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Things that don’t go together
In the “what’s wrong with this picture” category: A saying on a post said: “Worship isn’t about hyping up. It’s about bowing down.” Great saying. And it was posted over a picture of a scene from a very hyped up worship service… or at least the kind of picture that churches most of the time would want you to THINK…
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The intolerant look for any excuse
NIAMEY, Niger — The Niger government says at least 45 churches have been set on fire in this predominantly Muslim West African nation in protests over French cartoons lampooning Islam’s prophet. In a statement issued Monday, the government also declared three days of national mourning for the 10 people who died amid the violent protests that first began on Friday.…
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The intolerance of “tolerance”
Europe is becoming a “NO GOD” zone. I am not advocating for our American version of “wearing your faith on your sleeve”… or bumper sticker… or T Shirt. I have been advocating for simple awareness in our lives as believers that we truly need to function in a different way than before. We need to learn what it is to…
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The All White Oscars
I love headlines. I love inventing headlines. They are awesome. You know why? Because when you write a good headline, it’s often the ONLY thing most people will read. They will riff off that headline like crazy. This headline alone will create responses that will be pure gold for me to read. Because that’s not what this is about. While it…
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The Kingdom of God and severe reactions
It’s a bit of an odd world when, in the past few weeks, we’ve had some deep American need to “defend free speech” by going to see a very stupid movie about North Korea. And now, it’s everyone claiming, “I am Charlie Hebdo” in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris on a satirical newspaper. We’re defending the right to…
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The paralysis of politics has made the Church pathetic instead of PROPHETIC
Please do yourself a favor and listen to a repeat of this live stream. I couldn’t fast forward through it, so it was necessary to listen carefully all the way through as evangelical/conservative leaders talked about race, racism, and justice. The very first comments from a conservative black pastor caught me. He asked someone who had been in a conservative…
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Let’s Get This Done
From my message today: Race divided the Pentecostal church. From the beginning. What was powerful at Azusa Street was ripped away by the racism of America. The Assemblies of God became white. Church of God in Christ became black. The A/G had policies in place through the 1960s and even the 1970s in some places that would not allow blacks to be…
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Why I join in the effort to pray this Sunday for #BlackLivesMatter
This Sunday has been a day set aside for prayer. The request has come from two significant places that affect my own ministry: the Church of God in Christ and then the General Council of the Assemblies of God. Together they are asking for churches to pray this Sunday for racial reconciliation and justice. We will pray for justice. We…
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#BlackLivesMatter
Statement of Assemblies of God General Superintendent George O. Wood Encouraging Participation with Church of God in Christ in Observing Black Lives Matter Sunday Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. of the Church of God in Christ has asked COGIC churches to observe Black Lives Matter Sunday this coming Sunday, December 14, 2014. As Bishop Blake’s friend and counterpart in the…
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Why my city rocks
I love reflecting on the city where I pastor because there are so many things going on that are RIGHT. They are not totally right all the time, but there are things that defy current trends. For instance, Columbia Heights is on the very low end of “affluence” in the Twin Cities. Rock bottom for the metro area, I believe.…
Category: Culture
