1) The live on coffee and no sleep
2) They have trained themselves to ‘get the most done in the least amount of time’
3) They’ve been trained to doubt nothing – just tell the proff what he wants to hear to guarantee high marks, faster Continue reading
Missional is all the rage in contemporary churches in America today. The biggest boxed evangelical churches think they're missional because they include the word somewhere within a planning document. The smallest organic inner city church thinks they're missional because that best describes their posture in the community.
Many churches are trying to make some form of transition from 'seeker sensitive' to 'missional'. Some would think this is an impossible switch.
Not so fast, I've seen it work, once. Continue reading
The latest pick up from theooze reader review program is a small hardcover by Tony Campolo called: Stories That Feed Your Soul: Inspiring Lessons from Unexpected Places and Unlikely People.
This is a book to give to grandma. I know that's not much of a review but it basically outlines the makeup of this hardcover. Grandma will appreciate the Fall leaves on the cover and the quick stories Campolo provides in each section. Continue reading
Do people actually believe God enacts vengeance and judgment via natural disasters? Is that what happened in Japan? Did God punish Japan, and if so, why? Is there a better way to explain disasters?
This podcast discusses the connection between natural disasters and God, have a listen to part 2.
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I suppose I'm a 'church planter' to churched folk. In reality, since day 1 I've been a leader a church, or church movement. There's no 'plant' antecedent that magically drops when the church hits a certain number of Sunday morning worshippers.
What bemuses me (or maybe it amuses me?) is the nature of church planting today. Churches still insist on massive capital campaigns in order to plant a church.
Tens of thousands of dollars to infrastructure and salary in order to take the 'risk' of church planting.
I want to simply state it can be done for nothing. (I do'nt know if it can be done well, but it certainly can be done for less. Continue reading
Do people actually believe God enacts vengeance and judgment via natural disasters? Is that what happened in Japan? Did God punish Japan, and if so, why? Or do Christians falsely try to fit natural disasters into their own agendas that happen to have God at the helm?
This podcast discusses the connection between natural disasters and God, have a listen to part 1.
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Chatting a bit about Rob Bell's, or more specifically, the vocal opposition that hit the intertubes once the content of Rob Bell's forthcoming book was released.
Does screaming at the top of your lungs prove someone's position? Or does it do more harm than good?
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The book isn't even out yet, just a quick little snippet from HarperOne about,
....Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimistic—eternal life doesn’t start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins.
As quick as lightning the new conservatives lead by John Piper et al, slammed Bell, essentially condemning him to Hell (I didn't know neo-Reformers had final judgement capabilities), and lambasting the book.
But they've missed two critical elements that any sane person would realise. Continue reading
Dave Fitch recently did a lectureship in Calgary for Ambrose University College and Seminary. Although there was a mass contingent of students forced to attend, a sizable audience from the greater evangelical community in Calgary and area showed up to hear what Dr. Fitch had to say.
Fitch provided an overview of some the key concepts in his forthcoming bookby delving into his three master signifiers developed off a Slavoj Zizek model.
The context of Fitch's book is of course an observation on the state of evangelicalism. The three master signifiers, elements that have become core yet lose their value and instead are used to support status quo, are: Continue reading
Some evangelicals consistently pride themselves in staying 'true to the Word' while reducing the role of women to secondary status.
These people will cherish the all encompassing retort, "read and obey the Bible; 1 Timothy 2:12,"
do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.
Of course, anybody who has done just that--read the Bible--will recognize that when it comes to 'proving a point' there exist spectrums of understanding throughout scripture. Where one passage will tell women to be silent, another will praise those who preach and prophesy (1 Cor 11:2-16).
....woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.