Are there people God can't stand? This past Sunday, I got a new insight into something that has been discussed by theologians and scholars for centuries. It relates to the concept of "atonement" or the process by which God forgives sins. The teaching of the Bible is clear that God forgives sins …
Do the Courts Define Marriage?
UPDATE: On Friday, June 17, 2014, a federal appeals court issued a stay against the enforcement of the previous court's decision. Therefore, even though the current Indiana State Law prohibiting same-sex marriage is considered unconstitutional, it remains in effect until a higher court appeal is …
There’s an app for that
Today, I learned that there is an app for breaking up. That's right. There is an app to help you end a relationship. Click this link if you want to see it in action. Some of you need to download the app today, and I'm not joking. See, for the past few weeks, we have been talking about some really …
Tithing is not “Giving to God”
This past Sunday, I closed out my message with a statement that I honestly felt was controversial but something that should be said nevertheless. I said that tithing is not giving to God. …
Choosing God’s Word
I remember years ago talking with a man about faith in God. We interacted for about an hour. He asked me questions about my faith, I asked him questions about his worldview, and we talked. However, there was a moment in our conversation when something changed and it became clear to me that there …
Tough Decisions
Difficult Decisions and the Favor of God For some weeks now, we have been studying from the book of Daniel and learning two very important lessons that work together in our lives. The first lesson, we called the "surface lesson" and it stated simply that God meets the faithful in the fire. The …
Is Modern Worship too Simplistic?
Earlier this week, a discussion among the worship band members at my church pointed to this article where Bill Blankschaen describes his frustration with worship songs sung in churches on Sunday mornings and tells us "Why I've stopped singing in your church." As of this writing right now, he has …
Reflections on Sin
Some Context This past week, a number of stories came out in my local newspaper reporting on and analyzing the arrest of a local pastor. He has been accused of placing and monitoring video equipment in the female bathrooms at the church. If you haven't read the articles, don't worry about not …
All this sound with only three guys
With Everything (Elevation Remix) - by Hillsong United from Elevation Worship on Vimeo. The quality of music coming out of Elevation Church is truly remarkable especially when you consider many of the risks they take regarding instrumentation. Check out their Vimeo page to see more. …
Follow the (Crazy) Leader
Leadership takes guts and authenticity. Lead well and you're unstoppable. …
Cooperation Makes for a Good Day
Found at this other blog. Quoting the original article: This unexpected, spontaneous, and scripted dance (aka Flash dance) was performed by over twenty thousand people. How did they do it? Planners recruited 800 people using Facebook and Twitter Choreographers taught a simple dance …
Organizational Insights from Numbers 2
This morning, I was reading the first few chapters of Numbers. I have to be honest with you, and I am somewhat ashamed to admit, I wasn't expecting much. Aside from a few interesting (and confusing) stories, the book of Numbers is filled with, you guessed it, numbers! The first few chapters are all …
Continue Reading about Organizational Insights from Numbers 2
Helping People Resolve Conflict
When two people are in conflict with each other, bringing about resolution can be difficult. However, when two Christians are in conflict, the process of reconciliation should not be as hard as it is. In conflict situations, I like to ask a few questions: Describe all the sin in this conflict. …
Religulous
This morning, as research for my next sermon series, I watched Bill Maher's documentary Religulous (a conflation of the terms "religious" and "ridiculous") and wanted to post just a few thoughts here... …
I will write a novel in 30 days
Have you ever heard of NaNoWriMo? I hadn't heard of it until last year during the middle of November and by then it was too late for me to get into it, but the basic idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in the span of 30 days. Now, if you are like I was, you probably are initially thinking that …
New Church Brochures
I just finished putting together two new church brochures for our Grand Opening service on Sunday. By the way, if you haven't heard yet, we are changing our church name to Lafayette Community Church. Read About It Here. I'm uploading both brochures here for your use if you want. LCC Baptism …