addiction to ministry [part two]
![addiction to ministry [part two]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/coffee-with-friends-150x150.jpg)
“We need to get together sometime.” I said this to my friend as I had just finished unloading my stress on her willing shoulders. It’s because of my previous post that I realized ministry had become an unhealthy habit; too much ministry anyway. I had forgotten what it’s like to simply have coffee with a [...]
addiction to ministry [part one]
![addiction to ministry [part one]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/soldier-in-quicksand-150x150.jpg)
What is wrong with me? I came to church with stress hanging on me like an oversized jacket. My heart had focused on people instead of God’s provisions. Ministry failed to excite me. And then it hit me… Like quick sand, the more I struggled the faster the mire sucked me under. Soon, I didn’t [...]
artful markings
We all have mundane moments. You know, the ones that are boring and barely worth noting. Like the drab experience of checking out at the grocery store… Or the hazy everydayness of making the morning coffee… Or the commute home… Then we have moments of grand gesture. Like wearing dark oversized robes and a square [...]
[reasons they leave #6] the church is unfriendly to doubt
![[reasons they leave #6] the church is unfriendly to doubt](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/doubt-150x150.jpg)
My Thoughts on Reason #6 of The Barna Report They threw leaves into the air on this beautiful Fall Sunday. I wish all our days could reflect such happy abandon. I stood in front of my church across from the courthouse plaza watching those kids. On my mind, like weights, were the names and faces [...]
[reasons they leave #3] church antagonism towards science
![[reasons they leave #3] church antagonism towards science](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/science-150x150.jpg)
“God, why is the sky blue?” I was eighteen when I finally asked Him; not relying on the answers that I was taught all my life in school. His reply ended up being more deeply touching and radical than anything I’d ever heard, and, from that moment on, I felt in my heart that He [...]
on being a creative director [an interview with @blainehogan]
![on being a creative director [an interview with @blainehogan]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/blaine-hogan-150x150.jpg)
It’s all about the space. At least that’s what Blaine Hogan‘s focus is on. He wants to create a space where people can connect with God. As one of the Creative Directors at Willow Creek Community Church, he looks to integrate elements into the service that can help people experience that connection. In part one [...]
what would you change?
If God gave you the ability to instantly change one thing in the contemporary church what would it be? Now when you answer the question think about the word church. It could refer to your local church group, your denomination, your church community, the North American church, the Asian church, etc. Most churches are different [...]
introduction to paul’s letter to the philippians
The letter to the Philippians is a well known text in the Bible and the apostle Paul is the undisputed author. May the following serve as an introductory background concerning this great New Testament letter. The city of Philippi. The city of Philippi is located in Macedonia. It was named after Philip of Macedon who was the [...]
paul’s epistle to the philippians [online group study]
![paul's epistle to the philippians [online group study]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/basilica-b-philippi-100x100.jpg)
It’s likely that the first time the Gospel was preached in all of Europe, it was done by Paul in Philippi. And that was an interesting trip (see Acts 16)… After being “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,” Paul and his entourage arrived in Philippi to convert Lydia, get arrested for [...]
church projects: workday with @habitatsrq
We just asked. A quick email to the local Habitat for Humanity office helped us to discover how we can help on a local project. When we asked about who this home was for… The homeowner Lisa is a life-long resident of the Newtown area and has been a school bus driver for 12 years. [...]
who attends your church?
In a recent conversation with a friend I heard of a man who was asked to leave a local church because he was a cross-dresser and was unwilling to change his clothes when he came to church. Obviously each situation in a local church is different and should be handled according to what the Holy [...]
finding hope in the tornado zone [an interview with @WorldVisionUSA]
![finding hope in the tornado zone [an interview with @WorldVisionUSA]](http://bibledude.net/wp-content/uploads/joplin-tornado-church-100x100.jpg)
I was sitting in the delivery room with my wife early on the morning of April 28th, and we turned on the TV to pass a little time. Flipping over to the news, we saw video of a mile-wide tornado riping through Alabama. It was part of what’s been termed the 2011 Super Outbreak (Source: [...]
the indigenous church and the missionary
Foreign missionaries do not create churches, but simply help local converts develop their own spiritual gifts and leadership abilities and gradually develop their own churches. Missionaries provide teaching and pastoral care alone. The church is thus indigenous from the start. It has always been self-supporting, self-propagating and self-governing. What is an “Indigenous Church?” William A. [...]
support your local church
My hands pressed against my face and I stared at my bathroom wall. Most of my intimate conversations with God happen here. Yes, it’s unorthodox. I hope it’s not disrespectful. My thoughts run amuck, but one thought blazes through the rest: What’s going on? Maybe it’s the blogs I read where cynical and discouraged Christians [...]
small group resource review: the gospel in life
The Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything, a DVD series by Timothy Keller is a must for some groups of individuals, but I would suggest passing over on it for other individuals. The content is great. I am not sure anyone in today’s churches are more qualified and able to do such a series. I [...]
the worship setting and the congregational voice
I came across this video in the latest issue of @NeueMag, and it stirred some pretty powerful questions in my mind. And I’m sure you have some thoughts after watching the video and hearing statements like this… More and more it seems like people show up to church, and they expect to have a worship [...]
the pastor’s salary
Spurred on by a comment on my last column (the pastor and the secular job) concerning the salaries of pastors, I am curious what the smart and worthy readers of BibleDude.net think about the contemporary state of the income of full-time pastors. It seems to me that coming up with a “proper” salary for pastors [...]
the pastor and the secular job
I am a paid minister. Ever since I became an ordained minister back in February of 2002 most of my income has been supplied from a local church or parish. Getting paid to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a blessing and a privilege and something I certainly do not take lightly or for [...]
just an ordinary man
Brandon Cole is an ordinary man. He goes to work Monday through Friday, takes his son fishing or plays softball on Saturdays, and faithfully attends the church down the road each Sunday. And sometimes, the following Monday, I hear from the other guys, he loses his temper. Like I said, Brandon Cole is an ordinary [...]
on living transparently
or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, [...]
book review: the accidental anglican
Bishop Todd Hunter’s new book, The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church, is both informative and fun to read. His book has two purposes. First, he shares his own story of how he went from converting to Christianity during the Jesus movement to national leadership in the Vineyard Churches to becoming a [...]
book review: exponential
Dave and Jon Ferguson set out in Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement to show the reader how to move from a church that just grows by addition into a church involved in a movement that ultimately grows by multiplication. Jon and Dave are well known church planters and [...]
what makes good online community?
When I want to get to know someone, or just hang out with them, in my ‘offline’ life I always think about going to some cool hangout place like Starbucks and chatting over a cup of my favorite hot drink (venti non-fat no-water chai). In fact, as I write this my wife is out with [...]
epistle of james [group blogging project]
It’s New Testament wisdom literature… kind of like a ‘modern’ day Book of Proverbs. The Epistle of James is a book like no other in the New Testament. But that’s one of the things that makes it so special. Some of the greatest guidance we have on Christian living comes from this collection of sayings [...]
Apr 18, 2011 | Categories: bible literacy, the latest | Tags: bible commentary, bible interpretation, bible literacy, bible study, christian living, church, epistles, group blogging project, james, james the less, proverbs, wisdom | 3 Comments »