A Hospital for Sinners (Part 7,133)

There’s a saying that goes, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” One of my favorite churches has a slogan of “Me Too.” I met someone at the Tuesday AA meeting at church who told me, “I’m a drunk, and the only thing that helps me stay sober is … Continue reading »

God’s Great Dance Floor

“Praise and worship” differs from other forms of Christian popular music because of its explicitly stated purpose for facilitating experiences of worship. This is music designed for use by Christian believers to actively negotiate their relationships with God. … the standard of quality is ultimately curatorial rather than performative. Like the deejay, worship leaders are … Continue reading »

Sermon

One of the students in my preaching class in seminary used to preach a sermon based on a sticky note in his Bible. I was preaching from a written manuscript. Over time, I replaced the manuscript with a detailed outline, then a smaller outline. And now I have arrived at the point where my colleague … Continue reading »

The Bible as an Enjoyable Reading Experience

The Bible as an enjoyable reading experience — does that sound wonderful to you? Or maybe even ‘unimaginable?’ Watch this video: Bibliotheca Kickstarter from Good. Honest. on Vimeo. I’m not enthusiastic about doing so much work on the reading experience while using an older translation. The ASV, for example, predates the discovery of the Dead … Continue reading »

Multisite and Bivocational Ministry

One of the topics we discussed yesterday, when I was meeting with some local pastors, was the megachurch-and- branch-campus model used by churches like Saddleback and North Point. (This model is also important to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, as discerned by Christianity Today but — curiously — not the PC(USA) in its own reporting.) None … Continue reading »

Methodists and Same-Sex Unions

From an unlikely source comes a surprisingly good (fair) explanation of the situation in the United Methodist Church regarding same-sex unions: (The source is non-sectarian public-policy think tank, and I think they should be congratulated for wading into a theological argument to try to help explain it. Their position seems to be pro-SSM but they … Continue reading »

Tab Sweep

Eric Metaxas: Bonhoeffer in eight minutes. Princeton Seminary alum Dharius Daniels: From Church Plant to Congregation of 3,000 in a decade. Hey! I took a missional theology from Darrell Guder too! Joseph Yoo: Does Membership Matter Anymore? Shane Raynor: Schism: Good or Bad, Don’t Believe the Hype Thom Rainer: Seven reasons your church needs a … Continue reading »

Religion News Items

Menlo Park Presbyterian to leave PC(USA). Part of the reason was multisite. I’ve worshipped at one of their branch campuses and can’t imagine anything more ridiculous than the denomination sticking on this point. Bill Gates’ family goes to Catholic Church. And some thoughts by Gates about poverty from the same Rolling Stones interview with Bill … Continue reading »

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 … Continue reading »