8 Steps for Pastors to Recover 10 Hours From Their Week
What if I told you I could help you get 10 or more hours of your week back?
“Pastor, can we get together this week to talk about something?” How many times have you received similar requests? Think of the time expended scheduling the meeting, going to the meeting and, possibly, following up on the meeting. “The greatest gift you could give me is more time.” The statement was made half jokingly... Continue Reading
A Crooked Take on the “Straight Path”
Responding to a Muslim participating in the opening worship service at the PCUSA General Assembly in June 2016.
The claim that Mr. Said is a nice man, and therefore would never seek the conversion of non-Muslims, is a non sequitur. Indeed, a nice person who truly believed that Islam was the sole pathway to heaven would do everything in his power to lead non-Muslims to submit to Allah… I have nothing against... Continue Reading
The Sexual Revolution and the Witness of the Church
The church in the West now faces a set of moral challenges that exceeds anything it has experienced
“The church must awaken to its status as a moral minority and hold fast to the gospel it has been entrusted to preach. In so doing, the deep springs of permanent truth will reveal the church to be a life-giving oasis amid American’s moral desert.” In the face of the sexual revolution, the Christian church... Continue Reading
The Decline of America and the Role of the Church
What is the relationship of the Church in America to the moral decay and lawlessness in our society?
We can talk all we like about “worldview” and the need to practice the cultural mandate. But what can a worldly church offer the world that it does not already have? Before we are a more culturally-minded church, we must first be a Christ-centered, holy-minded church. We must be THE CHURCH. This in my view... Continue Reading
Confessions of a Former Youthful Zealot: My Snarky, Grumpy Blog Post Designed to Offend Other Youthful Zealot Elitists
Sound pastoral counsel for those people moaning, groaning, and pontificating about the Church.
So here’s my advice: Just shut up…Get in the trenches of community where real people really hurt. Stop thinking of perseverance as hypocrisy … and read a book for God’s sake. Start with a book about the history of the visible Church, and do this especially before you start writing books about the future church.... Continue Reading
When Tithing Comes With a Money-Back Guarantee
This month, hundreds of Christians at a South Carolina megachurch can request a refund
“About 440 Christians joined NewSpring’s most recent challenge. Of the more than 7,000 participants over the past four years, fewer than 20—that’s a fraction of 1 percent—have asked for their money back.” This month, hundreds of Christians at a South Carolina megachurch can request a refund on all the money they’ve given since March.... Continue Reading
Leading Anglican Theologian Exposes the ‘Third Way’ Myth
The 'Third Way' encourages a false sense of 'business as usual'
“They tell us that differences between Christians about the acceptability of same-sex relationships are secondary issues and the Church should therefore follow a ‘Third Way’ which maintains unity in contrast to, on the one hand, the liberal insistence on homosexual practice as a right and, on the other, the historic understanding that this is an... Continue Reading
Nullification in the UMC, Then and Now
This time the issue is sexual morality in general and homosexual behavior in particular.
The Bible’s position on homosexual behavior is even clearer than on the issue of slavery. Old and New Testaments are in agreement that any sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sinful. Nevertheless, clergy and even a few bishops are claiming that the Bible is mistaken in its standards regarding... Continue Reading
Methodists Nominate 3 Openly Gay Candidates for Bishop
Two U.S. jurisdictions will consider three openly gay candidates for bishop next month
It’s not the first time an openly gay candidate has been nominated — Wulf has been nominated before, according to Reconciling Ministries Executive Director Matt Berryman — but there’s “no question” there is momentum this time after last month’s United Methodist Church General Conference in Portland, Ore. At its quadrennial meeting last month, the United... Continue Reading
2 Chronicles 7:14 Isn’t About American Politics
2 Chronicles 7:14 isn’t talking about America or its national identity or some generic sense of “revival;” it is speaking of the God’s covenant people, the Church.
We too often see America as somehow more “real” than the kingdom, and our country as more important than the church. But 2 Chronicles 7:14 itself starts with the question of identity: “If my people…called by my name…” This, or any other country, is not called by the name of God. The kingdom of God,... Continue Reading
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