When Scripture Is the Controversy
Beneath the surface of the recent scuffle is the more vital issue of how disciples of Jesus posture themselves toward God’s word. It’s not simply about our grasp of what Scripture is, or our conviction of Scripture’s inerrancy, or even where we land with different interpretations. It’s fundamentally about how we approach the words of God, even before we get to the interpretation part. It’s about how we look when we’re looking at Scripture.
The question is: What is the church doing when it’s doing what it does with the Bible?
4 lessons in World Vision’s Flawed Vision
Because Stearns thinks that every Christian has the obligation to advance justice in such a way that brings about the kingdom of God, but doesn’t ever really define “justice,” he makes the purpose of Christianity ambiguous. It is up to influential leaders (like himself) to say what justice is and what it isn’t. When you couple that with the same leaders confessing that they are not particularly interested in the theology of the thing, it is little wonder that it gets jerked back and forth on some pretty basic biblical issues.
The bottom line: World Vision’s ship had been left to drift in the culture, without being tethered to any substantial theology. The result is that it has been carried straight into the whirlpool of the homosexual agenda, and it remains to be seen if it is even possible to escape.
7 Actions to Engage the Men In Your Church
We have done everything we can to open the doors for their acceptance and involvement, but when push comes to shove, the idea of staying at home watching ESPN, designing a logo for a new company, finishing a work project, or merely sleeping in, becomes top priority.
With this sad reality in mind, I want to share what I believe to be the 7 foundational actions we need to take as leaders to successfully engage the men within our churches.
6 Things The Church Can Learn From Jimmy Fallon
So it got Mark and I to thinking on “The Moonshine Jesus Show” what Jimmy Fallon has to teach us and what it would be like if he were a pastor or a priest. So we started a hashtag — #ordainjimmyfallon — and the early contributions are hilarious, but also really profound at times. Seriously go check it out and add yours in! But the hashtag responses really do speak to the idea that Jimmy might have some important lessons for us.
We are saved by grace through faith in Christ and by the work of His sacrifice, not by our own works or sacrifices. But Christ then calls us to arenas of service in ordinary life, of “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6). He calls us to faithfulness in our multiple vocations. This may or may not involve big things, but it always involves little things (Luke 16:10), such as simply doing our duty.
God’s Hot Pursuit of an Armed Bank Robber
Through it all, from the amazing to the mundane, God loved us. Through it all, God has given us a purpose. For me that purpose revolves around repentance, loving my wife and children, sharing the grace I’ve been given, and using my legal knowledge to assist those who cannot afford a decent attorney.
Looking back over the course of my life, I can see that although I rarely returned the favor, God hotly pursued me.
The charter text for Christian listening might be James 1:19: “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” It’s simple enough in principle, and nearly impossible to live. Too often we are slow to hear, quick to speak, and quick to anger. So learning to listen well won’t happen overnight. It requires discipline, effort, and intentionality. You get better with time, they say. Becoming a better listener hangs not on one big resolve to do better in a single conversation, but on developing a pattern of little resolves to focus in on particular people in specific moments.
Officials not pleased after Pennsylvania woman pays $200 sewer bill with change
A woman brought a shoebox stuffed with coins down to the Millcreek Township Municipal Building and paid her $200 sewer bill with nickels, dimes and quarters.
The woman paid a small part of the bill with cash, but the bulk of the payment was made with coins.
It took four township employees about an hour to count the change and roll it up so it could be deposited in a bank.