In the United States "individualism" has historically been one of the foundations of society. " John Locke (1632–1704) is among the most influential political philosophes of the modern period. In the Two Treatises of Government, he defended the claim that men are by nature free and equal against claims that God had made all people naturally subject to a monarch. He argued that people have rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, that have a foundation independent of…

The answer depends upon what one means by the Restoration movement. “The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone-Campbell Movement) is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. The movement sought to restore the church and "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament.” It is an attempt to return to apostolic…

In many congregations members elderships and staff are viewed as the "decision-makers".  If something is done in a congregation--in worship, use of the building, ministry tasks, etc--it must first be "approved" by the elders before anything can be done.  In other cases, members look to the senior minister to initiate all programs and activities. In essence, this is "top-down" management.  

But, is this what God intended for congregations?  Certainly, from one standpoint it is God who…

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” ― Albert Einstein

"Change is a challenge. Many want change until it is required of them!" - Me

Jesus' greatest challenge was the religious status quo of his day. His inaugural message declared the Kingdom and addressed…

In case you missed them, here are the first two blog posts in this series:

Why are Churches of Christ Shrinking - Part 1: A Left-Brained Fellowship in a Right-Brained World…

In this post I examine whether we have missed the mark in how we have interpreted the Great Commission in practice.

What do you think?

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The movie "Safe Haven" is popular movie that many Christians are attending. The plot is summarized as follows:

"When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young…

The following post details lessons learned about leadership from watching German Shepherd dogs.

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In Feb 2012 my wife was diagnosed with follicular lyphoma--cancer of the lymph nodes. She was diagnosed on a Friday and we were at MD Anderson for evaluation and potential treatment the next Tuesday. It was remarkable that the appointment was made immediately when they were called.  It was made, however, with the stipulation we could be at the hospital the following day.

Upon our arrival, there were parking attendants at the front.  There was w valet parking for all patients. Upon…

How often have you heard the phase " I go to church, but I am not "fed"?  Our often is this used to invoke unhappiness with a particular preacher's sermons?  Where does this attitude  of " I need to be fed" come from?  Of course elders, not preachers, are told to "feed the folk.".  But this attitude is clearly one of passivity.  If a congregation doesn't have the "right program", enough "motivational" sermons, or .... whatever the person's felt needs ( as opposed to real needs) are, the…

If you have been following the Church of Christ blogosphere, you may have seen the last two posts that I wrote on "Why Churches of Christ are Shrinking:"

Part 1: A Left-Brained…

 In the above video, which we showed this Sunday, Kelly Weatherford talks about how she had prayed for her husband, Charlie, to become a Christian for 13 years. They went through the Story of Redemption, and at the end of the study, he was baptized! Now, everything has changed. Charlie has become the spiritual leader in their home, they are…

As a media technologist who teaches video technology, web mastering, graphics, animation, I would like to share my philosophy on media as a way of communicating. There is a difference between being a "drooling" consumer and being a creative (God-endowed) producer.

It is fine to contribute to the Bible lesson through visuals and videos, but the real mission, in my humble opinion, is to teach our believers to "go into all the world" creatively and effectively as a revolutionary for…

Here is the second in a series of blog posts on why Churches of Christ are shrinking. The first post,"A Left-Brained Fellowship in a Right-Brained World," has gone viral. While not everyone agrees with everything in the post, from the new members that joined the network, it would appear that a high percentage of these new…

Why are Churches of Christ Shrinking? - Part 1: A Left-Brained Fellowship in a Right-Brained World

For followers of this blog, you know that most all of my posts deal with larger kingdom and cultural issues. The Missional Outreach Network has readers from all different denominational backgrounds, and I want to bring people together…

Wow. What a week. Lance Armstrong is set to confess to Oprah and the world after 15 years of harsh denials that he used performance enhancing drugs. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's story of a girlfriend who died of cancer is discovered to be a hoax--whether he was in on it or not is yet to be seen. Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens all…

Hello! I am continuing to blog through "Effective Staffing for Vital Churches," by Bill Easum and Bill Tenny-Brittian, which is a staffing guide for missional churches. Many churches want to grow. However, they fail to realize the transitions that must take for churches in order for this to happen. While having a…

 Historically, there has been a philosophical divide in governance. That divide can be summarized by two concepts: 1) Those who value "liberty" vs 2) Those who value "security".  Ever since the Enlightenment these two ideals have been in "competition" with one another.  That has especially been true in the political area.  This is not surprising as there seems to be a natural tendency of man to seek to be "free" as well as his desire to be "secure."   I would postulate these same desires…