Micheal Spencer, writer/blogger extraordinaire, passed away today after a fight with cancer. His articles will be missed, but his contributions will live on. Credit Micheal with being one of the major voices that put a dent in the seemingly impervious modern Christian armor that's leading to a renewal of sorts for North American Christianity.
Follow more details at his blog that still remains active.
If I was a bit more cynical I'd opt to go viral with some clever method of ridiculing Christian Zionists for their exceptionally damaging take on the gospel message. Wouldn't YOU think twice before giving a standing ovation if you knew you'd be blasted in your social networks for ignorantly proclaiming that Israel State = Jesus coming back?
The Christian Zionist movement is cleverly shrouded behind the guise of evangelical fundamentalism, yet it looks more like a well-oiled Republican warmongering machine bent on destroying all hell-bound Arabs in the name of their American Jesus.
Make no mistake, there is not one ounce of truth behind their reasoning.
Don't forget, YOUR brothers and sisters in the region aren't Jews, they are the indigenous CHRISTIAN ARAB PALESTINIANS. (And no, this isn't a call to anti-Semitism.)
Pastor Hagee in Jerusalem 3/8/10 (Part II) from Max J Blumenthal on Vimeo.
Wow, it's been a while since I've posted something new. I wanted to write something down quickly while it was still fresh in my mind. Here is the context for this post.
As the church I'm leading grows, albeit at a snails pace, I decided to check out some potential partnerships with church planting networks. I don't need to mention which one it was because most are the same, but I decided to do their quick 'survey' (100 questions) to see if I was up for the task of 'church planting.
For those who don't know my context I've launched a new missional network in Calgary. It's brand spanking new and mostly immersed in a post-Christendom environment. I took the test to see where I stood in line with other church planters (I guess there's an average of data out there.) Basically, most church planting assessments I've done conclude that I'm not really qualified.
Despite being an entrepreneur, theologically trained, and of course being acutely aware that I know very little about most things, I still fall short. In fact, most organizations would force me to jump through ADDITIONAL training beyond my years of church and masters studies to be adequately 'ready' according to their criteria.
Am I really inept, or is there an issue with the 'criteria'? Here's why I think the whole testing process is running amok. Continue reading
Updated February 20th, 2010.
(**NOTE: For this post the terms preaching or sermon are distinctly referring to the act of one person talking at length about their perspective of a particular topic which is treated as the apex of the particular worship expression of a given church service.**)
If you're a serious churchgoer then perhaps you operate under an assumption that when it comes to preaching/sermon more is better.
Some evangelicals even think that the sign of a good church is the quality of the preaching. I'm not sure how this is measured between preacher to preacher, but I surmise it has a lot to do with individual relevance, captivation, and good feelings after the service. Continue reading
From Dave Fitch:
5. PREPARE FOR A SUSTAINABLE WAY OF LIFE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. (as opposed to projected growth and financial sustainability after three years). EXPECT GROWTH TO BE SLOW, BUT OF MIRACULOUS VARIETY. YOU MAY START WITH 10-20 PEOPLE, EXPECT NO SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS FOR THE FIRST FIVE YEARS. IT TAKES FIVE YEARS TO BUILD A MISSIOANL PRESENCE. BY THE FIFTH TO EIGHT YEAR, GROWTH WILL HAPPEN.
Full article here, and the missional church related articles at Pomotheo.
Bart Ehrman's popular 'Jesus Interrupted' is now coming out on paper back and I'm letting you know cause of some ulterior motives. You can read my original review here. You can also pick up a copy of Ehrman's book here. The real reason I'm bringing up this release is because I'll get my hands on another Ehrman book called 'God's Problem' which discusses the issue of theodicy (problem of good v. evil). Why is this important? Continue reading
From pastors.com comes an article describing the most common mistakes church planters make that lead to failure. The list is nothing new (which is a bit unfortunate since it would be nice to see some innovation on church planting from the past 20 years), but it does beg a pretty obvious question: if the premise is true, that 1000s of churches are planted every year and 1000s fail, maybe we're doing the whole planting part wrong?
Their list reads like a strategic checklist for launching a new corporation/business. Everything is about tactics and strategies. There are so many things wrong with trying to get vocationally trained ministers to act like entrepreneurs and CEOs that it's NO surprise 1000s fail every year.
Perhaps 50% of the article had some merit, but the other half was a reflection of the attractional church model that struggles to maintain cultural significance. It's time we adjust the way we approach church plants. Continue reading
I'll say what Bene Diction has articulated in his latest post about the scam CTS is running. Read his blog for more.
I was debating on whether to toss out a response to some questionable comments made by an attractional/mega church pastor in the States. I don't know much about him nor his church, and simply be blogging gives the issue more attention, but the comments forced me to offer something brief.
On the topic of discipleship Micheal writes:
Some of the most selfish Christians in the world are sitting in living rooms they call missional communities, while the world around them spirals out of control.
Sounds like he's hanging around some cranky missional minded people. Continue reading
A huge opportunity is available especially to our attractional/traditional churches. Haiti had brought ordinary people out of the woodworks and into action. Others are looking for an outlet to help, express, and make sense of the calamity. What is your church doing about the devastation? Do you have a response? Are you only going to briefly mention Haiti in a blanket prayer to God during service? Will send people to your denominational HQ to give? Does it even change what you're going to do Sunday?
For most, Haiti will merely be a blip on the overall theme for our churches Sunday. It certainly will be mentioned, but the schedule of church (sermon series) won't be bumped by the plight of the poorest nation.
It shouldn't be like this, and I pray my description above the complete opposite of what your church is doing. Continue reading