John Richardson, communications director at Generous Church, recently blogged about how the Christian faith calls adherents to step away from a life of safety and security. After quoting Craig Groeschel, Erwin McManus, David Platt, Francis Chan and Jesus, he summarizes the big idea thusly: Here’s the problem with playing it safe - safety is not a virtue in the Kingdom of God. Instead, the Gospel calls us to the exact opposite: a radical departure from the “safe” Read More …
Review of Shaping the Journey (#0918)
Meet the Authors Richard R. Dunn and Jana L. Sundene both have experience as professors and in parish ministry. Dunn is lead pastor at Fellowship Evangelical Free Church (Knoxville, TN), and formerly served as chair of educational ministries at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Sundene serves on the leadership team of the Vine Christian Community (Long Grove, IL), and is associate professor of Christian ministries at Trinity College. Book Basics Given the limited Read More …
Danger of Thinking Small (#0917)
John Ortberg is the Senior Pastor of the 4,000 member Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) and the author of multiple books on spiritual formation. In the Fall 2012 edition of Leadership Journal, he wrote an article entitled “Our Presumptuous Calling,” in which he challenged followers of Jesus to live into that calling by living out the Great Commission in big and bold ways. Ortberg cautions all followers, but especially pastors and ministry leaders, to avoid Read More …
A Challenging Question (#0916)
Kathy Vestal recently asked a question that many avoid, yet one which should be addressed directly on a regular basis by those who seek to follow the way of Jesus: Are we following the Church’s teachings more closely than we follow Jesus’ teachings? So What? In an ideal world, perhaps one would simply assume the teachings of the church and those of Jesus would be identical or overlap so significantly that any attempts to differentiate the two would seem artificial. In Read More …
Baptists & Communion Confusion (#0915)
According to a new survey conducted by LifewayResearch, 96% of Southern Baptist (SB) churches have more inclusive communion practices than are allowed by their denomination's faith statement. The latest edition (200o) of the Baptist Faith and Message Statement lists baptism and church membership as prerequisites for Communion / Lord's Supper / Eucharist. According to the survey, 96% of SB allow non-members to participate and 65% allow those who have not been baptized to Read More …
Review of Everyday Heroes (#0914)
Meet the Author and Photographer Katrina Fried is senior editor and associate publisher at Welcome Books, where she has worked since 2001. During her time at Basic she has written, edited or produced over a dozen books offering "unique visual narratives that push the boundaries and traditional limitations of illustrated books." Paul Mobley is a photographer with extensive training and an impressive client list including American Express, Sony, Citigroup, Ford, Compaq, Gourmet, Max Read More …
More Miracles? (#0913)
David Briggs, columnist for the Association of Religion Data Archives, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post on the increasing belief in miracles. According to a new study, "the number of Americans who definitely believe in religious miracles increased 22 percent in the past two decades, with 55 percent now certain of this supernatural phenomenon." Astonishingly the same research finds, "four in five Americans believe miracles definitely or probably occur." So Read More …
Announcements in Worship (#0912)
Alan Rudnick, pastor of First Baptist Church (Ballston Spa, NY), recently wrote about constructing a theology for announcements in worship. He suggests that announcements belong in worship if they "serve a greater purpose: to connect people into greater opportunities of Christ-like community life." Additionally, Rudnick encourages people to reconsider announcements as being made in non-verbal forms, delivered by a solid communicator (ideally the same Read More …
Review of Toxic Charity (#0911)
Meet the Author Robert D. Lupton is founder and president of Focused Community Strategies (FCS) Urban Ministries. In that role, he writes "Urban Perspectives," monthly reflections about life and faith in the city. Additionally, Lupton is the author of several books, including Renewing the City: Reflections on Community Development and Urban Renewal (2005), Compassion, Justice, and the Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor (2007), Toxic Charity: How Read More …
Don’t Be Like Olive Garden (#0910)
Scott McClellan, writer/editor at Echohub and author of the forthcoming book Tell Me a Story (2013), recently challenged church leaders to live into their roles by doing more than simply providing the religious goods and services requested by the majority of their parishioners (consumers). His blog post was inspired by a story about Olive Garden that suggested the casual dining chain's leadership wants to but has been unable to improve their offerings because any Read More …