Lessons from the Altar Girls Controversy – David Murrow would be well-versed on the broader topic, so he picked up on this story right away. "Girls were excited to begin serving at the altar back in the ‘90s. But once girls became the majority (and performed so well) boys began losing interest. So more girls stepped forward. Eventually altar service became a female-dominated activity. At this point no self-respecting boy wanted to have anything to do with the altar because it was seen as something that girls did … Star of the Sea [parish] also noted that girls generally did a better job than boys—which further discouraged boys from serving. Boys are intensely competitive. Once a male realizes he’s no good at something (or a girl is better than he is) he often feels like quitting."
On Church Being Fun – This is an excerpt from John Piper at a recent conference. "I think one of the reasons so many worship services in America are so playful and amusing and entertaining and casual and flippant and jokey and trifling and downright silly is that there is so little sense that anything ominous is really at stake in this service. This service is for secure believers to have fun and for unbelievers to see them have fun; so they will know Christianity is fun. And “fun” has become the most common word among pastors to describe their happiness in ministry. It’s very telling …." There's also a link to the full transcript and video, also, at the same blog there's this discussion on 'Jovial Calvinism.'
Church Culture: The Welcome Card – "In other cultures (often far from our own), communicating through a card would be an affront, impersonal if not rude. Newcomers are welcomed only through a gracious and lively conversation, one that elicits all the information the welcome card seeks: name of spouse, names and ages of children, whether the visitor is new to the area, and so forth … And then there is the box next to 'Would like to know more about being a Christian.' You just don’t say that to the stranger sitting next to you in the pew, not in this culture. But on this welcome card, you can hint at your sense of emptiness, your guilt or shame, your fear of death—and your desperate hope that there is an answer."
Things We're Not Supposed to Think or Say – "We need to dialogue about common doubts evangelicals often feel they’re not allowed to express." Sample: "Both Jesus and Paul held progressive views about women. In the cultures of Jesus and Paul, men were not even supposed to speak to a woman in public. The fact that Jesus included women among his followers was nothing less than scandalous. While scholars disagree on Paul’s view of women overall, Paul clearly credits women as leaders within the church…"
Essay of the Week – On 2015 Superbowl spots: "Of course, the art of advertising is to make the audience associate something positive with their product. It doesn’t matter if you put a sexy woman next to a big sandwich or a powerful looking guy in the driver’s seat of a car. You want the audience to make subliminal associations between the product and what people really want … Unfortunately, there isn’t much about our culture that makes it easy for us to have the things that really matter to us … People are the only things in the world that can give other people what they deeply, truly want. We cannot substitute a product for a person."
Christians and Superstition – "We also need to remember that Christians are not immune to superstitions either. Often, without even meaning to, we behave in a superstitious way. For example, if $6.66 pops up on a cash register while buying groceries, some Christians freak out and ask to pay another price. Christians might cross their fingers (to make a cross), an old Christian superstition, for good luck and protection. Or a bride might not want her groom to see her before the wedding so she doesn’t bring bad luck into the marriage."
Conversations After Church – Read a synopsis and watch a 2-minute preview of a forthcoming documentary: "Six ordinary individuals, committed to the church and seeking to serve God, encounter a dark night of the soul moving them beyond organized religion through the door of a personal faith crisis. What started out as a mounting tension between personal experience and the old forms of faith and community forces each individual to radically reexamine their worldview and change their lives to move beyond the fragmentation."
Secret Church Simulcast – The next installment of David Platt's Secret Church multi-site live events happens near the end of April. This one deals with the topic of the church and culture. "How does a Christian respond to the rapid rise of so-called same-sex marriage and the increasing acceptance of homosexuality? How does a Christian live in a world of sex slavery and rampant pornography, a world where babies are aborted and widows are abandoned? How does a Christian think in a culture of pervasive racial prejudice and limited religious liberty? What does a Christian do in a church that exalts prosperity amidst a world of extreme poverty?" On the technical side, all your church needs to host this is a reliable, high-speed internet connection. On the commitment side, you need people willing to stay up until midnight! Costs vary by church size.
The Eclectic Jewish Community in Wal-Mart's Hometown – "'The fascination in the Bible Belt with who we are and what we believe is amazing,” said [Rabbi} Lennick, who developed a 'Taste of Judaism' course to address the locals’ desire for knowledge. 'I’m constantly invited to teach church classes. I look at this as an opportunity to break down stereotypes and build alliances.' Interfaith families, and even non-Jews, often attend services at Etz Chaim. Some come to expand their understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition, while others are seeking new answers. In the latter category is one family of 10—with kids ranging in age from 9 to 24—who came to Lennick as devoted Baptists. After asking a lot of questions, they have become regulars at Etz Chaim and are now pursuing 'becoming Jews by choice,' as the rabbi put it." Read about the strange, interfaith, syncretistic world of religion in Bentonville.
From The Archives – (By internet standards, February three years ago constitutes 'archives.') "Since some are saying that we are entering a period of heightened tension between clergy and laity in the American church, it might be helpful to recognize some areas in which we might diligently work in our understanding of each other … Pastor and people need to work hard at communicating at a heart level to get each other …"
Paul Wilkinson edits the daily devotional, Christianity 201
