Links To Go (November 16, 2016)

Neither a Republican Nor a Democratic Church

I know some seem compelled to have more of a Democratic church, or a Republican church, but I think it’s actually our best gospel-strategy to grow as Christians, and to reach Capitol Hill and this District to work hard against identifying our church with opposition to either party. We prayed for Bill Clinton and we prayed for George Bush and we prayed for Barack Obama—and we will now pray for Donald Trump.


If the U.S. had 100 people: Charting Americans’ religious affiliations

If the United States contained just 100 adults, 25 would be people who identify with evangelical Protestant denominations, 23 would be religiously unaffiliated and 21 would be Catholic. Just two would be Mormon, two would be Jewish and one would be Muslim.


Hey Dallas Morning News: Bible contains two books of Timothy, and Peter didn’t write them

Now, if a newspaper can’t even get the books or authors of the Bible right, how adeptly might that same publication cover a theological dispute over LGBT inclusion involving the roughly 2.3 million members of the Baptist General Convention of Texas?


Receptivity of the Tax Collectors, Sinners and Others Who Understood Their Helplessness

The difference in receptivity had little to do with Bible knowledge and more to do with spiritual destitution…helplessness…a recognition that they were insufficient to get out of the mess they had made. Like the prayers of the tax collector vs the Pharisee praying in Luke 18 there is a recognition of inability that leads one to receptivity. It is those who are most confident in themselves and their ability to judge things and do things that are least open for God to do the unexpected like have a Messiah be born in a manger much less be crucified for the sins of the world.


How to Make Sure Men Hate Your Church

Many churches and families struggle when it comes to men attending church. Maybe you’re a pastor and you look around and don’t see a lot of men. If you do see them, they are uninvolved, not passionate about their faith and are simply taking up a seat. It’s great they are there, but you want so much more for them.
Maybe you’re a wife or a mother who wants nothing more than to see your husband or son become engaged in their faith. You want it to be more than talk or more than simply showing up. You want them to take initiative, to pray with you, pray on their own, read their Bible, anything so that it doesn’t feel like they are doing it simply to make you feel better.


The Earliest Christian Old Testament

Having said all of this, my question is why we use the Hebrew Scriptures rather than the Greek Septuagint as our Bible. I realize that the Reformers wanted to use such, as did Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin. Nevertheless, as Christians who try to restore New Testament Christianity, one thing that we’ve overlooked in framing our theology has been to use a translation from the same original Scriptures that the early Christians used. I wouldn’t say that it’s a matter of fellowship or anything of that sort, but a personal preference.


The Mistress in Your Pocket

What ministry in the digital and social media age looks like and should look like is still being written. My forced low-tech Sabbath prompted me to see not only how much I use the phone but some reasons why I need a regular break from my phone.


Twins’ Daylight Saving Time Birth Results in Bizarre Age Twist

Emily and Seth Peterson of West Barnstable welcomed their sons in the early morning hours of Nov. 6 at Cape Cod Hospital.
Samuel was born 5 pounds, 13 ounces at 1:39 a.m., shortly before the 2 a.m. hour when clocks were turned back an hour.
Brother Ronan arrived at 5 pounds, 14 ounces 31 minutes later. Because he was born after the clocks fell back one hour, his official time of birth was declared 1:10 a.m. instead of 2:10 a.m.
So even though Ronan was born after Samuel, he is on paper at least the older twin.


Photographer Tracks Down People He Snapped In His Hometown Almost 40 Years Ago To Recreate The Remarkable Images

Paramedic Chris Porsz spent hours walking around the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire (Great Britain) in the late 1970s and 80s, taking candid shots of punks and policemen, siblings and sweethearts, traders and teenagers. More than three decades later, Chris has reconstructed a handful of his favourite photos from his collection. He spent the last seven years tracking down the people in his pictures and persuading them to pose once again. His hard work paid off and he has now published his photos in a new book, “Reunions”.


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