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.
Humor
Generic Prayer Request Generator
Sad. Funny. Too often true. But still sad. Sad mostly because this seems reflective of too much of contemporary prayer and the common substance of too many prayer meetings.
Worship For the “Me” Church
John Piper is BAD
Michael Jackson asked:
“Who’s BADD?”
The answer, apparently: John Piper.
I don’t know if it is because John Piper staunchly believes in the doctrine of Total Depravity (as do I) – which recognizes that as a consequnce of the Fall all humnaity is infected by sin in every aspect of our personality – or if there is some other underlying motive, but someone has produced this clever video:
Just in case you are curious, Piper has seen the video and he thinks it’s funny.
Cell Phones in Church
This seems reasonable to me…
One Thing I Think Should be Posted on the Church Nursery Door …
Here’s the verse I have always wanted to post on the door of the Church Nursery:
“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…”
How to Invite Someone to Church
Youth Group Trends
How NOT to Invite Someone to Church
Transforming the Church
Reformation Crunch
Screwtape Meets the “Me Church” Generation
Among C.S. Lewis‘ masterful works is the Screwtape Letters. For those unfamiliar with this book, Screwtape is a fictional senior devil mentoring his nephew, Wormwood, a junior devil, in undermining his “patients” new found spiritual journey. When reading Screwtape Letters it is important to remind yourself that everything is presented from a backward perspective – from a perspective a devil might have. In these letters God is the “Enemy”.
Here is what Screwtape says about Churchgoing:
Surely you know that if a man can’t be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that “suits” him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. The reasons are obvious. In the first place the parochial organization [neighborhood church] should always be attacked, because, being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy desires. The congregational principle, on the other hand, makes each church into a kind of club, and finally, if all goes well, into a coterie or faction. In the second place, the search for a “suitable” church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil.”
I suspect Screwtape would be very pleased with the whole “Me Church” culture – both those individuals who embrace it and the churches that promote it.
If you are curious about the Screwtape Letters, they are available online:
Calvin Crunch
Calvinist Pick-Up Lines
What Happens at an Atheist Concert?
USA Today reported last week that the US Army has approved an atheist-themed concert at Fort Bragg (NC) after a group complained that they had not received the same support as did organizers of an Evangelical event held last year. Among those scheduled to appear is Richard Dawkins. I didn’t know Dawkins was a singer! But then again, I really never gave it a thought.
I wonder: What does an Athiest concert look like? In other words, what would distinguish an Atheist concert from a simply secular concert, or a humanist concert? Do people gather for anything? Or do they just sing and talk about what they don’t believe?
Comedian Steve Martin might give us a hint. In the video above Martin takes the mic at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz festival and shares what he calls “The entire Atheist hymnal”. Funny!
Here are the lyrics to Martin’s Athiest Don’t Have No Songs:
Christians have their hymns and pages,
Hava Nagila’s for the Jews,
Baptists have the rock of ages,
Atheists just sing the blues.Romantics play Claire de Lune,
Born agains sing “He is risen,”
But no one ever wrote a tune,
For godless existentialism.For Atheists there’s no good news. They’ll never sing a song of faith.
In their songs they have a rule: the “he” is always lowercase.
The “he” is always lowercase.Some folks sing a Bach cantata,
Lutherans get Christmas trees,
Atheist songs add up to nada,
But they do have Sundays free.Pentecostals sing to heaven,
Coptics have the books of scrolls,
Numerologists can count to seven,
Atheists have rock and roll.For Atheists there’s no good news. They’ll never sing a song of faith.
In their songs they have a rule: the “he” is always lowercase.
The “he” is always lowercase.Atheists don’t have no songs.
Christians have their hymns and pages,
Hava Nagila’s for the Jews,
Baptists have the rock of ages,
Atheists just sing the blues.Catholics dress up for Mass,
And listen to, Gregorian chants.
Atheists just take a pass, Watch football in their underpants.
Watch football in their underpants.Atheists don’t have no songs.
GRACE & PEACE 