Southern Baptist blogger Jonathan Merritt has a pretty good article about his denomination as it deals with a decline that is not unfamiliar to mainline Protestants. He offers a few ideas on how to stem the decline and the one that gets the most attention is where the he faults the SBC for mixing religion... Continue Reading →
An “Abomination” Speaks
a·bom·i·na·tion [uh-bom-uh-ney-shuhn] Show IPA noun 1.anything abominable; anything greatly disliked or abhorred. 2.intense aversion or loathing; detestation: He regarded lying with abomination. 3.a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc.: Spitting in public is an abomination. -Dictionary.com Anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to be open to other views even when they... Continue Reading →
Repost: Church Planting; A Step of Faith
I'm not saying that pastor and other church leaders should not be paid. What I am saying is that in many cases, we aren't so willing to take a step of faith, in planting churches and in the funding of church plants and planters.
Learning to Live in the Tension
I haven't really blogged about what's happening in the Presbyterian Church (USA) when it comes to changes in its ordination standards for a simple reason: I get paid by them. I know people who are more conservative and opposed the change and liberals who supported it and I haven't really wanted to offend folks or... Continue Reading →
Panic at the Narthex
Just a bit of a warning here: I'm about to go all "get off my lawn" in this post. I guess at 43 I do earn the right to be the cranky middle aged guy. What's getting stuck in my craw lately is the perceived lack of enthusiasm for the continuance of the mainline/progressive/liberal church. ... Continue Reading →
Are Republicans Real Christians?
I saw this article on Facebook. The long and the short of it is that the author believes Republicans aren't Christians: I always encourage people to stop saying Republicans represent Christianity, and call them out on what they really worship. I call it “Republicanity” and I consider it a cult. It’s a perversion of Christianity mixed... Continue Reading →
Repost: Love, Justice, Vengence and Grace
The following is a blog post from 2007. ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun... Continue Reading →
Children’s Sermon: “Help Is On the Way”
“Help Is On the Way” Luke 7:1-10 June 2, 2013 (Second Sunday of Pentecost) First Christian Church Minneapolis, MN Do you know what’s been happening in Oklahoma? Yes, the people who live there have had to deal with tornadoes. Tornadoes are scary. I’ve been through one and they are not nice. People who had homes... Continue Reading →
QOTD: On Living the Resurrection Life
From Michael Kruse in a review of Parker Palmer's book "The Active Life," "As I reflected on this chapter, actually the whole book, it drove home a very important point to me that it is too frequently overlooked. Living the resurrection life is frequently cast in terms of getting on board with some “big deal”... Continue Reading →
How a Gay Webcomic Teaches Christians About Resurrection
11 Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. 13 The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She replied, “They have... Continue Reading →
The Clockwork Pastor 