Ten Things Pastors Don’t Like About Pastoring
"Let me know if you come across a pastor that actually likes church business meetings. I want to find the secret to his moments of delusion."
"One guy was ripping into me at our last business meeting. But he didn't bother me as much as my so-called supporters who remained silent the whole time. They've told me that they are behind me, but they weren't there for me when I needed them the most."
The Unfaithful Spouse: Should I Divorce or Try to Reconcile?
Vengeance usually hurts the vigilante more than the intended target.
“Is he a bad man who did a bad thing or is he a good man who did a bad thing?” She enquired as to why I would ask that question. I explained that good people sometimes do bad things, but that if they are at heart still good people, they may be worth rescuing. Good people who regret bad behavior and want to make things right tend to be better people than they were before their indiscretion
Surface repairs
As far as the casual eye can see, there is order, beauty, completeness. We have managed to massage our behaviour into the appearance of holiness.
The home which God has given to me and my family is one for which I am deeply grateful. However, as with cars, computers and bodies, home-owning is one of the great demonstrators of entropy. In my case, though, it also happens to demonstrate something a little more.
Of Seventh, Shadyside and Sovereign Grace (Scripture Saturation)
Okay, all those s's are cool. I didn't plan it that way, honest!
I'm thinking on how the church worships. My contention is: a mature Christian ought to be able to worship anywhere, in any style, as long as the content of worship is within Biblical bounds
Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in
"The war cry of our age is…I deserve love. I deserve to be trusted. I deserve freedom. I deserve friendship. I deserve respect. I deserve sexual pleasure."
I have been persuaded today by concerned parties to enter the lists on the issue of how Luther has been co-opted for the cause of a kind of neo-antinomianism/Sonship theology by some figures in the YRR movement who are using his idioms of law/gospel dialectic and theology of the cross for their own theological ends.
The White Working Class
You cannot write religious history, the history of religions and of religious people in America without reckoning with the social class of citizens
It is impossible to summarize all the findings and contentions related to this survey; the purpose of this admittedly brisk report is simply to remind ourselves that, while class-talk does not tell us everything, it tells us much, and we neglect it at our peril if we want to deal intelligently with politics, cultural life... Continue Reading
Does Christian cultural engagement have to take the form of war?
Rather than taking the approach of divide and conquer, many of these advocates want to effect cultural change through faithful witness and loving persuasion.
"After representing two kingdoms advocates as those who do not want to engage culture and politics Evans turns to argue that faithful cultural engagement must take the form of culture war. The liberals and elites of the Obama administration have launched a battle against us, and our only choice is to fight or run. Surely good Christians will not run"
How Biblical is ‘Biblical Counseling’?
We should expect the Bible to be a sufficient lens to read the information supplied by these disciplines, enabling us to find and use only what is consistent with Scripture.
So what counsel would I give to my biblical counseling family? I want to give only one piece of very simple yet very radical counsel: let’s change our name. Actually, to put it more accurately, let’s change the understanding of our name, especially of our first name, “biblical.” Many of our family’s internal squabbles, and some of our confrontations with other families, could be solved by clarifying this meaning.
Is Megachurch Worship Addictive?
Scholars, including the coauthor of the recent study alleging that it creates a "high," weigh in.
Researchers from the University of Washington recently argued, based on an analysis of existing studies, that megachurch worship creates a spiritual "high" that draws participants back again and again. Interviews with 470 attendees at 12 churches revealed a common sense of euphoria; lights, video cameras, and projectors contributed to the experience.
Baby Boomers: Why Am I Back in Church?
"When they were young, they thought they would live forever. But they know better now.”
Think about it: when Mr. or Ms. Gallup calls, are you really going to say that the last time you went to church was three years ago? Surely meaning to go must count for something. Of course, maybe a lot of these people had been fibbing for years about going to Woodstock, and eased their conscience by giving the pollsters a more reliable account about church.