Should you preach ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives? Should you listen to preaching ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives? Should you worship in song ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives? Should you give financially ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives? Should you pray ignorantly, half-heartedly, “going through the motions” or with the wrong motives? Should you encourage your fellow believers ignorantly, … [Read more...] about A solution to weekly worship woes…
What the SBC Blogs are saying…
Here are the latest posts from the most influential SBC blogs and news feeds. Posts from all 500+ blogs are listed on our SBC blog directory page. … [Read more...] about What the SBC Blogs are saying…
Russell Moore on Glenn Beck and American Christianity
Honestly, this is one of the best articles I have read in quite some time. Russell Moore nails it on the head in regards the influence Beck and those like him have on American Christianity: Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a … [Read more...] about Russell Moore on Glenn Beck and American Christianity
What’s the History of Pastor Appreciation Day?
I was doing a little research last night about Pastor Appreciation Day. It turns out this unofficial holiday is better known as "Clergy Appreciation Day" or "Clergy Appreciation Month." No Wikipedia page = more work. I found some clues on the Hallmark website. Notably the holiday only dates back to 1992 and is always celebrated on the second Sunday in October. They first sold cards for pastor's appreciation in 2002. I found another helpful post on Leading from the Heart, a UMC blog written by Rev. Laurie Haller. She had this blockquote from the Sept./Oct. 1996 issue of the Saturday … [Read more...] about What’s the History of Pastor Appreciation Day?
WEIGHING IN ON THE MOSQUE AT GROUND-ZERO
When I first heard of the mosque being built at Ground Zero in New York City, I questioned the wisdom of choosing that site. It wasn't till conversations got heated, reheated, and burned to a crisp that I began to truly make up my mind about it all. I fluctuated between sympathies to one side, and "how dare they" to the other. Some say it's a matter of sensitivity to those who lost loved ones on 9-11 that the Muslim Mosque should choose another site. I empathize, I truly do. I have difficulty in sharing what I believe is more important. As a Christian, I think, it is because of the … [Read more...] about WEIGHING IN ON THE MOSQUE AT GROUND-ZERO
How Should Christians Respond to the Proposition 8 Debate?
This was originally posted at Modern March Unless you live under a rock, you have seen the latest news on the Proposition 8 case. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that Proposition 8 violates the constitution, a ruling that could potentially overturn the California voters’ decision that same-sex marriage should remain illegal. Expectedly, Judge Walker’s decision has flared much debate over the issue of homosexuality. Many Christians, though not all, have been up in arms for years over the idea that same-sex marriage will be made legal … [Read more...] about How Should Christians Respond to the Proposition 8 Debate?
Facts & Feelings from Orlando: What Stetzer Can’t Say
I was feeling rowdy this morning, so I left a comment over on this helpful post by Ed Stetzer. Then I realized that blog is a little boring and wanted to set you commenting animals loose. Besides, I think they just deleted my comment anyway! That kind of controlled discussion always raises my blood pressure. He was listing the factors that might keep younger leaders away from the SBC annual meetings. Here's what I said. Thanks for the helpful post and I see myself in a few of your reasons. Here are two more that you can't say: 6. The brand value of SBC is beyond zero and now far into … [Read more...] about Facts & Feelings from Orlando: What Stetzer Can’t Say
Does the SBC Protect & Enable Child Abusers?
The firestorm from yesterday really needs it's own post. Here is a little direction for your ranting: The 2007 SBC Resolution ON PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM ABUSE was a good start, but this only came about after critics went after our denomination. It raised awareness, but is anyone more safe because of it? Most SBC churches are still in denial and think it could never happen to them. All SBC churches are independent, but that doesn't absolve denominational leaders from their role as leaders. They do have influence to make things better. We should talk about failure to use that influence … [Read more...] about Does the SBC Protect & Enable Child Abusers?
When Prayer is Propaganda
I was driving my kids to school this morning when the news segment came on K-LOVE. Usually it's cut and paste from Associated Press, but today they ran a story asking for prayer against the website WikiLeaks. According to them, Christians should join together to ask God to intervene against this “radical” news source. They cited the upcoming release of more documents about the war in Afganistan saying this could be dangerous for the US military and civilian informants. Here's my problem. This approach to journalism turns prayer into a tool for controlling public opinion. Never mind if … [Read more...] about When Prayer is Propaganda
The Pastor’s Family and Church Involvement…
One of the scariest things for me as a young person in ministry is the issues related to a pastor (or staff member, etc.) and his family's involvement in the life of the local church. I've known quite a few different situations and I often wonder what the best approach is for a pastor and his family. Some I would outright reject and but even the ones I consider often raise difficult questions in my mind. Probably some of these relate to parenting philosophy in general, but I'm thinking about the pastor's family specifically. One of the biggest tensions perhaps is finding that balance … [Read more...] about The Pastor’s Family and Church Involvement…