Mike Wittmer

Month: April 2011

  • the charity of clarity

    After a night’s sleep, I have a further thought about Rob’s interview with Adrian Warnock. It seems that only one side in that dialogue was actually trying to have a conversation. The other was working even harder not to say something. That reminded me of a post I made on Dec. 3, 2008, when Brian…

  • respect your audience

    I just watched Rob Bell’s hour long dialogue with British blogger and author, Adrian Warnock. The conversation is revealing on many levels, but what stands out most is how Rob refuses to own any position on the afterlife. His performance in this interview would lead one to believe that he wrote a book on the afterlife…

  • has God spoken?

    LZ Granderson, a member of Rob Bell’s church and a regular contributor to CNN and ESPN, wrote a column today for CNN.com which illustrates the problem that I try to correct in the first two chapters of Christ Alone. There is a lot that I could say about Granderson’s piece, but I’ll focus on this…

  • why this is and isn’t personal

    Late last week I received my first copies of Christ Alone, and today is the first day that I’m blogging about it. Some of you have asked about Kindle and Nook versions, and I’m told that they will be available on Amazon by the end of the week. I hope that readers of Christ Alone…

  • Christ Alone

    My latest book, Christ Alone: An Evangelical Response to Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” came out late Thursday. I didn’t want to say anything then, since it was Maundy Thursday, and I don’t want to say much now, since we’re still in the middle of Easter weekend. But the Grand Rapids Press ran a story on the…

  • I would have liked him

    One of Spurgeon’s sermons on death begins with regret for the recent passing of the Earl of Shaftesbury. Spurgeon explained that he was “the best man of the age,” full of integrity and godliness. Then Spurgeon praised him in words that are desperately needed today. His eulogy reminds us that our times are not that different…

  • keep it light

    Last night I took along a collection of Spurgeon’s writings on death, so I’d have something to read while I waited for my son’s band concert to begin. I forgot how much I enjoyed Spurgeon’s style. Even when his theological conclusions are wrong–such as death for the Christian is actually a cure–his homespun illustrations are…

  • where are the grown-ups?

    Last night, just before the close of a fine band concert, the band director told us all to write petitions to tell “Governor Snyder to stop stealing from our schools.” Besides being entirely inappropriate–is that how our school leaders teach their students to respect authority?–it was yet another example of adults in Michigan behaving like children.…