Ten Secrets of Senior (Lead) Pastors – "Most pastors walk with a degree of uncertainty about our abilities to do the work we feel called to do. We intellectually know this is designed by God. It keeps us in prayer and walking by faith. But, we are human and the demands upon us and our insecurities in them can also make us question at times whether we have what it takes to do the work before us … A senior pastor’s insecurities can cause them to become overprotective of their reputation and position … The pastor too can experience loneliness … some pastors have no true friends either inside the church or outside … Most senior pastors have been burned by someone they once trusted."
Interacting with Your Mormon Friends – "We Christians seem to have taken our worldview for granted. We are apathetic residents of a state while Mormons are passionate citizens of a nation. Many of the Christians I’ve taken to Utah are amazed by how strongly Mormons seem to resist our efforts to share the truth. That’s because we, as Christians, mistakenly think Mormons are as loosely affiliated with their religious worldview as we are with ours. That’s simply not the case. Mormons don’t easily walk away from their faith, even when they’ve discovered it’s untrue."
On The Religious Freedom Reformation Act – "One of the drawbacks of having friends on both sides of an issue is that they bombard you with articles and stories supporting their side of the issue and this is most likely to happen in our culture on LGBT matters. My pastor sent me, and the rest of our church, link after link explaining 'our' side of the issue and making it clear that 'their' side was not only wrong but mean. My progressive neighbor did the same from the other point of view. I was tempted to just forward their e-mails to the other. This is life in America today, particularly on LGBT issues. One side yells at the other that they are ignorant of the law, and that they hate America, Christians and religious freedom. The other side yells that the RFRA is nothing more than a hidden attempt to legalize Christian discrimination of LGBT individuals. Everyone is talking; nobody is listening, at least not to those who differ."
Billy Graham Statue at the U.S. Capitol – "A move is afoot to replace a statue of a racist former governor with one of evangelist Billy Graham in the U.S. Capitol building. The change would mean North Carolina is represented by two Western North Carolina notables in the National Statuary Hall. The other leader honored is former governor and Buncombe County native Zebulon Vance. General Assembly lawmakers have proposed replacing the statue of Charles Brantley Aycock … Aycock was chief spokesman for the White Supremacy Campaign when the bloody riot resulted in the overthrow of the elected local government in the only documented coup d'etat in U.S. history."
20 Minutes into the Future – It is said that if Americans want to see their religious future, they need only look at their neighbor to the north, Canada: "You don’t need to be a churchgoer to pray. That’s one of the findings of a sweeping new poll on faith from the Angus Reid Institute, conducted in partnership with Dr. Reginald Bibby of the University of Lethbridge. The recent survey of 3,041 Canadians showed that even as our affiliation with organized religion continues to decline we still believe—just in our own, often deeply personal, ways." Results are presented in The National Post as a large infographic.
It's Not Just The Marriage Part of Gay Marriage – This article dealt primarily with the impact of a shifting paradigm on homosexuality and its impact on "the Black Church." But going beyond wedding ceremonies, invitations, cakes and flowers are a whole host of other issues which the author summarizes in a list at the end of the piece; the impact on facility rental, membership, funeral protocols, dedication of adopted children, and also the legal ramifications of any decisions on issues like these.
New App is a YouVersion Meets Instagram – "Parallel feels a lot like Instagram, but instead of filters, it has you tag your photos with biblical verses. In doing so, it attempts to make a universal text feel personal, and shareable, in the same way one might post a photo on any other social media … Unlike Instagram, Parallel seems to do away with geotagging and clear timestamps, so all the images live in a timeless and space-less world of the biblical verses they represent—and instead of liking them, users can 'crown' them. The idea is that, in time, the app will populate the Bible with these photographic interpretations."
What are Our Children Learning Spiritually? – "Far before a child can comprehend his purpose to worship God, the child learns how to worship. What happens with most parents, though, who see only the need to teach their child’s head, is that in order to teach such truths, they are willing to use almost whatever means necessary to do so. So they use puppets to teach Bible stories, never realizing that their children are learning to view biblical truth as something light and trivial. Or they use cartoons to teach moral lessons, never realizing that their children are learning to view morality as something silly or 'adventurous.'"
The Pope Has Changed Rome Forever – The Wall Street Journal "In his two years in office, the pontiff has drawn attention for his unconventional gestures—such as personally welcoming homeless people to the Sistine Chapel last month—but those gestures matter most as signs of the radical new direction in which he seeks to lead the Catholic Church: toward his vision of the promise of Vatican II. Both the acclaim and the alarm that Francis has generated as pope have been responses to his role in the long struggle over the [Second Vatican Council]'s legacy. Pope Francis, the first pontiff to have received holy orders after Vatican II, is very much a son of the council."
Inside John Wesley's Prayer Closet – From Jared Brock's new book, A Year of Living Prayerfully: "… Wesley kept up his daily regimen by going to bed at nine o’clock and waking at four o’clock, insisting that everyone in his household do the same. He would begin his day by studying the Scriptures and praying. The room that would later become known as the “Power House of Methodism” is about the size of a modern walk-in closet, perhaps six by seven feet, with hardwood floors and a large window to let in plenty of light. When we entered Wesley’s study, I noticed a very odd, spring-mounted bouncy chair. 'This was Wesley’s workout chair,' the guide said. 'For doing assisted squats.'"
Finally… – Maybe Creflo Dollar can get that $65M for a jet after all. (The website that published this makes it all the more interesting.)
Paul Wilkinson blogs daily at Thinking Out Loud and is the editor of Christianity 201. Inclusion of articles here does not imply endorsement.
