Monthly Archives: February 2012
Incongruity alert: government IS limited (sometimes)
The current administration and its pundits protest their collective helpnessess in the face of rising oil prices and the concomitant spike in gas prices at the pump. “There is no quick fix” they say.* Not too long ago, the same … Continue reading
Filed under Government & Politics
Incongruity alert: politicians and the spirit world
Maxine Waters (D) refers to John Boehner (R) and Eric Cantor (R) as “demons” to the approving hoops and hollers of her partisan audience. Republican presidential candidate and former Senator Rick Santorum refers to Satan as, well, Satan, before an … Continue reading
Filed under Government & Politics
Kid’s art reveals Dad’s enormous bald head
Children’s art sometimes reveal interesting things about their outlook on life, family and significant events. Our kids have been on an artistic binge of sorts, coloring up a storm. Here are a few my daughter, 7 years old, recently drew. … Continue reading
Filed under Marriage & Family
Pastors as Counselors (and other believers, too)
Many preachers don’t consider themselves counselors, but as David Powlison points out in The Pastor as Counselor, all of us are, to one degree or another, either for good or for ill. Even if you don’t do much counseling officially, … Continue reading
Filed under Pastoring & Preaching
Marks of True Conversion
There have been many Christians who attempt a list of those marks that distinguish true conversion from none, real believers from nominal believers, and so forth. Jonathan Edwards devised a list of marks that would distinguish real revival from spurious … Continue reading
Filed under discipleship, Marriage & Family
What’s a teacher, and should each church have them?
Take a look most church libraries or in their supply closets under “bible study” and most often you find slickly packaged materials complete with assignments and questions that was written by someone outside that church. It is easy to see why this … Continue reading
Filed under Church Health
You DO NOT have the right to remain silent
For criminal suspects, remaining silent is a right and usually a prudent defense strategy. For believers, remaining silent is disobedience. When Jesus was brought to “trial” before the religious leaders (Mark 14:53-72), he could have kept silent and as contrived as … Continue reading
Filed under Devotional
Review: The Book of Man
Review — The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood (William J Bennet, Thomas Nelson 2011). In his previous books William Bennet has shown an amazing ability to gather materials from a variety of eras and sources, and … Continue reading
Filed under Book Review
Sex, rights, and Obama’s contraception accommodation
Taking a step back to view the recent imbroglio over the administration’s decision to require even objecting religious organizations to provide employee health insurance with contraceptive coverage, one might reasonably conclude that this was no mistake by an amateur political team. … Continue reading
Filed under Government & Politics
Family Ministry in Small Churches: what works
The various options of family ministry, as will be assumed here, are what has been termed family-integrated, family-based, and family-equipping (see Perspectives on Family Ministry). A “small church” is one in which there is a high ratio of children needing supervision … Continue reading
Filed under Church Health, Church Plant
