Fellowship: Its Center & Its Limits
Kevin Bauder has done it again. He’s been detailing differences between conservative evangelicals and fundamentalists. It’s been an interesting series. In his last article arguing with himself. That’s right, arguing with himself. It’s loaded with irony from that perspective, but it highlights the difficulties in making choices in these areas. He points out to himself that fellowshipping around [...]
Congregations Gone Wild: Membership Has Purpose
G. Jeffrey MacDonald wrote an interesting piece in the New York Times last week concerning clergy and burnout. The article is based on the idea that congregations in America want to be entertained more than they want to be godly. This has put a lot of pressure on clergy who actually want to make a difference in people’s lives.
Article Recommendation: “The Perils of ‘Wannabe Cool’ Christianity”
I just received an e-mail from a friend in another city with a link to the Wall Street Journal. My friend wrote, “I read this article today and thought you might find it interesting. When even the Wall Street Journal observes the fallacies of the ‘culturally relevant’ church, it makes you wonder why Christians don’t [...]
Where Have All the Bibles Gone?
By Todd Gatto In January, Fox Valley Baptist Church, East Dundee, Ill., began a program to read through the Bible in a year. We are using the MacArthur Daily Bible as a guide. It is amazing how God has used this tool to open opportunities for sharing and learning His Word. For example, I recently fell a couple [...]
Priority & Practice in Adorning the Gospel
In Titus 2 Paul instructs Titus to help the Cretan believers in a wicked culture live in such a way as to beautify the teaching concerning God our Savior in everything they do. In other words, in all of life we are commanded to seek to “adorn the gospel”—to make it attractive by our lives. [...]
Coming Soon: An Internet-Enabled Toothbrush
Anyone who is reading this blog is well aware that technology is constantly changing and rapidly becoming more and more a part of both Christianity and culture. In fact, the latest and greatest thing in the church growth movement is the concept of the “Why Games Will Take Over Our Lives.” The author interviewed a [...]
Do Godly Men Quit or Tap?
By Robert P. Smith Have you ever had to explain the meaning of the phrase “quit you like men” in1 Corinthians 16:13 in the King James Version? The archaic rendering of the word translated “quit” actually has an opposite meaning than the modern-day meaning of “give up,” “surrender,” or “throw in the towel.” The word [...]
Antidepressants and Pastoral Counseling
Do antidepressants help those who have been diagnosed as being clinically depressed? Most people, including doctors, would say yes. One can hardly watch TV without seeing an advertisement for an antidepressant promising help and hope to the defeated and depressed. In 2005,
The Missional Church: Video CliffsNotes
Many of you have heard the term “missional” before. It is a buzzword among churches that are seeking to be relevant in their communities in bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. Missional churches see themselves as missionaries and seek to live out this reality everywhere they go. A lot has been said [...]
Recent Pro-Life Posts
Last week a plethora of helpful resources was posted online in anticipation of last weekend’s Sanctity of Life Sunday. Perhaps you can bookmark some of these links for use in the future.
Tim Tebow in Pro-Life Super Bowl Commercial
According to the Associated Press, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow
NEWS FLASH: The Nation of Israel Existed in the 10th Century B.C.!
Professor Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa recently
Sharing Christ with Cousin Eddie and Aunt Flossie
Many of us will gather together with family during the Christmas season. For some, it will be a time of sharing long-awaited reunions, enjoying scrumptious food, celebrating joyful gift-giving, and engaging in warm discussions about Christ and faith. For others, it will be a time of suffering long-dreaded reunions, overindulging in food and drink (or [...]
What Tiger Woods and President Obama Have in Common
In case you haven’t heard, last week Tiger Woods got into a Hunting Tiger Woods” and “
Where Do You Place Yourself on the Theological Spectrum?
The Conference on the Church for God’s Glory at Part One, Part Four. In his address, Dr. Straub presented a taxonomy of fundamentalism. The first group he identifies within fundamentalism is “hyper-fundamentalism.”He defines a hyper-fundamentalist as “someone who adds to the essential doctrinal core of historic fundamentalism.” According to Dr. Straub, on the other [...]
Which Blogs Do You Follow?
Like many of you, I subscribe to various and sundry blogs in order to keep up on what’s out there in theology, church ministry, and Christianity at large. Which blogs do you follow? Mine are listed below.
Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Although it is two years old, an article by Time magazine on crisis pregnancy centers titled
Emerging Adults
A few years ago, Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton wrote a book titled interviewed Smith for Christianity Today, and I found the interview both sobering and stimulating.
How Should the Church Engage the Culture? (part 2 of 2)
In the first post on this topic, I began to compare and contrast two books that diagnose our current cultural situation and prescribe ways in which the church should engage the current culture: David Wells’ The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World, and Tim Stevens’ Pop Goes the Church: [...]
