Religion News Items

First, a nice quote from Pope Francis:

We cannot be resigned to these divisions as if they were merely an inevitable part of the historical experience of the Church. If Christians ignore the call to unity which comes to them from the Lord, they risk ignoring the Lord himself.

As a bonus, here’s a quote from Spurgeon:

There seems to me to have been twice as much done in some ages in defending the Bible as in expounding it, but if the whole of our strength shall henceforth go to the exposition and spreading of it, we may leave it pretty much to defend itself. I do not know whether you see that lion—it is very distinctly before my eyes; a number of persons advance to attack him, while a host of us would defend the grand old monarch, the British Lion, with all our strength. Many suggestions are made and much advice is offered. This weapon is recommended, and the other. Pardon me if I offer a quiet suggestion. Open the door and let the lion out; he will take care of himself. Why, they are gone! He no sooner goes forth in his strength than his assailants flee. The way to meet infidelity is to spread the Bible. The answer to every objection against the Bible is the Bible.

When I was leading small groups, I was discouraged from being “Mr. Goodwrench.” But where would Christian media be without lists of things to do?

7 killer lessons from Derwin Gray’s School of Ministry vision casting.

15 pointers for preachers. Nothing wrong with these, but it’s quite a checklist to run through every Sunday.

4 pillars of pastoral work. Nothing in there about visiting people in the hospital.

8 common money questions pastors ask.

This (paywalled and expensive) article appears to suggest the Justinian Plague was a contributor to the “Golden Age” of Islam. Huh. I’d never heard about the Justinian Plague, but the timing is right.

There’s a very affordable Hebrew Bible for Kindle.

Targeted Islamic outreach to Hispanics achieving results.

Red-letter Bibles aren’t something Kevin DeYoung likes. (I agree, although I try not to use abrasive words like “nonsense.” Still, without looking at Jesus’ actions, you’ll wonder what he meant by the things he said. Plus, Jesus himself said that thing about jots and tittles. And there’s what Paul said. And what Peter said. And what John said.)

Next, from the denomination that’s all about Discipline: church case dismissed against Ogletree. Ogletree, a retired UMC bishop, presided over the same-sex marriage of his son.

Also from the UMC, a proposal (?) to reopen the canon of Scripture. Well, what the author really wonders is whether to recognize the Apocrypha as having a sort of deuterocanonical status.

The PC(USA)’s Presbyterian Mission Agency is distancing itself from “Zionism Unsettled,” a publication of the PC(USA)’s Israel/Palestine Mission Network:

In 2004, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) formed the Israel Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) to help move the church toward the goal of a just peace in Israel/Palestine. The independent group — which speaks to the church and not for the church — recently published a study guide, Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study. The guide is intended to prompt discussion on the ever-changing and tumultuous issue of Israel-Palestine. The IPMN booklet was neither paid for nor published by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).