Tag: Links

The Real Reason Young Adults Drop Out Of Church –  The young adults who do drop out of church often lack a first-hand faith—a faith of their own—and a relationship with Christ that matters deeply in their own personal life apart from their parent’s pressure.

Our Moral Compass Is Turned Toward Self-Righteousness – Say “self-righteous” and people are likely to think of super-spiritual religious person who looks down on everyone else for their failure to attain the same standard of holiness. The truth is however, everyone is turned toward self-righteousness. 

No, I Won’t Pray For You –It’s the easiest thing in the world to say: “Yes, I’ll pray about that.” And it’s the easiest thing to neglect. The list of all the things I’ve said I’d pray for but then forgotten about would stretch from here to next year. So I’ve started to say, “No, I won’t pray for you.” I am still not entirely comfortable with it, but I think it’s the right thing to do.

The Most Satisfying Careers – Interesting list!

Prayer In The Facebook Age – Prayer must become a practice among our children, and if we can use the bait of social media to plant it into their daily affairs, then we may have faith that the call of God will, sometimes, entice them more than the news of their friends.  

How Do We Get Programmed To Crave Twitter Attention? – How do social media encourage expectations of instant audience response and routinize all sorts of information about ourselves?

A Brief History Of The Shopping Mall

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How A French Atheist Becomes A Theologian – If French atheists rarely become evangelical Christians, how much rarer it is for one to become an evangelical Christian theologian. So what happened? One might argue that with 66 million French people, I’m just a fluke, an anomaly. I am inclined to see it as the work of a God who says, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy” (Rom. 9:15).

A Romantic View Of Ministry – Without wishing to demean or diminish the value of the plethora of lawful and necessary vocations in the world, I would insist that being called into pastoral ministry is the highest calling a man may receive in this life. That being said, there is a danger for men who are pursuing ministry to fall into what some have called “a romantic view of ministry.” 

The Presence Of Mind To Be Present –  One practical way that love expresses itself is by our presence with others when we are actually with them.

Does Playing Music Boost Productivity? – Music is for the ears what coffee is for the mouth: fuel!

Resolve To Be A Life-Long Learner – Wisdom does not come automatically with age (Job 32:8–9). You’ll find plenty of foolish old fogies out there.

Leaving Behind A Jesus Created In Our Image – People want Jesus in their own image, which is ironic because Jesus came so we could be remade in His image.

Christmas Is For Sharing – Powerful commercial built upon a true story of truce in 1914.

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Discipleship In The “Age Of Authenticity” – Charles Taylor describes our secular age as “the age of authenticity,” a description that could easily fit the dominant narrative of most Disney films. 

5 Common Small Group Myths (and the Truth to Help Transform Your Group) – Small groups increasingly play a significant part in the body life of many congregations. No matter why your church has small groups, it’s clear that not everyone in your church will enter into these groups with the same expectations.

Sign Up For Paul Tripp’s Thanksgiving Devotional – Crossway invites you to sign up and receive a daily email devotional to help you prepare your heart for Thanksgiving. Adapted from his latest book New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional, these short devotions from Paul David Tripp only take 5 minutes to read, but will spur you to reflect on God’s Word all day long. 

What Does It Mean To Be Real? – Nobody likes a fake. Even in our airbrush culture, we despise counterfeits and crave authenticity. Everyone wants to be real. But what does it mean to be real? No one really knows. Or so it seems.

Don’t Waste Your Two Most Productive Hours Of The Day – Each morning, we get a brief window of time during which we’re most mentally capable of getting stuff done. And yet most of us waste that time. 

Three Things To Consider Before That Next Big Sin – Sin promises so much but delivers so little. Sin always amplifies its benefits and minimizes its cost. Sin always aims at the uttermost, always nudging toward utter death and destruction. And yet we love our sin, and secretly harbor it, and grieve to turn aside from it.

Never Give Up: The Homeless Teen Who Is Graduating Head of The Class

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Is The Era of Mass Evangelism Over: Why We Shouldn’t Rule Out Another Billy Graham – Evangelistic rallies are behind us. The future is local, personal witness. So goes the common wisdom in many evangelical circles. Greg Laurie and Luis Palau are exceptions to the rule, but evangelistic meetings and revival services are in the past. Right?

Do What You Love Or Do What Needs Doing? – When given the choice—which not everyone has—either to “do what you love” or “do what needs doing,” which should we do—pursue our passions or prioritize our opportunities? 

Do You Think Some People Are “Unsavable?”– Go ahead and think about the person whom you think is the most unlikely to become a Christian. Now, ask yourself why you think this.

The Biggest Heresy in America – Thanks to a recent survey by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research we now know the biggest heresy in America.

5 Ways The Doctrine of The Trinity Keeps Theology Healthy & Balanced – The Trinity summarizes the whole Biblical storyline. More precisely the formula “The Father sends the Son and the Holy Spirit” is a summary of the entire Bible.

Someday It Will Be Worth It – Life is really hard isn’t it? If you don’t think so, give it a little time. But don’t give up, no matter how bad the pain gets. You won’t be put to shame. Keep rejoicing and giving thanks in all things. You can’t imagine your reward and the joys that await you.

More Important Than Getting Things Done 

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Here’s Where Your Neighbors Are Theologically – A recent poll by LifeWay Research, sponsored by Ligonier Ministries, surveyed Americans on a variety of theological issues in order to, in the words of Stephen Nichols, “take the temperature of America’s theological health.”

Did “The Church” Hurt You Or “A Church?” – No one has ever been hurt by THE church. Many people have been hurt by A church. And the difference matters.

The Imminent Decline of Contemporary Worship Music – If the ratio of contemporary-to-traditional was rising twenty years ago, it is falling now; the ratio is now in decline, and I suspect that decline will continue for the foreseeable future. What follows is a painfully abbreviated list of eight reasons why I think this change is happening.

Evangelism Is Fueled By Knowing God Is At Work –  Have you become discouraged in evangelism? Have your eyes grown weary from looking for fruit? Are you wondering if the problem is more with you than them?

The Most Honest Atheist In The World – What a refreshing blast of humble and honest air! You cannot but admire such a sincere, transparent, and honorable atheist.

7 Reasons Some Churches Experience Revitalization (While Others Don’t) – I recently categorized those reasons some churches experience revitalization. I then compared them to churches that have not been revitalized. I found seven differences between the two sets of churches. These are the seven traits unique to the revitalized churches…

How Evangelism Creates Consumers

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Your iPhone Might Be Making You Less Religious – A new paper titled “Finding Brands and Losing Your Religion” in the Journal of Experimental Psychology opens with some lines you might not expect to find in a business journal: “What leads individuals to turn their backs on an omnipresent God? Another omnipresent force may be a viable culprit: brand name products.

This Coke’s [Not] For You: Life On The Margins – Coca-Cola printed over two hundred of the most popular names that represent the United States’ diverse population, but what of those whose names were not listed? 

How To REALLY Help Someone Change – You’ve got this person in your life, and they really need to change. What the heck are you supposed to do? Fortunately, the Bible gives us straight forward wisdom on how to really, actually help a person change. And odds are, the Bible’s wisdom probably runs contrary to your own ideas of how to help a person change. It certainly runs contrary to mine!

Bible Ignorance – People who have an excellent understanding of the Scriptures really impress me. If there’s one thing I detest, besides Manchester United, it’s Bible studies or theological discussions where the Scriptures function like the crumbs in a bag of chips: you get to them only if you’re desperate. 

Steve Jobs On Leadership And The Idol Of Approval – Jony Ive is the senior vice president of design at Apple and is known as the great design mind behind the products at Apple. In a rare interview, Jony shares some lessons he learned from working with Steve Jobs. In the interview, he recounts a conversation with Steve where Steve rebukes him for leading to be approved, for wanting approval from his team more than anything else.

Some Uncomfortable Questions – “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). Would you like others to remember your failings as long as you remember theirs?

Making Disciples

 

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The Problem With Evangelistic Programs –  In a culture of evangelism, the goal is for everyone to share, pray, and take opportunities as they come – not just the pastor and elders. Our responsibility is to be faithful witnesses—together.

I believe that if members spent half the time they had spent on programs in friendly evangelistic conversations with neighbors, co-workers, or fellow students, they would see a better response to the gospel and reach even more people.

Let Your Dim, Sin-Stained Light Shine Before The World – The gospel is not simply the best self-help news out there, nor the hottest parenting or marriage techniques to transform your kids and your communication. It is the message that God, through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Christ, has made a way for sinners to be forgiven and transformed. 

What’s The Difference Between Prayer And A Selfie?  – American religious life is, probably more than we realize or wish to acknowledge, self-obsessed. When we pray, for instance, we’re usually thinking about ourselves and those closest to us, according to a new survey from LifeWay Research about the frequency and content of prayer.

Does The Bible Prohibit Revolution? – Interesting read in regards to how certain passages of Scripture were interpreted during the American Revolution.

Two Obstacles Keeping Us From Making Disciples – If we really believe God has called us to this task, if we believe he is with us, if we believe he wants to use us for his mission, then why aren’t we making disciples? 

Successful Ministry – So, as we go about the task of making disciples and bringing the blessing of eternal life to others, Jesus is with us to bring success. It doesn’t mean everyone will respond, but some will. We are not Jeremiahs, faithfully ministering, but with no hope of success. Knowing that, we will be persistent and courageous in the task, whether we feel Jesus’ presence or not. For God will do what he has promised – bring blessing to all peoples.

Sometimes you just want to say Thank You!

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The Key To Radical Generosity: God Doesn’t Need You – I spent a lot of my Christian life feeling guilty over what I am not doing in the kingdom of God. It’s not that I am not committed to Jesus, living a sacrificial life, or intensely busy for the kingdom. I am—but there is just always so much more to be done, and sometimes I feel as if the needs of the world are crushing me.

Husbands, Hold Your Wife’s Hand & What We Won’t Regret – R.C. Sproul reflects upon his wife’s death and Kevin DeYoung, prompted by Sproul, shares some reflections of his own. Both of these posts are worth reading.

Pastor Saeed’s Letter To His Daughter Rebekka – Saeed Abedini, the American pastor imprisoned in Iran, writes an encouraging and beautiful letter to his daughter on her eighth birthday.

Sharing The Gospel Is Inconvenient – As I was walking from the restaurant to my car, I had one gospel tract in my pocket. I had purposed to give it to someone in route to my vehicle. Literally, that was my plan. I wanted to place the tract in someone’s hand, continue walking, get in my truck, and leave. That did not happen. When I gave the tract to a man standing in my path, he asked, “What’s this?”

Why a leading professor of new media just banned technology use in class – I teach theory and practice of social media at New York University, and am an advocate and activist for the free culture movement, so I’m a pretty unlikely candidate for Internet censor. But I have just asked the students in my fall seminar to refrain from using laptops, tablets, and phones in class.

Is Your Church Worship More Pagan Than Christian? – There is a great misunderstanding in churches of the purpose of music in Christian worship.

How To Fit Mission Into Your Schedule

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