Culture
Seth Godin asks How long before you run out of talking points? His point is that those who "live into" rather than just "talk about" (my words, not Godin's) what they espouse are the real deal. Then he says, There's a lot
1 Corinthians
Here's the sermon I'm preaching tomorrow from 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. I hope your day is a wonderful Lord's Day! What's For Lunch? 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 1Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs
bless the world
Tom Sine's latest book, The New Conspirators, celebrates the increasing diversity in the church. Sine's book continues the theme of his classic book, The Mustard Seed Conspiracy, published in 1981. Sine was a 'red-letter Christian' before the official group existed, and in this hopeful
Creativity
Eden's Path - detail of our house from a painting by Debbie. Debbie and I created a new blog to record our journey toward a simpler life. Eden's Path features the practical things we are doing to spend less, enjoy life more, and live in the
Community
I've added a new category to this blog -- Pastoral Care. In small churches, pastoral care becomes a primary and expected ministry of the pastor. Here's the first post. __________________________________________________ I ran across this definition of pastoral care recently -- pastoral care noun If you're
Congregation
Today's spiritual earthquake Several years ago, I was in Taiwan on business. About 2 o'clock in the morning, I gradually awoke to the sound of the bathroom door repeatedly slamming into the wall. The bed was shaking, too. As the fog of sleep cleared from my
Missional Church
FREE BURMA In solidarity with those struggling for freedom in Burma, bloggers around the world are posting this banner on October 4, 2007. Pray for the faith community -- both Buddhist and Christian -- in Burma. www.free-burma.org
Missional life
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver RelinThree Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, is a book you must read. Without knowing that it was already a bestseller, I ordered Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One
Congregation
I announced in our September newsletter that Debbie and I would be visiting each family in our church in the coming months. A frequent complaint in small churches is "the pastor doesn't visit enough." Which usually means, "the pastor doesn't visit me enough.
Missional Church
Brian McLaren's newest book -- Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope Emergent Village announced today that Brian McLaren, emerging church guru and author, is launching his new book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope , due out in October,
Community
This past week was difficult for our community. I live in Chatham, Virginia, about 2-hours from Blacksburg and Virginia Tech, so we were obviously affected by that tragedy. But, on the Saturday before the VT tragedy, our town doctor died suddenly and unexpectedly. Dr. Thompson was a member of our
Community
I've put up two new categories -- "Sermon Illustrations" and "Missional Church." I love good stories and that's what "Sermon Illustrations" is -- good stories you can use in sermons or your blogs, or wherever. Most of the stories are