Culture
A fellow pastor emailed me with some kind words, and a suggestion -- blog about the 10 books that changed my life and ministry. What a great idea, and here goes, Clay! Of course, the Bible goes without saying, but I said it anyway to avoid unnecessary comments on its
Culture
Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, leads a congregation of 50 people in Gainesville, Florida. Normally, churches with 50 members are not featured on CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, the NY Times, Washington Post, and every other media outlet in existence. But, Terry and his flock, like Fred
Congregation
You need to read The Future of Evangelicalism: A Conversation With Rick Warren over at The Pew Forum. It's long, and covers a lot of territory, but in it Rick talks about how megachurches do the small church thing (my words, not his). Here's a quick
ethics
I preached on Pentecost last Sunday as "Babel Revisited." In that sermon I repeated the conventional thinking that God punished mankind's attempt to build a tower to reach to the heavens. But listen to what Wendell Griffen says, Instead of reading the passage to mean that
Culture
Churches are an important resource in caring for America's poor, but the job is too big for churches alone. With all the talk about healthcare and the nation's deficit, I've seen more than one blog suggest that churches take over the responsibility for caring
2 Corinthians
God has called us to the ministry of reconciliation, of inviting others into a renewed friendship with God and each other. The Ministry of Reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in
ethics
One of the big ideas we deal with as pastors and church leaders is forgiveness. Obviously, God in Christ has forgiven those of us who have come to Him in faith and repentance. Jesus taught forgiveness and demonstrated it by forgiving the woman caught in adultery, and the thief of
Church news
The arrest of 10 Southern Baptist church members on a self-styled rescue mission in Haiti provides churches with a sobering reminder -- even if your motives are pure, you must know and follow the laws of the country you are in. Members of the Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls,
Global issues
Tom Friedman, author of The World is Flat and New York Times columnist, is big on China, but he's not the only one. The 21st century is being called the "China Century" as China's economy is predicted to grow to three times the size
Culture
UPDATE: According to various news reports yesterday, January 21, 2010, Trijicon will stop imprinting Bible references onto their scopes, and will offer the US govt and other govts kits to remove the existing Bible references on scopes already purchased. ABC News broke an unusual story using unusual language today. A
ethics
Who Sinned? The Problem of Human Suffering J ohn 9:1-51As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned,"
Global issues
Where was God in the earthquake? Craig David Uffman says it eloquently on his blog, Metanoia. Here's an excerpt, but read the entire post here: There are those who speak at such times of the omnipotence of God. Some will see this and all such natural disasters as