Relevant Magazine has good article on Christianity’s Most Enthusiastic Beer Enthusiasts. Nothing you probably dont already know but its good to be reminded, especially when you lift the Guinness to your lips and reflect on church history. It doesn’t feature the excellent micro-brews coming out from the pub churches and modern day monasteries but its worth the…
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Thoughts on Ashley Madison Scandal
Here’s some random thoughts on the Ashley Madison Scandal, marriage, shaming, and its impact on Christian pastors and bloggers. Reformation Sunday came early this year. An expected 400 Christian pastors resigned today in the wake of the Ashley Madison marriage cheating website being hacked and the names of subscribers, including the particularities and peculiarities of their sexual fantasies with a…
Read MoreWhy Earth Day Texas is the new SXSW for Baptists
I recently visited Texas and met with some of the key leaders of the Texas Baptists. I was encouraged to see some necessary transitions and changes but was quite shocked to see the presence of styrofoam cups at the coffee machine in the main HQ. I believe EDTx is the new SXSW for Texas Baptists…
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Outreach Trends for Next Year
In July of 2013, a well known Christian magazine that focuses on Christian outreach asked me what I thought they should cover in 2014. WHAT I SUGGESTED I suggested articles on urban agriculture, going off-grid, permaculture, voluntary simplicity, interaction with Muslims, nomads, social enterprise, DIY and self sufficiency, outreach that includes seekers rather than targets…
Read MoreEnough for All – My Bible Study
If you are in Germany then you might be joining the 100,000+ people in Hamburg for Kirchentag 2013 (Church Day) on May 1-5. If you make it to my session, please say hello afterwards. The Kirchentag folk do an absolutely incredible job of organizing and hosting a massive scale festival – the best organized I have…
Read MoreRick Warren sets up memorial fund
I have been thinking of Rick Warren all week. A dreadful loss. Praying peace on the family after the tragic suicide of their son Matthew. Rick Warren just set up the Matthew Warren Memorial Fund for Mental Illness. I hope the fund does well in raising awareness of this issue that affects so many, including…
Read MoreThoughts on Pope Francis
GREAT to hear waves of excitement over the new Pope. I am also excited about the appointment of Pope Francis, because . . . – he is from South America. – he is a humble man, riding the bus to work and refusing ecclesiastic titles. – he has a heart for the poor. – he…
Read More12 Resources for Christian Generosity
My friend Sas Conradie from the Global Generosity Movement has just released 12 Resources for Christian Generosity: E.G. “Jay” Link’s latest book ‘Who’s In Charge Here?’ is now available. The pdf and Kindle versions of the book are free – just go to this webpage. The Money Revolution is a website linked to a book that helps…
Read MoreIf I was Pope
Wishing Pope Benedict XVI a smooth transition into his next phase of life as simply Joseph Ratzinger. What a surprise!! I was thinking of running for Pope. Change is good. I have been a Baptist, an Anglican, and a Presbyterian, but never a Catholic. And besides that, the Catholics have the coolest church buildings, especially…
Read MoreAmerican Christians and the Mormon factor
Right now is an interesting time in American politics and religion. There are plenty of conservative evangelical Christians in USA who are about to vote for a Mormon to be their president. Who woulda thunk??? I read a few snippets on Billy Graham removing the “cult” status on the BGEA website. I would be curious to…
Read MoreWhy I decided to become a follower of CHRISLAM
You know when a word has real scare potential when Hal Lindsay starts using it on TV. Like the word “CHRISLAM”. Last year, televangelist Jack Van Impe got kicked off TBN for calling Rick Warren a ‘Chrislam’ promoter. Rick Warren says the newspaper reports were false and he does not promote Chrislam, but the damage had already been…
Read MoreGlobal Church Forum
A really important missions gathering is happening from Tuesday to Thursday in Chicago and is being streamed. I was invited to be there and blog the conference but I am still in the southern hemisphere and couldn’t make it. But I hope it goes well. A lot of my friends are speaking there and I think…
Read More8 Thoughts on Lasting Out, not Burning Out
Greater productivity in ministry comes from lasting out and not burning out. A mentor once told me, “In your first year, you can do NO WRONG. In your second year, you can do NO RIGHT. In your third year, either you or your critics WILL LEAVE. In your fourth year, if you are still there,…
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The world’s fastest multiplying CPMs and a dead Kiwi theologian
I am talking about church planting movements that go viral and out of control, producing hundreds and thousands of lean startup churches and communities in a very short amount of time. Does that get your blood pumping? Last year was my first time in China, as well as my first time in Indonesia and a…
Read MoreMission of God Study Bible and Itinerant Ministry
The Mission of God Study Bible has just been released. It carries the missional theme and . . what I really love about it . . it honors the memory of the Baptist missiologist Dr Francis DuBose who brought the word “missional” back into play with his 1983 book God Who Sends. [see the video I recorded…
Read MoreMuslim sanctuaries: For Your Eyes Only
“Cinderazahd: For Your Eyes Only” has its world premiere at the Dowse Art Museum next week but men will not be allowed in. The Qatari writer and film-maker Sophia Al-Maria has expressed her wishes that men should not see the unveiled women in her video, a wish that corresponds with her Muslim faith. Fair enough. I…
Read MoreMission among subcultures and the emerging church
Tomorrow I am teaching two sessions on missions at Praxis. The first will be a more practical and interactive look at Luke 10, some church planting movements overseas that are doing well, a few controversial issues related to that. For those that cannot be there, I recommend reading 11 Practices of a new Jesus movement (Lausanne)…
Read MoreChallies and Perriman on the existence of hell
Sunday theological conversation that requires a cup of tea and an armchair: Tim Challies kicks off a series on hell. Andrew Perriman responds. Tim Challies concludes with his final post and Andrew Perriman gives a summary response. There might be some more posts in the middle but the book-ends are worth a read. Last year, when the talk revolved around…
Read MoreWilliam Cavanaugh on Religious Violence
“The myth of religious violence promotes a dichotomy between us in the secular West who are rational and peacemaking, and them, the hordes of violent religious fanatics in the Muslim world. Their violence is religious, and therefore irrational and divisive. Our violence, on the other hand, is rational, peacemaking, and necessary. Regrettably, we find ourselves…
Read MoreThe Folly of Picking Emerging Young Leaders
They all happened at the same time. Charisma Mag announced their latest lineup of emerging leaders for tomorrow’s church, Lausanne reported on their Young Leaders gathering in USA, and the reading in our chapel service was about the folly of selecting young leaders – it was Samuel sorting through the big manly sons of Jesse…
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