When Bible Superficials are not Superficial – How words and paragraphs are set out on the page can affect the meaning we take away from the passage, so Bible typography—especially punctuation, paragraphing and chapter divisions—actually matters. 48 minutes; some of it quite humorous; and most of it is translation-neutral.
Taking the Plus-One Approach – Kevin DeYoung: "Are you just starting out at a new church and don’t know how to get plugged in? Have you been at your church for years and still haven’t found your place? Are you feeling disconnected, unhappy, or bored with your local congregation? Let me suggest you enter the 'Plus One' program of church involvement … In addition to the Sunday morning worship service, pick one thing in the life of your congregation and be very committed to it."
Praying Together as a Couple – Last week the Stand to Reason blog had an excerpt from Tim Keller's book on prayer, in which Keller, in turn quotes his wife on the necessity of prayer: "Imagine you were diagnosed with such a lethal condition that the doctor told you that you would die within hours unless you took a particular medicine—a pill every night before going to sleep. Imagine that you were told that you could never miss it or you would die. Would you forget? Would you not get around to it some nights? No—it would be so crucial that you wouldn’t forget, you would never miss. Well, if we don’t pray together to God, we’re not going to make it because of all we are facing. I’m certainly not. We have to pray, we can’t let it just slip our minds."
When God is Silent – Tony Woodlief at InTouch Ministries: "[O]ver the years I have buried a child, ruined a marriage, and disappointed so very many people. In the midst of this life’s wreckage, there have been many long, dark nights when I scarcely had breath for prayer, let alone presence of mind to formulate the right words. Some nights I have lain across my bed, or on the floor, and I have wept, and hoped that tears suffice where words won’t come." Tony at his blog: "I’ve talked about saudade, a Portuguese word meaning the presence of absence, which is how you feel, every day for the rest of your life, when you have lost someone you love. Their absence is a weight, it is a presence … This weighty nothing is also what you feel when you cannot discern God’s response."
Saturday Morning at the Inter-Faith Service – This may resonate with some of you: "I am weary from a full and demanding week, and … to say that Sunday’s sermon is “unfinished” would be the height of understatement … I usually feel a little out-of-place at these ecumenical services, standing amidst all of my more impressive-looking clergypersons with their beautiful robes and vestments. I can only imagine how it looks from the pew. Who’s that guy with the scruffy sports coat who forgot to shave? What’s he doing up there? Who let him sit amongst the real pastors and priests?"
Women in the Bible: Entirely New Metrics – "There are 93 women who speak in the Bible, 49 of whom are named. These women speak a total of 14,056 words collectively—roughly 1.1 percent of the total words in the holy book. These are the findings of the Rev. Lindsay Hardin Freeman, an Episcopal priest who three years ago embarked on an unprecedented project: to count all the words spoken by women in the Bible. With the help of three other women in her church community—as well as highlighters, sticky notes and spreadsheets—Freeman painstakingly dissected the Bible's New Revised Standard Version."
Religious Freedom in Canada – Television journalist Lorna Dueck devotes her half-hour program Context to the background story on the accreditation of the Law School at Trinity Western University by the various law societies in each of the Canadian provinces. At broadcast time, the legal battle was being fought on five separate fronts.
Is Christian Music Worth Listening To? – Is it worshiptainment? Jonny Diaz, a popular Christian recording artist, John Thompson, an executive with Capitol CMG Publishing, and Dr. T. David Gordon, a professor of religion joined host Julie Roys on the weekend for a sometimes heated discussion at Up For Debate, a program on Moody Radio. 48 minute audio. Which leads us to …
Where They Are Now – Jesus music and modern worship pioneer Kelly Willard talks about her battle with Bipolar Disorder and how it intersected life circumstances: "I know that if I had not been on the correct medication(s) for my Bipolar Disorder, I would’ve ended up somewhere in a padded cell wearing a straight-jacket indefinitely. For you see, in 2004, my father died, my daughter committed suicide, my mother died, my 29 year marriage died (we divorced), and my stepmother took my inheritance from my father away from me."
Finally, Just in Case You Need It – A directory of American churches—no doubt incomplete—where the lead or senior pastor is a woman. "I sense that some people would really prefer to have a woman in the senior pastoral role and the directory can help them find such a church."
