Today’s Guest Post is from IM First Officer Michael Bell… As you know iMonk has been running posts lately on the subject of mental illness and how the Bible views it. Here are some interesting thoughts and reflections from Michael Bell, someone who has experienced forms of mental illness in his own family. I have […]
About Chaplain Mike
Chaplain Mike works with a hospice organization in central Indiana. He has been in pastoral ministry since 1978, serving in churches in Maryland, Vermont, Illinois, and Indiana before moving into chaplaincy work. He is married to a wonderful gifted wife, Gail, and they have four children and three grandchildren. He thinks baseball is the greatest game ever invented, suffers annually as a Chicago Cubs fan, and is looking forward to putting on a cap again this spring to coach his grandson's Little League team. He loves a wide variety of music, spends way too much money on books, is happy to live in a place where there are four seasons, and is a "true believer" in Apple computers, having used them since 1988. Luther is his favorite theologian, Bach his favorite composer, James Taylor his favorite singer-songwriter, Chicago his favorite city, and hiking his favorite form of exercise. He would love to do more with photography and dreams of having a place in the mountains of Arizona some day. His heart has been captured by the grace of God in Jesus Christ and considers himself a post-evangelical disciple seeking a Jesus-shaped life and hoping to help the church do the same. He is forever grateful to his friend, Michael Spencer, for giving him an opportunity to write for Internet Monk.
From the iMonk Archives – The Mood of Advent: We All Need A Savior
8 Dec by
Whereas the first week of Advent focuses on the hope of the new creation, the second week looks around at the sinful world we live in now. The mood could not be more different. This is the week we learn to lament. Seeing the evil, corruption, and injustice around us (and in us), we cry […]
A Favorite Gospel Word
6 Dec by
Continue to pray for the iMonk and health concerns. Today’s guest post is from Chaplain Mike Mercer… Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people (Luke 1.68, NASB) In his wonderful book on pastoral ministry, The Jesus-Driven Ministry, Ajith Fernando quotes a classic seventeenth century […]
Getting to Know You…Christmas-Style
3 Dec by
Guest post today by Chaplain Mike Mercer… Since I am a guest-blogger here at Internet Monk, and since the audience is huge and made up of many different sorts of folks, I thought we might have some “getting to know you†time today. As your genial guest host, I hope you’ll bear with me and […]
Evangelicalism and Special Seasons
2 Dec by
Guest post today by Chaplain Mike Mercer… When I ministered in suburban evangelical churches (nine years in one as worship pastor), there were two times each year when I struggled most against the infiltration of American secular culture into the church. These two times also happened to be the main feasts of the church, Christmas […]
Happy New Year, Advent & Christmas 101
30 Nov by
Guest post today by Chaplain Mike Mercer… Happy New Year! If you or your church follows the Christian Year, you know what I am talking about. Yesterday was the first day of the church calendar, the first Sunday in Advent. The Advent season stretches over four Sundays and ends on Christmas Eve, when the celebration […]
