it […]
Boys are strange. Get two little boys together, whether good friends or not, and in no time flat they’ll be wrestling. I remember me and my cousin Ryan would wrestle for literally hours at a time. It’s amazing that we ever learned the English language because the only phrase we ever heard from our parents […]
The trouble with writing my reflections on the Orthodox Church liturgy is that so much of it is taught through experience. If one has not been absorbed in the Orthodox liturgy for quite some time it’s difficult to really say anything about it. Don’t misunderstand, I have plenty of books on the Orthodox Diving Liturgy, […]
Recently, I was asked by a good friend who has been faithfully reading these long-winded articles to define ‘liturgy.’ Indeed, liturgy is one of those great forgotten words in many church circles today. Sad to say, even with two degrees in theology, I did not have a working knowledge of it prior to my encounter […]
What is the “Church”? This routine question pops up in Christian discussions all the time. The usual answer is: The Church is not a building; it is the people who follow Christ. I suppose that’s a decent answer so far as it goes. But it’s a bit like saying, “the sun is hot.” Though true, […]
(Continuation from part one) “Eucharistic,” a word that meant basically nothing to me a year ago has become the all embracing concept for understanding the depth of the salvation that Christ provided. Indeed, it has become my means of understanding almost everything about the Christian life, and will probably serve as the basis for most […]
How on earth does a middle-American, charismatic, Evangelical, non-denominational, independent church going, ex-Mormon like me find himself drawn to Eastern Orthodoxy? Prior to a couple of years ago I had never so much as met an Orthodox Christian and I certainly could not have given a commentary on Eastern Orthodoxy, except to say that I […]
I have desired to write about my recent journey towards the Orthodox Christian faith for some time. Having been in the process of converting, for something like a year now, I am just now at the point where I think I can begin to comment on it (it often takes time to process significant moments […]
