David Smith

How to Become Anglican and Join an Anglican Church

Posted on March 15, 2021
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Whether you are a new believer or a long-time follower of Jesus Christ, maybe youโ€™ve found a church in the Anglican tradition that youโ€™d like to join. How do you do that? What does it look like for you to become Anglican? In this article, I hope to clarify what church membership is, how it…

The Foolishness of God: Reclaiming Preaching in the Anglican Tradition (Review)

Posted on September 18, 2020
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โ€œSermons arenโ€™t commentaries, sermons are eventsโ€ (14). This statement from J. Brandon Meeks encapsulates the message of his new book, The Foolishness of God: Reclaiming Preaching in the Anglican Tradition (affiliate link). This collection of essays possesses rich reflection on preaching from a brilliant man. To me, The Foolishness of God is a singularly captivating…

How to Pray as a Family at Home

Posted on April 29, 2020
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Family Prayer, sometimes called Family Worship, is a cornerstone activity of the Christian familyโ€™s life. In it, we come together to sing, read Scripture, and pray. Yet, this activity can feel daunting and unfamiliar. What do we read? What do we pray? How long should it be? How often should we do Family Prayer? My…

How to Do Morning Prayer in the ACNA’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer

Posted on July 25, 2019
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Where do I start? Whether you’re a Rookie Anglican or just “Angli-curious,” perhaps youโ€™ve heard of this new Book of Common Prayer 2019 (BCP 2019) and are asking yourself, โ€œWhat is this thing?โ€ or “How do I use it?” We’ve put together a “Rookie Anglican Guide” to the BCP 2019 for more information. However, if…

Why You Should Read Scot McKnight’s New Book about Infant Baptism

Posted on September 10, 2018
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I was baptized as a (very slightly) older child when I was 6 years old. I was baptized because I had decided to follow Jesus and โ€œaccept him into my heart,โ€ as I said at the time. For the next 17 years, I was confident that only professing believers should be baptized. I no longer…

Week of the Sunday from May 29 to June 4: A Collect Reflection

Posted on June 2, 2018
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Week of the Sunday from May 29 to June 4 O God, the protector of all those who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy, that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not…

The Second Sunday in Advent: A Collect Reflection

Posted on December 9, 2017
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This post is part of a series on the Collects of the Christian Year (ACNA), called โ€œCollect Reflections.โ€ If youโ€™re just jumping in, make sure to check out the introductory post, โ€œAnnouncing Collect Reflections.โ€ All Collect Reflection posts can be found here. Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures…

An Anglican Spider Bite: My Journey into the Anglican Way

Posted on August 22, 2017
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An Anglican Spider Bite My Anglican journey began in a class about the theology of the early Churchโ€”specifically, with a particular article. Before we read J.N.D. Kellyโ€™s Early Christian Doctrines, our professor wanted us to read a short biographical essay on him by H.E.J. Cowdrey. Now, Kelly himself entered Oxford as a Presbyterian. However, according…