Making Lame Excuses Making Lame Excuses is a simple thought reflection from Exodus 32:24 on making lame excuses to God. As Christians, we use a variety of excuses to God. “So I said to them, ‘Whoever has gold, take it off,’ and they gave it to me. When I threw it into the fire, out came this calf!”” (Exodus 32:24, HCSB) This is probably the lamest excuse I have read in the Bible. Aaron, the head priest, should be leading... Read more
The goal of this book is to share how one church successfully plants another. Using the phrase “sponsoring church,” this will end up being the textbook for sponsoring churches who want to plant other churches. The book is divided into seven parts. The authors (Rodney Harrison, Tom Cheyney, and Don Overstreet), worked together to explain the “nuts and bolts” of church planting. This begins with sharing a theology and history of church planting. Church planting has its roots in the... Read more
Shroud of Turin Dated to 33AD Shroud of Turin Dated to 33AD is a science watch article on the fact that scientists have carbon-dated the shroud to 33AD. Scientists have concluded that an earthquake released neutrons emissions which caused the image on the Shroud of Turin. As the Huffington Post states in the article: The scientists linked the earthquake with Jesus’ death by citing Greek historian Thallos’ account of the day Christ died, the gospel of Matthew, and the... Read more
Cinematic States by Gareth Higgins is a delightful book. Higgins takes the novel (no pun intended) idea of reviewing movies based on their location. He reviews a series of movies which have associations from all fifty states of the United States. In the process, he explores how each movie reveals the culture and mood of each state. Sometimes these movies do this intentionally, while at other times, they seemed to integrate into the movie with ease. At times, spiritual themes... Read more
This book was interesting and informative for the pastor who wants to start another church (21). The book is divided into six sections. Each section describes the process of starting a new church. They form a cycle, when properly followed lead to the birth and growth of a new congregation. The cycle includes: (1) creating a healthy environment, (2) identifying the called-out, (3) equipping the church planter, (4) mobilizing, (5) planting, and (6) multiplication. Each section had its own “jewels”... Read more
The book is a list of twelve confessions in which Michael Camp reflect on his faith and challenges and in some cases changes his fundamentalist evangelical roots. He uses the conversation with his friends as the basis for his confessions. In each such confession, he is challenged and then responds with what he has learned or re-learned. Camp spends time recalling his journey in the Christian faith. From his beginnings as a fundamentalist Evangelical Christian, he explores faith in different... Read more
The author, Ralph Moore used the metaphor of the American forces during Word War II in 1942 to explain the need for church multiplication. Just as those soldiers needed to make a paradigm shift to win the war, the church today has to make a paradigm shift – from growth by addition to growth by multiplication. The primary insight from this book is the fact that churches should grow by multiplication and not just by addition. As this student... Read more
The theme of this book by John Piper is “making God supreme in missions.” This book addresses the current need for missions in the twenty-first century and provides a strong theological basis for missions. The introductory chapter addresses the new change in missions as Christianity has shifted from a North American and European prominence to other countries. This “southern” shift reveals an urgent need for missions in North America than ever before. Piper urges against a prosperity gospel in this... Read more
Seven Steps to Planting Churches by NAMB (SBC) The primary insight that came from this book was the urgency and need to plant churches in the United States. The population to church ratio (2) reveals the need to plant more churches. In planting new churches, another insight was the use of the phrase “partner churches.” This language in how to identify new church plants (as opposed to a mother church, sponsoring church, or partnering church) is essential to starting new... Read more
Isaiah 58:1-14 Give Me Your Heart (Time) Isaiah 58:1-14 Give Me Your Heart (Time) is a sermon about giving Jesus your heart by giving Him your time. When you think about this chapter, you think about fasting. Fasting is denying myself something for physical pleasure so that I can concentrate on what God wants me to do. Fasting is giving God my time. In this passage, the key is that I can love God through the way I give my... Read more
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