In his own blog, Bishop Grant recently brought my attention to a blog post entitled “A Growing Church is a Dying Church.” I liked what the blog post said about the role of the pastor: What then can your pastor do? She can make your board meetings longer with prayer and Bible study. She can … Continue reading »
Tagged with mission …
Boundaries in a Church
Ed Stetzer‘s been blogging about boundaries lately. I thought the fourth in the series was especially useful. He describes how he encouraged an “issue Christian” to move along and find a different church that better met his passions and beliefs. The principle at stake for the pastor is this: Your church is not a public … Continue reading »
A Great Time to Be a Pastor
I’ve recently come across two articles that illustrate why this is a great time to be a pastor. Or, for that matter, a follower of Christ. Presbyterian leaders in Pittsburgh reeling from latest exodus: At least 200 other churches have similarly left the 1.9 million-member Presbyterian Church (USA) since 2007. The most prominent issue was … Continue reading »
Something Wonderful: Hallelujah
Here is something really special: the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, with a live performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. A good way to spend four minutes.
One Hundred Years
A hundred years ago, leaders of the major Protestant denominations and missionary societies met in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the World Mission Conference. Historians of the church mark this conference as the beginning (or rather, the formal recognition) of the modern ecumenical movement. Churches had come to see that if they could cooperate on the mission … Continue reading »
Apparently We Don’t Believe Anything
Another problem with the new PC(USA) web site: apparently we don’t believe anything anymore. Or, if we do, those beliefs are carefully hidden. Now, I’m on record as liking the new look of our denomination’s website. And I’ve already commented, negatively, about a particularly smarmy “reasons I’m a Presbyterian” badge posted there. But I was … Continue reading »
Atheist Recommends Christians Convert Muslims?
MacLeans has an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali woman who was raised as a Muslim but who has become an atheist. In the article, she said Christians should proselytize Muslims, at least in the West:
Encountering the Culture
Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. —Mark 6:6-7 In AD 100, the worldwide total number of Christians might have been about 25,000. For the next two centuries, Christianity was an an illegal religion, and endured several waves of violent persecution. … Continue reading »
What’s Your Problem?
There’s a fascinating conversation between Moses and God in Exodus 4. You know the story. Moses has just been called to lead the people of God up out of bondage in Egypt. God wants Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let his people go. But Moses doesn’t want to go. He’s got a new life … Continue reading »
Dictation Software Chuckle
In my work, I use MacSpeech Dictate, a voice-recognition program for the mac, a fair bit. (It’s pretty good software: the kind you swear by as much as you swear at. Most bad software you either throw out or become resigned to. Dictate I like enough to entertain hopes they’d improve it. Another sign of … Continue reading »