This is why we get paid the big bucks: A telephone survey found that 65 percent of the 1,000-plus senior pastors surveyed work 50 or more hours a week — with 8 percent saying they work 70 or more hours. Meetings and electronic correspondence consume large amounts of time for many ministers, while counseling and … Continue reading »
Posted in May 2011 …
Brad Pitt and Christianity
Brad Pitt announces that he has “issues” with Christianity, but doesn’t explain why, in a brief article at the Christian Post: “I got brought up being told things were God’s way, and when things didn’t work out it was called God’s plan,” he said. “I’ve got my issues with it. Don’t get me started. I … Continue reading »
On Mission Statements (Why Waste Time On ~)
In another article, I talked about our new mission statement (“Sharing the Life of Christ”). I’ll be saying more about it later, but first I wanted to answer the obvious question: “Why a mission statement?” Mission statements are infamous wastes of time. People sit around hashing them out, they’re announced with great fanfare, and then, … Continue reading »
Lost and Found in Translation
N.T. Wright, a distinguished New Testament scholar, has an interesting article about the issues involved in translating the Bible. Well worth your time.
Just War: the ACID test
A few weeks ago, U.S. special forces carried out a raid into Abottabad, Pakistan, in the course of which, the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was killed. Earlier this spring, the U.S., as part of NATO, began military operations in support of Libyan rebels. These two events, along with our ongoing operations in Iraq and … Continue reading »
My Sermons Should Be Improving
I liked seeing this in my twitter feed the other day: No matter what you do, your first 200 sermons are going to be terrible. It’s attributed to Tim Keller. If he’s right, then my preaching will be getting better, because I’ve surely passed that number. In fact, I’m coming up fast on 250 sermons.
Communion Table
Take a look at this: it’s a Communion Table! Until today, Desert Hills has had a great wooden box in the front of the sanctuary. I’m sure it looked like a table to the person who built it, but for the rest of us…well, table cloths and squinting were just barely enough to maintain the … Continue reading »