Church Life
Are Pre-Packaged Sermon Series a Good Idea for Pastors?
Pastoring in this age is a great blessing, because of the volume and variety of resources at our disposal. I have hundreds of books and commentaries on my computer thanks to Wordsearch software. Then I have a library full of books and a number of key websites I visit. That’s not to mention the study…
Read MoreWhy Pastors Don’t Often “Speak Up”
A few years go I had the opportunity to volunteer for a dear friend of mine who was running for Congress in the district in which I live. I was heavily involved–my job was to rally evangelical leaders to support the candidate, whose views lined up with evangelicals, especially on the social issues like abortion,…
Read MoreWhy We Work
When I think of Labor Day, I think first of my father, a union plumber who has spent nearly every day of his adult life working with his hands. I’m a bit biased, but I happen to think he’s the best at what he does. Every job he does to near-perfection, not satisfied until he…
Read MoreTaming the Tongue
We’re going through James at Gages Lake Bible Church in a series we’re calling Authentic Faith. Currently we’re in the middle of chapter three, which gives perhaps the most specific, biting description of the tongue in all of Scripture and perhaps all of literature. It begins with a warning, in James 3:1-2 about the importance…
Read MoreWhat a Pastor Says
At Gages Lake Bible Church, we’re going through the book of James, in a series we’ve entitled, Authentic Faith. (You can listen/download the sermons here.) James is a section of Scripture that really makes you sit up and listen. And it’s written specifically to Christians in the church. There is no way to dance around…
Read MoreThe Ethics of a Church Protest Blog
It’s become more and more popular: a group of disgruntled church members set up a website to “protest” the church leadership of a big and established congregation. In the last two years, there have been protest sites set up against prominent megachurches like Bellevue Baptist Church in Tennessee (Adrian Roger’s old church), Coral Ridge Presbyterian…
Read MoreFriday Five: Collin Hansen
Today I’m pleased to chat with Collin Hansen, the editorial director of The Gospel Coalition. Prior to his work with TGC, Collin was a journalist with Christianity Today. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of Young, Restless, and Reformed and most recently co-author of a…
Read MoreDo Christians Rely Too Much on Statistical Research?
With a title like that, I’m sure to stir up some controversy. But lately I’ve been reading through Bradley Wright‘s magnificent book, Why Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites and Other Lies You’ve Been Told. In this book, Wright, a sociologist at the University of Connecticut and an evangelical Christian, looks at major polling data on evangelicals and…
Read MoreWhy Christians Should Care about the Facts (But Often Don’t)
Our church has been going through a study of the book of James. Last week we came upon a verse that is mightily convicting in this digital age: Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19 (ESV) You don’t have to parse the…
Read MoreThree Lessons for Christians from the Debt Crisis
I as I write this late at night, it still appears there is a stalemate on the debt crisis in Washington. Will the leaders come together and get a deal done? Will the markets react? We don’t know. But what can Christians learn from this crisis? I see three lessons: 1) When You Put Off…
Read MoreWhy You Should Tithe
If you wanted to start a heated argument among Christians, just bring up the subject of tithing. Some say that tithing was a principle reserved only for Old Testament law. Others say that tithing is antithetical to grace. I hear all those arguments, but still, I think it’s good practice to be a regular giver.…
Read MoreWhat Jesus Says to Those Hurt by His Followers
Lately I’ve been working on a book project aimed at 2nd Generation evangelicals. In the last few years, there has been a surge of books authored by young evangelicals who have been hurt by the church. Some have stayed in the faith. Others have lost their way. I’ve read a few and have been saddened by…
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