Two years ago I posted this letter about some pesky Calvinists but for some reason it has drawn a new series of responses on the blog so I’m reposting it. The question this letter raises is pastoral: How are pastors dealing with pesky Calvinists? Dear Scot, We met a few years ago when I was youth pastor. Now I am at a church plant in Minnesota. I know that you are up to speed with the post modern church. That’s... Read more
When Martin Luther King dreamed of the day when our children would not be known by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, he was re-expressing the brilliant but unrealized dreams of Genesis 1 — that each of us is an Eikon of God, the table fellowship practices of Jesus, and the magna carta of the apostle Paul — that there is neither Jew nor Greek in Christ. Those committed to those biblical visions and... Read more
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Read more
Kris and I got iPhones and now are wondering if you folks have suggestions for us for “Apps.” What are your suggestions and why? Read more
Kris found this B&B on a hill overlooking Siena. It is called Castello della Quattro Torra, and our bedroom — no kidding — was the front left tower (very top). . There will be a conference on the Church and Mission next January in Denmark, at the wonderful University of Aarhus (Oar-hoos). What do you think of “virtual church“? Barna’s new report on the faith of African Americans will be used for years to come. Zaniest news item of the... Read more
This week Kris and I were sitting with some others at a nice Italian restaurant in Wheaton when the server showed Mike Bird an assortment of teas. I could see them better than Mike so I mentioned a couple and finished with this: “Mike, how about some Earl Grey?” Mike: “Are you kidding? Earl Grey tastes like an old dead lady ground up and turned into tea!” (By the way, only an Aussie would drink “tea” at an Italian restaurant... Read more
Read this and ponder — one to keep in mind. Garret’s arms twist at sharp angles. His eyes, vacant and unfocused, stare fixedly away into a void, veiled windows to a soul suddenly plunged into primordial darkness. His brain fires primeval charges summoned from deep within the tohu wa bohu, his body tensing and releasing with their staccato rhythm. Slowly the seizure subsides and he comes back, my little boy again inhabiting the body that betrayed him. Nothing messes with... Read more
From The Wall Street Journal … The decline in Sunday schools appears to be gradual but steady. A study by the Barna Group indicated that in 2004 churches were 6% less likely to provide Sunday school for children ages 2 to 5 as in 1997. For middle-school kids, the decline was to 86% providing Sunday school in 2004 from 93% in 1997. Similarly, there was a six-percentage-point drop in Sunday schools offered for high school kids — to 80% from... Read more
Your dog has eaten? We came home from somewhere one time and our dachsund had gotten into a deep dish pizza, had eaten some of it, but then she began to hide what was left — two pieces — under the blankets on our bed! Read more
Jesus Creed
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