Categotry Archives: food for thought

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Where’s the Inspiration in Our Five-Point Formula?

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Categories: food for thought, Meanderings (look it up)

Here’s an interesting irony to consider. Seminarians, and churchgoers in general, consider a sermon to be “good” when it has at least three solid points, and not more than five. Nonfiction books, especially the self-help or Christian kind, are considered good when they spell out a problem methodically and give you a certain number of formulaic steps to solve said problem.

But apparently God, who inspired what we know as the Bible, didn’t get the memo on presenting seven steps to success or five principles for getting to know Him.

This is a preview of Where’s the Inspiration in Our Five-Point Formula?. Read the full post (630 words, 1 image, estimated 2:31 mins reading time)

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I Believe It, I Don’t Believe It

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Categories: food for thought, Rantings

Ever wonder why preachers just can’t talk normal?

“Praise God, the fire of God is gonna FALL in this place tonight, amen? We’re blessed beyond measure, we’re the head and not the tail. We’re gonna have us a TIME in the Holy Ghost. Can I get a witness in the house tonight?”

And that’s just the warm-up.

The sermon is usually full of the same kind of hype. If I hear one more preacher say, “How many know that _____________?”, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ve gotten to the point where I almost can’t listen to a sermon anymore. (I like to preach ’em, just not listen to ’em.) 🙂

This is a preview of I Believe It, I Don’t Believe It. Read the full post (564 words, 2 images, estimated 2:15 mins reading time)

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Thoughts on Building Authentic Christian Community (June Syncrhoblog)

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Categories: community, food for thought

(This entry is part of Glenn’s June Synchrhoblog. This synchroblog lasts for several days, so check back as more links are added. And if you want to participate, be sure to link back to Glenn.)

The feeling of “alone-ness” I spoke of in my last post is something that is common among people who, like me, are in various stages of separating from institutional forms of church. Some simply feel like misfits among the status quo; others have been wounded or victimized by spiritual abuse. And some have even attempted alternative forms of community outside the walls of church, only to have them implode and end unpleasantly; so they are fearful of trying again.

This is a preview of Thoughts on Building Authentic Christian Community (June Syncrhoblog). Read the full post (1264 words, 1 image, estimated 5:03 mins reading time)

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A Conversation I Had Yesterday With a Nashville Producer, the Two Reasons I Think Indie Music Is Exploding, and Why I Am Telling You About It

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Categories: food for thought, music, Rantings

As a musician and songwriter, one thing I’ve been doing lately is to take steps to make my music more visible and accessible. One way I’ve done this is to create a MySpace Music page and use it for networking.

The other day I got a very complimentary message from a producer/songwriter in Nashville regarding my songs, telling me that he felt the recordings were rough (which I knew) but that the songs themselves had potential to reach a wide audience if they were re-cut.

This is a preview of A Conversation I Had Yesterday With a Nashville Producer, the Two Reasons I Think Indie Music Is Exploding, and Why I Am Telling You About It. Read the full post (963 words, 2 images, estimated 3:51 mins reading time)

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Remember

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Categories: food for thought

Today in the U.S., it is Memorial Day.

Today is the day we remember and honor those soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in battle, dying to preserve the freedoms we often take for granted.

Memorial Day has taken on deeper meaning for many of us in the past few years, as now over 4000 US troops have lost their lives in Iraq.

It is a day of mourning; but it is also a day of celebration. People visit the cemeteries and memorials, but people also have get-togethers, have a barbecue, or go to the lake. I think in a way both kinds of expressions are fitting. It is appropriate to honor the dead. It is also appropriate to celebrate and and enjoy the freedoms for which such a dear price has been paid. It is what our fallen soldiers would want for those they left behind.

This is a preview of Remember. Read the full post (208 words, 2 images, estimated 50 secs reading time)

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Thinking about the Chapmans, and Other People

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Categories: food for thought

If you are a Christ-follower and you spend time in the blogosphere, chances are you have heard about the tragedy that befell Steven Curtis Chapman’s family this week, where their 5-year-old adopted daughter Maria was accidentally run over and killed. The calls to pray and the outpouring of love for this family has been overwhelming, to say the least.

Like many others, I was deeply moved by this news and cannot imagine what the family must be going through. Like many others, I’ve been praying for this family whenever the thought crosses my mind.

This is a preview of Thinking about the Chapmans, and Other People. Read the full post (786 words, 1 image, estimated 3:09 mins reading time)

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Making the Unclean Clean, Not the Other Way Around

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought

Ben from live.awake left a comment on my last post that really sparked my thinking. The entire comment is well worth reading, but here’s just a snippet:

“The idea that the culture is the enemy and the Church is a sanctuary in which to hide from it is in total opposition to Jesus’ teaching….we feel this constant need to perform well, look right, act right, and never get close enough to a sinner to get stained by them.”

This stuck with me because it touches on a change that is taking place in my thinking, and in my approach to life and ministry in general.

This is a preview of Making the Unclean Clean, Not the Other Way Around. Read the full post (853 words, 1 image, estimated 3:25 mins reading time)

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Disscussions of Lakeland Revival in the Blogosphere, and an Update On My Thoughts on the Whole Thing

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Categories: food for thought, Meanderings (look it up)

So apparently the talk about the Lakeland revival meetings has not quieted down in the blogosphere. It is a hot topic, to be sure. I know a couple of pastors who have already traveled down to see what is happening.

This is a preview of Disscussions of Lakeland Revival in the Blogosphere, and an Update On My Thoughts on the Whole Thing. Read the full post (309 words, 1 image, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)

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Shiny Happy People

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Categories: food for thought, Meanderings (look it up), Rantings

Some of the nicest people I’ve known have been non-Christians. Just sayin’.

 

Oh, I’ve known some pretty mean, crappy non-Christians, too–make no mistake. But I’ve also known unbelievers who were genuinely nice, friendly, welcoming people–people who often acted more like Jesus than a lot of Christians I know.

 

This is a preview of Shiny Happy People. Read the full post (759 words, 2 images, estimated 3:02 mins reading time)

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More Thoughts on Mercy

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Categories: food for thought

I’ve written a couple of posts making reference to the healing revival going on in Lakeland, Florida. You can read them here and here to get some background for this post. But for the time being, I want to focus some attention on a statement I made in the last post I wrote about it:

“An act of mercy does not constitute an act of validation.”

This is a preview of More Thoughts on Mercy. Read the full post (663 words, 1 image, estimated 2:39 mins reading time)
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