church as abbey
I am speaking tomorrow at Duke Divinity School to students in the Rural Ministry Colloquia, a monthly gathering of students involved in, or interested in, rural church ministry. I have been asked to tell our story of how we started a community center, community music school, and several other projects
Community
I have been asked to offer the prayer for a new session of court, which opens Monday, October 19. The courtroom and anterooms of our 156-year old courthouse have also been renovated, and this is the first day court sessions will be held in the refreshed space. Here's
Culture
EthicsDaily.com carries the story today of Richard Land's apology to the Jewish Anti-Defamation League for using Nazi references to characterize the health-care reform debate. According to EthicsDaily.com today, "During a Sept. 26 gathering of the Christian Coalition of Florida, Land criticized Democratic health-care reform efforts
Congregation
Russell Rathbun, pastor of House of Mercy, has authored a new book, nuChristian: Finding Faith in a New Generation. Rathbun's title riffs off Kinnaman and Lyons' book, unChristian, both visually and topically. Rathbun knows what he's talking about because he is one of the founding
bless the world
Somebody did it again. They compared one of our political leaders to Hitler. It really doesn't matter who did it because this is becoming a regular tactic for the extremists. The frustrating thing is they get what they want -- publicity. The media pounce on their pronouncements as
Culture
President Barack Obama has captured the imagination of the world, and by doing so has earned the world's most prestigious peace award, The Nobel Peace Prize. Like millions of Americans I woke up this morning to the stunning news that the President had been awarded the Peace Prize.
church as abbey
People don't need to go to church. At least that's how the majority of people in America act. Less than 18% of the population attends church on any given Sunday. In the U.S. we are chasing downhill Europe's church attendance rate of 7%
Acts
I am presenting this message tonight at a meeting of pastors and lay leaders who are concerned about the economy. I'd be interested in your comments. Toward A Theology of Economics Acts 5:1-11 1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece
Culture
Shame on U. S. Congressman Joe Wilson, R-SC, for his outburst during President Obama's address on health care to a joint session of Congress. Multiple media channels are reporting that Joe Wilson is the person who yelled, "You lie!" during President Obama's speech tonight.
Culture
A retired Danville policeman got a bang out of his dinner this week. Apparently the ex-officer, John William Martin, 73, had stuck his pistol in the waistband of his pants before chowing down at a local seafood restaurant here. When he stood up, the gun discharged, shooting a bullet into
More Sermons
I'm preaching this sermon tomorrow, August 16, 2009. The Future of Our Faith concludes this 8-part series titled, Seven Cultural Challenges Every Church Faces. The preceding seven sermons are: * Secularism: Why Don't People Go To Church Anymore? * Pluralism: Why Doesn't Everybody Believe Like We
Luke
Here's the sermon I'm preaching tomorrow. It's the last in the series, Seven Cultural Challenges Each Church Faces. The other six on the blog, and I hope they've been helpful. I hope your day is a wonderful Lord's Day! Seven