February 2012
2 posts
IS THERE A CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO POLITICS?
we are in the midst of the election cycle, and there is an ongoing political debate raging in our culture right about now. question: as a believer, how should i understand the role of government? what is my responsibility to government? is there a place for political activity within a faith based life? if so, what is it? and how does this translate into authentic christianity lived out in...
A GROWING BODY, EXACTLY WHAT CHRIST HAD IN MIND
hi again. in a related post i suggested the body of christ can and should grow in 2 distinct ways. the body should grow to full spiritual maturity so that it can realistically function as the body of christ. but out of that reality should come the 2nd type of growth, reaching other people for christ. If you remember christ’s teaching in matt 28:18-20 he tells us to make disciples of all...
January 2012
4 posts
SPIRITUAL MATURITY AND BODY LIFE
let’s play a game of word association…okay 2 words…spiritual gifts. what comes to mind? i am not sure why, but spiritual gifts are one of the more controversial subjects within christianity. this is unfortunate since spiritual gifts are significant as far as spiritual growth, body life, and function are concerned. allow me to explain.
growing to full spiritual maturity is a...
THE BODY OF CHRIST...GROWTH
hi again. as i mentioned last time, i want to focus on the body of christ for awhile. if you have not read my last note, i would encourage you to do so as it will serve as a foundation on this topic. the specific area i want to touch on today is the growth of the body.
as i understand it, growth can be defined in 2 ways, both of which are important to our understanding of the body. for...
THE BODY OF CHRIST
religious verbiage can be tricky business. as an evangelical i am of the conviction the bible teaches we must personally receive jesus as our savior and lord. i will spare you all the subtle nuances and details. if you have questions regarding this i would be happy to go into the details, it’s just not where i’m going right now. so getting back on track, how would you understand...
OLD DOGS...NEW TRICKS
happy new year. a common refrain these days. but why? i’m sure there are many answers. do you think in part it could be tied to the idea that as the new year approached we did some reflecting, noticed aspects of the status quo we were unhappy with, and fully intend on changing? the idea being this year will be better because of those changes? we call those things “new years...
December 2011
3 posts
DO YOU BELIEVE...WHY???
hi everyone. i hope each of you experience the merriest of christmases and the most blessed new year. having said that, can i ask whether you really believe the christmas story? i’m not trying to be blasphemous or anything, but when you look at the christmas story, it’s a bit unbelievable isn’t it??? i mean most of us gave up on the idea of santa claus, elves, reindeer, the...
IS THERE A LESSON IN HERE SOMEWHERE???
hi everyone. can i bring up something god has been impressing on me lately? one of the things we believe as followers of jesus is history is “his story”. we believe god has everything under control and events will play out according to his plan. now that gets complicated, and conjures up many questions i’m not really planning on dealing with today. you are welcome to ask...
UNITY OF THE SPIRIT
i have had a pretty interesting week i’d like to share with you. the reason i found it interesting is because of the unexpected happy ending. it has been my experience over the years that we christians are sometimes walking contradictions. we are challenged in scripture to love our neighbor as our self. to consider others before our self. to bear with each other. to work very hard at...
November 2011
3 posts
PLANNING TO FAIL...OR FAILING TO PLAN???
hi everyone. it’s hard to believe, but this thursday is thanksgiving and a month later it will be christmas. for many of you, this next month will be a blur. i’d like to consider that for a moment. may i invite you to think about december 26 with me for a moment? how are you gonna feel? exhausted or energized? encouraged or depressed? fulfilled or empty? content or longing for...
tumblrbot asked: WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER WHEN YOU ARE IN A BAD MOOD?
BIG TROUBLE IN HAPPY VALLEY
i assume most of you have heroes, i know i do. they come in all shapes and sizes, and connect to my life in a number of ways. they consist of family, teachers, coaches, pastors, professors, peers, etc. pretty common stuff. sometimes they are celebrity types, you don’t really know them, but you admire them. joe paterno, the head football coach from penn state university has been one of...
October 2011
1 post
A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE
hi everyone. it has been a while since i last posted anything, but this morning something caught my eye. our senior bible study is working through the book of exodus. in chapters 35-40 we have the story of the construction of the tabernacle. what jumped out at me is the problem the builders encountered in chapter 36. the story begins in chapter 35 where moses directs the people to bring an...
September 2011
1 post
A JOURNEY INTO MUSIC INTERPRETATION
hi all, i’d like to invite you to join me in a bit of a journey. along the way i hope we’ll learn something. you might also get a sense of the stuff that runs through my mind…not sure if that’s a good thing. anyway, i have recently been listening to ben harper quite a bit..i may have a hint of ocd in me. he has a song called Amen, Omen i have put the lyrics below.
...
August 2011
3 posts
DENIAL, BLAME SHIFTING, AND EXCUSE MAKING
hi everyone. have you noticed any of the economic hysteria these days??? even those of you least interested in politics probably haven’t been able to escape the coverage of the “debt” deal and subsequent downgrading of our credit worthiness as a nation from AAA to AA+ by standard and poors. now before you zone out, let me assure you this will not be an economic/political...
CATCHING GOD RED HANDED
hi folks. you would expect to find god at every church service. in some ways i suppose that does happen. but if we are honest there are some gatherings that are kind of flat. others may have connected with god, but we went away feeling as if that was an exercise in futility. i don’t think this is a god problem…i think it is a human problem. i know here at prescott everyone who...
IN HONOR OF SHARK WEEK
since it is shark week…and since my friend tim just loves sharks…i thought i might share the latest research. turns out there is a strong familial bond between shark families. this was discovered as they did research into shark attacks. what is amazing is how they found this out.
turns out the researchers stumbled upon a father shark teaching his son shark how to attack. they were...
July 2011
3 posts
THE DREADED 3AM PHONE CALL
the phone rang this morning at 3:17 am, rarely is this a good thing. one of the long time members of our church had been in the hospital the past 2 weeks with a variety of very complicated, inter-related health issues. on the phone was her sister, earlier that morning fran had once again gone into cardiac arrest, it did not look good, she was on a respirator, but they were not sure if she would...
CAN WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE CASEY ANTHONY...
hi again. may i ask you to put your thinking caps on for this one? the reason i say that is because i really do believe there is a right and a wrong way to live. i believe the bible explains the difference. and i believe the uproar that has resulted from the casey anthony case is a great opportunity to evaluate what is going on in our lives.
first, i would suggest there is a problem that is...
DOES THE BIBLE HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT JUSTICE
hi everyone. unless you have spent the last month in the wilderness, you know there was a huge trial taking place in florida regarding the death of a 2 year old little girl. the mom was the accused. the verdict came back today. not guilty. i bring it up because we are working our way through the book of ecclesiastes in our sunday morning worship services. i have been working ahead and today...
June 2011
1 post
WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS...
hi everyone. it has been a while since i last posted anything. mainly the result of nothing really catching my eye…until today. and it comes from an unlikely source. one of the things i do regularly is participate in a bible study with our seniors. we have been studying exodus. now the beginning of exodus is an exciting story, but after the israelites arrive at mt. sinai the story line...
May 2011
1 post
DON'T LOOK NOW...THE END IS NEAR
i’m thinking by now most of you have heard that on may 21 (this saturday) the world is supposed to come to an end. now, to be honest, i haven’t paid much attention so i can’t tell you much by way of details. but it does give us an opportunity to think about “what if…?
here is what i’m gettin at. it is very similar to a funeral. we come to a memorial service...
April 2011
3 posts
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 8
we have come to the last chapter, entitled ”the end is here”. i would describe it as classic rob. he shares a bit of his own personal journey, how he prayed in his bedroom as an elementary aged little boy, with his parents, to receive christ. he affirms this as a life changing moment, but also offers some critique as this is some what what he has been writing against throughout this...
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 7
hello again. i just finished chapter 7 and things are getting clearer. i am not sure that is good news. let me explain. rob has a way of explaining all things wrong with christianity. and i think we can all agree, there are many things wrong. (please understand i am not referring to what christ offers, i am referring to how we humans have conceptualized and practice what we think christ...
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 6
hello everyone. having read chapter 6, i am not sure how i feel. let me explain. the chapter is entitled “there are rocks everywhere”. this probably makes no sense unless you understand the context. early in the chapter he takes a story from the exodus of israel from egypt. how at a point in the journey they had no water and began to complain. how god instructed moses to strike...
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 5
hooray! the fifth chapter in love wins is pretty straightforward truth centering on the power of the cross. it is entitled “dying to live”. it starts with a survey of a number of passages focused on the reason for the cross and explaining how they all contribute to the many layers of redemption. it is well done. there is a strong play on the old dramatic reading “it’s...
March 2011
7 posts
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 4
hi everyone, here are my thoughts on chapter 4. the title for this chapter is: does god get what god wants? his answer is basically, god would not be god like if this were not true. he writes in typical bell style, throwing out questions like “how great is god”? great enough to achieve what god sets out to do, or kind of great, medium great, great most of the time, but in this, the...
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 3
in chapter 3 love wins looks at how we understand hell. rob starts with a premise he wants to argue against. he paints a picture of god as being love, mercy, grace, and kindness unless we haven’t repented, confessed, been saved, at which point god punishes forever. he asks, is that the christian story? i would suggest only if you do not understand god and want to portray him...
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 2
as chapter 2 begins, the questions of chapter 1 begin to be replaced with answers. but it is quickly evident that the inaccuracies of the questions in chapter 1 continue in chapter 2. this is obvious in the fact that most of chapter 2 is an argument against a picture that was on the wall of rob bell’s grandmothers house. according to rob, this picture represents the traditional...
ROB BELL: LOVE WINS: CHAPTER 1
hi all. thought i would give you an update on love wins. i have now read the first 2 chapters. i thought it might be easier to share my thoughts as i read to prevent a very long review when i finally finish.
first, when you subtitle the book heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived, can we agree this is a pretty serious subject? i say that because it is part of my...
HELP...AM I BECOMING A CRANK?
hi gang, here is the question of the day. i’m driving to the office this morning. you may not be aware of this, but it is GOLF TUESDAY! after all the rain, very much needed. anyway, i’m driving in, listening to k-love and a familiar song begins to play. that’s what faith can do. wonderful song, completely enjoyed it…right up till i began to think, are these lyrics...
Rob Bell controversial new book: Love Wins
hi everyone. the big day has arrived and rob bell’s new book “love wins” has finally been released. before its release it stirred up quite a bit of controversy. having watched his interview on good morning america, i don’t see that controversy going away any time soon. let me be clear. i have not read the book, i will shortly. personally i have always enjoyed rob...
February 2011
1 post
IN TIMES LIKE THIS...
i think it is safe to say we are living in some pretty crazy days. the middle east is in chaos. the weather is out of control (depending on where you live). the economy is depressing, and the politicians do not seem to be up to the challenge of addressing these problems. the nation is becoming more divided. and with unemployment high, commodity prices on the rise, housing depressed, and work...
January 2011
3 posts
NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS
having spent the past 2 posts trying to understand why something like the AZ shooting could occur, i would like to shift gears in a very positive direction. the downside of life outside the garden is evil exists. it rears its ugly head within us, and around us all the time. we have hurt others and been hurt. is there an answer?
thankfully there is. the bible teaches god is love. in his love...
WHY ARE WE SHOCKED
hi again. i want to dig a bit deeper into the shooting in az by asking a difficult question, why are we shocked? now, don’t misread me. i feel bad those 6 people died, and many others wounded. but as i mentioned last week, these kind of tragedies are far too common in our history. this is sad…but true. do you ever wonder why? i do.
if you follow the news, there are many...
WHAT'S BEHIND THE AZ SHOOTING???
hi all. haven’t blogged in a while, and am a bit hesitant to jump into the current cultural reality since the shooting in AZ on saturday. it’s not because i don’t have thoughts on the matter, more because 1. i try to interject a christian ethic in my thoughts. 2. my thoughts are easily misunderstood. 3. they may not be politically correct. but, let’s wade in...
November 2010
2 posts
keeping score and other human problems
hi out there. haven’t written in awhile, largely because much of what is happening is same old, same old, and my mind has been going in several different directions so it was hard to focus on a singular thought. but i finally decided to settle on one, largely because of the extended discussion i had in 2 different bible studies on the same issue. this past sunday we covered matthew...
SALT AND LIGHT: CULTURAL DISTINCTIVENESS
hi all. i don’t know about you, but i have gained a whole new appreciation for the sermon on the mount as we have been working through it these past few weeks. sure some of what jesus taught was so familiar, that i really wasn’t excited by it (i am probably not supposed to say those kind of things but this is not the first time i have studied this section of scripture). but as often...
October 2010
3 posts
what is the role of religion in authentic...
we have been working through the sermon on the mount in our sunday morning worship service. this week we launch into chapter 6. as i began looking into what jesus says i began to question the role of religion in christianity. let me explain.
the word religion is used in many ways. in fact, i have met people who did not really see a difference between christianity and religion, to them they...
what do you think jesus is getting at?
last sunday we were looking at the beatitudes (matthew 5:1-12). each stanza starts with the phrase “blessed are” and then jesus describes these blessed people. the idea of blessed is these people have a sense of personal happiness, they feel fortunate about life. some of them are somewhat simple to get, at least it seems that way to me. meekness, hungering and thirsting for...
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
hi everyone. was doing some catching up on the news earlier today and came across something that really presents a cultural dilemma for our politically correct state. and since it involves golf, which i enjoy, i thought i would mention it and see what you all think. let me explain.
there is a former male swat team member suing the ladies professional golfers association (lpga) and the...
September 2010
2 posts
HOW ABOUT THAT INTERNATIONAL BURN A KORAN DAY???
hi all, are you sick of the discussion over the pastor in florida planning to burn a koran on 9/11 yet? i am, but probably for different reasons than most. let me say right up front, as a pastor i think this is about as stupid of an idea as i can imagine. christianity is already fighting an up hill battle in our culture. this only makes us look worse b/c every christian will be labeled as...
WOW...THIS IS THE BEST WE HAVE?
hi everyone. i will indulge my sarcastic side by sharing a wonderful interview i saw on msnbc’s financial channel. it was with christina rohmer, one of our presidents financial advisers who is going back to teach at cal berkley. since she was leaving, i guess they wanted to hear from her one last time.
anyway she smiled and said with a straight face all was right with the financial...
August 2010
4 posts
DEFINING CHRISTIANITY...WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A...
hi everyone. been doing some thinking in the area of what exactly does it mean to be a christian. the catalyst for this thinking is all the confusion over president obama’s religion, the glenn beck restoring honor rally, a book i’m currently reading entitled “church is a team sport”, and a study i am doing sunday mornings where we are working our way through the book of...
WHEN HELPING HURTS CONTINUED
hi again. last week i mentioned a great book i read this summer entitled when helping hurts. in last weeks post i focused on how the authors go beyond a simplistic definition of poverty, choosing instead to define poverty in terms of a poverty of spiritual intimacy, poverty of being (identity), poverty of community, and poverty of stewardship. b/c poverty is a multi-layered problem, we need...
WHEN HELPING HURTS
read an eye opening book this summer entitled “when helping hurts” by steve corbett and brian fikkert, moody press. what i liked, beyond that i had finally found a resource that agreed with many of my thoughts :), was the depth of thinking on a very important subject, near and dear to us as christ followers. let me explain.
one of the great values the christian community holds is to...
WELL, WELL, WELL, WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT...
for those of you not following the news, yesterday a federal judge in san francisco ruled that prop 8, passed in 2008, amending the state constitution to define marriage in california as between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional. one judge has just nullified the vote of 7 million californians. now, i know what the spin will be. of course this is the correct decision, it is basically the...
July 2010
4 posts
A TASTE OF DEFEAT AND A TASTE OF GOD
hi all. wanted to touch on what i find to be a very important part of the story of shadrach, meshach, and abednego in daniel 3. first, because i believe satan is an actual personality in scripture, i believe in the idea of spiritual warfare. with that in mind, i have no doubt satan was behind the idea nebuchadnezzar should build his great image and demand everyone bow and worship under threat...
digging deeper into unintended consequences
last week i thought out loud about the shirley sherrod debacle. as far as i can tell, its another in a long line of unintended consequences that happen so often. here is what i mean, we highly value being ”politically correct” in our society. this is to protect minorities from harm. yet it was political correctness that led to shirley, a black woman being fired/forced to resign.
...
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE
hi folks. if you have been following the news you are well aware of the controversy involving shirley sherrod. as if there isn’t enough out there already, i will throw my two cents out there.
first, let me say as clearly as i can. i do not think political correctness should be a national priority or value. in fact, i believe it is political correctness that is at the heart of this...