Tag Archives: atheism

Mar 7 2013

this went thru my mind

 

Atheism: New Atheism is Dead

“… New Atheism is in decline because more atheists see the social benefits of religion.”

Books, publishing & sales: Why Evangelicals Have All the Bestsellers

“HarperOne just released The NRSV Daily Bible, a wonderful project that divides the Scriptures into 365 readings with prayers and meditations that deepen and amplify your daily practice. But chances are you will not have heard of it or seen it. Why is that? The answer has a lot to do with why evangelicals have all the Christian bestsellers and why there are so few (if any) mainline Protestant leaders who have a national profile. I thought it would be interesting for you to hear about our publishing challenge and to ask you for advice or counsel on how to solve the problem.”

Church: * The New Traditional Church by Tony Morgan [required reading]; * What If Target Operated Like a Church? by Tony Morgan

“This is going to sound a little sacriligious, but I’m wondering what would happen if we eliminated some ministries of the contemporary church. What would happen, as an example, if we only asked people to invest their time in this way: Participate in corporate worship and Bible teaching. Read your Bible. Serve others. Make disciples.”

“… churches are sort of notorious for worshiping methods and traditions whether or not they actually produce results.”

Churches of Christ: * The Dividing Line is the Solution to Unity by Terry Rush; * Why Churches of Christ Are Shrinking – Part 3: A Misplaced Identity and a Failure to Truly Believe in Grace by James Nored

“Do we look like Washington or does Washington look like us?  Polarization is now in chasmic proportion … in both places. The Republicans and the Democrats work against each other just like the Baptists and the Presbyterians or the Church of Christ and the Church of Christ. “

“… despite this clear command and the way that his followers will be known as his–their love for one another–Churches of Christ have tended to place their identity in something else. Churches of Christ have placed their identity–that which they hold most dear and which makes them “distinctive,” the way that you know a church is a church of Jesus Christ–by something else entirely. That identity is not placed in Christ and our love for one another, but in having the right, well, you know what it is. The right name, worship, and leadership structure, and a host of other things.”

Computer security & identity theft: Your Weakest Link: All Those Online Accounts You’ve Forgotten About

“Spend two or three hours tracking down all your accounts. After you’ve written them all down, separate them into categories of importance based on the information they hold. After you’re done sorting, then purge, baby, purge! Get rid of anything you don’t use weekly: Delete the account outright, or log into the account and delete all the personal information you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Evangelism & outreach: * Video: Texas Congregation Launches ‘Bar Church’ to Reach Outside Its Walls; * Bar Church

“The Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas, is launching ‘Bar Church.’”

“The mission of Bar Church is to take the gospel of Jesus to people who are unwilling, as a result of feelings of unworthiness or prior negative experiences with a church, to participate in a traditional church gathering within a traditional church setting.  We believe it’s something Jesus might do.”

Forgiveness & guilt: Why Do I Still Feel Guilty After Asking For Forgiveness?

“We have to discipline ourselves to trust the fact of our forgiveness over the feelings of our phantom guilt.”

History: The Big Question

“Q: What day most changed the course of history?”

The Bible mini-series: Weird Things on the Set of ‘The Bible’

“The producers of the History Channel special The Bible (filmed in the Sahara), a show which got cable’s highest-rated audience of the year last Sunday (13.1 million viewers), reports the following oddities …”

Feb 22 2013

this went thru my mind

 

Atheism: Reflections on the New Atheism by Alister McGrath

“For Christianity, faith is about going beyond reason, not against it. Faith transcends the limits of reason, allowing us to embrace what we know really is there, even if we cannot prove this by logic. Faith is a relational idea, pointing to the capacity of God to captivate our imaginations, to excite us, to transform us, and to accompany us on the journey of life. Faith goes beyond what is logically demonstrable, yet is nevertheless capable of rational motivation and foundation.”

Church, Jesus, ministry & spirituality: * Ending the Search for the Holy Grail by Dan Bouchelle [required reading]; * DIY Spirituality

* “This is precisely my problem. I love the idea of church, but the reality is something else entirely. … But, serving a real church in the trenches, beyond this safe enclave of preparation for ministry—living in it every day with its unchangeable weakness in your face—that grows hard to accept over time when it doesn’t go away despite all your supposedly excellent theological training and skill.”

* “… DIY spirituality promises freedom but delivers futility. … This is not a blanket defense of religion or all traditions. Not all institutional expressions of the faith are equal. It’s to some people’s credit that they leave some churches. But that only underscores the importance of finding a spiritual home where flourishing is possible.”

Immigration: The ‘Line’ For Legal Immigration Is Already About 4 Million People Long

“… it will be awhile longer before applicants from 1997 are eligible.”

Leadership: 11 Simple Concepts to Become a Better Leader by Dave Kerpen

“Below are the eleven most important principles to integrate to become a better leader.”

PowerPoint: Better PowerPoint: What We REALLY Remember From PowerPoint Presentations

“1,540 subjects participated in the study, where I started with a very basic question applied to a very basic on-demand presentation: How many slides does a viewer remember, on average, from a text-only, standalone online PowerPoint presentation containing 20 slides? … Participants remembered an average of 4 slides from a 20-slide, standalone, text-only PowerPoint presentation.”

Time & productivity: Top 10 Time Killers (and how to fight back!) [infographic]

“… we’ve compiled a list of the Top 10 Time Killers, based on the percentage of people spending time between 1-2 hours a day on each non-productive activity.”

Women: A Culture of Duality by Deana Nall [required reading]

“Based on what women have shared with me about this, I’ve identified a few recurring situations that can make women feel slighted in church settings.”

Oct 10 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Church & men: Why Men Still Hate Going to Church: An Interview with David Murrow

“Ninety percent of churches are under 150 on Sunday morning. Many of them have tremendous growth potential. Their buildings are paid off and they sit in a strong financial position. But many are graying and failing to reach young people. The problem is that they’re trying to reach young people by reaching young women. They do things like improving the nursery or starting a ladies’ Bible study. Those things aren’t wrong, but you’re never going to get guys that way. You might get a few people right away, but what you don’t realize is that you’re hobbling your church for the long term.”

Hurricanes: Hurricanes Since 1851 [infographic]

“… here’s a bottoms-up view of known tropical storms and hurricanes dating back to 1851.”

Parenting, politics, respect & speech: A Mother’s Plea To Christians During This Election Season by Tara Edelschick

” … if I want our three children to be healthy citizens in a democracy, I get little support from our culture this time of year.  To be sure, I don’t get support from the secular circles in which I run; but it’s more upsetting to me when the vitriol I see comes from within my faith community.  This post, then, is my plea – as a mother – for civil, Christian political discourse.”

Religion & nones: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation

“The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling. In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15% to just under 20% of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics (nearly 6% of the U.S. public), as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation (14%).”

Aug 25 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Church decline: One Observation of Declining Churches by Ron Edmonson

“I’ve worked with a number of churches in decline. One thing I’ve noticed that is fairly consistent among declining churches is what they do once they realize they are in decline. … They dig their heels into the tradition that got them where they are today. They go back to what’s comfortable. They resist any changes in what they’ve done before, hoping to avert future decline.”

College: The Rising Cost of Higher Education [infographic]

“The College Board forecasts that in 15 years, the cost of a four-year college education at a private college will top $400,000 (at the current rate of increases).”

Deacons & deaconesses: #359 – Deacons, Ministers, or …? by Patrick Mead [required reading]

“Rather than use made up words like ‘deacon’ and made up words formed from made up words (!) like ‘deaconesses’ it would seem to make more sense to use the Biblical concept and call both of them ‘ministers’ or ‘servants.’”

Doubt: What Christians Can Learn From A Bible-Belt Pastor Who Became An Atheist Leader

“The problem of personal evil and suffering was a huge factor in his de-conversion.”

Food: 40% of U.S. Food Wasted, Report Says

“The report points out waste in all areas of the U.S. food supply chain, from field to plate, from farms to warehouses, from buffets to school cafeterias.”

Learning: Ministry Inside.90 by Jim Martin

“The following are five suggestions for learning from ‘masters.’”

Productivity: What Successful People Do With The First Hour Of Their Work Day

“…  many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too. The first hour of the workday goes a bit differently …”

Sharing faith: Ten Questions to Diagnose the Evangelistic Health of Your Church by Thom Rainer

“In my work with churches across America, I often ask a series of questions that help me assist the church to become more evangelistically focused. Recently, I took time to write down the questions I ask most often. Look at these ten questions to get at least some hints of the evangelistic health of your own church.”

The Pledge of Allegiance: A Restless Patriotism by Richard Beck [required reading]

“I’m a mess when it comes to the Pledge of Allegiance. Sometimes I say it. Sometimes I don’t. Social context generally determines what I do, with the main criterion being not wanting to embarrass anyone or make anyone feel uncomfortable. I also struggle with not saying the Pledge as I don’t want to be taken as being ungrateful or dismissive of those who have made sacrifices for everything I enjoy in America. So I’m trying to walk this line between being socially appropriate, respectful to others (particularly to those who have lost loved ones in war), deeply grateful, and yet holding onto the belief that the Pledge of Allegiance is inherently idolatrous. That’s a tough line to walk and I don’t walk it well or very consistently.”