Over the last couple of days I’ve been trying to think of a way to express what I find so disturbing about the “emerging church” debate. Let me try this. Many of us know that just before the end of the first century our resurrected Lord returned in a vision to his dear friend and […]
Although I want to keep our conversation going about “emerging churches” and “emerging problems,” have a question this morning about how the present economic downturn is affecting us as individuals and as a group? Wondering if as many of us as possible would give a quick comment about any of the material, emotional, or spiritual […]
In my last post I listed a number of ways that some followers of Christ are trying to do church differently than their parents’ generation. But the pendulum of change often swings from one extreme to another and reactions can result in over-correction. For that reason, and because we’ve already acknowledged some of the problems that […]
Over the past decade there has been growing controversy about “a new way of doing church.” The debate has been generational in nature. Many of our sons and daughters are forming or joining congregations that don’t look or sound like our kind of church. Yet, they are likely to tell us that they are just […]
It’s Saturday and a cool rain is falling in West Michigan. Not supposed to get over 50 degrees F. Leaves are turning and dropping. Sort of happy they are too wet and heavy to rake today. Big 10 football game this afternoon. This year’s underdog University of Michigan plays rival Michigan State. But for the […]
According to an often repeated story, legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi, once expressed his frustration by stopping practice and saying to his Green Bay Packer professionals something like, “Let’s start at the beginning. This is a football. These are the yard markers. I’m the coach. You are the players.” (Although I haven’t been able to […]
One of the most memorable church services I ever attended was a communion service preceded by a message on a controversial war. A young pastor began by honoring those members of the congregation who had family members or friends serving in our country’s military. Then he paid an equal tribute to those within the church […]
The hyrax (also called a coney or rock badger) is a rodent-like creature mentioned at least four times in the Bible and still common in certain regions of Africa and the Middle East. I caught a picture of this one a few years ago while visiting En-Gedi on the western Shore of the Dead Sea. […]
What if everyone who confessed to being a follower of Christ would agree to, and then to comply with, the following terms of political engagement? To avoid denying our citizenship in the kingdom of God, and to reflect well on the real Leader of our lives, We will be so committed to truth telling that […]
The Prophet Zechariah makes some arresting statements about the Feast of Tabernacles when he predicts regarding the end times, “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, […]
Because the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) lasts all week, I thought you might be interested in the following links to PDFs of two of our Discovery Series booklets titled: The Holidays of God: Spring Feasts The Holidays of God: Fall Feasts Both booklets are 32 pages and show the striking correlation and convergence between […]
Today, on the 15th of October, 2008, Jewish people around the world are celebrating Sukkot (the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles). Once again a nation is remembering how God provided for ancestors under the severe conditions of a barren wilderness. For the people of Israel, this seventh and last of an annual cycle of Jewish […]
In my last post I referred to #4 of 12 Step Recovery that says, “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” Then I used Paul’s letter to the Romans as a basis for some soul searching. In the process of taking my own inventory, I sensed again why 12 Step Recovery has been […]
Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” And Step Four of 12 Step Recovery talks about making “a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” Both resonate with the wisdom of Jesus. So, if we haven’t already been doing so, how different would our lives be if, once a week, we asked our […]
Years ago I saw a colorful poster that said: “Jesus of Nazareth requests the pleasure of your company at a dinner to be given in his honor.” The fact that the poster hung in a public place seemed so appropriate. The Jesus of the New Testament offered his friendship to everyone (John 3:16). But it’s […]
With global markets sliding, banks failing, and personal questions about employment, retirement accounts, and home mortgages multiplying, it’s not surprising that many of us have been worrying more than usual. Sometimes my thoughts echo the person who said, “If you’re not worried, you don’t know what’s happening.” On the other hand, we’ve all found that […]
Long before the “miracle on ice” in which the 1980 United States hockey team beat the powerful Soviet Olympic machine, there was David and Goliath. The Bible gets a lot of its reputation from the stories of little people who won against big odds. But what if we are one of the countless underdogs who […]
Long before Jesus entered our world in the body of a Jewish infant, he left his fingerprints and signature all over monarch butterflies, horses, oak trees and salamanders. Ages before Jesus turned water into wine and spoke peace to the churning waters of Galilee, he painted color, life, and ecological balance into a stunning interdependence […]
While visiting some of our co-workers outside of the US, I had an experience this week that I assumed was similar to what I’ve had traveling in the States. Woke up in the middle of the night to hear pounding on hotel room doors. Heard voices moving quickly up and down the hall. But couldn’t […]
In first-century Greek, Roman, and Jewish society, a man was the master of his house. Wives lived under the rule of their husbands and were expected to submit to them. So when the apostle Paul, in his New Testament letters, encouraged wives to submit to their husbands, those words would not have been unusual. Today […]
