Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity

Christianity, when it is taken seriously, compels its adherents to engage the world, not retreat from it. There are a multitude of reasons for this mandate, ranging from care for the poor, orphaned, and widowed to offering hope to the hopeless. This means that Christians must be willing to listen to other perspectives while testing their own beliefs against them

The Big Question of Grief: Who Am I Now?

Consider the person who lost their spouse of 40 years, their job of 30 years, the freedom to move about freely due to injury, or their innocence to abuse.

• How does this now person introduce themselves to a new acquaintance?
• What do they now see when they look in the mirror?
• How do they now anticipate the next chapters of their life story?

Each of these are identity-laden questions. They reveal ways in which one’s sense of self can be altered by a significant loss.

What Do We Do When Everything We’ve Worked For Seems To Fail?

My assistant felt like he had been punched in the stomach and left winded on the ground. He had had his first taste of inner city ministry in its rawness. In Brasil I had seen people walk away for less. So, how would he cope when the romantic ideal he had pictured in his brain did not match the heartbreaking, daily reality of life on the ground?
This is how he did it.

A ‘Whom Do You Hang With?’ Map Of America

It’s a new, intriguing way to see our country. This one was built by tracking dollar bill circulation. There’ve been similar maps built from phone call data. The idea here is to show America not as 50 states, but as regions where people do stuff together. In other words, a “Whom Do You Hang With?” map.

Woman washed unexploded bomb in kitchen sink

Once she had dug it up she took it inside their house and left it on the coffee table, before Mr Longhorn heard a rattle and turned around to see his wife washing mud off the bomb in the sink.
Police were called and experts confirmed they believed that the bomb was still live.

Take Off For Sushi Restaurant’s Flying Tray

A Japanese restaurant has brought a new meaning to the term ‘fast food’, hurtling meals towards customers on what it claims is the world’s first flying tray.
Dubbed the iTray, the lightweight, carbon fibre gadget can travel at speeds of up to 11 metres per second (25mph) and has a range of 50 metres.
Waiters and waitresses at YO! Sushi guide the platter through the air using an iPad app, while kitchen staff can check the food is delivered by watching real-time video feeds from two on-board cameras.

Why Small Churches Are the Next Big Thing

Of course, Millennials have the same spiritual needs people have always had, including the desire to worship something or someone bigger than themselves, and to do so with others who have similar inclinations. In other words, Millennials need church.
But not just any church, and not the churches their parents built. Millennials are used to a high-quality experience in everything, and they won’t settle for less. In addition, Millennials don’t want a big Sunday morning stage show as much as they want genuine intimacy and relationships.

A Gospel that Fits All People

I don’t expect A&F to make gospel-centered decisions since they are a worldly business enterprise (although I’d be happier if they chose to show respect to all people). I do expect churches, church leaders, and Christ-followers to be gospel-centered in all matters, including the messages we send through our decisions about clothing, body size, and attractiveness.

SHORTER Sermons = More Effective Sermons

The reality is, there are few people who can preach longer than 30 minutes without losing their audience. A good philosophy is to leave them wanting more, not wanting to get out!

The Great Commission and Immigration

But my concern is that we are tempted to compartmentalize when it comes to the foreign mission opportunities in our own backyard. It’s not uncommon to hear Christians complain about immigration, about the changing culture of America. A few years ago I had a conversation with a Christian gentleman who expressed to me, in serious tones, his concern that, “In a couple decades, whites will be a minority.” As if this is a problem.
But the gospel calls us to something different. Rather than viewing our changing demographics as a problem, we should welcome them as a “Pentecost moment,” where God is sovereignly bringing the nations to our doorstep. Perhaps today’s undocumented teen will be tomorrow’s Billy Graham to his country of origin.

Melvyn Bragg on William Tyndale: his genius matched that of Shakespeare

And, almost as an accidental by-product, he loaded our speech with more everyday phrases than any other writer before or since. We still use them, or varieties of them, every day, 500 years on.
Here are just a few: “under the sun”, “signs of the times”, “let there be light”, “my brother’s keeper”, “lick the dust”, “fall flat on his face”, “the land of the living”, “pour out one’s heart”, “the apple of his eye”, “fleshpots”, “go the extra mile”, “the parting of the ways” – on and on they march through our days, phrases, some of which come out of his childhood in the Cotswold countryside, some of which were taken from Anglo-Saxon and Hebrew, all of which he alchemised into our everyday language.

Has the US become the type of nation from which you have to seek asylum?

There’s no question that the United States has stronger protections for free speech and the rule of law than repressive regimes like China or Iran. But it’s also clear that our courts defend constitutional rights less zealously today than they did in Ellsberg’s day. Snowden wasn’t crazy to question whether he’d be treated fairly by the American justice system.

This Is Your Brain on Coffee

Other recent studies have linked moderate coffee drinking — the equivalent of three or four 5-ounce cups of coffee a day or a single venti-size Starbucks — with more specific advantages: a reduction in the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, basal cell carcinoma (the most common skin cancer), prostate cancer, oral cancer and breast cancer recurrence.

Detroit police’s simulated purse snatching goes awry

The officer takes the purse, runs around the gas station. As he’s running, an off-duty FBI agent is pumping gas. He witnesses the whole thing. He gives chase. He pulls his weapon, and as he turns the corner around the gas station, he’s stopped by another officer, who identifies herself as a police officer and don’t shoot, don’t shoot, this is a scenario.

TSA agents stop Chewbacca actor over light saber

Not even Chewbacca and his light saber get a free pass with airport security before being cleared to travel.
Transportation Security Administration agents in Denver briefly stopped ‘‘Star Wars’’ franchise actor Peter Mayhew recently as he was boarding a flight with a cane shaped like one of science-fiction’s most iconic weapons.

How to Listen When Someone Is Venting

And yet a lot of people don’t know how to listen to someone venting. Usually, people take one of two attitudes. Option 1 is to jump in and give advice — but this is not the same as listening, and the person doing the venting may respond with “Just listen to me! Don’t tell me what to do.” Option 2 (usually attempted after Option 1) is to swing to the other extreme, and sit there silently. But this doesn’t actively help the person doing the venting to drain their negative emotions. Consequently, it is about as rewarding as venting to your dog.

Do Contradictions In The Gospels Make Them Untrustworthy?

In his commentary on the Gospel of John, Leon Morris writes, “The differences between the Gospels amount to no more than a demonstration that in them we have the spontaneous evidence of witnesses, not the stereotyped repetition of an official story” (p. 731).
In other words, the contradictions in the minor details point to the fact that the main parts of the story that have unanimous agreement (Jesus died, was buried, raised from the dead, and was seen) are to be believed.
What we’re dealing with in the gospels are legit eyewitness testimonies.
And you can trust them because of the contractions, not in spite of them.

“Gates of Hell” and Another Look at Matt. 16:18 & Rev. 9:1-11

The word “gates” is a synecdoche that represents the entire underworld. Thus, Jesus is saying, according to my view, that the region of the dead, or death will never triumph over his disciples. Strangely enough, the ESV renders Matt. 16:18 “gates of hell,” but in the notes says it means death. I guess those editors haven’t seen the problem with trying to have both “gates of hell” and death as the meaning.

The Problem With Vampire Christianity

Some years ago, A.W. Tozer expressed his “feeling that a notable heresy has come into being throughout evangelical circles — the widely accepted concept that we humans can choose to accept Christ only because we need him as Savior and that we have the right to postpone our obedience to him as Lord as long as we want to!”
This “heresy” has created the impression that it is quite reasonable to be a “vampire Christian.” One, in effect, says to Jesus: “I’d like a little of your blood, please. But I don’t care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won’t you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I’ll see you in heaven.” But is this really acceptable to Jesus?

Everything I Know about Pastoral Ministry I Learned Riding with Pastors

Nearly everything I think I know about pastoral ministry I’ve learned from someone else. Usually the learning has come in one-sentence statements mentioned in almost throw-away lines. Often it’s been driving along in the car talking about life and ministry.

The Gentle Temeraire

This work speaks eloquently of how God uses weakness; and, indeed, of how Christians are to make themselves weak in order for God to be shown to be truly strong. Herein lies the difference between the much-trumpeted theology of the cross and a theologian of the cross. A theology of the cross can simply be a way of thinking, an intellectual technique; as such it can ironically be found on the lips of a theologian of glory if it is simply his sales pitch, his means of drawing attention to himself, of honing a hip patois. Recent days have indeed seen the theology of the cross used by some as a kind of triumphalism; yet for Packer, as for Paul and for Luther, it is a means of seeing through present pain and affliction and the existentially painful contradictions of life to the glories of the resurrection – glories which are real despite their utter invisibility to human experience here and now. A theologian of the cross combines a cross-shaped way of thinking with a cross-shaped way of living, not escaping from pain and weakness but looking through such and that only by God-given faith.

22 Maps That Show How Americans Speak English Totally Differently From Each Other

Everyone knows that Americans don’t exactly agree on pronunciations.
Regional accents are a major part of what makes American English so interesting as a dialect.
Joshua Katz, a Ph. D student in statistics at North Carolina State University, just published a group of awesome visualizations of Professor Bert Vaux and Scott Golder’s linguistic survey that looked at how Americans pronounce words.

Duluth woman training for half-marathon gives birth to surprise baby

An aspiring half-marathon runner in Minnesota whose two-hour training session left her with a sore back was stunned to discover that the pain was not due to a pulled muscle or a slipped disc but that she was about to give birth.

A Hundredfold

It is simply not possible to argue for gay relationships from the Bible. Attempts by some church leaders to do so inevitably involve twisting some texts and ignoring others. God’s word is, in fact, clear. The Bible consistently prohibits any sexual activity outside of marriage.
As someone who experiences homosexual feelings this is not always an easy word to hear. It has sometimes been very painful to come to terms with what the Bible says. There have been times of acute temptation and longing – times when I have been ‘in love’. And yet Scripture shows that these longings are distortions of what God has created me for.

A Tribute to Homemakers

You hear the conversations about promotions at work and advanced degrees, and you are so proud of your friends. They are accomplishing great things, and advancing up the corporate ladder in a world that equates such with true success. Meanwhile, you are painting a multi-colored birdhouse with finger paints (with not so much as a hair out of place), and are making an eternal difference. Those 20 minutes spent finding Waldo, coupled with yet another trip to the dentist? Your 4-year-old may never remember them specifically, but he’ll never forget that mom was always there.

Why are Preachers so Fat? – Part #2

This view is common. We live in a world where the outside reflects the inside; whether buildings, houses or people. We are taught “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but we all do. We let the outside appearance take precedence over the inside. For instance, take an overweight preacher preaching on gluttony, how would that be felt by the hearers? Or how about an overweight preacher preaching on gluttony and then going to an all you can eat buffet for lunch? It happens.

Chosen

I think that we may sometimes forget that we are chosen by God. We forget our state when God chose us, and what dynamic changes He made in our lives when we accepted Him into our lives.
Most of us know what it means to not be chosen … to be left out … to feel that we are not good enough. Many people feel that way about church, and about God. Not good enough. But the truth is that God has chosen you – with full knowledge of who you are!
Royal … Holy … Belonging … that’s how God sees you.

Don’t Waste Their Time! – Your Communication Tip of the Day

Think about such full engagement happening to this audience, on this day, during your presentation. When you arrive, look your audience in the eye, and “be fully present,” with an attitude of “this will not be a waste of your time.” Make this promise in your very demeanor to your audience: “These next moments together will absolutely be worth the investment of your time.”

Rescuing drowning children: How to know when someone is in trouble in the water

The Instinctive Drowning Response—so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In some of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening.* Drowning does not look like drowning

Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates a Different Way to Lead Singing

Not that I expect our songworship leaders to take this up … but wouldn’t it be cool?

The NBA’s most successful franchise reveals that America is a nation of hypocrites

There’s a reason that Bridezillas is a show and there’s nothing called Reasonably Well-Planned Wedding Enjoyed by All. Americans don’t want excellence, and we certainly don’t want long-term sustained excellence. We want our dynasties to come with a side order of drama, controversy, and bad behavior. We want anti-heroes and the occasional impulsive retirement to pursue a baseball career. We want to watch a train wreck and then tut-tut in a smug self-satisfied way about the irresponsibility of the people who caused it. We want to maintain our high ideals, without needing to walk the walk. Nobody can hate the Spurs, so nobody wants to love them. It’s more comfortable for everyone if we can just pretend they don’t exist.

The Difference between Congregational Worship and a Concert

Christian worship is a collective, communal, congregational practice–and the gathered sound and harmony of a congregation singing as one is integral to the practice of worship. It is a way of “performing” the reality that, in Christ, we are one body. But that requires that we actually be able to hear ourselves, and hear our sisters and brothers singing alongside us.

3 Reasons Why the “Safe” Argument is Killing Churches

So the next time we sit around a discussion table and someone says, Wouldn’t it be safer . . . . , well, we should ask: 1) is that the view of God we read about in Scripture?; 2) what opportunity and people will be lost by us failing to act; and 3) what opportunity for people to serve, create, and grow spiritually will be missed?

That Time I Ruined My 9 Year Olds Innocence/Life

When we left…
I was convinced you could handle the devastation.
I was convinced you kept the innocence in your eyes.
I was convinced you would thank me for showing you how to heal their pain with a smile.
I was convinced you became strong.

Deadly, dull and boring

Clarity. Being comprehensible without being condescending. Being simple without being simplistic. As Einstein put it, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler”.
I want to challenge you to work harder at preaching more clearly. I want to push you to prepare in a way that combines your heartfelt passion with hardheaded clarity, in a package that’s well planned, conversational and clear… and not too long.

Why Are Preachers So Fat?

Like you, I have heard the excuses of why preachers are overweight, out of shape and for some, and die an early death. The hard fact is, many preachers feel guilty if they are not always working for the church or studying from the Word. Preachers have dedicated their lives to one goal – getting people to heaven. One of the problems for many preachers is they forsake their own family and health in the process.

How to Give a Killer Presentation

On the basis of this experience, I’m convinced that giving a good talk is highly coachable. In a matter of hours, a speaker’s content and delivery can be transformed from muddled to mesmerizing. And while my team’s experience has focused on TED’s 18-minutes-or-shorter format, the lessons we’ve learned are surely useful to other presenters—whether it’s a CEO doing an IPO road show, a brand manager unveiling a new product, or a start-up pitching to VCs.

Chemotherapy IV Bags Made to Look Like Superhero Formula for Child Cancer Patients

No matter how old you are, chemotherapy is really tough. But for kids who have to go through the cancer treatment, visiting the hospital for the physically brutal drug is especially difficult. That’s why a hospital in Brazil had an ad agency create these custom IV bags featuring DC Comics’ superhero logos. They even created special comic books showing the heroes receiving chemotherapy to restore their superpowers and health.