Tony Jones stirred up quite a hornet's nest among the home school community by criticizing Christians who home school as failing to be "salt and light" to the community by withdrawing from the public schools. Jones declares them to not be missional.

This controversy has been picked up by local newspapers such as the St. Louis Dispatch in their article, …

This Sunday I am speaking on worship--a subject which is incredibly vast. What can a person say in one lesson that could possibly do justice to the subject?

As a sort of over view, I am speaking on Worship - Entering into God's Story. Worship in English comes from the idea of ascribing worth to something. It is very easy, however, to over emphasize what we do…

Gajuwaka Churches of Christ

A) Location and Background;

The area is located at the foot of Eastern Ghats (Row of hills in the eastern part of the South India on the East coast of the Bay of Bengal. These Churches are around Pantulugari Meda in Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh State in INDIA. The Area is covering 25% of Rural and 25% hill tribes with nearly 125 habitations (small villages) having a population of 5, 80,000. In the Total Population 70% people are…

A recent Facebook discussion helped prod my thinking on the use of jokes and humor (what makes things funny), and then the best use of humor in sermons. Last week I used a really funny parable about Adam and Eve, but that is the first time in a long time I've used something like that. I think the funniest things come from real life.

For…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mHHis1I54-8¶ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 1Tim4:1-2 the Miracle for Today watch out this is the Last Hour - I…

¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.2thess3:3-40

the Lord your God is Peace -Let no man deceive you by any…

The Importance of Mission and Service in the Spiritual Formation of Youth

The spiritual state of Christian youth in the United States, much like that of adults, is not good. Kenda Dean, author of…

It is Christ, not morality, that saves us and attracts the world

Immorality is all around us. It is hard not to lash out say, on Facebook, to all of the immorality that we see. It is blatant. In…

In the previous note we demonstrated that the Kingdom is God's plan. Beginning with Adam, through Israel, Jesus and now the church: He is revealing his domain or rule. As citizens of His kingdom, we are to live a lifestyle that is attractive to those around us.

Jesus first message was to "Repent for the Kingdom of heaven was at hand" (Mt 4:17). The word repent is an interesting one. For many in Christendom, its meaning entails an emotional response to a convicting sermon.…

We hear a lot in our religious world about modern about prophesying and prophets. However, what were the Old Testament prophets really like? What is the nature of a true prophet of God? The Old Testament prophets were men who cared for God’s people, were a friend of God and a faithful servant of God. Notice several characteristics of a true…

A Christian Response to a Violent World

The recent, tragic shooting in Aurora, CO at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, is an event which calls for prayer, lament, and comfort to be extended to the victims and their families. It is a national tragedy, much like 9/11, and thus calls for a national…

To all of my Christian friends--I know that it is hard not to lash out on Facebook to all of the immorality that we see. It is blatant. In our face. And it is Christians who are mocked, made fun of, declared intolerant. I saw a high school friend just post that he had a hard choice to make about the Boy Scouts due to their stance on homosexuality. And that is just a…

It has been a long time coming, but Creating a Missional Culture is now available for the kindle, and within a couple of weeks the print version will be in stock, though…

The Attractional Lifestyle of the Kingdom 2

“The doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven, which was the main teaching of Jesus, is certainly one of the most revolutionary doctrines that ever stirred and changed human thought.”~  H G Wells

The Kingdom has a particular lifestyle, one that does not necessarily match modern North American Christendom. It is a lifestyle that is to be so…

The Attractional Lifestyle Of The Kingdom #1

If you are involved in church/ministry leadership, I am sure you are aware of the reported condition of North American Christendom and the traditional church structure. While there may be a couple of organizations that claim growth, as a whole, Christendom or the traditional organized church is on a steady decline. In fact, there are those who are labeling our culture now as post-christian. Whatever you may think,…

7 Ways the Spirit Leads from the Book of Acts

This morning’s worship message and theme is “renewed and revived by the Spirit.” One book where the Spirit’s role n our lives is emphasized is the book of Acts. Below are seven different ways the Spirit leads us from this book.

1. The Spirit Helps Us “Translate” the Gospel in an Understandable…

Thom S. Rainer, author of a number of books on outreach and does research on this subject, wrote the following article, Evangelistic Churches and the MPI. This article gives research on some common things found in successful evangelistic churches.  I have copied the…

I Love My Dad!…

A Very Special Father’s Day: What we have learned from having a third child!

This Sunday is Father’s Day. While every Father’s Day is a wonderful day, this Father’s Day I am particularly mindful of the blessings of being a Father. Why? Because last Tuesday at…

Facebook--and technology in general--can be used for good or evil. Usually technology just intensifies or makes whatever we choose to do easier or faster to do. The news article tells how a mom choked a 14-year-old who was…