There is nothing like changes in ones travel plan to reveal how we truly handle change. For myself, traveling with my family is a sacred obsession. I plan months ahead to get the best flights and reserve the perfect hotel to accommodate our sightseeing interests. As a family, we read travel books and blogs to find the out-of-the-way restaurants. With an itinerary in hand, we embark on our journey, only to be met with forced changes that were unforeseen. To say the least, I dont deal with a change in plans well, especially when I am on vacation. Changes for me equal stress, hassles, and more work.
In my last blog, I wrote on how to invite a guest speaker to a retreat well. This included knowing how to choose a speaker for your groups needs, giving enough time to prepare for the retreat, and serving him well as he arrives to the retreat. The goal for the time at the retreat is to serve the speaker well so that he would gladly want to return in the future without a second thought. This entry will concentrate on how to host the speaker well at a retreat.
Between 1750 and 1900, the total expanse of human knowledge had doubled. At that time of pre-technology human history, it took 150 years. Today, the growth of knowledge is occurring some 100 times faster. It is said that the entire sum of all known information, i.e., human knowledge, doubles every 1.5 years. By 2020 it is estimated that it will be doubling approximately every month and a half (72 days). Think about that
El 31 de octubre de 1517 Mart穩n Lutero clav籀 en las puertas de la catedral de Wittenberg en Alemania 95 tesis en las que criticaba abiertamente las ventas de indulgencias de la iglesia cat籀lica romana. Lutero inicialmente no ten穩a la intenci籀n de romper con la iglesia romana sino enfatizar la supremac穩a del evangelio basada en su simplicidad y a la vez en su gran profundidad. El evangelio o las buenas noticias de la salvaci籀n en Cristo es el fundamento esencial de la fe cristiana y desgraciadamente se hab穩a pervertido convirti矇ndose en una pr獺ctica totalmente ajena a su esencia. De manera que, las indulgencias eran una distorsi籀n absoluta del evangelio y, por lo tanto, dignas de ser repudiadas con severidad. Como resultado de esta acci籀n, Lutero inici籀 el movimiento conocido como la Reforma Protestante y cada 31 de octubre se conmemora como el D穩a de la Reforma.
I recently completed a manuscript on the book of Judges for Bakers Teach the Text Commentary Series. It took me about three and a half years to write the short text, and I want to share just a few highlights from what I learned during my study.
I recently watched a disturbing video. A camera caught the head of a certain political organization; well call him Lucius, attempting to convince a packed auditorium about the reality of moral law. Specifically, Lucius appealed to a real moral law above and beyond culture to argue against a right to homosexual marriage. What struck me most was less of what he said and more how he said it. Lucius taunted the crowd relentlessly, hurling insults like hand grenades. People often argue against moral reality by appealing to moral reality (e.g., there cant be absolutes because look at out how absolutely wrong the crusades and inquisitions were!). But there is an equal and opposite inconsistency, namely, arguing for moral reality while breaking the very morality we are defending (e.g., real morals like love your neighbor exist, you ignoramus!). In other words, Lucius problem was that he did not argue his worldview as if his worldview were actually true. No matter what he said, the way in which he said it made it seem like morals like love and respect were not to be taken seriously after all. The medium refuted the message.
Being a retreat speaker can be an enjoyable time but can also be a challenging time. The difference maker for which outcome occurs is largely dependent on the host for the speaker. Over the years, as both a speaker and also as a host, Ive seen some excellent treatment of speakers and also some situations that could use a lot of improvement. This will be a 2 part series of blogs in which I hope to highlight some ways to invite and host a guest speaker in which he would feel very well taken care of throughout the whole process. In this first part of the series, I will focus on how to invite a guest speaker to a retreat.
I am so very grateful for the life and legacy of Pastor Chuck Smith, Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and founder of the Calvary Chapel Movement. He entered the presence of the Lord early this morning after a bout with lung cancer.
El gran educador Antonio del Corro (Sevilla, 1527-Londres, 1591) es quiz獺 una de las figuras m獺s importantes y a la vez menos conocidas de la reforma espa簽ola. Es tambi矇n un ejemplo a imitar para todos los que seguimos a Cristo y sobre todo para los que nos dedicamos a servirle a trav矇s de la ense簽anza. El historiador Emilio Monjo se refiere a Antonio de Corro como un personaje que refleja el talante de la Reforma espa簽ola en cuanto a su libertad de pensamiento y palabra: una iglesia que hab穩a nacido libre por la acci籀n de la Escritura, y que se mantuvo libre con la Escritura tambi矇n en su exilio europeo".
2013 is the inaugural year of an innovative biblical commentary series edited by John Walton and Mark Straus (published by Baker Books). Its called Teach the Text because that is what it is about: helping people to teach the biblical text effectively. It combines literary, background and exegetical analysis with theological, pedagogical and homiletical discussion. But it does this in a surprisingly concise and accessible manner.
Yesterday I spent about 45 minutes talking and praying with one of my current students. Four months ago he was invited to step into the role of youth pastor in his church, and now finds himself responsible for preparing and teaching a message every Friday and Sunday. Two messages a week! And this for someone who has only done a bit of preaching in the past He shared with me (and I share this entire post with his permission) that the single hardest thing he has faced in his new role as youth pastor is the agonizing decision of what to preach each week.
Hace ya varios a簽os escuch矇 una frase que me ha hecho pensar constantemente y que refleja uno de los mayores peligros que enfrentan los l穩deres cristianos. La frase dice as穩: es importante no estar tan ocupado en la obra de Dios que nos olvidemos del Dios de la obra. El problema no es el servicio a Dios sino el enfoque y, en muchos casos, la motivaci籀n que nos mueve al servicio. Estoy convencido que uno de los pecados principales de muchos l穩deres es el 矇nfasis obsesivo por el trabajo y, por lo tanto, el descuido de lo esencial y verdaderamente importante como Dios, la familia y el cuidado personal.
The most recent issue of the Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care carried an article I wrote on the relationship between spiritual formation and mission. Here's an outline...
A recent check on Amazon.com discovered that over 25,000 books are listed under the category of Church Growth. This is an amazing number of books given the fact that the North American Church Growth Movement is only forty-one years old. With such a large number of books written on the topic of church growth, it is only natural to ask if there is any consensus on what factors are found in growing churches in North America. What are those factors? I thought youd never ask!
One of the little known facts of church growth is that pastors can stay too long. Long pastoral tenure can actually harm the growth of a church. Generally, the first twenty years of a pastors tenure are quite healthy, but it is very rare for a pastor to lead a church through a third decade with vitality and growth.
聶Por qu矇 las cosas son como son? 聶D籀nde est獺 Dios cuando el mundo lo ignora a l y a sus principios? Cuando Dios act繳a, 聶por qu矇 hace l lo que hace? Todos nos hemos hecho alguna vez preguntas dif穩ciles respecto a Dios y a nuestra fe. En muchas ocasiones, lo que vemos aparentemente no concuerda con lo que creemos acerca de Dios. 聶Qu矇 hacer en estas circunstancias? En Habacuc encontramos un libro b穩blico que nos muestra un modelo para enfrentar estos momentos y acrecentar nuestra fe en el Dios que sostiene el universo con su poder.
Peter Drucker wrote that in our knowledge-based society, information is the key resource and building block for every type of organization. Information is the new money, currency upon which organizations rise or fall. How may a local church respond to the new currency of information in today's world?
Good doctrine, good fellowship, good worship, and good prayer. Do they guarantee the growth of a church? Not necessarily. Sometimes churches do not do well, even though they have the basic ingredients. So, what's the problem? For some, it's a lack of communication to those in and outside the church.
You don't have a second chance for a good first impression. When it comes to first-time guests at your church, that statement is especially true. And it's that first impression guests leave with that determines whether they will be back. So, what is it that goes into a good first impression? Or, for that matter, a bad one?
I love my office. There are many reasons that I love my office. One is that I can store the many books that I own in there. Second, it is a place for study or reading in a quiet setting. But what I love most is that my office is a place for ministry and discipleship to occur. In other words, it is a safe place to meet students who are not only facing the challenges of academia but also the hardships of life. For this reason, the value of my office hours is priceless!
There is a pressure that is constantly battling around us to give people whatever they want. When you are younger it was labeled peer pressure. However, as we grow older the peer pressures continues throughout life, we just call them Expectations
Often times it seems that harder the church tries to be relevant, the more irrelevant we become. The Bible is full of this kind of upside down logic. The self-clingers lose themselves, the prideful end up humbled, those jostling to be first end last, and, now it seems, those trying the hardest to be relevant end up most irrelevant. Thaddeus Williams explores what happens when the church puts relevance to culture ahead of reverence to Christ.
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