I was tempted to title this “What we REALLY mean when we sing those praise songs.”
HT:Â Peter Kirk.
When I’m teaching church members, I like to emphasize service in one’s choice of a church congregation. The best congregation for you is the one where you can best fulfill your call to minister to others. I believe everyone has such a call. That’s a generalization that often doesn’t answer that many questions, but it…
In an article that I find very agreeable, Chaplain Mike of the Internet Monk site discusses the way in which some churches major on the minors, making people who disagree with specific doctrinal positions uncomfortable. But I want to object to one line in that post, and it’s one I hear frequently in real life…
It’s fairly fashionable to call the thinking of our time “post-modern” and to talk about how people believe we really can’t know anything for sure, or perhaps just can’t know anything. In many discussions that is the conversation ender. You really can’t know that you’re right, so I could be right as well. Alternatively we…
I’m a strong advocate of Bible study by the laity, even when such study leads to errors. In fact, I think making mistakes is an important part of Christian growth. But there are a number of odd things that can happen when people apply the Bible. One of the checks on “loony” Biblical application that…
I am continually annoyed when Christians claim to be persecuted in this country. I know that we are, from time to time, inconvenienced and troubled, but it seems to me that calling ourselves persecuted simply devalues the term. I’ve lived where persecution was a reality, as in fleeing ahead of someone intent on killing you…
One of the most interesting and troubling things I’ve found about myself and my church (any of the churches of which I’ve been a member!) is the number of things we know we should do and even decide we will do, but which never get done. Seven Marks of a New Testament Church is certainly…
I really hate singing some of these songs in church, because I know I’m not being sincere. Sometimes I just stand there and keep quiet because I don’t like being dishonest. I’m referring mainly to the ones written in the first person, where the singer claims that he is worshipping God with his whole heart, or anything along those lines. The people who write these insincere or overly emotional songs should be shot.