Category: Church Life

  • Dan

    So, Pastor, what good are you?

    Some of my favorite cartoons for church have a line that goes something like this: A parishoner sees the pastor’s wife in a grocery store and asks the wife, “So, does your husband work, or he is still pastoring?” Those always give me a smile. But the perception is more reality than we, as pastors, like to admit. Recent surveys…

  • Dan

    The Bland Gospel

    For some reason there needs to be an attack “radical” Christianity. We want to be radically normal. God bless us all. Whether we are headed to the most unreached people group of the world, or out the door to coach our kids’ baseball team, I think I really want to ask, “How do we see JESUS?” Mark Labberton’s piece in…

  • Dan

    Language Shifts Indicate Cultural Shifts

    David Brooks has a column today reflecting on language shifts over the last 50 years. His observations are interesting.    Usage of humility words like “modesty” and “humbleness” dropped by 52 percent. Usage of compassion words like “kindness” and “helpfulness” dropped by 56 percent. Meanwhile, usage of words associated with the ability to deliver, like “discipline” and “dependability” rose over…

  • Dan

    The Radical Love of Christ

    1 Corinthians 13. I usually avoid this chapter because it was so abused at weddings over the years. Coming back to this chapter as an “ancient well” in my spiritual reading is always the toughest passage to visit. But it is so needed. Especially in the Body of Christ. Especially in this day. The Corinthians church was into spiritual superiority.…

  • Dan

    Ritual

    For those who make the claim, “I’m not ‘religious,’ I’m ‘spiritual,’” this word is like death. For Pentecostals, this word is like death. I grew up hearing about “dead rituals.” What I have come to realize is that rituals are not “dead.” As believers, it is often US who are dead. We’re just blaming something else. Ritual belongs in life.…

  • Dan

    The Care of the WHOLE

    I am continuing a series on Acts and the Holy Spirit this Sunday. As I reflect on Acts 4:32 to Acts 6:8 as a unit, I think to how we have made Christianity such a dichotomy in the western Church. For Pentecostals, I’ve grown up with everything about Christianity being about “soul winning.” It’s about saving souls. When other “liberal”…

  • Dan

    Charismatic No No’s

    I need to get out more. There is some interesting stuff still happening in Charismatic churches, I guess. Lee Grady goes over a list I thought had gone extinct 20 years ago. I guess not! Some fun things he wishes would go away: 3. The song that never ends 6. The sermon with seven endings 9. The jump-start glossalalia It’s…

  • Dan

    The Conversation of Depression

    While we’re not having another needed conversation (this one about depression), let me just go ahead and bring it up again. WE NEED TO TALK. A fellow blogger, Jeff, is a strong believer and battles depression. He puts some of his thoughts HERE. Let’s not talk about other things while we’re at it. 😉 We truly need to see the…

  • Dan

    Mental Illness and the Conversation We Don’t Have

    With the tragedy of Rick and Kay Warren losing their son, once again mental illness is front and center. Over the weekend I also saw a video from a Colorado sheriff who was upset at Obama coming to Colorado pushing gun control because there are “deeper issues.” I could only assume he meant mental illness in that mix because the…

  • Dan

    Our King Will Come to Us

    9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and riding on an ass, on a colt, the offspring of a donkey. (Zech 9:9, CEB) Our King comes to us. Do we know how to look for him? Lord, keep our eyes open and our egos out of the…