Linkathon!
State of the missional movement…
Why Christians should avoid watching rape scenes…
Is your Christianity a box or a path?
What happens when an artist is invited into a church…
Have smartphones destroyed a generation?
The #1 reason churches end up in court is no longer child abuse…
What is “liberal” Christianity?
The drug dealer of choice for anxious pastors…
Malls, small stores, and churches closing…
Being people of truth in a world of fake news…
I suck at not believing in God…
5 challenges to staying Christian…
8 thoughts on staying Christian anyway…
Not an arbitrary or capricious God…
Huge thanks as always to EricL for the link help…support him at top right.
That “Box vs Path” lingo is so cliché and worn out.
Further, they are both valid.
Just like everyone else, this guy assumes the “path” is superior to the “box”.
But things like “be as a child”, “return to your first love”, and “as you receive Christ, so walk in Him”, remind us it is also good to stay anchored as well as explore.
Like I said, so cliché…..zzzzzzzzzzz
The Box / Path guy seems too judgmental for me. Sounds like he has a strong disregard for the box people.
Go to Warren’s link about Perry Noble and watch the video with the sound off. Tell me that doesn’t look like a guy waiting on Hale-Bopp. I don’t think Perry is well. Maybe he never was, but used to have a staff to help him cover it? Such a weird story all around.
Maybe he had too much coffee that morning. Looks like he’s broadcasting live from a newly remodeled bar & grill or church office.
The Hale-Bopp reference is spot on. I viewed a couple other video clips at Perry’s FB page, and he just comes off a bit…intense.
Found the articles about Kendrick Lamar and artists invited into the church interesting. It has been said that artists “sit in the back row of the church” because they often feel unwelcome and misunderstood. In other words, they are one step away from leaving. Yet, a church without art is a cold, bleak place. I’ve always embraced this Chesterton quote: “I don’t deny,” he said, “that there should be priests to remind men that they will one day die. I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, actually to remind men that they are not dead yet.”
PJ’s #6- lately I have been reading some O.T. accounts of God’s directions and supplies for building the Temple – it seems clear to me that art and artisan skills are God given … we should appreciate all the attributes that God has gifted the human race with and those so gifted should thank God for their gifts, too, but…
Doesn’t it seem that our tendency (mankind’s tendency) is to take the credit for what we can do ? But then equally egregious, is our tendency to denigrate those whose skills we think are less worthwhile… we truly are sin riddled … sigh … even when i think I’m doing pretty good, I fall short … Best I focus on God, grace and promises He’s given us…
Thankful for these links to think on again… May the blessings redound to EricL and Michael
It’s seems a little slow here today so let me kick it up with a couple of my links. A couple of the sub contractors working on my house were telling me about their church. It is a large SBC mega, in fact I read they were the largest contributor to the state cooperative program in Arizona – a tip of the hat to them which is quite an accomplishment from this small corner of AZ. They were not satisfied with what they had been hearing the past year and asked me to listen to some sermons and evaluate. I wanted to show a difference I have been speaking of for a long time. The difference between preaching the Christ and preaching the Christian. I listen to 6 sermons from different series they had been doing. This is preaching the Christian – it’s fairly short – 27
http://calvarylhc.com/sermon-audio/building-a-house-of-faith-part-1
At the same time, a mile away as the bird flies at my Lutheran church, the sermon was preached that was Jesus centric – I think the kid nailed it (I say kid because he is 1 yr out of seminary – and because I am old). He takes 13 min to get Jesus into the congregation.
I will say for the Baptist guys, they are pleasant and the message does resonate with a crowd that wants to know what they need to do, while on the other hand, I think they need to hear Jesus.
By the way – both sermons were from this past Sunday
http://lambofgodlhcaz.org/page/ninth_sunday_after_pentecast
I will mention that the church that preaches the Christian is attended by 2,000 – 3,000 each Sunday – again, hats off to them.
My church ‘runs’ about 125 — but when winter comes, we can run it up to 185 🙂
Have any of you guys dealt with “Let Us Reason” or “Deception in the Church” they seem to believe that its wrong to call the Bible God “Kami” in Japanese or “Bog” in Russian! I mean its quite amazing how seemingly little coverage they get despite being on the web for o so long
On the topic of sermons… long years ago, the Presbyterians had a school clock mounted on the front of the balcony facing the pulpit. It was to remind Dr. Kerr that he had 15 minutes to make his point… Must have been hard as he was a teacher, not a preacher…
Later my MIL bragged on her wonderful Baptst minister’s sermons (they were good) until one day she learned that he got them from a book. ? To give the man credit, tho, he was first of all a Pastor tending his flock, leaving little time for sermon prep – maybe he was a Lutheran at heart, eh?
http://calvarylhc.com/staff/
MLD- Calvary looks like a decent church…but never mind that. Look at the picture of the music guy?!?!? Wow. 🙂
RIP Glenn Campbell … echoes of “I am a lineman for the Couny…” running thru my mind now bringing back memories of Wichita where I lived then… and my years as a Southern Baptist…
Josh – re the worship guy – the wind blows pretty good here … even on picture day 🙂
They are a decent church – I was just pointing out the difference in preaching topics.
My instant reaction to that hair was that it reminded me of Bello Nock, a clown/daredevil from America’s Got Talent.
http://circusjuventas.org/team/bello-nock/
MLD
So would you say that the church preaching the Christian is preaching about implicit faith, as the Google article spoke of?
Perry Noble needs a couple lessons in lighting and advice on eyeglass frames. Very sandwich board look to that video, for sure.
Tony
I love those guys.
🙂
Of Creeds, Cults, and Google
The author mentioned scientology
I’ve been watching Leah Remini’s series on Scientology. My Dad was into that for a time right before he died. I think he was in process of separating from us for a Scientology gig on the East Coast. Our house had started collecting L Ron Hubbard books before he went. .. I live near a major international hub for Scientology. I see these poor saps out doing their slave labor and want to stop and offer them a ride. ..
I read that article and kept thinking I could just replace “Google” with Scientology. Then I thought, why not with Leftism, Progressivism, Republicanism, Patriotism, even?
The is no ideological space to even think anymore. Everyone is operating from a self preservation standpoint. Lovers of self we are …
BTW
I hear Sarah McLaughlin softly questioning, melodiously,
“Where have all the podcasts gone?”
so Descended why do you love them?
#6 Pineapple Head
That Chesterton quote is pure gold… many thanks.
Descended, to your #17,
I am not that deep of a theologian to connect the Google article to my point.
The preaching topic shows a difference in the philosophy of Christianity. For those who preach the Christian vs the Christ do not see justification as something the “already saved” need to hear – Jesus’ work is done, Jesus is seated in heaven at the right hand of God and now it is the Christian and the church, with the help of the holy spirit who are to work on sanctification.
The preacher of the Christian may have 2 good Jesus sermons in his repertoire – Christmas & Easter — but to have 52 weekly Jesus sermons would be unheard of.
It is easier for the pastor to talk about what the Christian is to do – even in list form and it is easier for the Christian to say “give me a list.” This is why many preach in a series format.
As to preaching Christ or Christian, I seek to do both in all my messages. Declare the finished work of Jesus as well as what the Christ-focused relationship looks like (which is grounded in the finished work of Christ).
Yeah, PH. I think there is a balance. Certainly, some of the bible has instructions for how to live.
To a degree, I try to model Paul’s writing. He typically front loads his books with rich theology of Christ, but at some point he inserts the word “therefore.” What follows is the natural response (that can only be realized supernaturally). Godly application follows good theology.
That is good that you guys do this. However if you listened to the 2 messages I posted you would hear a distinct difference.
If a message like the one I posted from the mega church can be delivered by the local rabbi, the In an, the Mormon or even Tony Robbins, what makes it a Christian message?
Tony
My guys would be for many of the same reasons they seem to annoy you, lol. Good day.
guys … guess
Auto correct, pshaw
What we need to hear on our death bed is what we need to hear every Sunday. I’ll take the consolation of the Lutheran sermon.
“That is good that you guys do this. However if you listened to the 2 messages I posted you would hear a distinct difference.
If a message like the one I posted from the mega church can be delivered by the local rabbi, the In an, the Mormon or even Tony Robbins, what makes it a Christian message?”
Didn’t listen – won’t listen. Don’t have time to police every sermon on the internet.
If your generalization is correct, then those guys should definitely focus more on Christ. Every sermon I preach would get me beat up at a Mosque, banned from a Mormon Temple, and would offend Tony Robbins to no end. But I only preach 10-12 times a year. I cherry-pick the good stuff 🙂
JoelG – Just don’t worry about the rest of the bible?
Ed Dingess guest post over at PulpitandPen
http://pulpitandpen.org/2017/08/09/the-salt-of-the-earth-a-rejoinder-to-dwight-mckissic-dave-miller-and-those-who-twist-this-verse/
For me it helps flesh out a big area where the civil Christian religion departs from Christianity.
Josh, the Bible is all about Jesus and needs to be preached that way. (There is no “rest of the Bible”.) If you are preaching / teaching through Kings, the message must be, this is what Kings is teaching us today about Jesus.
Josh, I’m just talking about Sundays. We do our best and still come up short, which leads to anxiety for me. I’m simply looking for rest. 🙂
MLD – Agree.
Joel G only left room for one sermon, preached over and over every Sunday…unless he plans to be on the death bed a LONG time.
Well there is only one sermon – Christ for You! – now it can be delivered several different ways – but the message must be the same.
You’re trying to disagree with me. I’m sure if we dig enough we can find a point of dispute.
I didn’t disagree with you – I was supporting your comment you made to Joel G about leaving room for only one sermon.
Well, you’re # 38 actually called for many different sermons with the same message and you just decided to call it one sermon. But hey, whatever makes you happy.
I see your point Josh. I don’t think we ever get past the point of not needing hearing the Gospel for sinners, Christian or not. Exhortations are good. But the reality Paul rights about in Romans 7:14-25 won’t change in this life.
Joel G – agreed.
It’s funny that pulpit and pen assert the Orthodox church is blasphemous for calling it’s clergy “priests” it’s no more blasphemous then Michael’s title currently