Imagine the scene: Jesus, who once played on the dusty streets of the village of Nazareth, who was probably related in some way to many of the villagers, who perhaps worked side by side with many of his neighbors fixing their homes, little Jesus has grown up…and is starting to gain a reputation for being a teacher and healer. And on this Sabbath day he is coming home to preach for the first time. The whole village turns out to... Read more
A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan. –Martin Luther King, Jr. One afternoon I was at my granddaughter’s house. She was watching a cartoon designed for young preschool children. In each show, the cartoon teaches a lesson about getting along with others and/or about diversity. The main character is a girl and she has three male friends (all of them, animals!). In this particular episode one of the... Read more
Several news outlets, including CBS and NBC, recently covered a story about yet another apparent attack on Christmas. It even made the news in England. A Jewish mom complained about a trip her son’s class was going to take to see Santa, so the school canceled the trip. As one Fox News Commentator put it, this is yet more evidence of the war on Christmas. I’m a pastor. I’ve been a Christian all of my life. Christmas is my favorite holiday... Read more
(Excerpted from: Sunday Schooling Our Kids Out of Church! The True Story of How One Congregation Dropped Sunday School to Save its Soul) The Nones Are Coming! The Nones Are Coming! The latest statistics paint a disturbing picture of faith trends in the U.S. Although 70% of the country still claims to be Christian, the numbers of those identifying with Christianity are dropping (an 8% drop since 2007), while those identifying as “none” in terms of religious faith are growing.... Read more
For the last several years, authors like my friend, David Murrow, have passionately argued for re-engaging men with the Gospel, through the Church–creating a two-fold dilemma for the Christian Church in the 21st Century: The first dilemma: Does the Church even want men? Some will find that question preposterous. Of course the Church wants men. The call of the Church is to reach all people, male and female. I would argue, however, that at least in my denomination, the Evangelical... Read more
Why do men hate going to church? My friend, David Murrow has written a best-selling book on the subject. Filled with all kinds of great insights, David points out many of the ways in which the Church, over the years, has increasingly conformed itself to values and programs that speak better to women. Or, to say it another way, while men may not be able to articulate it, they hate going to church because the church has been feminized. David’s... Read more
In my last post I referenced a book by Paul Raeburn entitled: Do Father’s Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked. Below I highlight 8 of his findings plus two Biblical reasons for why dads matter. I won’t go into the Science or give much detail. You can check out the book. But these are some of the things I found fascinating about the power of dads. We’ll start with the science: 10) A father’s... Read more
Near the end of his book, Do Fathers Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked, Paul Raeburn writes this: Multiple studies suggest that fatherlessness is a major contributor to crime and juvenile delinquency; premature sexuality and out-of-wedlock births to teenagers; deteriorating educational achievement; depression, substance abuse, and alienation among adolescents; and the growing number of women and children in poverty. That list comes from David Popenoe of Rutgers University, who says the decline of fatherhood “is... Read more
Man-up! Take it like a man! Shake it off! Most boys hear those words and exhortations constantly throughout their lives. Men don’t cry! Men suck it up! Act like a man! Recently I’ve been hearing push back on that phrase, with some, like Joe Ehrmann, suggesting that Man Up! is one of the most damaging phrases a boy can hear. Anyone raising a boy or seeing the way boys are often robbed of the ability to express what we often... Read more
If Jesus matters to us, then what matters to Jesus will matter to us. If it matters to us that Jesus matters to our kids, then what matters to Jesus will matter to our kids. The Church matters to Jesus because: Reason #1: It is his Body—the Church is intimately tied to him and he to the Church. He gave his life for the Church. For Jesus, the Church is a matter of life and death and life. Reason #2:... Read more
Searching for Tom Sawyer
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