Church Life
-
David Brooks of the New York Times hits the nail on the head today. (HERE.) We think so highly of ourselves, we just think we can whip this economy back into shape without realizing the depth of the problem and that TIME will really help in pulling ourselves out of the mess. This is leading… Read more
-
Scot McKnight of Jesus Creed (on the web. By day he is a college prof) has some great thoughts on Christianity as a country club or Christianity as the place where the gospel story is told. His new book, The King Jesus Gospel, is a book I will be reading with my staff. It is… Read more
-
Some thoughts from key leaders HERE about how Christian and Muslim relations are doing ten years after 9/11. Some thoughts HERE on the need for good translations, even ones we may not personally like. For me, personally, I am still working to become more comfortable with the Common English Bible. The NIV 2011 is by… Read more
-
One of the things I was thinking about for remembering 9/11 was actually visiting a mosque. Go to a Friday prayer. In the local mosques visitors are welcome. There is no expectation of following the prayers. Since I begin teaching next week and my Fridays will be too busy, I went today. It is a… Read more
-
Some thoughts from Eugene Peterson on how churches should be in America, but how they really are all too often: We can’t gather a God-fearing, God-worshipping congregation by cultivating a consumer-pleasing, commodity-oriented congregation. When we do, the wheels start falling off the wagon. And they are falling off the wagon. We can’t suppress the Jesus way into order… Read more
-
The past couple of weeks I have been reading through Jeremiah, Lamentations and Ezekiel. Just some light summer reading before heading back into teaching… As I cruise through Ezekiel 37-39 I am thrown back to my high school days. Those were the days when I had everything figured out. The Rapture, Israel, the Church, all of… Read more
-
August 21, 2011 We celebrated our Brother Das becoming a US Citizen. Great food and fellowship! Read more
-
Setting aside all political arguments of what is right and wrong with this nation, I was able to experience one of the truly great ceremonies of our nation today. We have an Indian brother in our congregation who became a naturalized citizen today. It was my privilege to witness 705 new citizens from 82 different… Read more
-
There have been many reflections in all kinds of places on the life of John Stott since his passing this week. One of the kindest pieces I have read is from Nicholas Krisotff. This piece demonstrates the mental contortions we enter into in our world. As a conservative, evangelical Pentecostal, I see and experience these… Read more
-
The interview in Christianity Today with Bishop Kallistos Ware is an interesting read. Here is the bishop’s take (in a Q&A format) on the essence of Christianity: If I were to meet you on a train and ask you, “What is the center of the Christian message?,” how would you succinctly put that? I would… Read more
Apprentice 2 Jesus 