Tag: Mission


The Bible as Human Literature

26
May
Lucas and I read this text on Easter while in Kenya together

Photo: Lucas, my youngest son, and I read this text on Easter while in Kenya together

—————————————–

The Bible is only human literature.

Breathe.

I have a question I want to consider, and I have asked this question at the end of this post. But let’s begin with this lesser question:

Why does embracing the Bible as human literature disorient some of us?

Perhaps it is because many of us are so used to being told that the Bible is a book written by God — The Bible is God’s word. But the Bible is not written by God. It is written by humans.

Having said that, does claiming that the Bible is only human literature mean the Bible is false? Continue reading »

108 comments » | Culture

When it Comes to the Bible, Many Christians are disciples of Descartes

26
May

vs2
It’s 1983.
I’m in a Baptist church.
That’s scary enough.

I’m sitting before a council of men who are testing my readiness to enter the ministry.

It isn’t going well.

First of all, I didn’t know that one had to “enter” the ministry.

But, in order to fulfill one of the qualifications to participate in launching a new church, something I was curious about, I “needed” to be ordained because soon I would be “baptizing new believers”.

I didn’t know you had to be ordained to baptize new converts. In reality, I didn’t even know you had to baptize new converts.

Secondly, they’re asking me questions and I’m getting all the answers wrong.
Continue reading »

27 comments » | Culture

Frameworks for Mission: Vertical or Horizontal Conversion

18
January

In my last post (Frameworks for Mission: Direction or Dogma) we looked at the experience of Cornelius as described by Luke in Acts chapter 10. I asked the question, Are we saved by cognitive acceptance of certain doctrines or by the direction of our lives?   stained-glass-image.jpg Continue reading »

12 comments » | Evangelism, Mission

Relevant vs Trendy

27
August

1960sHave you looked at a photo from the 60′s and the 70′s lately? A couple of months ago, I stopped by Starbucks with my wife, Niza. Starbucks had recently begun an emphasis of getting back to their roots. In conjunction with that theme they had a photo from the early 70′s of their original Starbucks store.

We stopped to look at the photo and Niza made an interesting observation. Of the customers that stopped by to get coffee on that day in the early 70′s, some were wearing typical business suits or mainstream clothing. That’s when she opened my eye to something interesting. Continue reading »

9 comments » | Featured, Leadership, The future, World Views

16 Ideas that have stayed with me — A List

1
June

Have you ever mapped out your life? Just recently I was thinking about the Ideas that have stayed with me over the years. Some of these are from books, while others are from conversations. Though some ideas are difficult to separate from the experiences that carry them, these are not primarily experiences that have shaped me. That’s a different list. Nor is this a list of my favorite books. Another list. These are ideas that have stuck with me over time. Here are 14 of the most significant ones. Continue reading »

7 comments » | Leadership, Personal/Miscellaneous

Getting Under Your Skin

15
May

The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona made headlines three years ago when it began to “tag” it’s patrons with microchips embedded in the arm. The chip is used to identify people when they enter and pay for drinks.

So, let’s say, you go to the Baja Beach Club. A nurse preps you with a local anesthetic. She then injects the micro chip into you arm with an intimidating syringe. Now you can enter the Club and listen to the DJ as he mixes music and order a drink from the bikini-clad waitress. She sweeps the tag reader across your arm and bingo, you’re good to go. It seems a bit much for a Piña Colada.

“I know a lot of people have fears about it,” [the Club's co-owner] says. But he points out that many people already have piercings and tattoos. “Having a radio-transmitted chip under your skin makes you very unique,” he says wryly.

All this might seem a bit extreme….But as go the bohemians, so, eventually, go the rest of us.

Here’s the prediction. People now aged 50 or under “are quite likely to have some form of wireless gizmo attached or implanted in their lifetime.” (The Economist 2007, April 28 Issue)

See you in the Mystic …

6 comments » | Culture, Featured, Our World

A List: What I’m thinking about (Part 1)

16
April

[youtube YsCR9Y4Ymvo]

Welcome back. You belong here. I’m shooting-from-the-hip but here goes.

Questions I’m asking #1 – 32…

1. We are exiting the postmodern and entering a new world dominated by genetic engineering. What shape will the gospel take when men no longer die?

2. Why do people still get excited about being postmodern when as followers of Jesus, we’re from the future?

3. There are a lot of articles explaining how Pastors or churches should go about hiring staff. Does this point to the fact that we have lost Continue reading »

30 comments » | Personal/Miscellaneous

This we know: the dead do not return.

8
April

Joyful Easter. Fifty thousand years of accumulated experience by the 70 – 100 billion Humans who have lived on this planet have led us to know at least one thing: the dead don’t return. Continue reading »

12 comments » | Culture, Featured, Our World, World Views

Revolution?

13
March

welcome back. you belong here.

behindthemyst2_40.jpg

I was asked this last week about Barna’s new book Revolution. I confess that by-and-large I don’t read Christian books. Barna’s book is no exception. So while I couldn’t comment on the content of the book, I did comment on the title, Revolution.
Continue reading »

40 comments » | Culture, Featured, Leadership

Culture Code – Part 3

15
January

American Culture, Shopping, and Christmas

—————————————

I hate to shop.
My wife loves to shop.
That’s marriage.

Cultural Anthropologist and Marketing Guru, Clotaire Rapaille, writes (The Culture Code) about why people around the world live and buy as they do. Each culture, he tells us, has a code that if discovered can tap into the deep unconscious impulses that motivate our behavior.
So let’s dip our toe into the cold deep water of culture and test out what a deeply American activity like “shopping” might mean. The American Culture Code for shopping, according to Rapaille, is “RECONNECTING WITH LIFE.”

Continue reading »

16 comments » | Default, Featured

« Previous Entries     

↑ Back to top