Category Archives: Philosophy

I Want To Read My Bible — But How?

You cracked open your journal, busted out your favorite pen, and finally opened your Bible.

Five sentences later, you have no idea what you just read.

Confusion, frustration, resignation: But the pastor made it so easy. It was better when he told it.

And the final excuse: At least I tried.

It’s happened to all of us, from rookies to veterans, when we catch the excitement of digging into Scripture and come out cold. Most of us will conclude the Bible is too hard, that we’re not mature enough, that we need to be spoon-fed, that something’s wrong with me, that we’ll try it again later. And with each pass at reading, we grow more bewildered.

Every pastor with the best of intentions is yelling at you to read your Bible, but they forget to tell you how.

Of course the simplest way would be to turn to Genesis and just rip right through it. But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a little help in reading Scripture. If you genuinely want to read the Bible but have had some false starts, here are some ways to dig into the Greatest Truth in the universe.

Continue reading →

Quote: Individualism


Based on our research, I also worry that some of the Christian community’s teaching on abstinence focuses too much on the personal, individualist benefits of delaying sex until marriage. I am certainly not questioning the motives of those who urge the next generation toward sexual purity but I do wonder if some of the methods reflect a mindset influenced by individualism. ‘Save yourself for marriage and have fantastic sex with one partner, the way it’s meant to be. Sex as God intended will blow your mind. Be safe; avoid the risks of STDs and an unwanted pregnancy. Think about your future.’ Much of the abstinence messaging, however well-intended, capitulates to culturally cultivated individualism: sex is about me.

– David Kinnaman

“Give Up the Gimmicks, Youth Pastors”



An article about youth ministry by Brian Cosby at The Gospel Coalition.

Excerpt:

“All too often, youth programs have turned to entertainment-driven models of ministry in order to bring in youth. Success has become the name of the church-growth game. The devastating effects, however, are not only seen in the number of youth leaving the church after high school, but also in a spiritually and theologically shallow worldview among many American teenagers. The irony is that these same teens actually want to grow and learn hard truths. They want to know how to think about suffering, how to pray, and why Jesus had to die.

If there’s anything a youth pastor knows—even after only a few months in ministry—it’s that fatigue and feelings of burnout come with the task. The constant pressure from parents, youth, church leadership, the senior pastor, and even his own family can wear a minister out very quickly.”

Continue Reading at The Gospel Coalition


Read Related:

– Young People: Not So Young
– Question: Youth Ministry Struggles
– How To Lose God In Ten Days
– When Pastors Just Want To Quit
– Book Review: Speaking To Teenagers
– Book Review: You Lost Me


Question: What About Disease and Disasters?

themichaelwchen asked:
Hello :) Thank you for the follow! I have a question that I hope you may be able to shed a bit of light on. Actually, it’s a question that my friend asked me and I’ve been a bit torn on how to answer. Does God create disease and natural disasters? If so, why? If not, why doesn’t He stop them? I would appreciate your response greatly! -In Christ, Michael

Please first know that we tiny little human beings with our 3 lb. brains and stupid idol-craving hearts couldn’t possibly answer the huge question of planetary problems.  The Bible (not surprisingly) doesn’t say much about it, except that disaster and disease will happen.  In other words, God doesn’t need to defend Himself since He’s God.

But I’ll try to provide some biblical and logical reasons here. Please note that to an unbeliever, these answers will sound stupid.  But the Bible told us that would happen, even when Jesus died, and believers will reason it out through His Spirit.  So I’m not here to convince anyone, but rather humbly see things from God’s point of view.

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Secular Vs. Spiritual: How Do I Glorify God At My Desk Job? Part 2

A four part series on connecting Christ with your career, and how he owns it.
1) Restorative — 2) Creative — 3) Narrative — 4) Connective

Is being a pastor or missionary the only “real work” for God?

The church has missed sorely on exhorting believers to faithful living in their careers, instead lifting “ministry” as a first class calling and degrading a full-time job as bottom-of-the-barrel drudgery. This sort of false divide creates unnecessary tension for those desiring to “work for God,” thinking we can only do so through seminary or your Church Membership class.

We do a great disservice to artists, doctors, musicians, writers, and all the sciences when we relegate them to a dustbin of irredeemable secular scraps.

Here will be four biblical principles derived from the Books of Nehemiah, Daniel, and other places that outline how our individual vocations honor God. The first was Restorative. The second is Creative. The others will be in upcoming posts.

Continue reading →

“An Open Letter To Praise Bands”

An article by James Smith well worth reading for both praise bands and churchgoers.

Excerpt:

Without us realizing it, the dominant practices of performance train us to relate to music (and musicians) in a certain way: as something for our pleasure, as entertainment, as a largely passive experience.

In a concert, we come to expect that weird sort of sensory deprivation that happens from sensory overload, when the pounding of the bass on our chest and the wash of music over the crowd leaves us with the rush of a certain aural vertigo. And there’s nothing wrong with concerts! It’s just that Christian worship is not a concert. Christian worship is a collective, communal, congregational practice–and the gathered sound and harmony of a congregation singing as one is integral to the practice of worship.

Continue Reading at Fors Clavigera


Read Related:

- What About The Guy In The Back? – Why Bigger Worship Is Not Better Worship
- I Love That Song
- How To Lose God In Ten Days
- Sermon Fail: Unprepared In The Pulpit
- The Worst Sermon I Have Ever Heard


Quote: Intellect

We should not assume that the tough questions of a hostile professor are at the root of lost faith. Rather in many instances, I believe the Christian community has failed to disciple its science-inclined students to become responsible, intelligent, capable, resourceful, and faithful followers of Christ. We need to do a better job stewarding the intellect of this generation.

– David Kinnaman

Question: What’s The Holy Spirit?

Anonymous asked:
I’m so confused… what is the Holy Spirit?

Don’t you mean the Holy Ghost?

I kid.  Good old King James, you know.

Let’s see:

- The Holy Spirit is God.

- The Holy Spirit is not a part of God or from God or inside God.

- The Holy Spirit is in a loving Trinity-Community with Jesus the Son and God the Father. One God, three persons.

- If you ask me how God can be one God but three persons, my head might explode.  Since I’m guessing you don’t want that, we’ll leave that a mystery.

Continue reading →

Quote: He Is

“God did not die for man because of some value He perceived in him. The value of each human soul considered simply in itself, out of relation to God, is zero. As St. Paul writes, to have died for valuable men would have been not divine but merely heroic; but God died for sinners. He loved us not because we were lovable, but because He is love.”

– C.S. Lewis

Quote: Invitation

“The hijacking of the concept of morality began, of course, when we reduced Scripture to formula and a love story to theology, and finally morality to rules. It is a very different thing to break a rule than it is to cheat on a lover. A person’s mind can do all sorts of things his heart would never let him do. If we think of God’s grace as a technicality, a theological precept, we can disobey without the slightest feeling of guilt, but if we think of God’s grace as a relational invitation, an outreach of love, we are pretty much jerks for belittling the gesture.”

— Donald Miller

“Confessions Of A Functional Atheist”



A great blog post by Mark McIntyre.

Excerpt:

“One of the accusations against Christians is that we have a psychological need to believe a fantasy. In other words, the atheist thinks that we make up a belief in God to provide comfort against the unknown. Our belief in God is like whistling as we pass through the graveyard. It doesn’t provide any real benefit but it makes us feel better.

“… There are times when I don’t want God to exist. It would be oh so much more convenient if he did not and I could do whatever I want. There are times when I want to be god and I don’t want anyone telling me what to do.”

Continue Reading at “Attempts At Honesty”


Read related:
- Question: So you used to be an atheist
- Question: Atheists Infect Me With Doubts, Help?
- The Least Intimidating Battle of All Time
- About / Bio.