Living Ministry Life Backwards – From The Washington Post: "For most of his career, Joshua Harris was the kind of evangelical pastor who chuckled at the joke that 'seminary' should really be called 'cemetery …' That is, until Sunday [1/25], when the 40-year-old announced that he is leaving to go to seminary, saying he needs formal education and training and more exposure and connection to other parts of Christianity … Harris said he expects that studying at Regent College, a graduate school of theology, will broaden his perspective, including on accountability." (Links to full sermon/announcement video.)
Getting Back on the Horse You Fell Off – After battling the Ebola virus in the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Dr. Rick Sacra is back in Liberia. "Thomas Curtis is senior pastor at the Sacra's church, Holden Chapel, and a long-time friend and prayer partner. He said watching Sacra battle Ebola this last year helped to grow the congregation's faith and united several area churches in prayer. He said members at Holden Chapel are excited that Sacra has returned to serve in Liberia. 'It wouldn't make sense to us if he didn't because he's not that kind of person…'"
Church Planting in Sin City – "The [San Francisco] Bay Area has never been perceived as religious: a 2012 Gallup poll found that fewer than a quarter of residents identify as “very religious” (defined as going to church weekly), as opposed to 40% of the nation as a whole. High salaries have drawn droves of well-educated millennials to the booming tech sector, which correlates with lower religious sentiment. So far afield from the Bible belt, the region is in fact seen as hospitable to all forms of Old Testament abominations: fornication, paganism—even sodomy. If you look around, however, you’ll notice a bumper crop of newer Christian ministries…"
The Danger of 'Winging It' in the Pulpit – While the Perry Noble Christmas sermon on God's "Big Ten" brought some major doctrinal concerns, perhaps a greater problem was the backstory on how the sermon happened at all: "Sometimes you are put on the spot and have to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you. This was not one of those occasions. Perry Noble got caught up in excitement and interrupted a program to deliver a message that he was in no way prepared to give. Preaching is not just some form of spiritual motivational speaking, it’s declaring the word of God. Even the goofiest sermon is a sacred act of worship that is meant to call those who hear to a deeper relationship with God. It’s just irresponsible to take that lightly. There is a real danger that can come from misrepresenting God’s word. I have no doubt that had Perry Noble spent a few hours preparing this message (instead of 10 minutes) that a lot of the controversy surrounding it would be almost non-existent."
Gideons Face Roadblocks in Georgia – Did the framers of the constitution intend this? For most Christians, clearly not, but it doesn't stop secularists from continuing to marginalize Christianity in public places. "Some board members are in favor of the proposal. However, school board attorney Tommy Coleman says it's unconstitutional for them to allow the Bibles to be distributed on school grounds. Glenn Phelps, with the Gideons, presented board members with a map showing many other South Georgia counties that allow Gideon Bibles to be distributed. But Coleman held that if it was happening, those school boards were not obeying the law … He said he doesn't believe there's any practical way to legally distribute Bibles to students at school."
Podcast of the Week – Steve Brown talks to CCM singer Jennifer Knapp about coming out (which he thinks might lose him a radio station or two). "I had people writing … the worst is the anonymous stuff … I've had people disagree with me in public spaces and come to shows and say they're disappointed in me, but those are pretty tame in comparison to the anonymous kind of stuff that you get … The thing I didn't anticipate that absolutely happened was an overwhelming responsive of positivity." 43-minute audio.
The Worship Article That's Got Everyone Talking – Perhaps it's just the fact that articles that begin with a number (6 Tips, 5 Principles, 7 Ways) always get traction; but it seemed that everywhere I turned last week, someone was including this in their own internet roundup. Check out 15 Worship Decisions We'll Regret Later. (Sample #10 – Not providing a venue for creatives to express their art as worship.)
Micro-Church Planting – "There are 60-some beds at the Kings Motor Inn, but it doesn’t seem like our friends find much rest here. People bounce from room to room, cars come and go, kids play in the parking lot. Everyone looking to escape, to feel some peace, but nobody really finding it." They call it Dope Church. Fife, Washington is on the I-5 corridor, which is also a corridor for drug and sex traffic. Some snapshots of ministry life at the motel.
Moody Press Offers To Trade Books – The conservative Evangelical publisher is inviting readers an opportunity to mail in their copy of 50 Shades of Grey and receive in exchange a copy of Pulling Back the Shades by Dannah Gresh and Dr. Juli Slattery. The latter book helps undo the damage done by the former. (You can also read a sample chapter at the site.) Related article: How 50 Shades of Grey Harms Women & Jesus Saves Them.
The Angst Your Church Sound-Tech Faces – "The stage was set. The equipment checked and double-checked. The band was plugged in and ready. Everything was as expected until they played the first song … They sounded horrible. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the musicians were horrible. The house mix sounded atrocious …" I've probably never seen an article that so well exposes the heart of that guy at the back who is under-appreciated and dealing with his own self-doubts.
One for the Road – A different kind of Baptism invitation: Don't come forward, go out the door.
Paul Wilkinson blogs daily at Thinking Out Loud.
