Dave Black on Christians and Nationalism
He posted an excellent article on his web site titled A Lesson from Ethiopia. Further comment at Mt. Tirzah Baptist Church.
Ministry Mistakes (or not)
The Internet Monk has a list of his most bone-headed ministry mistakes. It’s worth a read. Some of them aren’t really mistakes, in my view. For example, #4: 4. Two of my deacons made a big deal about me taking the a.m. service ten minutes too long two weeks in a row, and they humiliated…
Way to Go Omaha 1st UMC
I really like this: Why do I like it? Because besides collecting some help for folks in need, this gives kids a taste of the experience of others. Hopefully it will stimulate their thinking and result in many new ideas as the years go by. We need to harness the imagination and energy of the…
Are Sermons a Waste?
It’s a day for questions! Ben Myers has a guest post by Aaron Ghiloni titled On sermons: a rant. Basically, he doesn’t like sermons. Really doesn’t like them. So as I sometimes do I brought this up with my wife as I was driving her to work. (Since I work at home we live with…
When is the Gospel the Answer?
I had this question called to my mind a couple of times this week, and I want to pose it to you. Before I do that, however, let me tell you how it was called to my mind. The first item was a comment on my post on civil liberties. Dave Black comment on that…
A Calvinist Complementarian defines Arminian and Egalitarian
… and does so very well. Not surprisingly (to me, at least), this is from C. Michael Patton on Parchment and Pen. To quote his definitions of “complementarian” and “egalitarian”: Complementarianism: Belief in essential equality, but functional hierarchy in the sexes. This hierarchy is by GodÂ’s design and is not due to the fall. Man…
Finding a Church Through a Blog
The Internet Monk is providing a post for exchanging ideas about church congregations. Though I wonder about a church search done via blog comments, I’ve already commented on the post indicating that if that’s where people are searching, perhaps that’s where you have to help. I’ll be interested in seeing which traditions are represented in…
In Which a Calvinist Annoys and Delights Me
Or you can call him “Reformed.” I personally dislike that particular term because to many people it implies that other protestants never passed through the reformation, that only the Calvinists “reformed.” All of which can also ignore the adjustments in Catholic theology since the time of the reformation. But that’s all a side issue, and…
The Ministry of Complaining
I once preached a sermon by that title, and my main point was simply that complaining can be a valuable activity. We need people who notice things that are wrong and are willing to point them out. We need critics. I was reminded of that sermon today when I read the post Clergy Haters from…
Worship: Few Words, Boy Friends, and Girl Friends
David Ker is complaining about modern worship songs (since the 90s), and Peter Kirk has partially taken him to task about it, wondering about the air down in Mozambique and whether it causes David to rant. (Personally I suspect it’s looking at too many hippos, but in non-essentials charity, I say!) David continues with a…