What is an evangelical . . . and has he lost his mind? Carl Trueman wrestles with those two provocative questions and concludes that modern evangelicals emphasize experience and activism at the expense of theology. Their minds go fuzzy as they downplay doctrine. The result is "a world in which everyone from Joel Osteen to Brian McLaren to John MacArthur may be called an evangelical." Fifteen years ago in The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, historian Mark Noll warned that evangelical Christians had abandoned the intellectual aspects of their faith. Christians were neither prepared nor inclined to enter intellectual debates, and had become culturally marginalized. Trueman argues that today "religious beliefs are more scandalous than they have been for many years"--but for different reasons than Noll foresaw. In fact, the real problem now is exactly the opposite of what Noll diagnosed: evangelicals don't lack a mind, but rather an agreed upon evangel. Although known as gospel people, evangelicals no longer share any consensus on the gospel's meaning. Provocative and persuasive, Trueman's indictment of evangelicalism also suggests a better way forward for those theologically conservative Protestants famously known as evangelicals.

The Real Scandal of the Evangelical Mind

Religion & Spirituality

Trueman, Carl

Christian Books & Bibles

Moody Publishers

Traditionally Protestant theology, between Luther's early reforming career and the dawn of the Enlightenment, has been seen in terms of decline and fall into the wastelands of rationalism and scholastic speculation. Editors Trueman and Clark challenge this perception in this transatlantic collection of eighteen essays covering: Luther and Calvin; Early Reformed Orthodoxy; the British Connection; From High Orthodoxy to Enlightenment; and the Rise of Lutheran Orthodoxy.

Protestant Scholasticism: Essays in Reassessment (Studies in Christian History and Thought)

Clark, R. Scott

Paternoster (Print on Demand)

Singing is not one of the nine marks, a point which, not surprisingly, has come up once or twice with my minister-of-music father. That said, okay, yes, 9Marks does have a few opinions on music. Our understanding of the local church pushes us toward a slightly different perspective on church singing than some of our evangelical brothers and sisters. The difference comes down to the question of performance. Who is performing? The congregation or the people on stage? Dimming the lights and turning up the volume of instruments and leaders doesn’t necessarily mean you have turned the congregation into an audience, but it often does. Or think about it like this: is the “worship experience” in your church a solo transaction between the individual worshipper and God as stimulated by a high-emotion performer up front? Because here is an alternative: the musicians and song leaders help to facilitate an intellectually and emotionally engaged communal experience where members sing to one another while singing to God. The primary thing people hear is the faith-reinforcing praises and laments of their fellow saints. “I’m not the only one who rejoices like this…mourns like this…pleads like this. So does everyone around me!” They don’t listen for the organ, electric guitar, or praise ensemble. They listen for the folksy and hearty voices of other pilgrims walking alongside them on this long and rocky road of Christian obedience, rehearsing old memories of Calvary and new hopes of the heavenly city. Are these just my preferences that I’m trying to impose? I hope not. Think about what the New Testament emphasizes when it comes to the church’s corporate music. It doesn’t talk about crafting a highly charged worship “experience.” Interestingly, it doesn’t use the language of “worship” at all in this context (which is not to deny that corporate singing is worship). Instead, the Bible talks about the congregation singing to one another (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19), and doing everything for the sake of edifying one another (1 Cor. 14). That’s it: people singing together. When it comes to the topic of music, Christians might do well to talk about the church singing or the congregation singing because that’s what the Bible talks about. In this edition of the 9Marks Journal, we start with singing and the song. Why do congregations sing, what should they sing about, and how can they sing better? We then think more carefully about the music itself, particularly with two different perspectives on whether or not some musical forms are better than others. Finally we think about what is involved in leading music.

The Church Singing | 9Marks Journal (9Marks Journal May-June 2014)

Leeman, Jonathan

Lawrence, MIchael

Holland, Joe

Jamieson, Bobby

Merker, Matt

Boswell, Matt

Duke, Alex

Meyers, Ken

Best, Harold

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Are the church and para-church friends or foes? The short answer is, they can be either. Healthy and accountable parachurch minis-tries strengthen local churches. Undiscerning and unaccountable parachurch ministries undermine them. The question we’d like to pose to you, if you’re a leader in a church or a parachurch, is whether you know what makes the difference.

Friends or Foes? Church and Parachurch | 9Marks Journal

Johnson, Andy

Rinne, Jeramie

Carson, D.A.

Stiles, Mack

Menikoff, Aaron

McCullough, Matt

Straughn, Byron

Piotrowski, Nicholas

The predominant religion in many parts of the world today is expressive individualism. It shapes the religious intuitions of our non-Christian neighbors, our children, and even ourselves in the church. Understanding expressive individualism and how it has impacted the church is crucial for pastoral ministry.\nTable of Contents\nEditor's Note\nIntroducing Expressive Individualism 
Why Pastors Need to Understand an Abstract Topic Like "Expressive Individualism" by Justin Harris 
Do 9Marks Churches Foster Expressive Individualism? by Ben Wright 
Summary of Carl Trueman's, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by John Benton 
Book Review: Carl Trueman's Strange New World reviewed by Allen Duty 
How Do We Find Our Identity in Christ? - An excerpt from Brian Brosner's How to Find Yourself\nExpressive Individualism and the Church 
Expressive Individualism and the Church by Carl Trueman 
Preaching in the Age of Expressive Individualism: Telling the Story of Our New Identity by Michael Lawrence 
Pastoring Singles in the Age of Self by Sam Allberry 
Youth Ministry and the Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Walt Mueller 
You're a Pastor, Not a Therapist by Jeremy Pierre 
Church Discipline and Expressive Individualism by Jonathan Parnell 
The Ordinances: A True and Better Identity Politics by Bobby Jamieson 
Raising Children in an Age of Expressive Individualism by Abigail Dodds 
The Pastor and an Unmessianic Sense of Non Destiny by Carl Trueman\nExpressive Individualism and the Internet 
"You've Got Self:" How the Internet Cultivates Expressive Individualism in All of Us by Samuel D. James 
Social Media Is Designed to Divide Churches—So What Do We Do? by Clare Morell\nGender, Sexuality, and Expressive Individualism 
Questions about Gender Should Send Us to Scripture by Tom Schreiner 
If You Want to Address LGBTQ, Address Expressive Individualism by Ryan Fullerton 
Expressive Individualism, Embodied Telos, and How to Be an Anti-Winfrey by Andrew Walker\nElder Meditation: An Elder Must Not Be Quarrelsome 
Are You Principles or Just a Contentious Jerk? by Paul Martin 
Are You Contending for the Truth or Quarrelsome? by Paul Alexander 
What Does Proverbes Teach about Being Quarrelsome? by Mark Redfern 
What Does Paul Mean by Quarrelsome? by Will McKinney 
How Do We Recognize Quarrelsome People? by Nathan Loudin 
What Is the Root of Quarrelsomeness and How Does It Get Fixed? by David Dunham\nAbout 9Marks 
At 9Marks, we help pastors, future pastors, and church members see what a biblical church looks like, and help them take practical steps toward becoming one. We believe every local church should be characterized by expository preaching, biblical theology, a biblical understanding of the gospel and of conversion, biblical evangelism, church membership, church discipline, discipleship, and a biblical model of leadership. In order to inform and influence churches, 9Marks creates a wide variety of practical resources including books, articles, podcasts, book reviews, and a quarterly Journal. We also host regular events around the world—almost all of them geared toward equipping and encouraging pastors.

Expressive Individualism in the Church

Mueller, Walt

Harris, Justin

Allberry, Sam

Pierre, Jeremy

Wright, Ben

Benton, John

Duty, Allen

9marks

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Trueman, Carl. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Trueman, Carl