Linkathon!
9 things you should know about vintage Christianity…
Pastor reflects on exorbitant amount of funerals preached…
Saving Saeed “top priority” for Obama…
Roger Olson on our “failure to communicate”…
Movie portrays Satan as Jesus’s “alter ego”…
Steve Brown…”garbage in, garbage out”…
The beer that changed the world…
Were the Jews expecting a divine Messiah?
Why it matters that the exodus really happened…
An apology for Roman Catholic patriarchy…
10 ways to be a better peacemaker online…
The word and the rule of faith…
Political outrage and the kingdom…
The Super Bowl, grief, and God…
The morality of drone warfare…
Big thank you to EricL for helping compile this weeks links…
I would like to apply no significance to the fact that I first clicked on “Confessions of a Church Snob”… I would like to
Read with interest “Why pastors need mentors.” That has been my desire for years. I have made several offers, but no interest.
I like the heart for accountability and growth that is displayed in that article, but pretty much every time I see an article like that they are talking about someone outside of the circle of your current community. It seems to me that if pastors were more fully integrated into the congregation, rather than just a mouthpiece in front of it, that this would be something that would happen naturally. The pastor should have someone like that in their life because we should all have someone like that in our lives. I kind of thought that was one of the big reasons that we got together.
“It seems to me that if pastors were more fully integrated into the congregation, rather than just a mouthpiece in front of it, that this would be something that would happen naturally. ”
Amen…
Bob…keep offering.
Seriously, not feeling sorry for myself, but the reality is, I’m either viewed as damaged goods, or wrong pedigree.
Bob – I would encourage you to know that you are mentoring pastors here as you have shared your story of failure, repentance, and restoration. Formal mentoring is great, but a life of faith lived in the presence of others is equally powerful and valuable in mentoring/discipling men and women of God.
When people ask you may tell them you have been mentoring me for years.
Have a blessed day.
What Shaun said….Bless you, Bob. I too have grown through knowing you.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2938199/Burned-alive-cage-ISIS-release-video-claiming-horrifying-murder-captured-Jordanian-pilot.html
So it appears ISIS has burned this hostage alive. As I read of the atrocities around the world I wonder how much worse could it get during the tribulation from a pre trib view. I don’t know what else can be worse than what we’ve seen and are seeing now world wide. We are so fortunate these things haven’t happened as they are elsewhere in the world. The world is not going to get better. What a terrible realization. Now more than ever we need to hold fast to our faith.
Shaun and Steve, your words meant so much! Thank you.
E,
Be of good cheer. The world is far less violent than in times past. They just didn’t have CNN.
Things could be worse … we could have a measles outbreak. Oh, too late
The civilized world is getting better thanks to democracy, freedom of thought, freedom of speech & freedom of expression. There will always be barbarians and idiots who twist religion and justify their atrocities for their own ends.
Like what the Jews do to the Palestinians.
MLD, I think Iran should give the Jews some land and then treat them half as good as the Jews treat the Palestinians…wouldn’t happen.
The Jews have to fight every day just to exist in that region. They are surrounded by a backward Ideology that they cannot make peace with…an adversary that doesn’t want real peace, it wants their elimination.
But, you are Lutheran and we know what Luther and the Germans thought of the Jews….
Jim, it has always hurt when I have read of the pure evil perpetrated on the innocents through the years. I can’t help but think of the families and other loved ones in the wake of this evil. And there’s so many whose goal is to do evil to anyone in any way imaginable.
Grendal, I see what you’re saying but we’re a nation that slaughters millions of the unborn every year. Reading the local news in most every city we’re reminded of the evil that is quite present. Our neighbor’s brother was murdered at a do-nut shop where the robbers got less than a hundred dollars.
I appreciate the responses. Off to do some driving with my counselor. Pray I do well! God bless!
Alex, that’s just the new found CC coming out in you. It’s funny, all my Jewish family agrees with what i said. They cannot figure out why the Israelis treat the Palestinians so poorly. Palestinians are not Iranians – Palestinians and Iranians are in different countries, Palestinian are Arabs while Iranians are Persian.
A different group of people. So Iranians are butt heads so let’s whack the Palestinian.
Glad to hear you are starting to drive again E! Praying it goes well. I know you can do it!
Amen to #’s 6&7 Regarding Bob.
The beauty is also that we have women free to choose (at least in most states), and most choose birth control or to carry their babies & adopt, especially whenever there are those around the woman who are supportive and pitch in to help. Far better than the regressive shame based religious cultures that suppress women’s freedoms, especially those which dominate the middle east.
It’s all about where one focuses one’s consciousness as to how one looks at the world.
The end-times-rapture crowd is perpetually focused on a narrative which cannot allow for human betterment or progress, and each of us can choose to avoid that mindset.
The Kingdom is now because The King is present and reigns in each of us who embrace Him.
Has anyone been watching Thus documentary on PBS about the status of girls and women in the world?
http://apathapppears.org/
It’s an excellent series so far.
Not sure if the link worked. Trying again.
http://apathappears.org/
Read “The Problem with Men and Why We Ignore It/Them at Our Own Risk”. It all seem so theoretical. He offered no practical ways to show men special respect because of their maleness or to respect their maleness without at the same time affording them special privileges because they are male. And isn’t this also a chicken and the egg thing. I mean, when people choose not to get jobs, to live off their parents, and to spend their time loafing around they will not be respected. So how do you respect someone when they are conducting themselves in a manner not worthy of respect.
Also, is there really that big a difference between love and respect? I can envision how a parent could love a child (even an adult child) without respecting them, but outside of the parent/child relationship I don’t see how someone would feel loved if they did not also feel respected. I know I wouldn’t.
Also, of the top of my head I can’t think of any men I know who are engaging in the behavior he claims a ton of men are. The guys I know are all doing just fine.
Bob Sweat, please provide a way to contact. If necessary, you can get me email address from Michael. Thanks
Covered
You can email me at rasjr826atyahoodotcom
j2p, agreed that the Olson piece seemed like weak sauce. The trouble is that nobody wants to just get respect without also feeling like they’ve merited it in some way, do they?