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Posts about church (in general) or church (the church I am a member of, specifically)
Sorry for the lack of posting this week. Cyndi and I went to the Southern Baptist Convention and Pastor's Conference and just got back home yesterday. I wanted to live blog from the convention, but I decided not to try that hassle.
I want to go to San Antonio next year….perhaps then. Anyway, if you are interested in reading what I thought, you'll have to read more (hint…click the link below). Continue reading “My Thoughts on the 2006 Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro, NC”
I just wanted to let everyone know that I have finished posting new Salem Baptist Church sermons on the church's homepage. I'm sorry for the delay…our duplicator was broke and I was unable to get copies of the messages until recently.
This morning in chapel, we heard from a missionary to India. He talked about many things, but what hit me the hardest was a video he showed. In this video, they talked about a group of 12-15 national church leaders. These leaders meet every week for an accoutability group to make sure everyong is keeping up with everything. A portion of that time is spent talking about how they have shared their faith. In two weeks, this group had shared the Gospel with… Continue reading “How Real Is Our Faith?”
For some reason, this page has become a catch-all page on my site. In spite of me spending almost all day working on dead links, htaccess files, and the link, I can’t get everything. If you came here looking for something else, search for it. I’m sorry for the extra step.
According to Guy Consolmagno, a Vatican astronomer, I’m a pagan. For those who know me, this may come as a shocker…
I was surfing today and came across a post about today being Dietrich Bonhoeffer's birthday. If you want more information on the man, look at the results of this Google search.
These two news reports just go to show the sad state of "the church" in America:
With Christmas falling on a Sunday, some churches break from tradition
Some churches to shut doors Christmas Day
What's more important: Santa or The One True Living God? Presents or Worship? Gifts or Worship? Come on people! Take a break from your self-centeredness for an hour on Christmas morning this year. You claim to be "christian," but you are not Christ-like. If you want to open presents that morning, just wake up a tad earlier. Better yet, why not practice some delayed gratification and open presents after church? Or how about opening them the night before? Think about your answers then tell me if you are a christian or not. Here are some examples:
Oh, we can't open them the night before, Santa hasn't brought them. Ahh, your true self is showing through. Are you teaching your kids the real reason for the season or that Santa brings them presents? What happens when they find out you've been lying to them all their life about Santa? Might they start to not trust other things you say?
We'll get busy with presents and forget church. Set an alarm and put it up and do what is necessary to get to church on time. Stop opening presents if you have to. Tell you kids to put them away…they'll be there when you return.
The kids can't wait. What's more important…God or worldly things?
Christians in America, we all need to step back, evaluate our lives, read the Bible, and decide are we "Christian" or are we truly Christians!?!?! Being a Christian is more than getting up and going to church on Sunday. Heck, its even more than going to church 3 times a week, being chairman of the deacons, and a Sunday School teacher! Christians were first called Christians because they were Christ-like. Is your life truly reflective of Christ? What does your Bible say about gathering together:
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching
On September 22nd, I posted about "the fast Bible". Today, I was catching up on my blog reading when I noticed that Dr. Mohler had also posted about this on his blog. I just thought this was interesting and wanted to give everyone else the chance to read what he said.
The 100-Minute Bible is the perfect symbol of our age of truncated attention spans and rampant biblical illiteracy. At the current rate of declining interest and literacy, 100 minutes will soon be unacceptably long.
The Bible Cut Down to Size — Scripture and the Modern Attention Span
On the internet last week, I heard rumours about FEMA wanting to reemburse churches for their disaster relief help. Here is a collection of articles:
Say it Isn't So — FEMA to Reimburse Churches for Aid?
FEMA Plans to Reimburse Faith Groups for Aid
NAMB to FEMA — No Thanks!
I'm glad that NAMB has already said no.
I read this story today on The Bible for Slow Readers. You should give it a read. Here are some quotes:
In the beginning was the Word. But the Word went on a bit, so a new version of the Bible has been produced for readers with short attention spans.
The 100-minute Bible, aimed at the "hurried and harried" generation, was launched at Canterbury Cathedral yesterday by its author, the Rev Michael Hinton.
First were the "modern" Bible versions. Then came the paraphrases. Then this.
Folks, we have to figure something out before we jump on this bandwagon. Is the Bible a "special" book written by men who were inspired by God to write down exactly what He wanted recorded? Or is the Bible just another book with good moral lessons? If the Bible is the first, then every word in the Bible is as important as any other word. The words are there for a reason.
Alot of that depends on what the church will look like. What will the church look like? Barna has done some research and is writing a new book. Here are some reviews of an advance copy:
"Revolution", George Barna's new book, will be published in September. Barna leads a church research institute, and is currently the most-quoted person in the Christian church in the USA because of his statistical work. To summarize the book's most important conclusions:
* The number of Christians attending local church in the USA is declining rapidly. Today, 70% of Christians attend traditional churches, but this will sink to 30-35% in 20 years;
* The number of followers of Jesus who do not attend a local church will grow from 30% to 70% in the next 20 years;
* Alternative fellowship forms (house church/simple church, post-modern churches etc.), currently home for 5% of USA Christians, will grow to make up 30-35%; another 30-35% will live out their faith in the fields of media, arts and culture; the remaining 5% of Christians attending non-traditional forms of church will have a family-based spiritual life;
* Conclusion: a minority group presently not even noticed by many will become the mainstream of North American Christianity in only two decades.
http://sojourner.typepad.com/house_church_blog/2005/09/the_new_revolut.html
http://sojourner.typepad.com/house_church_blog/2005/09/more_barna.html