Skye Jethani: Hello, Rob Bell - The Interview. Last year Rob Bell made waves with his book Love Wins which he describes as "a book about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who has ever lived. " The waves became a tsunami when John Piper, a pastor and leader within the Gospel Coalition, tweeted "Farewell, Rob Bell" and dismissed him as a heretic. Agree or disagree with his point of view, Bell knows how to stir conversation. And there is one thing about Love Wins we cannot dismiss- how we think about the future shapes how we live in the present. I've had the benefit of interviewing Bell a number of times and have always found him thoughtful, gracious, and genuine in his pursuit of Christ. He was kind enough to talk to me once again--this time about his decision to leave his church, the lost theology of vocation, and how our view of the end of the world impacts the way we think about our work today.
Skye: Apart from ministry, Christians talk very little about "callings. " What do you attribute this to? Nope. The Barna Group - How Many People Really Attend a House Church? Barna Study Finds It Depends on the Definition. August 31, 2009 – Numerous shifts are occurring among church-goers in the U.S. as they choose from many new forms and formats of the local church. One of the least understood forms is the house church, and one of the fundamental questions is exactly how many people are attending house churches. According to a new report from The Barna Group, it depends on how such involvement is described to survey respondents.
The California-based research firm has explored people’s involvement in non-traditional ministry settings in a dozen nationwide studies it has conducted in the past five years. The researchers discovered that the number of participants varies significantly according to the definition used, ranging from a minimum of 4% of the adult population to a maximum of 33%! Measuring House Church Involvement The smallest rate of participation is derived by posing the most narrowly framed of the six questions examined. Why Are There Differences? Why Are House and Organic Churches Important? Stoning. NoseFrida the Snot Sucker! | FridaBaby. Overview It’s smart.It’s Swedish.It’s maybe a little strange.It’s doctor invented & recommended.It’s 100% hygienic due to the included filters (4).It’s fabulously reviewed (Rachel Ray, Parenting, & more).It’s a nasal aspirator that ACTUALLY WORKS! It’s NoseFrida. The Snotsucker. Instructions The disposable filter should be in place to prevent mucus or bacterial transfer.Place the large tube against the child’s nostril, creating a seal.Use the red mouthpiece to SUCK out the snot.
Warning NoseFrida is not a toy – keep all parts out of reach of children.Only use NoseFrida for nasal aspiration.Do not blow air into the red mouthpiece while tube is placed at child’s nostril.Never attached NoseFrida to a machine. FAQ’s Why is NoseFrida better than other aspirators? NoseFrida is non-invasive – instead of going inside the nose like the bulb, it forms a seal with the outside of the baby’s nostril (creating a vacuum). Will Nosefrida make me sick? No. Can I suck too hard?
No. Sex And The City Set On A Hill « Diary of a Christian Universagnosticostal. When I hear the word “fornication,” I am immediately reminded of how big an issue premarital sex was during my early Christian years. Back then, nearly every unmarried woman I knew was a devotee of prosperity gospel giant Juanita Bynum. She had skyrocketed to popularity on the African American Christian conference circuit when her book No More Sheets: The Truth About Sex (a follow-up to her viral video sermon of the same name) hit the shelves.
No More Sheets was a call to sexual purity with an interesting theological twist. According to Bynum, each premarital sexual encounter is actually an unwitting consummation of marriage. Because marriage is supposed to be a powerful bond between two people, those who participate in sex outside marriage create an unholy “soul tie”. Armed with scripture and some very powerful rhetoric, Bynum taught that premarital sex (including masturbation) was a “tool” of Satan. I remember the overwhelming power her books and sermons had on me. I supported t Lust? Dealing With Inconsistencies in Scripture | Christian Piatt. The Pee Stick (PregMANcy) | Christian Piatt. Quotes about Doubt - O Me of Little Faith. I get asked occasionally if I’ve heard this or that quote about doubt and faith from such-and-such famous person.
In most (but not all) cases, yes, I’m aware of the quote. This is due to two reasons: 1) Because I’m a big philosophers-and-theologians-and-writers nerd. Actually, the “nerd” tag explains a lot of things about me. 2) Because collecting doubt-quotes has been something of a hobby of mine for several years. Because they make me exhale in relief. Because they help me remember I’m not alone.Not all of these quotes ended up in my book, but some did. But these thoughts are comforting to me, and whether you agree entirely with them or not, I think they can be informative to any discussion about religious doubt and uncertainty. Anyway, I figured this was as good a time as any to gather them up into a single place. . • “Doubt is but another element of faith. . ” • “Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith. . ” • “Don’t expect faith to clear things up for you. Your thoughts? Myisha Cherry: Our Obsession, Love, and Need for Satan.
In the beginning of every semester I discuss ancient Jewish monotheism with my students in the World Religions and Western Civilization college courses I teach. In the process of exploring the underlying beliefs of the ancient Israelites, I make the point that to the Jews, there was no such concept of a Satan or a devil as we imagine in modernity. According to the ancient Israelites, God was omnipotent and therefore an evil agent that could rival God didn't exist. Evil therefore was not a metaphysical phenomenon but a moral one. It existed, not as a result of a devil's ability to make us do things, but because of our own disobedience to God. Consistently each semester, my students immediately take me through the Jewish Bible, attempting to prove that, "No, the devil does exist and he is real.
" They begin with the serpent story in Genesis; move on to the presence of Satan in the heavens in Job, then recount Lucifer's banishment from his position as a musician in heaven to earth. Chinese.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object) When the Formula Fails. When the Formula Fails The Wall Imagine yourself in a tunnel facing a wall that appears to seal off the tunnel. Your goal is to get through the tunnel to the other side but the wall is in your way. Fortunately, you have learned that the wall moves as you push it. You begin to push the wall down the tunnel, making progress that provides hope for your goal. However, as you progress, the wall gathers dirt behind it and becomes more and more difficult to push. Soon you reach the place where the wall no longer moves. About this time you see a television screen on the side of the tunnel.
Finally, there seems to be nothing more you can do. Formula Spirituality This seems to describe the Christian life for many people. I have come to call this "formula spirituality". A "spiritual formula" is much the same. But why use a formula? Using a formula in our spiritual life is desirable to many people because of the "cause and effect" rule. In a sense, the formula is designed to control even God. The necessity of companionship. Even though we must walk our own path, there are indeed times when we need help. At points in our lives we require someone who will challenge us or give us guidance. When I left the church two years ago, I had no idea the impact it would have on me. I thought I was doing fine, when in fact I had descended into some kind of numbing spiritual death. At the time I felt fine, but the problem with death is that you get used to it and it becomes the norm. Then, about 3 months ago, it became painfully obvious that I was in desperate need of help.
It was then when I came clean to my counselor. I want to encourage you to find someone to talk to if you are going through such a transition. Wise counsel is precious. Buy a print of my painting. Where Else Could We Go? A young lady whose blog I read has wondered where she stands in her faith now that she has left the legalistic environment of her upbringing. A mother’s entry on another blog states that she has abandoned the Christian faith in spite of being strong and active in years past.
A former pastor wrote on a discussion group that he has left the ministry and the faith because of all the "unfulfilled promises. " He had worked hard and believed that his faithfulness entitled him to something more than the disappointment and frustration he received. These and many others have rejected the performance spirituality that kept them afraid and frustrated, but they have never learned the real message of Jesus for their hearts. When the Christian faith is defined, whether openly or covertly, by the various sets of rules and standards provided by teachers and organizations, there is little or nothing left for those who leave that definition.
This is the Christian life for many people. Was it all a lie? Ancient Underwater Worlds. Thoughts About Rob Bell, John Piper, and Justin Taylor - O Me of Little Faith. I’m not sure what Rob Bell was doing on Saturday, but I wonder how long it took for him to realize that he had blown up the Internet. At least, the Christian twitterverse and blogosphere. Bell, the pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids and the author of Velvet Elvis and Sex God, has a fascinating new book releasing in March — at least, the title is fascinating.
It’s called Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. From the publisher’s copy about the book: In Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith–the afterlife–arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. Sound controversial? While he admitted that he hadn’t read the book yet (!) It is unspeakably sad when those called to be ministers of the Word distort the gospel and deceive the people of God with false doctrine. Farewell, Rob Bell. {Audible sigh.} Thoughts: 1. 2. Neil Gaiman: Hanukkah with bells on - Features - Books. My parents objected. "We're Jewish," they said.
"We don't do Christmas. We do Hanukkah instead. " This did nothing to stop the lobbying. Anyway, Hanukkah was no substitute for Christmas. My parents, unlike my grandparents, didn't always remember to keep Hanukkah, and even when my mother remembered the festival, we children could see that a menorah and candles were not a Christmas tree. My parents kept kosher, went to shul on high holy days but that was the extent of things in our house.
We were surrounded by Christmas, after all. Christmas presents, that was a battle we had already won, my sisters and me. We were not jealous of friends who got Christmas presents. I was a precocious child, and I had read widely, and I struck. "I think you'll find it is, dear," said my mother. "They are actually," I told her, proudly, and precociously, "a pagan relic. I'm not sure why it was better to be a pagan relic, but I hoped it was, and it seemed to shake my mother's certainty. "Are you sure? " The Collision of Faith & Creativity: Interview with Gary Molander. This summer I met Gary Molander at the Echo Conference. He’d just put out a new book, Pursuing Christ. Creating Art.: Exploring Faith at the Intersection of Faith and Creativity (read our review), that was right up our alley. Gary is a former pastor and currently creates church media. That’s right—he’s smack in the middle of the pastor/artist debate, which means he brings a unique insight.
Gary is the founder of the church media company Floodgate Productions. He also founded Floodgate Creative for full service creative work and Floodgate Foundation, which funds community restoration projects in El Salvador. We sat down with Gary to talk about his new book, and stick around for the end because we’re going to give away some free copies of Gary’s book! In the book you make the claim that pastors are artists. I’ve read that line a million times, and even debated whether or not I should leave it in the final manuscript.
I think that’s an art. And to be wrecked by it. I agree. ‘Happy Holidays’ and other four letter words | The Path Less Taken. The cashier was pleasant and friendly. He joked around with the kids, and easily made small talk while he lovingly rang up our toothpaste and toilet paper. He carefully bagged our baubles and breakables, and he made sure to ask if we wanted the drinks we’d just grabbed from the cooler left out. He offered the three year old a sticker. He smiled amiably while he handed me my cash register receipt, and he told me to come again. And then, he said it. The thing that would cause me to roll my eyes and hurry home to write the store a scathing letter detailing exactly why I would be hereby boycotting their store forever. He said, “Happy Holidays.” In front of my children.
No. To be clear, I celebrate Christmas. More than that though, is the fact that nothing anyone else says can take away MY meaning of the holiday. Let me say that again, rephrased: The only one who can take your Christ out of your Christmas is you. How do you take Christ out of Christmas? Don’t take the high road. John 1:5: The Archer’s Grief. The Rosie Show: Randy Roberts Potts and Nate Phelps - OWN TV. Some people are nice while others not so much... which one are you? [VIDEO] "The patriarchal, ego-fortifying, psyche-destroying, soul-crushing, domineering, brain-washing, fear-inducing, manipulative, spiritually abusive world of the fundamentalism I know"