Links To Go (August 21, 2015)

Pastor Creflo Dollar: If You Don’t See Why I Need a $65 Million Plane, You Just Don’t Get the Bible

He explained to his congregation that anyone who questions his desire just doesn’t understand the Bible:

See, don’t get upset when the world says stuff and talk about stuff, and all that. They’re just looking through the wrong lens. They don’t understand.
“What does a preacher need with an airplane?” They don’t know! They’ll never know because they’re not looking through the Word. They will never know! They’ll never, never, never know.

That still doesn’t answer the question of why Dollar needs a private airplane…
His argument boils down to nothing more than “Gimme money because the Bible!”


I want a bigger Bible

The more voices we have access to, the bigger our Bible gets — the more we see what is there, behind our cultural blinders.
I can’t wait for the day there are commentaries from cultures all over the world. I can’t wait for the day publishers don’t just translate English sermons and books into other languages but also give us access to global evangelical leaders who have been translated into English.


Homosexuality: If Gay Marriage is Contrary to God’s Will, Shouldn’t It Be Illegal? Part 1

So there’s a line. That is, there are some sins that are properly criminalized by the government. Indeed, these sins really should be criminalized for government to be good government. And there are sins that only God can deal with — that are outside of the legitimate purposes of government.


My Kingdom Come Or Thy Kingdom Come?

Jesus’ vision for completing the Great Commission never consisted in platforming a few hyper-anointed megapastors to pack an auditorium with their electrifying sermons, but in empowering ordinary believers to carry the gospel with them into the streets.


NEW RESEARCH: Divorce Divides More Than Just Families

The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults finds only a minority would call divorce a sin even when:

– There’s adultery (39 percent).
– The two people no longer love each other (38 percent).
– One spouse has abandoned the other (38 percent).
– One spouse is abusing the other (37 percent).
– A spouse is addicted to pornography (35 percent).


The homeless man at our door

He showed up at Impact! Church soon after we moved into the Parker Street community and has never left. He refuses to go to an assisted living facility and has never done anything violent to warrant the authorities assigning him to one. He claims that he is our security detail and spends every day “guarding” the front doors of Impact! Church. Sometimes he sits outside the door, but when it gets especially hot he sits right inside the door. He welcomes folks to Impact!, talks to them about God and invites them to church. Every Monday morning I meet with him so he can critique the worship service and sermon from the previous day. His best friend is a 7-year-old girl named Lauren – the child of an Impact! leader. Lauren and Dutch love to watch Disney movies on her iPad. The technology amazes Dutch. At night he arranges a few cushioned chairs together in our sanctuary to form a bed. We always make sure that Dutch has plenty of clothes, food, medicine and hygiene products. Dutch basically lives at Impact! Church 24/7/365 because he has no where else to go.


The question no parent wants to ask

However, the story of segregation in our country presents us with a difficult question. I don’t have an answer for it, so I’m simply going to let it hang:
As Christians, what kind of lesson are we teaching our kids, when we leave the worst schools to the poorest children?
To put it another way, if education is about moral formation, isn’t the decision to evacuate the worst schools and leave them to the poor kids–isn’t that a kind of formation too?


Twenty-five Really Weird Things Said to Pastors and Other Church Leaders

I must admit, however, I was surprised when I asked church leaders on Twitter to share some of the more unusual comments they have received. I was first surprised at how many responded. But I was most surprised at the really strange things people tell pastors and other church leaders.


Bolt of lightning strikes plane during thunderstorms at Atlanta airport (Video)

The powerful bolt hits the back of a Delta plane, dissipating into beads of lightning, and igniting something on or around at least one of the plane’s tires. The passengers — who might not have even known they were struck by lightning — were safe because the plane’s metal exterior acts as a Faraday cage, which distributes the electrical charge around the outside of the plane without affecting the inside.


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