Returning a Hallelujah The experience of an embodied faith, which infuses the whole person in a transformative spiritual encounter, is portrayed beautifully in Dr. J. Terry Todd’s presentation of the Pentecostal, or renewalist, tradition. Within my own Reformed family, my conviction is that the two Christian traditions understood the least, and which each have the […]
The version of evangelical Christianity which nurtured me from my youth taught that The Church of the Latter-day Saints, commonly called the Mormons, were not Christian. They were a strange sect, or nearly a cult, with a set of obscure teachings, unorthodox practices, and mistaken founding personalities, along with a whole book claiming inspired status, […]
I’m writing this response to Farris Blount III’s clear and helpful post from St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands, where I’m assisting an RCA congregation here for a month as it looks forward to receiving a new pastor. And I’m writing in the immediate wake of the terrorist shooting in Buffalo. Context always matters. By […]
My responses to the variety of Christian traditions present in this Respectful Conversation have personal as well as theological roots. In the case of the Wesleyan tradition, that’s about as personal as it gets, beginning with my first name. I previously mentioned that my evangelical parents named me with John Wesley in mind. But Dr. […]
“Questions for my Norwegian Grandfather” Since Pietism is about Christian experience, I’m grateful that Christopher Gehrz has shared this tradition with a narrative describing the typical experience of a practicing pietist. Immediately I was reminded vividly of how my own Christian heritage was shaped so strongly by this tradition. My grandfather was an immigrant from […]
Holland, Michigan is a city filled with churches. A majority belong to the Reformed or Christian Reformed denominations. But on Douglas Avenue after you turn to head toward Ottawa Beach, there is a large, red-brick church with while pillars bearing the name “Harbor Reformed Baptist Church.” It always struck me as bizarre. Putting “Reformed” and […]
Concluding Response: “Opening Doors” Wesley Granberg-Michaelson Ecumenical dialogue, at its best, should prompt each of us to examine more critically and reflectively our own tradition in response to the faithful sharing of another’s witness of faith from his or her tradition. That’s one way in which the Spirit works to renew the understanding and living […]
The Reformed Tradition Wesley Granberg-Michaelson From Guilt to Grace to Gratitude I adopted the Reformed tradition and wasn’t raised as a “child of the covenant,” nor baptized as an infant, and never heard of the Heidelberg Catechism as a young person in church. It became my choice, or as some Reformed theologians might say, it […]
Response to Randall Balmer, Anglican Tradition Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, Reformed Tradition Between Geneva and Canterbury Frank Griswold served as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1998-2006. During that time, I was General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America. About a dozen of us who held similar positions of leadership in U.S. denominations would gather […]
Response to Michael King, Anabaptist TraditionBy Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, Reformed Tradition “Not Quite So Simple…Or is it?” A Reformed response to the ways that the Anabaptist tradition tries to faithfully follow Jesus should begin with confession. The history of our relationship is blighted with deadly sin. When I was in the process of seeking ordination as […]
Recent Comments