From 6:4 Fellowship: While many Christians are relieved to see a conservative victory in the recent elections, it changes very little about the current moral state of our nation and the effects of the moral revolution we have seen over the last decade. Pastor and author, John S. Dickerson, forecasts the moral future of our nation … More Beyond a Moral Tipping Point?
For those who are struggling to support either candidate in this upcoming election, Ed Stetzer has a great series of posts at The Exchange blog at Christianity Today. This one below provides interesting food for thought. Note: I have no idea who this 3rd party candidate is, and am not hereby supporting him. But I resonate … More 2016 Election – Food for Thought
Christianity Today (September ’16) featured the findings of a LifeWay Research survey that asked 2,000 people who do NOT attend church what would draw them to one. The results were revealing: Skye Jethani, on the Phil Vischer Podcast, insightfully asked the following question while discussing this survey: What does it say about our deepest concerns and highest … More A Non-Anxious Presence in an Anxious World
Respected leader Bob Buford highlights diverse perspective on recent reports proclaiming the decline of Christianity Here’s the article from Exponential entitled Is It “The Big Drop”? Or Is the U.S. Church Becoming More Evangelical than Ever? I expect most of us have been seeing the media barrage reporting on the drop in the number of Christians in the United … More The Demise or Evangelicalization of the American Church?
The Book of Wisdom and Romans remind us that the awesome power of idolatry is found above all in its ability to shape the structures of society so that they suppress the possibility of perceiving the world in any way other than idolatrously. It is idolatry when much of the world is constructed on the … More QUOTABLES: The Subtle Power of Societal Idolatry
This is a powerful indictment on the contemporary church and our superficial level of commitment to the cause of being part of community-on-mission to reach our world. I’m praying that true communitas — a deeper togetherness formed around a shared mission or struggle — will characterized MainStreet in the days to come. Here’s Paul De Neui’s conclusion … More Communitas in the Church
The annual call for exercise has been issued. The new year sales flyers feature equipment of all kinds that will reduce our middle and tone our muscles. The “Y”, Snap Fitness and other workout businesses are offering their “first month free” deals. News shows are featuring the latest home workout gadgets and dietitians galore are … More Obese in Body, Mind and Spirit (by David Brown)
What do you think of Greg’s approach to churches addressing this issue? If you have time, watch the video, too. Here is a word I a shared this last weekend with Woodland Hills Church (where I’m senior pastor) in response to numerous questions I’ve received over the last several months. People have asked me why … More Greg Boyd on the Marriage Amendment
From Scot McKnight at Jesus Creed: The “most influential work of popular theology published this century…” What is it? I disagree with Ross Douthat’s answer (in his book Bad Religion) to this question because I don’t think that book has been influential even if it has been wildly popular. The issue here is how to define “influential.” By … More America’s Premier Heresy
I heard a commercial on the radio this morning for The Cremation Society. It said something like only 4% chose cremation back in 1960, increasing slightly to about 8% in 1980. Then they proudly announced that today over 50% are choosing cremation over traditional burial! So, what? What’s the big deal? Does it matter one … More Cremation vs. Burial: A Worldview Case Study
Have you seen this? What do you think? The middle part on Consumption is especially timely considering this season of hyper-consumption around Black Friday and the holiday shopping. What is the unique ‘Kingdom perspective’ Jesus followers ought to take on this polarizing, hotly politicized topic?
Jen Floyd Engel’s article at FoxSports.com on Tebow is worthy of consideration: What if Tim Tebow were a Muslim? Imagine for a second, the Denver Broncosquarterback is a devout follower of Islam, sincere and principled in his beliefs and thus bowed toward Mecca to celebrate touchdowns. Now imagine if Detroit Lionsplayers Stephen Tulloch and Tony Schefflermockingly bowed toward Mecca, too, after tackling … More The Tebow Factor
I want to commend David Mathis’ challenge to Christians as we approach Halloween this year. Thanks, Nancy, for sending me this. What if a crisp October wind blew through “the way we’ve always done things” at Halloween? What if the Spirit stirred in us a new perspective on October 31? What if dads led their … More ‘Halloween on Mission’ (David Mathis)
A very well-balanced, must read article on Evangelical Christianity and the influence of the late Rev. John Stott by New York Times by Nicholas Kristof. He begins: IN these polarized times, few words conjure as much distaste in liberal circles as “evangelical Christian.” That’s partly because evangelicals came to be associated over the last 25 … More Giving Evangelicals A Fair Shake (NY Times)
From Relevant Magazine, March 14-16, 2011 1. Are you in danger of neglecting evangelism in your passion for social justice? 2. Are you in danger of abandoning an affirmation of moral and intellectual truth? 3. Will you honor your marriage vows? 4. As you seek to respect the dignity of gay/lesbian people, have you wrestled … More Ron Sider’s Open Letter to Young Christians
“In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centered on the living Christ. Then the church move to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became and institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America, where … More QUOTABLES: On Consumer Christianity
Qideas.org is tracking the Ten Most Significant Trends of the past decade. Interesting stuff, for example: At the Q gathering in 2010, urbanologist Richard Florida observed that young adults meeting one another no longer ask, “What do you do?” They ask, “Where do you live?” More and more people will change careers in order to stay … More 10 Significant Trends of Last Decade
Jeremy L. Berg 