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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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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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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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Praise God For A Flat Tire!
Yes, you heard that right. I’m blown away that I got a flat tire on my car today. Why would I be praising God for this? Read on… I should have replaced the tires on my car a long time ago. They’ve been bald for at least a few months now. The problem is, we…
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A Better Approach Than $115 Million For My New Church Building
A few posts ago, I linked to an article from christianpost.com about First Baptist Church’s (Dallas, TX) mega-building campaign. In contrast, read this other article from the same site, spotlighting the Church At Brook Hills here in Birmingham, AL. Linkaroo I especially like what David Platt had to say about measuring the effectiveness/success of a…
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Is Humanity Evil?
Or have we moved beyond such depravity as a species? Today’s way of thinking immediately dismisses the notion of people being evil. We think mass murderers/pedophiles can simply be redeemed. Actually, I agree with that. My understanding of evil includes the possibility of redemption (which is why I am a Christian), but I believe that…
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Biblical Controversy
I see two different types of controversies in the Bible: Passages that are controversial when you compare them to other passages in the Bible. Passages that are controversial when you compare them to today’s culture. Unfortunately, many people don’t see the difference between these two types of controversial passages. With the first type of controversial…