iMonk update

Some of you may know of Michael Spencer, a teacher in eastern Kentucky who is probably best known as the “Internet Monk”. His blog of the same name has a high readership among Christian blogs.

Michael Spencer was diagnosed with cancer some time ago. Today his wife Denise posted an update:

“It is with a heavy heart that I bring my latest update on Michael. We have learned that his cancer is too advanced and too aggressive to expect any sort of remission. Our oncologist estimates that with continued treatment Michael most likely has somewhere between six months and a year to live.”

The rest of her post is here.

Michael Spencer is one of the few Christian writers or bloggers who seems to understand the circus that pollutes much of evangelicalism and how Christ is often lost in the mix.

He helped me to realize that I wasn’t alone regarding my frustrations with the dog and pony show in much of the church.

He helped me remember that I can have Reformed convictions and still see and appreciate how God is moving in other Christian traditions.

And, Michael always kept pointing back not just to the cross, but to the Savior who died on that cross and walked out of the tomb.

I’m not ready for him to go. I’m not ready to lose his voice in the blog world; there are ten million voices with the right theology and not enough with iMonk’s heart and honesty.

I will miss his writing, which often was a breath of fresh air and a gallon of cool, fresh water in the wide, wide Christian blog world.

In the end, though, I suspect iMonk would point us all away from his life, which is but a mere vapor, and to Jesus…whom walked out of that tomb, rose into heaven and even now is working on that mansion for his servant…with a bar in the backroom.