Barnabas's Blog: Winston Churchill and the Significance of Words. Bible Teaching Notes. Does Jesus Hate Religion? Kinda, Sorta, Not Really. UPDATE: Since I posted this article, Jefferson Bethke and I have had a chance to talk by email and over the phone.
I included some of our conversation in a follow up post. I hope you will be as encouraged by the exchange as I was. There’s a new You Tube video going viral and it’s about Jesus and religion. Specifically how Jesus hates religion. The video—which in a few days has gone from hundreds of views to thousands to millions—shows Jefferson Bethke, who lives in the Seattle area, delivering a well-crafted, sharply produced, spoken word poem.
Before I say anything else, let me say Jefferson Bethke seems like a sincere young man who wants people to know God’s scandalous grace. And yet (you knew it was coming), amidst a lot of true things in this poem there is a lot that is unhelpful and misleading. This video is the sort of thing that many younger Christians love. Verse 1 Okay, so the line about Republicans is a cheap shot (if you vote GOP) or a prophetic stance (if you like Jim Wallis). Ministry Resources for Pastors from James MacDonald. Jan 10 2012 I wish I could tell you that most pastors are preaching the Word.
I can’t—some are not. Here are five things we may choose to do instead of preaching the Word. None of those things are wrong—unless they displace the preaching of the Word of God. Some teachers will tell you that you need to tell stories in your sermons or you will bore people. Are you bored? You have to get the word of God, let it grip you heart by the power of the Holy Spirit and drive over to church with something to say. Now if a story fits in, I might tell you a story before I sit down, but don’t make that your thing. Since when is the man of God some Dr. The preaching of the gospel has become so watered down that the non-elect can’t even reject it. I just hate this notion that we can be so clever and sophisticated that we can remove the offense from the gospel. We’re supposed to love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. Luke 10:16 —Jesus said, “He who hears you, hears me.” Tall Skinny Kiwi: 9 reasons NOT to plant a church in 2012.
[UPDATE: When you are finished reading this post, go here to the second post in this series: Practices of a New Jesus Movement.]
"Church planting is the most effective form of evangelism under heaven" said C.Peter Wagner. I know he said that. I was there. I was a young [and good looking] Seminary student sitting in his classroom when he said it. It was a welcomed idea, proven scientifically more effective than trying to expand older church structures. But now it's 2012 and while some young, enthusiastic people are out there planting churches like its 1997, others are focusing on launching more sustainable, more holistic, more measurably transformational Kingdom solutions. One of the biggest trends in church planting that I observed in my recent 30+ country trek is the SHIFT AWAY FROM planting churches towards NOT planting a church at all but focusing on a wider range of transforming Kingdom activities.
. - Same in Indonesia. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. That's the subject of another post.