I don’t know about you, but sometimes I despair about the quality of online conversations among Christians. I’m sure that every tribe has their issues, but we Anglicans can be particularly menacing in Twitter threads and Facebook comments. We’re trying to chart a better, “clarity and charity” path forward here at Anglican Compass, but it’s tough to do! […]
Theology and worship are, or at least ought to be, inseparable. Furthermore, every Christian is a theologian, not just the academics. And we Christians should follow the examples of our early brothers and sisters in Christ who “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). What a fine […]
When the story of Jesus’s crucifixion is told in the Gospel, Jesus is said to have spoken these words in Aramaic: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” (“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”)
Perhaps because these words are the most famous of Psalm 22, their […]
When Jesus was crucified on His Cross, the last words He spoke before he died are extraordinary examples of what was in His heart. Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” This is one of the most passionate and intense moments in the entire Scripture—the Son of God crying out the opening […]
Psalm 22 is a pilgrimage from the depths of pain and suffering to the final proclamation of victory. Jesus knew the entire psalm by heart and understood the psalm as a prophetic depiction of his own death but also a prophetic declaration of hope and victory at the end. The Psalm on the Cross is a […]
These were the dying words of Jesus as he hung on the cross on Mount Calvary. But what did He mean by them?
These words are read as part of the “Seven Last Words of Jesus from The Cross”. And they raise […]
“Convertirse al amor que nos visita”
In 1977, in the country named after our Lord (El Salvador), St. Oscar Romero greeted those in attendance and listening over the radio as he preached on Christmas Eve (using the same texts prescribed in the ACNA’s lectionary for Christmas: Isaiah 9:1-6; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14).
Now, as a Latino priest myself, Romero is a […]
Ministry life can be overwhelming at any time, but with a pandemic, the pressure is even greater. I’ve been working with pastors as a canon for the past eight years, but this past year has been the most stressful for pastors I’ve ever seen.
When I experienced burnout ten years ago, I had many supporters who helped me find […]
Editor’s note: As with all of our “Opinion” pieces, the following guest post does not represent an official position of Anglican Compass. With the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, Anglican Compass believes that “the Baptism of young Children is in any wise to be retained. in the Church, as most agreeable with the institution of Christ” (Article 27, “On […]
Have you wondered how you can continue to grow in your knowledge of God during this difficult time? Do you want to learn more about the essentials of the Christian faith, but don’t know where to begin? If so, I would like to invite you to listen to the “This We Believe” podcast, which answers these questions by […]
I have a unique position in the church today. I used to be a Rector of a large church in North Dallas. (Christ Church in Plano, TX). But I am no longer a Rector. Instead, I have the good fortune to hang out, teach, coach, and encourage a lot of Rectors. During this challenging year, most of this has been […]
The following is an interview with Anglican Compass author Duane Miller about his new book, I Will Give Them an Everlasting Name: Pastoral Care for Christ’s Converts from Islam.
Anglican churches, schools, […]
Anglicanism taught me that the Church exists.
I once thought that everyone had their own relationship with Jesus and they got together on Sundays to sing and talk about it. I know now that the Church is a ‘she’ not an ‘it,’ a great tradition that spans time and space, and a real spiritual home […]
You’ve probably heard of the Alpha Course. Alpha is a place for seeking, curious, or burned-out people to ask questions and explore the basics of the Christian faith without judgment or expectation to believe. Some people use it to introduce people to the Christian faith, others as […]
As one who thinks and writes a lot about catechesis, I was delighted to read Zachary Jones’ recent article, “Catechesis as a Weapon against Racism.” In it, Jones makes the salient but easily neglected point that racism is a cosmic as well as terrestrial force, a battle over what it means to be human as well as […]
Question: How do you become a Christian?
(Common) Answer: “Say ‘yes’ to Jesus.”
Is this good enough?
I would suggest it isn’t. Is this any different than saying “yes” to a new pair of shoes or the latest Instagram trend? This is not a robust understanding of conversion […]
I have been in writing ministry for over twenty years. I hate to admit it, but I still need a good editor!
The pastors and laypeople who write for us are volunteers. They are busy in their ministry, and yet they take the time to share insights, explanations, and inspirations with us all. Our managing […]
As someone who grew up evangelical Protestant, I always viewed the doctrinal distinctives of the Church of Rome with suspicion. To me, one of the stranger elements of Roman piety and practice was devotion to the Virgin Mary. I always believed Mary was important and special. She miraculously conceived our Lord, after all! However, because of Roman dogmas, […]
On October 31, Protestant churches celebrate Reformation Day, remembering the famous nailing of the 95 theses by Martin Luther to the Wittenburg door in 1517.
Why celebrate this over 500 years later? Well, a Latin phrase that emerged from the Protestant movement is semper reformanda: the Church should be “always reforming.”
When […]
When it comes to learning the essentials of the Christian faith, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel (in fact, please don’t!).
Christians have covered the basics in a process of instruction and learning called “catechesis” for centuries. And documents used for this purposed (called “catechisms”) have frequently focused on the Apostles’ Creed, the […]
One of the first things I knew about my husband was that he had been accepted to two different seminaries. The following conversation was all about how he had spent the past year trying to discern what God was calling him to do. At the time, he thought God was calling him to become a counselor; I wouldn’t […]
Growing up in the Church, Scripture passages that tell me to be perfect, mature, or grow up in Christ gave me both a pit in my stomach and a desire for maturity. I wanted to be mature, but it always felt like an impossible feat. Have you felt that? It kind of feels like the Christian equivalent of […]
What does it mean to have a ‘personal relationship’ with Jesus Christ? One thing it does not mean is ‘customized’. In this excerpt from When the Lord is My Shepherd: Finding Hope in a Hard Time, we go deeper into the pastoral connections that we are promised.
Believing that the Lord is a shepherd is a pastoral […]
Ours is an age of happy-clappy religion in which everyone thinks that true spirituality is marked by Cheshire grins and saccharine clichés. But this isn’t Christianity, it’s a caricature. It is little more than Stoicism with a toothy facade painted onto it.
Christianity grew from the fertile soil of Judaism, with its rich tradition of […]
