James Nored's Blog – November 2010 Archive (16)

Why Mormon teens are so devoted & what we can learn from this - Missional Thought of the Day

As I am reading through Almost Christian, What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church, I want to share with you some thoughts on the contents. In yesterday's post, I wrote how this book seeks to interpret the data from a massive study that was done of American teenagers and their faith.

What was discovered through this study was that most teens are learning from their parents and their churches that Christianity is simply about helping people become…

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Added by James Nored on November 30, 2010 at 9:03am — 13 Comments

Are we raising teens that are "Almost Christian"? - Missional Thought of the Day

Ministers, Christian authors, academics, and cultural observers have been noting for some time the nominal nature of Christianity in the US. Not only do far more people claim to be Christians than those who "attend church," but those who do attend often report little daily awareness of God and few spiritual practices outside of the official church times.

Few tithe. Few volunteer. Few regularly read their Bibles. Few regularly have family…

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Added by James Nored on November 29, 2010 at 5:25pm — 4 Comments

Christian divorce less than non-Christians, but still too often - Thought of the Day

Here is an article on "Statistics about Christian Divorce Rates" by sociologist and Christian author Bradley R. E. Wright, Ph.D., that I have reposted here. I have started reading Wright's work, and I have a lot of confidence in it. I'll post a review soon of his book,… Continue

Added by James Nored on November 27, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments

The Thanksgiving Story - How a Country or Church Begins Sets Its DNA - Missional Thought of the Day

Hello all. I hope that you are having a great Thanksgiving! Becki and I invited four different families to join us for Thanksgiving that we thought might not have a place to go. One family had a sick child, another had a sick dog, another did have family to get together with, and the last would have come except that we asked them after they had bought all of their food.

So, we did try to follow Christ's teachings about inviting people when we have a…

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Added by James Nored on November 25, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Love those in the community by eating with them, praying with them, & letting them run service ministries - Missional Thought of the Day

You may recall some recent posts that I had on Tonya Fisher and Orlando (see picture above). Tonya was recently released from prison. She came through our clothes closet, and the church provided clothing and furniture for her. Orlando is a mechanic who is out of work. He recently came through our food pantry.

I could tell with both Tonya and Orlando that they had good hearts, and we prayed with them when they came…

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Added by James Nored on November 23, 2010 at 12:18pm — No Comments

Christians and Churches Who Reach Out Will Face Persecution - Missional Thought of the Day

The above video shows the persecution that Christians face around the world for their faith. We need to especially pray for those Christians who are working in Muslim countries, as their lives are in danger.

While we in America do not face death for our faith, we should nevertheless know that if we are seeking to do God's will, we will face persecution. Jesus said this to his disciples:^11… Continue

Added by James Nored on November 22, 2010 at 10:00am — No Comments

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Address - Thought of the Day

I wanted to share with you this Thanksgiving Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln after the horrors of the Civil War. Notice how throughout this address, Lincoln continually credits the blessings of the nation to the “providence of Almighty God.” He concludes by saying, “nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.” As we as a nation, as a church, and in our families think about our blessings, let us remember that these… Continue

Added by James Nored on November 18, 2010 at 8:52am — 1 Comment

Lord Give Me . . . - Thought of the Day

So much of our prayers are about asking God to give us something. And that is okay. We should go to God with our hopes, dreams, and desires.

But isn't interesting how Jesus, when teaching his disciples how to prayer, says simply, "Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debt as we have forgiven our debtors. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

In the video above, Francis…

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Added by James Nored on November 17, 2010 at 2:25pm — 3 Comments

There really are people in the world who want to change - Missional Thought of the Day

Today, a woman named Tonya Fisher (pictured above) came into the church office. Tanya shared her story with me, and as she did, you could tell that she has a good heart.

Tanya went to jail for 5 years from hanging out with the wrong crowd. She was recently released from jail, and she is now looking to start her life over with her 15 year old daughter who goes to McKinney Boyd High School. She also has…

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Added by James Nored on November 15, 2010 at 10:00pm — 3 Comments

Have a Missional Christmas Eve "Service" - Missional Thought of the Day

I must confess--Christmas is my favorite holiday. I went and did a bit of shopping today with Becki, and there I saw the Christmas items already out.

I used to get irritated when people would skip Thanksgiving and start Christmas early. But, as I have grown to love Christmas more and more, I think, why not? I stood enchanted in front of a…

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Added by James Nored on November 13, 2010 at 6:30pm — 2 Comments

Here is a powerful way to bless someone's life - Missional Thought of the Day

I know that many people are looking for practical ways to be missional in their daily lives. It is often difficult to begin a spiritual conversation with people whom we come into contact with. One of the best ways that I have found to both impact people and open up conversations is to find simple ways to bless their lives.…

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Added by James Nored on November 11, 2010 at 10:17am — 2 Comments

Small Groups Must Grow as a Primary Expression of Church - Missional Thought of the Day

In North American culture we have long tried to take people who gather for worship and then divide them up into small groups. With some notable exceptions in a few churches, this has not worked all that well. In most churches, there are many more involved in worship than in small groups.

Why is this a problem? Because it is usually only in smaller communities that true, lasting transformation takes place. I am not denying the power…

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Added by James Nored on November 9, 2010 at 4:00pm — 2 Comments

The American Church is in Crisis - Missional Thought of the Day

In the book, The American Church in Crisis, written by David T. Olson, reports that actual church attendance in the US is 16.5% (2010), and that this will drop to 14.7% by 2020. In light of this, Olson recommends these changes.

Ten Necessary Changes for the American Church to Have a Bright Future

Christian leaders need to…

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Added by James Nored on November 8, 2010 at 4:57pm — 2 Comments

Missional Thought of the Day - Helping People Lifts Our Spirits

A young man came into our office today named Orlando Fuller. He lost his job as a mechanic five months ago and is about to run out of unemployment insurance. So, while he struggled a bit in seeking out help, he said that he decided to swallow his pride and he came to us asking for food. The word is out in the community that High Pointe helps people who are hungry through our food pantry ministry.

Linda Hardin, who runs…

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Added by James Nored on November 5, 2010 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

Missional Thought of the Day - Helping People Overcome the Brokenness of Materialism

In healing people in his ministry, Jesus was binding up the brokenness in their lives. The missional church seeks to also provide ministries of healing and bind up the brokenness in people's lives today. For ma ny in the US, this area of brokenness is materialism, which is the…

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Added by James Nored on November 4, 2010 at 1:00pm — 4 Comments

Missional Thought of the Day - We must learn the "Celtic Way of Evangelism" to reach people today

You have probably heard of St. Patrick of Ireland and St. Patrick's Day. But Patrick is a lot more important

than the color green. He and his "Celtic Way of Evangelism" are very instructive for us in how to be missional today.

Patrick was English, and when he was 16, Celtic pirates captured him and carried him over to Ireland…

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Added by James Nored on November 3, 2010 at 1:40pm — 2 Comments

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