Do you place your hope in Jesus? Or do you tend to place your hope in yourself?
Do Introverted Christians Need To Be Fixed?
A reader shared the following infographic with me and I thought it would be interesting to review and discuss. The infographic compares introverted Christians with extroverted Christians. It suggests that in our culture we tend to hold up extroverted Christians as the model while diminishing the value or esteem of introverted Christians.
This reminded me of people in various small groups that have had no problems praying in private, but great reservations about praying in a public setting such as a small group. I’ve thought to myself…do these people need to be “fixed”? How can I help them?
This infographic has caused me to rethink my perspective on the more introverted Christians I know.
Review the infographic below and let us know what you think on the topic. [Read more…]
You Will Know Them by Their Apps
There used to be a saying “You will know them by the friends that they keep.” Meaning, if someone spends a lot of time with lazy people, they are probably lazy themselves. If you hang out with criminals, you are probably a criminal yourself. There is a lot of wisdom in that saying, but I think this saying should be replaced with an updated saying: “You will know them by their apps.”
Instead of looking at your friends, look at your smart phone or tablet apps. What do you find there? [Read more…]
Good Enough FOR Me
Do you believe that there is such a thing as “good” people? Or perhaps, you know some “good” Christians? We throw this word “good” around all of the time; usually in reference to people that we love and admire and in response to something positive that they did. I’d like to challenge you to consider the fallacy of this type of thinking, and ask you to consider that it is performance driven rather than Grace driven, thus contrary to the Word of God. I believe that this subtle and seemingly innocent false perception often times grows into something quite larger and can in effect have a negative impact on non believers, believers, and ultimately the Body of Christ.
[Read more…]
Today’s Church Becoming Too Cool?
From my own comfy church pew, I’ve recently noticed what seems to be an obsessive pursuit of “cool-relevancy” by the church. In a mass-media, buffet-style world of congregational offerings, it seems like an increased amount of focus is being placed on organizing media presentations and coffee bar locations, rather than intimate interaction with new members and plans for deeper spiritual growth.
While I understand that we cannot grow people until we get them through the doors, I also think that there could be a downfall to spending too much time adhering to the tire-less march of reinvention. It may threaten to blind new Christians to the realities that being a Christian is less about slick slide show presentations, cool gadgetry and ease of bible use, and more about uncomfortable, slow, change (sanctification).
[Read more…]