Delighting in Authority: How to Create a Culture of Happy Complementarians
It’s time for the church to create space in its local assemblies for strong females who happily affirm authority (e.g., male headship and eldership) while advocating for more opportunities for women to flourish according to their gifts and qualification. Imagine how the gospel could be displayed to the watching world if churches were filled with biblically-minded women who embraced God-ordained authority as a blessing rather than a burden? This counter-cultural impulse would offer continual opportunities to share the gospel with a world that’s desperate for truth.
You Believe the Prosperity Gospel
Here are 4 ways ordinary evangelicals like you and me sometimes fall prey to a kind of prosperity gospel in our thinking:
- We equate struggles with weak faith.
- We equate circumstantial blessings with spiritual maturity.
- We promise blessings in exchange for works.
- We equate suffering with punishment.
9 Common Trends in Church Worship Services
- Choirs are disappearing.
- Dress is more casual.
- Screens are pervasive.
- Preaching is longer.
- “Multi” is normative.
- Attendees are more diverse.
- Conflict is not increasing.
- More worship attendees are attending larger churches.
- Sunday evening services are disappearing.
If Everyone in Your Church Is Just Like You, You Have a Problem
Our society has made “preference” a synonym of church. Not only are we segregated racially, but in age as well. And we encourage it! First service is for those who prefer hymns while second service is for those who prefer upbeat, modern music. The older, wiser people head to first service while the younger, brasher people head to the second and everyone suffers the death of segregation. If we can’t agree on a way of doing church together, we’ll just host multiple churches inside of one.
Because There’s No Gospel All Day
I was prepared to wrap things up when I posed one simple question to her based upon what we’d read and discussed. “Why do you think we need to come back to the truth of the gospel every day? Why do we need to read the Bible tomorrow if we already read it today?” Expecting something along the lines of “it’s the right thing to do” or “so we’ll know God better,” her actual answer floored me.
“Because there’s no gospel all day.”
I urged her to go on.
“You get up in the morning, maybe you read the Bible. Then go to school all day and there’s so many bad messages you’re getting from friends and social media and television and everything. You need to read your Bible because you’re not going to get what you need anywhere else.”
A rare clay seal found in Jerusalem may help to firm up the existence existence of the Old Testament’s King Josiah.
Nathan-Melech, a high-ranking official in the court of King of Judah, is named in the inscription of one of the tiny clay seals.
How To Repent Of Slander In A Digital Age
Much of the online slander I have seen happens because we think another person has sinned. In such contexts, we sometimes post slanderous comments because we wrongly believed a false report and then passed it on. At other times, we come to realize our own evaluation of the situation was wrong or that we were unfair in how we characterized someone’s position. In either case, our motivation was often to try and put a stop to sin. Hatred of sin is of course a good thing! But the real test of our hatred of sin is seen in whether we publicly repent of our own sin of public slander. Let us hate the sin of slander as much as any other.
Couple married 82 years says no secret to long life together: ‘Just be nice to each other’
A North Carolina couple celebrating their 103rd and 100th birthdays may have the secret, or lack thereof, to a long-lasting relationship.
The couple, D.W. Williams, 103, and Willie Williams, 100, celebrated 82 years of marriage, as well as their milestone birthdays, on Sunday.
Pop, Tim and Tony give their favorite Manu Moments
Believe it or not, Manu Ginobili’s jersey retirement ceremony is tomorrow (!!!) [March 28], and the Spurs have released another round of “Manu Moments,” including Gregg Popovich, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Pop’s might make you cry, and Tim will make you laugh: right in line with the wide range of emotions that I’m sure we will all be feeling tomorrow.