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Intolerance of Toleration
Seems apropos in light of the apparent redefinitions of words like “tolerate” and “phobic” that are making intelligent discussion of legitimate differences much more difficult.
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Grace Found at a Theme Park: An Open Letter to Kennywood
My friend, Jay Mitlo, has written An Open Letter to Kennywood, to thank the workers at a Pittsburgh area amusement park for the simple kindnesses that meant much more than most realize. The post was so well received, and so re-posted, that it effectively broke Facebook – Facebook flagged it, shut it down, until they…
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Christian’s Cultural Assessment Toolbox
Here’s an astute observation from Os Guinness: “Christians simply haven’t developed Christian tools of analysis to examine culture properly. Or rather, the tools the church once had have grown rusty or been mislaid. What often happens is that Christians wake up to some incident or issue and suddenly realize they need to analyze what’s going…
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Jesus Outside the Lines
This afternoon I started reading Scott Sauls‘ refreshing new book, Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides. It seems timely – at least for me. I for one am growing weary of a culture in which increasingly polemic debates seem never ending. And while I was at first…
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St. Patrick’s Day Prayer
This famous prayer, widely known as Saint Patrick’s Breastplate, is one of the earliest known European vernacular poems. While it has been attributed to Patrick, some scholars say a few of the words indicate a later period. Regardless of who wrote it, or when, there is no question that this poetic prayer oozes the spirit and substance we see in Patrick’s…
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Roots & Wings: Indelible Grace
Kevin Twit and Indelible Grace have helped, directly or indirectly, shape and deepen worship for hundreds and thousands of congregations. Indelibile Grace was at the forefront of the movement to renew old hymns by setting the rich lyrics to newer music. While, no doubt, this had been tried before, it was Indelible Grace music that…
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In Spirit Produced Corporateness
As I reflect upon the need of our church to constantly cultivate community among those within our congregation, as well as between those already part of the congregation and those who have newly arrived, I am pondering the poignancy of this statement by Stanley Grenz, from his book Theology for the Community of God: “Only…
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Desiring Truth
by Wesley Hurd At the end of one of his films, Deconstructing Harry, writer/actor Woody Allen delivers a movie-ending confession that offers a perverted coherence to the film: “All people know the truth. Our lives consist of how we choose to distort it.” For believers, though, desiring truth – undistorted – is central to the…
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Role of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is mysterious to many, perhaps especially to those in more intellectually inclined traditions. Most Christians probably understand that historic orthodoxy recognizes the Holy Spirit to be part of the Trinity, and therefore God, but I suspect many are somewhat less certain about what that means. Often the Holy Spirit is referred to as…
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9 Reasons People Are Not Singing in Worship
Charles Spurgeon once quipped: “God is to be praised with the voice, and the heart should go therewith in holy exultation.” While Spurgeon is right, the problem is that in many congregations the people are not “praising God with the voice”. If the folks at Renewing Worship are to be believed, part of the reason is…
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Mom Enough
There should be little debate that the most influential group of people in the world are Moms. While not necessarily true in every individual situation, collectively it is difficult to image any group running even a close second. With this in mind, John Piper plugs a new book, Mom Enough, written by a collection of…
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5 Reasons Church Should Not Be the Primary Place Where Children Learn About God
I agree with those who suggest that a vibrant children’s ministry is one of the five core programs essential to a healthy church or church plant. We are fortunate at the church where I serve to have a very capable godly Children’s Ministry Coordinator on our staff. But even having the best Children’s Ministry Coordinator…
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Can Anyone Really Know What the Bible Actually Says?
In many ways it seems to be seen as the conversation stopper, the ultimate trump card. Whenever a skeptic wants to take control of a spiritual conversation, the question gets tossed up like an impenetrable forcefield: With all the different translations and interpretations out there, how can anyone really know what the Bible says. Of…
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How to Preach the Gospel to Yourself
Paul, in Colossians 2.6, instructs us: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him…” Simple words, but powerfully practical when unpacked. How did we “receive” Jesus? By faith and repentance – or by repentance and faith. We are not quite sure which comes first, but perhaps…
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Leading in the Construction of Christ’s Church
As one who has benefited from reading Jim Collins, John Kotter, Stephen Covey, and several other leadership gurus from the business world, I found this quote from Tony Morgan‘s Developing a Theology of Leadership to be a very helpful reminder and convicting corrective: It is true that we church leaders can learn from business leaders,…
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