The Easter promise of Christ’s resurrected life is applied to our resurrected life, too. That is the message preached in Christian churches all over the world. What wonderful news! The preached promise of Easter, however, loses some of its power in three ways: when resurrected life is reduced to the springtime freshness, when the resurrected […]
Read MoreOne of the popular books in my seminary days was The Secular City, in which Harvey Cox tried to work out a theology for the “post-religious” age that many sociologists had confidently assured was coming. Since then, he says some religions seem to have gained a new lease on life. Today it is secularity, not […]
Read MoreAny biblically responsible pastor and church leader has to cringe at the second part of Paul’s statement about the purpose of church leaders in Ephesians 4: 12-13. The first part of his challenge is to “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” But I am […]
Read MoreThe world of Lutheranism is very different from the world of Calvinists. I realized this when preparing for the philosophy subject test of the Graduate Record Examination at the end of my senior year of college. Ethics would be a component of this sub-test. My philosophy professor realized that I had not had an ethics […]
Read MoreThose who pursue the Benedict Option basically reject the post-modern culture of our times. They would set up their own counterculture through communities that submit themselves to distinctive Christian practices, especially prayer. Neo-Calvinists would take the opposite approach of trying to reform the political process of a country to support religious institutions. The best representative […]
Read MoreOne approach to living in a post-modern culture is to withdraw from it. That is basically what Rod Dreher recommends in his 2017 book The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. Dreher declares, “I have written the Benedict Option to wake up the church and to encourage it to act to […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship If “worship service” refers to an entire Sunday morning church service, I would say worship (singing) and altar calls are the most engaging. The more engaging parts of the sermon come at the end when it turns more practical and a charge (or charges) is/are given. (I’m also part […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship THE WORSHIP SONGS TO POSITION OR REPOSITION MY HEART HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVORITE. I Like Sermons I ENJOY SERMONS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD/SOCIETY BUT THAT ALSO TIE DIRECTLY BACK TO BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES. Attraction to a Congregation COMMUNITY; WARMTH; AUTHENTICITY I’VE BEEN […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship The sermon, the hymns, and holy communion. I Like Sermons I enjoy sermons that provide what Aristotle said made for excellent oratory: Logos (some teaching), Pathos (guts and feeling), and Ethos (life application). I like sermons that clearly state the goal of a text, the roadblocks and maladies that […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship The most engaging part of a worship service, I’d say, is the sermon. We have attended a number of different churches and visited quite a few when searching for a new one. I’ve heard a lot of ho-hum sermons. But when I encounter a pastor who keeps me on […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship I love the music. I love the songs that are joyful and upbeat. I love the praise songs. I love old hymns. I love to feel energy and love. However, I do not care for ones that just repeat the same phrase over and over or ones that the performers drag on for […]
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