Tag Archives: slander

Mar 8 2013

this went thru my mind

 

Church, ministry & the younger generation: The “Oh-Crap” Calling by Dan Bouchelle [required reading]

“… 81% of students in seminary do not intend to work for existing churches. I hear the same thing from every Christian university where I visit. …  this is a problem on a large scale. It crosses all fellowships. The church in the United States has serious issues with the emerging adult population.”

Church dropouts & evangelicals: Walking Away from Church by Patrick Mitchel

“Displaced followers: frustrated, angry, hurt rejection of the church. Reflective Exiles: wrestling with questions of faith in general. Transitional Explorers: open to new spiritualities, dissatisfied with previous experience. Integrated Wayfinders: have arrived at a new understanding of the Christian faith.”

Humor: The Top 13 Demotivators® Posters Of All Time

“After we finished our perusal of the Top 10 Iconic Motivational Posters (and we put away our sick bags), we decided it deserved a reply, and who better than us to write it? And so, after much deliberation and debate, we’ve created our own list- The Top 13 Demotivators® Posters of All Time, using sales data, social sharing, frequency of inclusion in Build-Your-Own-Calendars, and other semi-scientific analytic tools to compile it.”

Lord’s Prayer: What Does ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’ Mean?

* “The phrase ‘hallowed be thy name’ … means something like ‘Let your name be sanctified” or ‘Please sanctify your name.’ It’s the first of three petitions that mean roughly the same thing … Let your name be sanctified; Let your Kingdom come; Let your will be done, as in heaven also on earth.”

Slander: Slander: This is a Heart Issue by John T. Willis

“Let us all pray for slanderers and groups of slanderers.”

Wealth inequality: Americans Nearly Unanimous on ‘Ideal’ Wealth Distribution, But Unaware of Real Levels of Inequality [required viewing; 6 min., 24 sec. video]

“There’s a chart … I can’t get out of my head. … the reality in this country is not at all what we think it is.”

Jan 3 2013

this went thru my mind

 

Apologetics, C.S. Lewis & witness: Why ‘Mere Christianity’ Should Have Bombed by John G. Stackhouse, Jr.

“Sixty years ago, London publisher Geoffrey Bles first released a revision of three sets of radio talks by an Oxford literature don. The book was called Mere Christianity, and there was nothing ‘mere’ about it. A somewhat disjointed set of C. S. Lewis’s views on a wide range of theological, philosophical, and ethical matters, the book became the most important and effective defense of the Christian faith in its century. As Mere Christianity (henceforth “MC”) goes into its seventh decade of publishing success, rivaled still by no other apologetic, it’s worth taking a look at its unlikely success.”

Benevolence & violence: The Bad Samaritan by James McGrath [required reading]

“… what ought we to say about those in our time who claim to be followers of Jesus, and yet sound more like the Samaritan in the image above than the one in the original story?”

Bible interpretation: Pete Enns: “Hey, Get Away from My Bible!“–Christian Appropriation of a Jewish Bible

“We trust the first Christians in their interpretation of the OT, not so much because of how they interpreted it but because of the one whom they were proclaiming in their interpretation. That may not make much sense. It may even sound a bit odd, so let me try to explain.”

Church & ministry: Lies We’ve Been Told But Have Bought Anyway by Dave Jacobs [required reading]

“If you work really hard you can grow your church. … Great preaching and great music will bring great growth. … Mission statements are really important. … Outreach events result in church growth. … If a church isn’t growing there must be something wrong. … All healthy things grow and reproduce. ..”

Computing, hacking, & security: Anonymous: ‘Expect Us’ in 2013

“Along with a statement released over the weekend, which stated that the world should ‘Expect us 2013,’ the hackers issued a video boasting of cyberattacks which took place last year — including temporarily shutting down the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and attacks against the Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) web site in protest at the closure of file-hosting website MegaUpload.”

Critics, criticism, leadership & ministry: Death, Taxes & Criticism by Dan Bouchelle [required reading]

“Nothing is more ubiquitous than criticism including death and taxes. No matter what you do you will be criticized. If you don’t do anything you will be criticized. If you take criticism to heart and respond with explanations you are defensive. If you give into criticism you are indecisive and unprincipled. If you ignore criticism you are out of touch, inflexible, or pig-headed. If you listen but don’t response as desired, you are insincere. You can’t avoid criticism. You can only decide from whom you want it to come and for what reasons you want to receive it. But, come it will. Anyone in leadership learns this in time.”

Evil, God, pain, suffering & violence: “Why, God?” Asked the American People, and Would Not Stay for an Answer by John Stackhouse

“We certainly don’t want to look any harder than easy, quick, simple solutions …”

Gossip & slander: The Most Ignored Sin by Jon Zens

“Bob Mumford once said, ‘The Christian army is the only one that shoots its wounded.’ Regrettably, I have observed his statement to be all too true.”

Leadership: Behavior Lessons for Leadership and Teamwork by Deborah Gruenfeld [required reading]

“Before a critical meeting with your boss, an important customer, or your teenage son or daughter, do you spend time mentally roughing out and revising what you are going to say? If so, social psychologist Deborah Gruenfeld has a message for you: You are misdirecting your energy. Spend time instead practicing how to walk, stand, sit, and quickly grasp how other people are moving their bodies.”

Murder, respect, violence & words: Jesus on Murder

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.” (Matthew 5:21-22) … As Christ’s church we are called to believe this seeming stretch of a connection between insult (which we routinely accept and sometimes proudly practice) and murder (which we roundly condemn and mourn).”

Non-violence & peace: (Dis)Arming the Disciples by Drew Strait

“For Jesus, the evil of Rome would be defeated not through personal armament but through a revolution of God’s love displayed on a Roman cross.”

Jan 2 2013

this went thru my mind

 

Bible interpretation: The Purpose of the First Testament by Chaplain Mike

“After 35 years in pastoral ministry and Biblical study, I’m convinced that many if not most Christians have a simplistic view of ‘The Bible’ and how it came to us (if they even think about that question at all).”

Communication & relationships: Communicating With Men Tips by Ron Edmonson

“My counseling background and years of experience working with couples has given me insight into some of the barriers men and women face when communicating. I realize not all men are alike, but there are some generalities that can perhaps help a woman better understand a man and improve communication.”

Control, gender roles, men & women: Control over Races and Women: This is a Heart Issue by John T. Willis

“Throughout human history, various cultures have adopted the idea and practice that men are superior to women. The Bible itself reflects this view. But this is not a truth of God as presented in the Bible–Old or New Testament!!!”

Foreign missions & missionaries: Do You Really Support Our Troops! by Mark Woodward

“When the nation is tired of foreign entanglements, the church becomes tired of them as well.”

Gossip: Stopping Gossip in 7 Ways by Ron Edmonson [required reading]

“…  I’m listing 7 suggestions for how to stop, or at least slow, the spread of gossip. Will you consider each and take them personal? If the shoe fits will you wear it. Together, perhaps we can help stop the deadly spread of this harmful virus!”

Les Miserables: * A Pastor’s Take on the New Les Miserables by John Frye; * Jesus Himself Would Have Bought a Ticket and Waited on a Half Hour Line to See ‘Les Miserables’ by Peter Enns [required reading]

* “Anyone who knows the storyline of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables (Les Mis) knows that any cinematic rendition will push strongly against the most common USAmerican movie theme: revenge. … If you’re not the church going kind of person, or if you were but left because Christians are fake and self-absorbed, or if your main exposure to Christianity has been TV evangelists or the Tea party, you ought to see this movie.”

* “Les Mis will help you see what the Bible means, and what the church at its best has meant, by ‘good news.’”

Aug 29 2012

this went thru my mind

 

Angry Christians: D. A. Carson on Angry Christians and the Devil’s Tactics by David Rogers

“… at the end of the day, if you can’t do it with compassion, and gently, and leave the doors open for evangelism, boy, you destroy everything.”

Archaeology: Jewish Worship, Pagan Symbols: Zodiac Mosaics in Ancient Synagogues by Walter Zanger

“It isn’t the synagogues themselves that are the problem; it is the decorations in them. What in heaven’s name were they doing? How could they be making pictures, especially in the synagogue? Didn’t they know the second commandment?”

Bible interpretation: Long, Long Ago, in a Land Far, Far Away…. (What I’m Saying is the Bible is Really, Really Old) by Peter Enns

“It seems many of us, myself included, can get a bit careless, even cavalier, about the Bible, thinking that we ‘get it’ because we happen to read it regularly in our native tongue. Perhaps we should regain a sense of respect for the distance this book has traveled to land on our coffee tables and work desks.”

Megachurches: Megachurch ‘High’ May Explain Their Success

“A University of Washington study posits that worship services at megachurches can trigger feelings of transcendence and changes in brain chemistry — a spiritual ‘high’ that keeps congregants coming back for more. … Researchers observed services and conducted 470 interviews and about 16,000 surveys at 12 megachurches for the University of Washington study.”

Mormonism: Polygamy, Brigham Young and His 55 Wives

“Brigham Young, Joseph Smith’s successor as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had a tremendous number of wives. … The sheer variety of Brigham Young’s marriages makes it difficult to make sense of them. He married — was sealed to, in Mormon parlance — young … and old … single women and widows … his first two mothers-in-law … [and] women who were already married, some to Mormon men in good standing.”

Politics: Why Christians Should be Leery About Politics by Scott Elliott [required reading]

“Here are a few reasons why we should remain skeptical of politics in general: politics promotes unethical behavior … politics embraces the language of gloom and doom … it is a choice between the lesser of two evils … politics is divisive … [and] politics offers a false sense of salvation.”

Poverty, respect, slander & speech: Slandering the Poor: An Exercise in Self-Righteousness by Craig M. Watts [required reading]

“… the fact of the matter is that most of the adult poor and near poor do work. It is not because of a lack of effort that they are poor but because of a lack of decent income. And that lack of income is coupled with a lack of opportunity. …

“But none of this has stopped the negative attitudes and widespread slander of the poor. A study commissioned by the Salvation Army found that 49% of American believes that a strong work ethic is all that is required for someone to escape poverty and about three in 10 said poor people usually have lower moral values. Given these views it is not surprising that this same study found that 27% of Americans believe poor people are poor, not because of economic circumstances, but because they are lazy.”

Same-sex marriage: When and Unclean Touch by Mark Buchanan

“Recently, a young couple started coming to our church. They’re very likable. They married a few years ago on the other side of the country, then migrated west to our town, and visited several churches until they ended up in ours. Both take their faith seriously. Both are seeking a place where they can worship, serve, grow. They want a loving and Christ-centered environment in which to raise their daughters in the ‘nurture and admonition of the Lord.’ Both are women. Linda and Rita are lesbians. … We didn’t know what to do with them.”

Time management: The Eisenhower Matrix

“Notice how The Eisenhower Matrix places the most positive emphasis on Quadrant I. That differs from the chart above that the late Stephen Covey promoted in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, where he numbered the boxes differently and said Quadrant II is where you want to spend most of your time for effective time management.”