November 13, 2023
Settle In (Matthew 26:17-19)
The Lord's Supper invites God's family to the finely crafted table of his love . . .
Articles for tag: Neal Windham
September 20, 2023
Ozark Reaches $5.9 Million Goal (Plus News Briefs)
Supporters have helped Ozark Christian College meet the $5.9 million goal for its Ready To Go campaign which targets three initiatives. . . . Plus briefs about SpireConference (Sept. 26-28), the Midwest Ministers' Retreat (Oct. 23-24), a tragedy in Kansas, and more.
October 17, 2016
Faith & Virtue
How and Why America Is Still Searching By Neal Windham I fear that our ability””maybe even our desire””for dialogue is gone. What does this mean for a people whose first and greatest prayer is, “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”? I live and dwell and have my being in a nation that”s been in search mode for better than 50 years. Long before Google, in the decade of the Kennedys and Vietnam, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Greenwich Village and Haight-Ashbury, Americans were engulfed in a search for what it means to be a free
September 26, 2016
The Case for “˜Authentics”
By Neal Windham I recently took six college students to a state park not far from my home for an afternoon of prayer. It was a dreary spring day. Intermittent rain showers soaked our plans, cooled the air, and beckoned us to drier conditions after we toured the park. So we went to a Dairy Queen””you can always pray at a Dairy Queen””where we celebrated Abbey”s birthday over Blizzards and swapped some great stories. On the drive home, students began to sing. One of them asked if I had a request. “Sure,” I said, “How about something from The Sound
July 16, 2015
Casey Tygrett’s Thought Leaders
We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Casey Tygrett, spiritual formation pastor with Parkview Christian Church, Orland Park, Illinois. ________ Neal Windham, professor of spiritual formation at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian University and Seminary, is a mentor, friend, and a true gift to know. Neal has a way of speaking about spiritual formation that is biblically thorough and paired with a deep sensitivity to what it means to be
May 29, 2015
Cruciform Ministry (Romans 5:8)
By Neal Windham Garrison Keiller tells the story of how Clarence Bunson (at least, I think it was Clarence), a mainstay in Keillor”s fictional town of Lake Wobegon, lay cruciform, frozen to the roof of his Minnesota home in the thick of winter. Bunson had gone out to clean the snow off his roof and, tired from his work, had fallen asleep. Meanwhile, his wet clothing bonded to the frozen roof, rendering him immobile. Neighbors asked whether anything was wrong, and with characteristic Norwegian restraint he responded again and again, “No, I”m fine.” We know his character well, don”t we?
May 22, 2015
To Comfort All Who Mourn (Isaiah 61:1-3)
By Neal Windham The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners . . . to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion (Isaiah 61:1-3). Jesus loved Isaiah. Again and again, our Lord turned to the trusted old prophet to help orient his disciples in the compassionate ways of the kingdom. For example, he began the Sermon on the Mount
Passover Parallels (Matthew 26:17-19)
By Neal Windham Jesus” last supper was almost surely some sort of Passover meal. It was eaten at night while in Jerusalem, as custom would have it. Our Lord likely explained the meal”s key features, much as Jewish fathers would have done for their own children, though in Jesus” case the symbolism was developed in new and astonishing ways. “This is my body,” he said, “my blood.” More than this, Jesus ended the meal with a hymn, as was also customary at Passover, and celebrated it with his new “family,” the disciples, a Passover tradition dating to the time of
A Clean Break (1 Corinthians 11:20-23)
By Neal Windham Corinth is a beautiful city. Set on an isthmus dividing the Adriatic and Aegean seas, it was frequented by mariners avoiding the more treacherous waters of the Mediterranean in Paul”s day. As a result, it was a popular destination, well populated, and with a thriving economy. Remains of its stunning temple to Apollo stand in ruins to this very day, silently testifying to a distinctively pagan past. Little wonder that Paul had such a tough time with this church. It seems they were attempting to make the break with pagan society as slight as they possibly could.
Mystery
By Neal Windham When asked what”s missing when churches marginalize the Lord”s Supper by breaking bread casually and infrequently, Eugene Peterson replied, “Mystery.” He wasn”t talking about cheap novels or detective shows. No, he spoke of a mystery that runs so much deeper, a plot hatched in eternity, hidden for long ages, thoroughly misunderstood, often misrepresented, but, in the end, designed for our good, for our “glory,” as Paul put it. Peterson spoke of a narrative fit for God. The word mystery comes from muo, a Greek verb that means to close or shut. Our word mute shares this root.
December 17, 2014
Green Transitions to Become LCU’s 7th President
The Lincoln (IL) Christian University Board of Trustees announced today the unanimous selection of Dr. Don Green as LCU”s seventh president. Green has been serving as LCU”s transitional president since June 1. Though he has been acting with the full authority and responsibility of the office since June, his official tenure begins immediately. Green is a graduate of Lincoln Christian University (BA from the former Lincoln Christian College and MDiv from Lincoln Christian Seminary) and earned his DMin from the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School of Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL. Green has been an integral part of the Lincoln Christian community
December 12, 2014
Uneasy with the Times
By Neal Windham When I grow weary with the poverty that surrounds us, I remember one fact about the One whose birth we celebrate: When Jesus came to earth, he chose to be poor. Defining moments often arrive without warning. Back in my college days, somewhere around 1977, I was returning from work during a pelting thunderstorm when I came across a man who was wandering around in a ditch near the road. He had no raincoat or umbrella, and his hat and clothes were drenched, head to toe. I pulled over, invited him into the car, and asked what
January 6, 2014
The Consumption-Poverty Connection
By Neal Windham As the distance between the haves and the have-nots grows greater, Christians have an obligation and an opportunity to respond. “The good news is the market has won,” remarked well-known religious scholar Martin E. Marty at the close of the 20th century.1 By this, of course, he meant the global market had defeated the many closed antimarket systems of formerly communist countries. “The bad news [is]” he continued, “we . . . have not the faintest grasp of a social philosophy to animate, monitor, and inspire this market.” I could not agree with him more. It is
January 6, 2014
Fighting Against “˜the Death of Hope”
By Neal Windham Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire William T. Cavanaugh Wm. B. Eerdman”s Publishing Company, 2008 The United States has one of the lowest savings rates of any wealthy country, and we are the most indebted society in history. What really characterizes consumer culture is not attachment to things but detachment. People do not hoard money; they spend it. So warns William Cavanaugh in his book, Being Consumed (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008). Cavanaugh published these words at the beginning of the Great Recession, just as millions of baby boomers were readying to settle into their 401(k) lives. Having
November 29, 2013
‘Teacher, Don’t You Care?’ (Mark 4:38)
By Neal Windham Rembrandt’s wonderful painting Storm on the Sea of Galilee is a study in how the disciples interact with Jesus in the midst of a terrifying squall. The Dutch master uses light sparingly, but ever so carefully, highlighting the bow and its frantic crew. At the very front of the boat we see a man sitting cross-legged, arms extended, as he tends to the sail. He is lifted fully 10 feet off the sea’s violent surface by a massive and unforgiving wave. But he doesn’t appear to be worried or upset, even though he is about to take
November 22, 2013
“˜A Different Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:12, 13)
By Neal Windham A young man, skinny as a rail, makes his way to the front of the church during the hymn of decision, and for him the decision has not come easily. He has examined his world of commitment, belief, and action, as well as the biblical account of Jesus” life, death, burial, and resurrection, and has concluded in his late 20s that this faith is the real thing, that he wants to become a Christian. His eyes grow wide with interest and fear, however, as he observes the part-time preacher who is about to baptize him standing in
November 8, 2013
A Distant Engagement (Matthew 26:29)
By Neal Windham God warned Israel in various ways to follow him, but not to come too close. For example, Moses demanded a full disclosure of God”s glory, but was allowed only a glimpse from the safe vantage of shielded rock. Israel was to approach God”s holy mountain, but not touch it, which of course led to certain death. Similarly, the ark of the covenant could be seen but never touched. Isaiah”s peek at God”s fantastic holiness left him totally undone, a man of “unclean lips” dwelling among people of similar spiritual darkness. And only the high priest ascended the
November 1, 2013
What on Earth?
By Neal Windham Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). Even believers sometimes struggle with the fact that an instrument of execution is the dominant symbol of the Christian faith.1 So it should come as no surprise that many ancient Jews and Greeks found the cross unacceptable. Generally speaking, the religious quest is, after all, about life, not death. It is
February 18, 2013
Why Dwell in a House of Fear?
By Neal Windham A word may not mean what we think it means, especially if our emotions or preconceptions get in the way. Nowhere is this more true than when we talk about words associated with Spiritual formation. At age 2, my grandson Whit sometimes misunderstood the words of the songs he was learning. For example, “Jesus loves meat, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” and “You make all things beautiful out of dups” (not “dust”). Not surprisingly, as a 5-year-old, his father, Luke, used to sing, “Elsha died, Elsha died” in a minor key, dirgelike, weeping
April 2, 2011
Travel Light
By Neal Windham “We must learn to travel light if we hope to keep pace with Christ,” remarked Neville Ward, and who could argue the point? When times are good, it seems the church can afford “reasonable” debt and a growing staff, but when the economy turns sour, then what? In the best of all worlds the church and her mission should not be hampered in any way by a smoldering economy. In fact, the reverse is true. It is precisely the tough times that test our claim to be the loving people of Christ. For example, the early church”s
