Seriously, think about it!

Last week I was treated to one of the most brilliant, if not the most brilliant, treatise on forgiveness I have ever heard. It was right on in terns if the what and why’s. There was one problem though, the preacher had to totally destroy the scripture he was working from to make his point.

I’ve heard this more than a few times, and more and more often. The point or message or conclusion is right on, but the scripture is a bit jostled to get there. The point is redirected, words redefined,…

I was listening to the testimony of a member of a young megachurch and she said:

“There’s a whole other world out there that Jesus has called us to take care of. What about people who are oppressed? Who don’t have clean water? Who are starving?…[My church] and the people I’ve met here have challnged me to think about those things; because Jesus would…The stuff that is happening here is spectacular.”

She finished and her church cheered for her loudly. Now, I have no problem with what’s…

Dear Younger Church,

Take a seat and grab some perspective. Things have been working this way for 2000 years and a need for change is not constituted by your desire to wear jeans to church. Since when has our comfort been fundamental to any aspect of Christianity?

We hear you, we appreciate you, but slow down and give us time to process. Maybe say it in a way we can hear it instead of scolding us. Maybe try taking some of your own advice and show some of that “love” you have for the…

I’ll preface this by saying I’ve been listening to a lot of stuff lately and I want to enter into the “conversation” and engage in a dialogue of sorts. So I’ve invited a few of my pastor friends to weigh in on these thoughts (since I know getting together with all of them is near impossible). That said, my posts for the next week or so will primarily deal with the Church.

Also, this is not fact, but just what I think I’m hearing.



Dear Older Church,

What happened to the mission?

Are we…

“Who Are We Trying to Impress?”

This is a great article out of Relevant magazine. I think it’s right on and provides a word of caution for us…well, not me acsue I’m not a “hipster”, but anyways, thanks Paigie!

In 1962 President Kennedy not only challenged the nation to join the space race, but to win it. The objective: put a man on the moon. The nation rallied, we invested untold millions, pointed our resouces, gave our time and even some lives and on July 20th, 1969, the United States become the first nation to put a man on the moon.

We could learn from this. How? Check out the podcast below and find out.

Scripture Passage:
Acts 9:1-16 (Paul’s Conversion)

Umbrella Principle:
No one is beyond God’s reach; no one is outside of God’s care

Thoughts:
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples…” Acts 9:1a
- We have no idea who people really are on the inside.
- We see the actions, God knows the heart behind them

“Who are you…Lord?” Acts 9:5
- We have no idea how anyone will react to an encounter with God

“‘Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have…

#5 “Walk On” by U2

For me this song totally personifies the challenge of the Christian walk and it’s culimination in the promise of heaven. In fact, I think one of the reasons I’ve lagged so hard in posting this is because I think, “Man, what line is good? What line in the song doesn’t speak?!” It’s so real to me that I can’t really understand the song being about anything else.

How I Hear It:
I hear it like God is singing to me about the difficulty of what He’s called me to and, seeing my…

I know, but I laughed out loud. I really thought it (and the people) were real!