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On The Road Again
In case you haven’t heard yet, we are moving to Colorado! I have accepted the opportunity to become the pastor of two small rural churches 15 miles east of Fort Collins. Whenever you announce something like this, everyone wants to hear the details. After all, you don’t do something crazy like leave your home and…
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Helping The Poor: Isn’t That Works-Based Salvation?
I have always wrestled with this: I know that as Christians, we should help poor people, because it’s the “right thing to do.” Yet, helping the poor is something that everyone feels obligated to do–Christian or not. I often resist focusing in on it, as it often makes Christianity appear to be a “works-based” religion,…
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Can Conversion Be A Process?
I’ve always said yes. Why? Because not everyone can recall a “crisis” moment of salvation where they can point back and say, “That’s when I became born again.” That’s because humans don’t usually make instantaneous decisions–the vast majority of our decisions come about through various lengthy processes. Unfortunately, I realize more fully today that I…
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Per Audra’s Request
Audra thinks I’m being too mean to Andy Stanley. She’s probably right. Actually, I don’t so much have a problem with Andy Stanley, as I do with the general state of the modern church that thinks that we must all strive to be a “success” as we see his church. It bothers me greatly that…
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Arminians Gone Wild
That’s kinda the imagery I think of when I consider seeker-driven churches. It’s this mindset that we have to do and spend all we can to convince/attract/appeal to the unchurched to come to church/God. It’s like our theology of free will propels us to do all we can to get people to choose to come…
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Andy Stanley Is Mistaken, Part 2
So now that I laid the groundwork for my disagreements in the last post, I’ll get into the disagreements themselves. In summary, I believe the best way to fulfill the Great Commission isn’t by doing all you can to get the unchurched to show up at church, but rather to get the churched to go…
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Andy Stanley Is Mistaken, Part 1
At least, that’s my opinion. We are all entitled to our opinions, and I admit that mine could be wrong. But I don’t think it is… 🙂 Last post, I reflected on how many Methodists approve of Andy Stanley’s methods for church growth, yet reject his message. I, on the other hand, agree with Andy…
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Attention Methodists: Andy Stanley Is A Baptist
Ok, so that’s really a lie. That is, unless you’re a Methodist and you are convinced that you’re a Baptist if you believe that everyone has an eternal destination in heaven or hell, and that it’s the Church’s responsibility to reach the unchurched so that they don’t go to hell–well, then that makes Andy Stanley…
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On Taking The Bible Seriously
I had a conversation with Audra’s brother a few days ago, in which he said that he couldn’t understand what the point is for a church to exist if it’s not evangelical. I agreed with him. It quickly turns into merely a social institution (and a rather unimpressive one to the world at that). I…
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Audra Is Now Blogging!
I’d recommend you check hers out, as her posts will surely be more interesting and concise than anything you’ll find here! www.audrafalk.com Oh, and I’ve added a new feature to my blog–a photo gallery. You can access it from the top menu. I’ll be tweaking it to make it more user-friendly, but it will do…