Tag Archives: Christ and Culture

Travel update

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airplaneJust a note about where I’ve been the last few weeks:

  • Cuba — Feels funny to say that I went to a women’s conference. Actually, I wasn’t at the women’s sessions much, but did get to speak to a group of preachers that gathered at the same time. I also translated for some of the group from the Beltline Church of Christ in Decatur, Alabama, as they addressed the men. Beltline sponsors the women’s conference. Most of the time, however, was spent with Tony Fernández, visiting radio listeners and studying a part of the province where he hopes to begin new mission churches soon. (Tony’s congregation has planted more than 40 churches over the last 10 years)
  • Kansas — I got to go to Lawrence, Kansas, doing my Christ and Culture seminar for the Southside Church of Christ there; that’s part of what I do for Hope for Life / Herald of Truth Great people, and they felt like the content I shared was very timely for their group.
  • Nicaragua — This is part of Herald of Truth’s Central American Project. Steve Ridgell and I travelled to Managua, meeting with radio listeners and preaching an evangelistic campaign. We also met with a brother who works in the area south of Managua, making plans to expand our work to that area in 2016.
  • Silver Spring, Maryland — I was invited to do a men’s conference at the Silver Spring Church of Christ, as well as speaking for their whole Hispanic group on Sunday morning and for an areawide event Sunday night. Another great group. It’s always encouraging to see what God is doing around the world.

What have you been up to?

Seminar on Long Island

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Herald of Truth logoI just had a wonderful weekend on Long Island. No, it’s not really the time of year to visit the Hamptons. I was there for Herald of Truth, holding a “Christ and Culture” seminar at the Roosevelt-Freeport Church of Christ, then teaching Bible class and preaching for the East End church of Christ in East Hampton, NY.

The seminar at the Roosevelt church was actually a gathering of Hispanic church leaders from the area. There were representatives from seven different congregations, about 60 people in all. It was the first time I had done the “Christ and Culture” seminar in Spanish. Everyone seemed pleased with the material, and I felt good about how it went.

On Sunday, they were having a joint meeting between the East End congregation and a Hispanic congregation from Riverhead, NY. Everything was done bilingually. After doing that regularly for over 10 years, it’s surprising to see how many people are amazed at how smoothly it can go. Done right, bilingual worship does not interrupt the flow of the service.

As it has been the last few weeks, travel was a bit interesting. Going up there, it was mechanical problems. We left Dallas 90 minutes late, causing me to miss the 3:30 flight to Long Island. The next flight they could get me on was at 10:00 p.m.

Coming home, it was the weather. Actually, I expected things to be worse. I was only about an hour late getting home. The rides were bumpy, but nothing too bad.

It’s always great to be with brothers and sisters in different areas. Then it’s always good to return home again.

Seminar at Brooks Avenue

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859499_10151318165338191_1846126711_oI was privileged to be with the Brooks Avenue Church of Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, this past weekend. They invited me to come and present the “Christ and Culture” seminar that I do as part of my work with Herald of Truth. I’ve talked about doing such seminars in the past… but this time I’ve got pictures to prove it. Here’s a few:

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Ok, so I talk with my hands.

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Technology was extremely helpful this time. I used an iPad to control the presentation that was running on my laptop. Allowed me to see the slides as well as some notes.

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Some of the material that I present during the seminar is from Ray Vander Laan’s www.followtherabbi.com.

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I presented the final session during morning worship on Sunday. That meant that I had to take a 45 minute session and present it in 25 minutes. Talking fast is good for the soul!

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I told some friends on Facebook that every preacher secretly dreams of having Michael J. Fox playing guitar behind them as they preach. I used some still photos from “Back To The Future” to make a point about contextualization.

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I hope that everyone took away that main point. As Christians, we are foreigners and aliens in this world, but we’re not mere refugees… we’re on a diplomatic mission!

Christ and Culture seminar

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As part of my work with Herald of Truth, I got to present a “Christ and Culture” seminar this past weekend at the Greenwood Church of Christ in Greenwood, South Carolina. It was only the second time I’ve presented the full seminar, and I’ve tweaked it quite a bit since the first time.

It’s done in four sessions:

  • Session 1: “The Fish Doesn’t Know That He’s Wet”—This is a look at culture and worldview and the influence they have on people… people like us.
  • Session 2: “Alexander Made Me Do It”—A look at the major forces that shaped Western culture and the effects of those forces.
  • Session 3: “Christ and Culture”—A look at traditional responses to culture, focusing on how Christians should view their lives in this world.
  • Session 4: “God’s Ambassadors”—A discussion of our mission on behalf of the Kingdom of God, what it means to live in this world as a foreigner on a diplomatic mission.

I’m sure that I’m not through tweaking. I’ve added thoughts from Gabe Lyons’ The Next Christians, which I hadn’t read the first time that I presented this seminar. I’ve also done some reading on modernism and postmodernism, particularly some things that N.T. Wright has written. Between now and the next seminar, I’ll probably find more things to add.

If you were going to participate in a seminar like this, what sort of topics would you like to see discussed?

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