Helping people trust Jesus and His Church

New Site!

2010-03-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

This blog has now moved to

www.davidpauldorr.com

I hope you will make the move with me!

Revival in Maine

2010-03-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Owen Strachan has the details

No Pain No Fruit

2010-03-22T05:52:00.001-07:00

Don't Go To Church Don't Say Be the Church

2010-03-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve said it, now I regret it.

“We don’t go to church, we are the church.” Of course this is correct. And when people started saying it I am sure they had good intentions. They wanted people to understand that the focus of ministry for christians was not on Sunday morning, but what the body of Christ carried out into the world

But what has it really accomplished? I am afraid the phrase has made many of us conceited. As in, “we are not those people who believe that the church is a building, but have a correct understanding of what the church really is.” It definitely has the flavor of the Pharisee’s prayer: “I thank thee oh God that I am not like other men...” The focus has not changed to “being the church,” “but being one who knows the correct thing to say.”

Is there anything wrong with saying “I’m going to church?” I mean, is it a sin? No.

But maybe if it is not a sin, maybe it is dangerous to even imply that the church might be something you go to. If that is the case then maybe the best question to ask is, “are some of the churches problems correlated to people thinking that the focus of ministry happens on Sunday morning in a building?”

Depending how you answer that question reveals something about you. If you answer yes to the question than you believe that the church’s flaws are based on methodology.

But I don’t think the problems of the church stem mainly from a Sunday-centric view of ministry. In other words the problems of our churches are not mainly methodological. And, therefore, a change in terminology can’t change anything in any deep way, and actually might make us into snobbish people who are self-satisfied that they believe the right things about church.

The Problem With Potential

2010-03-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been told, “You have so much potential!”

If so, then you probably took it as a compliment and maybe began to daydream about what could be for your life.

But potential has a problem...how do you know when you reach your potential? You don’t.

In school it was easy to see if you lived up to your potential. Because you put work in and your were immediately given feedback for that work in the form of a grade. If you did your best and got an A than that was your potential. Or if the assignment came easy and you got an A than you needed to be challenged further.

But when you get in the real world, effort and immediate feedback don’t always coincide. And if your like me, you start to wonder, “am I actually reaching my potential?” And your potential even begins to feel like a millstone around your neck, if the results you are seeing don’t correspond with your belief in your potential. “Your potential” can just be another thing you have to live up to in your life and the weight of your own “potential” can leave you feeling exhausted and rejected.

But that’s because you simply can’t know what your potential is. But one thing that has encouraged me to work hard without the weight of “reaching my potential” is when I realized that there are human beings who have no potential. There called dead people.

And the Bible actually calls me, before Jesus rescued me, a dead person. No potential with God. No potential to do anything for God, no potential to receive God’s love. But, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, he made me alive (potential!), but not the kind of potential that makes me feel like I need to live up to something. But the peace which says, “I had no potential, but God gave me potential again, so my effort is not to prove my love for God or worth as a person, but a response to the grace that was given to this dead guy.”

Jesus' greatest enemy was a purity movement

2010-03-16T04:17:00.000-07:00

Jesus' greatest enemy was a purity movement.

The Pharisee's, a sect of Jewish leaders and teachers, main goal was to purify Israel of its sin so that God would deliver Israel from Rome. In the law they saw the fundamental promise: "if you obey you will be blessed and dwell in the land." And so they took it upon themselves to be obedient and to enforce obedience across their small country.

The problem was they thought they were the obedient ones.

They were meticulous in their following the law, but they missed actually the grand intent of the law. It was not only to be pure and blameless, it was to be loving and good. That is why Jesus would say that they "strained a gnat, but swallowed a camel." They neglected mercy and justice to their fellow countrymen.

But we ought not to just think that these men were more evil than any of us. They just had it in their mind that they were worthy of being blessed and they tried to root out any people that would withhold the blessing from the nation i.e. prostitutes, tax collectors, and "sinners."

And that is the problem with all purity movements, whether they be doctrinal, methodological, or moral. The leaders see themselves as part of the solution and are the referee's of their culture, sitting in judgment of those who, in their minds, are withholding blessing from their nation. And so they have to be merciless, they have to be judgmental, because their fundamental question is "what must we do to be blessed?" not "what must we do to love?"

What You Think You Should Like

2010-03-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

        Are you doing something you think you should like, or doing what you like doing? In your desire to be right, fit in with the crowd, or qualify yourself to someone or something have you settled for what you think you should do, or are you actually pursuing what you love to do?

        For me this has been the constant temptation. God gave me certain passions and gifts and the desire to pursue and develop them. But not every WAY OF DOING MINISTRY fits those passions and gifts. For instance I have always loved preaching. I love to communicate God’s word, to groups big and small. I listen to sermons when I drive, not music. I am not really sure why this is; I come from a family who hates public speaking. But when God rescued me, that was his unique way of gifting me. But I have been constantly tempted to models of doing ministry that downplay preaching, or have contempt for it altogether.

        Why?

        Because I would rather fit in then make my unique contribution. It’s easier to be “right” than creative. Its safer to do what someone else thinks you “should” do instead of that good thing that God has put in your heart.

        But this is a fool’s errand. You should never start the church, go after the career, etc, that you think you should like. Soon, instead of loving what you do, you will resent what you do. You’ll feel trapped in it.

        Don’t be afraid to pursue that vision that is uniquely yours.

The Emperor Has No Clothes

2010-03-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic tells some advocacy groups, who are supposed to represent civil liberties, they often only represent those they agree with:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/03/gay-rights-and-anti-gay-liberties/37382/

Why Some Established Pastors Oppose Church Plants

2010-03-11T14:30:00.000-08:00

As most church planter’s know, the most direct discouragement and opposition to a church start comes from the pastors in the community of the new church. This is a bewildering experience because the planter mistakenly assumes that pastors would be the most excited about new works endeavoring to reach more people. But this is rarely the case.

It is important for us to ask why this happens, because it is easy for us planters to become those same pastors that opposed us when we started. We often become what we hate. And we need to also be able to show mercy to those pastors so that we don't see them as our enemy.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

First many pastors of established churches don’t think church planting is necessary because their church is THERE also trying to reach the community. They simply don’t see that the scale of the unchurched in their city is beyond what any one church can do. They see the addition of a new church as a subtraction from their influence. But I believe something deeper is going on the life of a pastor than just ignorance.

Ego Threat

Many pastors are deeply insecure about the potential success of the new church start. Pastor’s are experts in making excuses about why their church is the way it is. And if the new church start comes in and reaches people that the established church doesn’t reach, the pastor’s excuses are shattered, exposing the problem is not the community, but the way the established church is led. We think, “if this new church comes in and is successful, and we are not successful, what does this prove about me?” And so the pastor would rather oppose then be exposed.

But pastors, by the grace of God, need to be able to learn from the new churches, and vice versa, so the unbelievers of the community would be meaningfully engaged.

Division of knowledge

2010-03-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

One of the great tragedies of Western thought stemming from the enlightenment is the division of knowledge. Where the only kind of "real" knowledge comes from science. But other kinds of knowledge like ethics, religion, humanities are not in the realm of "real" knowledge but values.

For instance, to say the earth revolves around the sun is a fact. But to say that you should help the poor is a value. We, unfortunately, wouldn't say that helping the poor is a truth the way the earth revolving around the sun is a truth.

But this has devastating consequences. A society that will not help its poor will reap wreckage just as a man who believes he could defy the laws of gravity by jumping off the Sears Tower.

Science can't "prove" alot of true things, and we must reject a world where only true knowledge comes from the scientific method.

The Truth is with Science? Part 2

2010-03-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

They Might Be Giants are packaging for kids that old enlightenment idea that what can be known comes from science (the empirical world), otherwise known as materialism. But, as is pointed out often, there are many things we experience that cannot be known from the scientific method, such as history, morality, beauty, justice, and ethics.

Plus TMBG's statement "when I'm seeking knowledge,... the facts are with science" is not a statement that can be proved scientifically. It is a presupposition that science is the only valid source of truth. And that is the danger -- here you have philosophy masquerading as science. And most people now believe you have to buy into the philosophy (materialism) in order to be truly scientific.

But science is the study of the world through, roughly speaking, hypothesis, experimentation, and repeatability. And this has limitations because it cannot tell us what is good or beautiful, it can only tell us what is there. To find out what is good or beautiful you need something more than just science.

More tomorrow...

The Truth is with Science?

2010-03-08T06:06:00.001-08:00

My family and I have really enjoyed the albums that They Might Be Giants have put out for kids. They are quirky, creative, and catchy and I'm even singing along to the ABC's and 123's.

But the new album "Here Comes Science" actually needs some discernment with your kids (and adults). Not for any inappropriate content of course, but for actually teaching a view of the world that puts science as the source of truth.

Here are the lyrics for the first song, "Science is Real" (Even take note on the title!):

Science is real/ From the Big Bang to DNA/ Science is real/ From evolution to the Milky Way/ I like the stories/ About angels, unicorns and elves/ Now I like those stories/ As much as anybody else/ But when I'm seeking knowledge/ Either simple or abstract/ The facts are with science/ The facts are with science/ Science is real /Science is real /Science is real

Science is real /From anatomy to geology/ Science is real/ From astrophysics to biology/ A scientific theory/ Isn't just a hunch or guess/ It's more like a question /That's been put through a lot of tests/ And when a theory emerges/ Consistent with the facts /The proof is with science /The truth is with science /Science is real /Science is real /Science is real /Science is real

Do you see the worldview? Angels are lumped in with unicorns and elves -- they are fun stories, but they are not in the realm of "fact." Because the "facts" are with science. "Proof" is with science. It espouses a view of the world where science is where you can only really "know" something is true.

But this is not science at all -- it is scientism -- a philosophy about how the world works. But as a parent who wants to teach your kids truth, and even to love science, then they need to know the difference. More tomorrow...

Another Nail In the Coffin for Cohabitation

2010-03-04T06:26:00.000-08:00

The New York Times has the story

A Crystal Cathedral Built on Sand

2010-03-01T06:04:00.000-08:00

The LA Times chronicles the decline of the Crystal Cathedral -- an edifice of self-help and an "opiate to the masses."

I Commend This Article To You

2010-02-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

Marilynne Robinson, Narrative Calvinist | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

How To Build a God

2010-02-25T13:16:00.001-08:00

HT: Resurgence

US History Can Be Funny

2010-02-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

HT: VitaminZ

What if Jesus wrote "Imma Be?"

2010-02-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

The Black Eyed Peas have a song called "Imma Be" which, as of this writing, is the number one song downloaded on Itunes. It's a catchy song about how great the Black Eyed Peas are. Kinda got me thinking about what it would be like if Jesus wrote Imma Be. This is what I thought it may look like:

Imma be, Imma be, Imma, Imma, Imma be 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma, Imma, Imma be 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma, Imma, Imma be  

Imma be, be, be, be, Imma, Imma be 
Imma be, be, be, be, Imma, Imma be 
Imma be, be, be, be, Imma, Imma be  

Imma be on the last level 
Imma be goin low to defeat the devil 
Imma be chillin' with my backwater crew 
Imma be doing for you what you cannot do  

Imma be workin on a fix 
for all the hardship, and Imma be sippin’ that cup 
'Cause Imma be beaten and bruised
 Imma be lost so that you cannot lose  

Imma be steppin outa my home, lookin' forsaken and alone 
Imma be dysfigured and spent 
Imma be showin’ you what true love meant 
Imma be mocked and scorned, a king thats wearin a crown of thorns  

Imma, Imma do it this way 
Imma, Imma, Imma, Imma do it that way 
This is Jesus Christ and Imma, Imma be the price to pay 
takin‘ on hell, in the grave I will lay.  

Imma be, Imma be, Imma, Imma, Imma be 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma, Imma, Imma be  

Poor baby, quick, quick, Imma, Imma, Imma be 
Lost everything, check me out, be 
Imma be, Imma be nothin, not complainin 
Be, be, Imma, Imma be, Imma be, be, be  

Imma, Imma be, Imma be savin’ her 
Imma, Imma, Imma be, Imma be, be, be, Imma, Imma be  

Imma be the judge of all the earth 
only cause I refused to be first 
Imma be the Lord of the universe 
Imma be reversing that curse.  

Imma be bringing in millions 
whoops i mean billions cause people are my prized possess-i-on 
Imma be your brother, runnin after lost men 
Imma be welcoming you because i was forsaken.  

Humanity in debt, eternally bouncin' them checks 
So I spilled my blood so death can’t collect 

Imma be, Imma be, Imma, Imma, Imma be poor, baby 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma  

Imma be sick with your sin, but the goal is to be comin back again 
Imma be the future, Imma be the whole 
'Reason why you even wanna make me the new goal 
'You can see me while I'm raised, death gave me its worst but I was unfazed.  

Imma be making a new earth, giving you a second birth 
Imma be poppin' that bubbly, new heaven is comin’ here shortly 
Oh, and this will last forever, partyin' with you and me together 
On and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and  

Imma be lovin' like this, wat 
Y'all still misunderstandin, but 
Why don't you look and see 
The difference between me and a Black Eyed Pea  

If you follow me it wont be popula’ 
Respect and admiration may be far from ya. 
but you will find a new glory, a myriad 
of believers who lived the only true story.  

Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be 
Imma be givin’ up the good life, Imma be so you get God’s life. 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be 
Imma be givin’ up the good life, Imma be so you get God’s life

 Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be 
Imma be givin’ up the good life, Imma be sin so you get God’s life 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be
 Imma be givin’ up the good life, Imma be sin so you get God’s life 

Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be  
Imma, Imma,

Imma be preparing a place that is infinite 
a place no imagination can compare it 
So now you know what I have done, hangin’ on a cross. sin. done. 
Came to life on the third day, recruitin people for the last day.   

So now you have heard my voice, its time to make your choice 
So what’s it goin’ be, is it going to be your life or me ?
Lovin’ God, settin' you free, that's what its supposed to be 
Come join my festivities, celebrate like Imma be  

Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be 
Imma be, Imma be, Imma be, Imma be 

Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard

2010-02-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

Chip and Dan Heath write incredibly helpful books, and their new one is even more helpful. If you have ever wondered how you can do simple things to change some big problems, then I definitely recommend this book.

Young adults 'less religious,' not necessarily 'more secular'

2010-02-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

A new survey of young adults and their spiritual beliefs and practices

Husband and wife

2010-02-16T06:30:00.001-08:00

Another amazing post by Ray Ortland Jr.

Husband and wife

How Christian Were the Founders?

2010-02-15T06:20:00.001-08:00

The New York Times Magazine gives a major treatment on this question.

Buckets of Hope

2010-02-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

or watch this video

Anne Rice

2010-02-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

I haven't read this book yet, but I have loved the new fiction of Anne Rice. If you haven't heard her story it is worth taking a look.

Pagan Christianity

2010-02-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Mark Driscoll offers a critique of Barna's and Viola's book, Pagan Christianity

An atheist asks, "How much to do you have to hate somebody not to evangelize?"

2010-02-09T06:42:00.000-08:00

Penn Gillette, of Penn and Teller fame, who "knows there is no God," gets evangelism right.

Sex Trafficking

2010-02-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my talk at "Act Like Men" about the the sex trafficking industry. To learn more about the devastation that is being caused by the buyers of sex go here and watch the documentary about sex trafficking. There is a 16-minute and 45 minute documentary. Please be aware that there are graphic images and language.

Tim Keller on "The Shack"

2010-01-28T04:23:00.000-08:00

Article here:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/01/27/the-shack-impressions/

"O" God

2010-01-27T05:51:00.000-08:00

The Christian Post has an interview with Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett on their upcoming book about America's most influential spiritual leader -- Oprah.

The book is titled: ”O” God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality.

Video from Haiti

2010-01-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Churches Helping Churches

Spanking and the Report Card

2010-01-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

Spanking your kids in love could be good for their report card

A provocative article from the Wall Street Journal

50 Killer Mac Apps For Under $50

2010-01-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

If you are new to Mac you might find this article helpful. It is chock full of different apps that look really helpful.

Also just to let you know I haven't had any kind of religious conversion to Mac. The only thing I like more than Windows-based cpu's is the mouse pad thingy. But I am continually amazed at Apple's ability to produce the buzz it produces for its updates and new products. I think I saw people scream and faint when the iphone got copy and paste.

HT: Jeff Long

Pray for a Father Like This

2010-01-21T10:43:00.001-08:00

My dad’s message to me on the day he died

If you have parents that love Jesus, thank God for them, and pray for them that their heart would know what Ray's dad knew.

If you have parents that don't love Jesus, thank God for them, and pray for them that their heart would know what Ray's dad knew.

Churches Helping Churches

2010-01-20T06:44:00.000-08:00

Please take a second to click on the graphic to the left to see what Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA and Harvest Bible Church in Illinois are doing to help the churches in Haiti.

Pastor Mark Driscoll and Pastor James McDonald left for Haiti on Sunday and are compiling information as well filming, taking photos, and leveraging their resources to better inform us how we can get involved. If your heart is going out to Haiti, please bookmark this site so the church can help the church.

This Is Rock and Roll

2010-01-19T07:13:00.000-08:00

HT: Zach Neilson

A Must Read Today

2010-01-18T08:22:00.000-08:00

A Letter From Birmingham Jail

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime---the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

This is Beautiful

2010-01-15T18:03:00.000-08:00

2-year old boy saved after two days in the rubble

Haiti

2010-01-14T13:54:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons we partner with a mission agency is to be able to give to people on the ground to help provide immediate physical relief and hope for those who have lost most, if not all, of their earthly possessions.

If you have not found a way yet to support the relief efforts on the ground in Haiti here is another way to do so.

Please continue to pray for the devastation there, it defies imagination...

This Guy Gets It

2010-01-13T12:19:00.001-08:00

In regards to religion in the public square

A nation of persuaders - latimes.com

The Coming Crash of the Organic Church?

2010-01-12T10:17:00.001-08:00

Mark Galli, in Christianity Today, shares his thoughts

When Christianity Doesn't Stay Where It Belongs

2010-01-11T12:33:00.000-08:00

The title of this post is only satirical, but is meant to convey the fervor over Brit Hume's remark on Fox News Sunday to Tiger Woods about how he should consider Christianity.

The anger came not from the fact that Hume holds these views, its just that he doesn't hold to them privately.

Here again is the classic case of secular ideology calling a foul for someone trying to "force" their beliefs on someone else, all the while they are trying to "force" their beliefs on an audience without so much a blow of the whistle.

I heard recently that secularism today could be construed as people thinking they are referee's of public discourse all the while they have a team on the field.

Christianity is a world-view that cannot keep private anymore than any world-view can, because it answers the fundamental questions of existence and how we should live in the world. You don't have to agree, but that, after all, is what public discourse is about.

Ross Douthat of the New York Times also weighs in

Can Megachurches Bridge the Racial Divide?

2010-01-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Can Megachurches Bridge the Racial Divide?

Time Magazine takes a look

A Great Word from Ray Ortlund

2010-01-06T11:39:00.001-08:00

It’s a wonderful life

Why You Should Plant a Church

2010-01-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

By my friend Ryan Stanley

Great Iphone App

2010-01-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

If any of you are like me (and I hope you aren't) you get bursts of inspiration to be more organized. Well I actually think I now I found the "to do" app for iPhone that is simple enough for me to keep using it. It's called Things and here is the link to the introductory video

We Got Swindled Last Decade

2010-01-04T14:15:00.000-08:00

Here is the editorial from the NYT that I referenced in my sermon about how the 00's are the decade where America got swindled.

Tim Keller

2009-11-30T13:00:00.000-08:00

The New York Magazine has a great piece on a big influence of ours, Tim Keller.

Good without God?

2009-11-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

Newsweek's and Washington Post's "On Faith" takes a look

Atheists have long contended that a person doesn't have to believe in God to do good things. I think the Christian can agree that people don't have to believe in God to do benevolent things because of the common grace of God. But the Christian must contend that the atheist may do good things, but has no foundation to do so.

Atheism is largely propagated through the belief in natural selection, or that everything that exists today was through a natural process of weeding out weak things in favor of the strong. In natural selection, only the strong survive.

But that is not how atheists behave. They behave as if weak things, particularly weak people, matter and shouldn't be harmed by something stronger. Most atheists believe that it would be monstrous for stronger nations or human beings to oppress weaker ones. But that is a leap of faith. They act as if weak people have dignity, but they certainly aren't learning that from nature or evolution. In what is the ultimate irony, the atheist, in order to justify their goodness, relies on faith.

The Most Important Word in Discipleship

2009-11-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

The most important word in discipleship is REMEMBER. 2 Peter 1:9 says that a person does not grow in their faith because they FORGOT that they were cleansed from past sins.

Here is one of the best articles I have read in the importance of REMEMBERING by Carl Trueman.

America's Worst Export

2009-11-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a video from Christianity Today on the prosperity gospel and how it is spreading in Africa.

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

HT : Out of Ur

Genesis: Some Material Not Suitable for Minors

2009-11-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

NPR has a story about a man, R. Crumb, who has put into a comic book of sorts the book of Genesis. And on the cover there is a blurb, which really could be said about the whole Bible, "adult supervision recommended."

This just underscores that the Bible is not a book of people who got it right with God and therefore God blessed them -- but a story of people who got it all wrong, often in very seedy ways, but God initiates with them in grace, and gives to them, blesses them in spite of their actions, for His glory and their good.

Looking forward reading this, and wondering what its impact might be.

Pastors and Suicide

2009-11-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

The USA Today takes a look

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-10-28-pastor_suicides_N.htm

The Church Is Your Partner in Evangelism

2009-10-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

One of the most motivating things for me as a pastor is to tell folks at Passage that our Sunday morning gathering and discipleship groups are their partner in evangelism. The power of bringing people to a gathering of believers lies in the promise of God's presence when his believers gather in His name.

Paul encourages the church in Corinth to excel in the area of prophecy (as opposed to tongues) because when unbelievers are with them in the gathering they may recognize that God is with them.

1 Cor. 14:24 "But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you."

It is wonderful for any believer to share the gospel to an unbeliever, see them repent and believe, and then bring them into church, but in our context, where many unbelievers are willing to attend a church at least once, the gathering of believers in public and/or house to house, where the gospel is proclaimed, can be a powerful way for people to say, "God is really among you" and see them come to trust Jesus.

Religion in America and the World is Complicated

2009-10-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

The NY Times has an important synopsis of religion around the world. An excerpt:

The United States, as often noted, remains unusually religious among advanced industrial nations. Nearly 6 out of 10 Americans pray one or more times each day; high percentages report feeling close to God, experiencing God’s presence or guidance on most days. Faith in God, they say, is “very important” in their lives.
Nonetheless, belief in God has slipped a little, and more Americans, though still believing, acknowledge some uncertainty about God’s existence. A growing number of Americans no longer identify themselves with any particular religious group. Those who do belong are less likely to say they are strong members. Regular attendance at religious services has declined, and the numbers never worshiping have increased.
Yet more Americans believe in a life after death and pray daily than in the 1970s. And to complicate things, most of these trends have had their ups and downs, leaving open the possibility of future spurts or reversals.

Breaking Pornography Addiction

2009-10-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

A great article :: Part 1 Part 2

HT :: Justin Taylor

Lunch on Sunday

2009-10-16T11:37:00.001-07:00

Hey just to let everyone know -- we have a missionary coming in from out of town that works with pastors in unreached areas of the world. We are going to go to lunch after service to hear about his ministry. Should be good stuff.

Helpful Questions to Engage People About Their Beliefs

2009-10-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am going to start a few posts that will help equip you to invest your lives in other people who don't believe in Christ.

One of the most intimidating factors about engaging people about their beliefs is you might feel like you need to have all the ANSWERS. But actually good QUESTIONS are almost always better in the first interacttions than giving people answers.

Why? Because you are not the one doing the talking. When you ask good, respectful questions people don't think you are trying to force something on them, but engaging them respectfully.

Take, for instance, a coworker who you know and joke around with often and even hang out with during lunches or after work. When you want to switch the conversation to spiritual things, you may feel like you may need to explain your faith, but it is better to ask your coworker to describe theirs. A great starter question is, "Do you have any spiritual belief?" And then let them talk as long as they like. A great follow up question might be "What made you arrive at this conclusion?"

Again the point is to LISTEN. Listeners are learners, and it is one of the greatest expressions that we can give that we care.

More to come...

Why are Fewer Americans Identifying with Religion?

2009-10-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

Some different perspectives

A Must Read to Understand Worldliness

2009-10-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

Worldliness doesn't just have to do with bad behavior, but with the way we think. And this is much more subtle, and more prevalent. So if you really want to know how we think and it's implications, then I recommend to you Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey. If you want to understand why our culture sees things the way they do then this book is indespensible.

Understanding Journalism Part 2

2009-10-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

So what do we learn from that last post?

The journalist job is to take the "facts" and interpret them for their audience in a way that is compelling and meaningful. That is why some many stories about the church are run through a political grid or a "moral majority" grid. The stories and churches within them are interpreted through what the journalist knows and has read about in other stories that are written before.

I do not envy the journalist that is trying to get their story across, but this tells us that every story has a bent -- a story underneath the story.

The church then should be aware constantly of how we are regarded (whether we like or not) and be able to address in love how the church can be more than the sum of the headlines.

Understanding Journalism

2009-10-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered why every story on Christianity in America sounds so similar? "How does this pastor relate to politics?" "How does this church relate to right-wing politics?" "What does this sect think of homosexuals or abortion or women in ministry?"

Well I think if we are to understand the task of journalists we have to understand THEIR job. As I see it, part of their job, certainly not all of it, is to take your story and put it in a form their reader's will understand and want to read. Here is an anecdote that illustrates this point (taken from the book Made to Stick):

Nora Ephron still remembers her first day of journalism class. Although the students had no journalism experience, they walked into their first class with a sense of what a journalist does: A journalist gets the facts and reports them. To get the facts, you track down the five W's -- who, what, when, where, and why.
As students sat in front of their manual typewriter's, Ephron's teacher announced the first assignment. They would write the lead of a newspaper story. The teacher reeled off the facts: "Kenneth L. Peters, the principal of Beverly Hills High School, announced today that the entire high school faculty will travel to Sacramento next Thursday for a colloquium in new teaching methods. Among the speakers will be anthropologist Margaret Mead, college president Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchins, and California Governor Edmund Brown.
The budding journalists sat at their typewriters and pecked away at the first lead of their careers. According to Ephron, she and most of the other students produced leads that reordered the facts and condensced them into a single sentence: "Governor Pat Brown, Margaret Mead, and Robert Maynard Hutchins will address the Beverly Hills High School faculty Thursday in Sacramento...blah, blah, blah."
The teacher collected the leads and scanned them rapidly. The he laid them aside and paused for a moment.
Finally, he said, "The lead to the story is "There will be no school next Thursday."

More on the implications of this for Christianity next post.

The key word for Bible study

2009-09-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

Reading the Bible is more than just reading the words on the page. If you are going to understand the author's intent of their gospel or letter or whatever then you are going to have to ask questions of the text. And there is no better question to ask then "why?". "Why did the author say this?" "Why did that phrase follow that statement?" "Why is this letter written and how does this section fit in?". The word why is one of those words that helps you see the forest for the trees in your time in the word.

You Didn't Work for It Either

2009-09-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have been following the controversy and Coral Ridge Presbyterian whose wayward members tried to oust new pastor Tullian Tchividjian, the grandson of Billy Graham. The congregation overwhelmingly voted to keep Pastor Tchividjian, and here was a follow up story.

What I want to draw your attention to was the last few sentences of that story in the Miami Herald.

Dissidents such as Jim Fisola, who is banned from the church, said they feared that longtime members such as himself were losing influence among the community.`

`God bless young people that he's brought over, but you've got to understand they've been meeting in a cafeteria or the high school,'' said Fisola, a Coral Ridge member for 19 years.

``They are now in a [multimillion-] dollar edifice, and they didn't have to work for it,'' Fisola said. ``. . . This man doesn't have the experience or the maturity to lead.''

Notice that quote. This man is mad that young people are getting to benefit from someone else's work. Please notice that again -- a Christian is mad that other people are benefiting from someone else's work!

For those of you that might not get it: A Christian is by very definition someone who benefited from someone else's work (Jesus Christ on the cross and resurrection) although it was completely underserved. The heart of religion is "I work and then God rewards" and it leaves people lifeless and mean because they never understood that all of their salvation and life and work was a gift of grace.

One Thing You Must Know

2009-09-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

One thing you must know...

Why You Shouldn't Go To Seminary

2009-09-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

A provocative, thoughtful post by my friend and fellow A29 pastor Bob Thune of Coram Deo Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

An Agnostic Looks at Prayer

2009-09-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

The New York Times Magazine recently published this article, where an agnostic looks at prayer from different faith viewpoints. Much of the article explains how people pray without really believing in God -- or at least a God who answers prayer.

Take Rabbi Marc Gellman when helping people pray:

“I tell them to start with prayers of Thanks! That’s what Christians call ‘grace.’ Everybody has something to be grateful for.”
“What if the person doesn’t believe in God?”
“Then I tell him to thank who or what seems appropriate,” Gellman said. “Hey, you’ve got to start somewhere. If people say prayer is a crutch, I don’t disagree. Sometimes you need a crutch. But I don’t believe in a God who is a magician and miraculously answers individual prayer. That’s absurd.

But the author kind of ends in a refreshing way -- with a group of children in a Pentacostal church who tell him of all the people that have been helped because of their prayers:

There are some 300,000 churches in America, and I could have picked any one to attend on Easter morning, but I liked being in this one. Especially the kids. They didn’t need Reverend Henderson’s prayer techniques, or the high-tech mantras of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Their prayers weren’t Rabbi Gellman’s suburban Jewish prayers of Thanks! offered to whom it may concern. They didn’t pray to de-center their egos or find transcendence or to set off on a lifelong therapeutic spiritual journey. They prayed to a God with whom they were on a first-name basis, and they believed their prayers gave them power, which they used on behalf of their asthmatic sisters and infirm grandparents and a kid they knew with burns on his body. Sitting in church on Easter morning, I realized that I was probably never going to become a praying man. But if, by some miracle, I ever do, I hope my prayers will be like the prayers of the kids I met at the Love church in Berkeley Springs. Straight-up Gimme! on behalf of people who really need the help.

Well said.

What Do You Do When You Are Reminded That You Fall Short?

2009-09-21T08:33:00.001-07:00

We all fall short -- and we all don't really have a problem admitting that. But when someone or something reminds us that we fall short, well, that's a different story.

Every time someone ignores you or doesn't think you are important or wants even to hurt in you in passive or active ways, you are reminded that you couldn't make things right.

Every time your career or family doesn't measure up to your hopes and expectations you are reminded that you fall short to create outcomes that are beneficial to you.

When I am disappointed by my relationships or by my ministry I often bear an incredible weight of condemnation. My inner dialogue goes something like this: "I am not who I should be...I need to be a better person, less selfish, more talented, funnier, and more strategic. But since I am not I am having to deal with these disappointing outcomes. I am getting what I deserve."

In theological terms I am bearing the weight of my sin and there is no atonement. I simply have to carry the consequences of my inadequacy.

But thankfully God doesn't make me pay for being selfish, or not being a great leader, or not being an engaging preacher. The truth is I am free to serve God and people no matter the outcome of relationships or ministry because I don't have to be ANYTHING for God or people. I don't have to be a good leader (I'm not trying to be a bad one) I don't even have to be humble! (I am not intentionally trying to be prideful). I am free and I don't have to bear the weight of my failings anymore.

Between The Music

2009-09-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Really interesting stuff about what is talked about in between the songs on Christian radio

Paul Butler @ Moody Radio:
There are thousands of radio stations across the country today which play Christian music. A recent study looked at Christian Music Radio to determine what sets it apart from its mainstream counterpart. But the study didn’t look at the music itself, but what was said between the songs—and what they found may surprise you.

Guests include Mark Seignious, Associate Professor of Electronic Media Communication at Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN and Ripley Smith, Professor of Communication at Bethel University, also in St. Paul.

HT: Justin Taylor's Blog

Jonathan Edwards and My Liberal English Professor

2009-09-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tragedy at Northpointe Townhomes

2009-09-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard yet, this tragedy happened last Thursday at an apartment complex our church is just beginning to serve.

We have done a neighborhood party for these apartments as well as beginning the process of repairing and providing some more recreational opportunities for the children. Pray that God would give us wisdom and love to see what Passage Church can do in the wake of this terrible situation.

New Website, New Content

2009-09-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

We officially launched the new vision of Passage Church yesterday at Lakota West Freshman School. The vision is:

Helping People Trust Jesus and His Church

This vision is a rallying cry for our church to take responsibilty for the people who do not trust Jesus or the church and see that the church does indeed have treasure -- not people, not programs, not facilities, but the good news about Jesus and what He has done.

Content for this blog begins Monday, September 14, 2009

2009-09-11T13:18:00.000-07:00