Expanding God’s Kingdom – Pastor Rocklyn's Blog

N. T. Wright: The Kingdom and The Gospel

Church / Ministry, Expanding God's Kingdom, Theology No Responses »

Jun 192015

N. T. Wright, the former Bishop of Durham for the Church of England, is a devoted pastor, a renowned biblical scholar, and a prolific author. Over the past year or so the following books of his have given me a much better understanding of God’s Kingdom and of The Gospel.

You can order them here (as an Amazon.com Associate Life Church receives a portion of the purchase price):

Surprised By Hope
This is my blog post with links to N. T. Wright’s book “Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church” (2010) and several short videos of his on the same subject. In the book and the videos he teaches that in our zeal for articulating and proclaiming the theological conditions for getting to heaven, we have shortchanged the Kingdom that Jesus came to announce. This book explores our destiny beyond heaven.
How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels: N. T. Wright: Amazon.com: Books (2012)
In this book N. T. Wright calls the church back to an authentic understanding of the meaning of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John:
- The gospels reveal that in Christ:
  - Israel’s history reaches its climax.
  - God returns to Israel.
  - Israel is redefined as those who follow Jesus.
  - The Kingdom of God confronts the kingdoms of this world.
- Here are some related videos:
Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today: N. T. Wright: Amazon: Books (2013)
In this book N. T. Wright provides a fresh perspective on how to understand the Bible and apply it to our lives. He describes human history as a five-act play in which Acts 1 – 4 (The Old Testament) and Act 5 Scene 1 (The New Testament) have already been performed our job is to live out the rest of Act 5 in light of all that has already been performed.
Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good: N. T. Wright: Amazon.com: Books (2015)
In this book N. T. Wright explains how our adoption of a post-enlightenment world view has resulted in us proclaiming good advice rather than the good news proclaimed by the early church. He also suggests some ways back to the authentic Kingdom message.
- NT Wright: “Simply Good News: ” – YouTube

There is more material related to Professor Wright available here:

Pastor Rocklyn’s N. T. Wright Page

N. T. Wright’s books and video clips have been a great blessing to me over the past few years and I believe that they will be a blessing to you as well!

Surprised By Hope

Expanding God's Kingdom, The Issues No Responses »

Feb 152014

N. T. Wright, the former Bishop of Durham for the Church of England, is a devoted pastor, a renowned biblical scholar, and a prolific author. I recently finished reading his 2008 book “Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church”. I have read several of N. T. Wright’s books and watched several of his video clips over the past few years. They have been a great blessing to me and this book is no exception.

In “Surprised By Hope” N. T. Wright offers a perspective on the Bible and the resurrection that has tremendous implications for the work of the church. I recommend it highly, and you can order it here (as an Amazon.com Associate Life Church receives a portion of the purchase price):

Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church: N. T. Wright Amazon: Books http://amzn.to/M1JfkI

Bishop Wright has also recorded a set of 6 videos that deal with the book’s subject matter. I encourage you to check them out:

There is more material related to Professor Wright available here:

Pastor Rocklyn’s N. T. Wright Page

Rethinking The Gospel and How We Share It

Developing Effective Leaders, Developing Mature Believers, Expanding God's Kingdom No Responses »

Dec 082012

What Does “The Gospel” Really Mean?

Frank Viola has recently written several blog posts promoting a fresh understanding of the gospel:

January 26, 2012: Rethinking The Gospel
February 11, 2012: Living In The Divine Parenthesis (podcast)
April 25, 2012: Rethinking How We Present the Gospel
June 18, 2012: Rethinking the Sinner’s Prayer
June 26, 2012: Knowing the Plan or Meeting the Person

I have generally found Frank’s material to be very helpful as we pursue the vision that God has given us at Life Church, and the posts above are no exception. Please take the time to read them (preferably in the order in which they appear above).

More About Frank Viola

Frank Viola is an author and blogger. You can explore his ministry more fully at his web site: FrankViola.org.

Blue Ocean Summit 2011

Expanding God's Kingdom No Responses »

Aug 062011

This week I attended the 2011 Blue Ocean Summit at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Greater Boston. From Monday (8/1) night through Wednesday (8/3) afternoon I joined dozens of pastors in a series of presentations and discussion about creating safe space for secular people to talk about God and connect with him. This is the 3rd year that the conference has taken place. Valerie Johnson, our associate pastor, attended last year, but this is the 1st time I’ve been able to participate. I plan to go back next year and bring more of our Life Church Leadership Team.

I’m excited about this gathering of churches exploring ways to engage the secular world. Although I love Jesus, I’m actually “not the religious type” (see Dave Schmelzer’s blog). The world needs Jesus and I want to tell them about him without “religion” getting in the way. I realize that God has been moving me in this direction for quite some time and the 2011 Blue Ocean Summit is yet another step in the complete reorganization of the way I express the good news about Jesus.

Microfinance With Marie and Andy

Expanding God's Kingdom No Responses »

Dec 172010

My wife Eva and I currently volunteer with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). We work primarily with their Black Scholars and Professionals (BSAP) ministry and in partnership with their Boston area Graduate and Faculty Ministries (GFM). Marie Williams is a former InterVarsity GFM colleague of ours who recently left InterVarsity to join her husband Andy at Hope International. Marie and Andy are now doing Christian microfinance work in the Dominican Republic. After reading their latest update I thought I would share the following links with you:

Gad wants all of us to share his love in very practical ways with people in need. Marie and Andy are sharing God’s love in the Dominican Republic. Where and how is God calling you to serve?

Some Thoughts On Evangelism and Discipleship

Developing Mature Believers, Expanding God's Kingdom 2 Responses »

Apr 232007

The following observations are drawn from a discussion I facilitated during the April 22, 2007 Christian Musicians Fellowship (CMF) at the home of George and Emily Russell. The topic for the discussion was:

“How can we as musicians present our faith in our respective spheres of influence without going over the top?”