Saturday, June 18, 2011
Comic Art
HEROES AND ARTISTS - MEDUSA
Scott Cohn
Phillip Tan
Alex Garner
Paul Pelletier
Bruce Timm
Scott Cohn
Phillip Tan
Alex Garner
Paul Pelletier
Bruce TimmTechnorati Tags:comics, comic books, comic art, heroes and artists, medusa
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Friday, June 17, 2011
Set Them Free
Ron Edmondson discusses "3 Results of Controlling Leadership":
- Leaders leave
- Followers stay
- Organizations stall
Sounds very right to me and we see it so often, on so many levels.
I am not always sure about all the talk of "leaders" in the church - the church should be about servants, even in its leaders. It is also borrowing a world vocabulary for something that should be decidedly unworldly, but let's take it at face value.
Not only do "leaders leave" in this situation, they do not develop. Among the many things the church is supposed to do it is supposed to develop people in all the roles they choose to take in church, and to some extent, out of it.
Something is not quite right when the church has to "attract" leaders - it should be making them.
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Friday Humor
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Thursday, June 16, 2011
Here's An Idea
Chaplain Mike suggests what the church should be about
The bottom line is so simple, the church does not make converts, the church makes Christians, something much more than a mere convert. Christians are not made by preaching alone. Christians are not made by programs. Christians are made by other Christians.
The church needs to get about its business.
- CELEBRATION
- FORMATION
- VOCATION
- MISSION
here is a brief excerpt from his description of "celebration":
The gathering of believers for worship on the Lord’s Day should always be the central meeting of the church. It should be designed for believers, though any gathering of the church should be open, welcoming, and hospitable to anyone who comes.What's sad, is that seems like a radical vision in today's world, And yet there is nothing radical about it - it's what the church is supposed to have been for centuries, and has occasionally achieved.
The bottom line is so simple, the church does not make converts, the church makes Christians, something much more than a mere convert. Christians are not made by preaching alone. Christians are not made by programs. Christians are made by other Christians.
The church needs to get about its business.
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Illuminated Scripture
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
It Should Go Deeper
Al Mohler discusses intellectual discipleship:
Those things are components - important components no doubt, but they are not the whole story. Above all else, Christianity is spiritual and supernatural. Those components, and others, at their best guide is towards the spiritual and supernatural. I, for one, cannot claim to have reached that level, but I do know that level is what I seek.
It is important when we discuss the path to Christ that we remember, at least as best as we can, the destination. To often we confuse the path with the destination and the result is that, like the Israelites, we wander the wilderness, but never reach the Promised Land.
I have spent so much time trying to develop my 'intellectual discipleship' and yet, I am so flawed and so far from Christ.
A robust and rich model of Christian thinking—the quality of thinking that culminates in a God-centered worldview—requires that we see all truth as interconnected. Ultimately, the systematic wholeness of truth can be traced to the fact that God is himself the author of all truth. Christianity is not a set of doctrines in the sense that a mechanic operates with a set of tools. Instead, Christianity is a comprehensive worldview and way of life that grows out of Christian reflection on the Bible and the unfolding plan of God revealed in the unity of the Scriptures.First of all - Christianity is not a worldview; Christians have a worldview, but it is not what makes them Christian. It's not a 'way of life' either - Judaism so qualifies.
Those things are components - important components no doubt, but they are not the whole story. Above all else, Christianity is spiritual and supernatural. Those components, and others, at their best guide is towards the spiritual and supernatural. I, for one, cannot claim to have reached that level, but I do know that level is what I seek.
It is important when we discuss the path to Christ that we remember, at least as best as we can, the destination. To often we confuse the path with the destination and the result is that, like the Israelites, we wander the wilderness, but never reach the Promised Land.
I have spent so much time trying to develop my 'intellectual discipleship' and yet, I am so flawed and so far from Christ.
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Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Can't Be Done
Joe Carter passes on the question:
On the one hand it is a useful exercise to distill something, But Scripture, as the word of God, is more than just information to be distilled - It is God speaking to us, often in the moment and at different moments He will have different things to say to us.
Secondly, Scripture is a guide for life, and life simply cannot be distilled into a sentence or two.
In this age of solutions in a box, I think the last thing we need to do with Christianity is put it in a box. That reduced THE GOSPEL to something that is merely another consumer choice. It accentuates the trend of compartmentalizing life.
We need an expansive view of Christianity.
What’s the Message of the Bible in One Sentence?I find myself wondering if this is a useful exercise or an invitation to mischief, even if well-intentioned mischief.
On the one hand it is a useful exercise to distill something, But Scripture, as the word of God, is more than just information to be distilled - It is God speaking to us, often in the moment and at different moments He will have different things to say to us.
Secondly, Scripture is a guide for life, and life simply cannot be distilled into a sentence or two.
In this age of solutions in a box, I think the last thing we need to do with Christianity is put it in a box. That reduced THE GOSPEL to something that is merely another consumer choice. It accentuates the trend of compartmentalizing life.
We need an expansive view of Christianity.
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Kitty Kartoons
Featuring, This Week Only - The REAL Indy Char:
Related Tags: cartoons, catblogging, Aggie, Flash, LoganVMonday, June 13, 2011
Make Peace
Milt Stanley links to a piece on our tendency to "go along to get along.":
To often, we sense "attack" and grow defensive which means we never hear the actual point the "attacker" is trying to make. A lot of times, the point being made is a good one, maybe even one we agree with, but we have worked so hard to makes things the way we want them that the slight adjustment their point leads to cannot be tolerated. Nonsense - listen and learn.
There are no more important words in conflict than "You were right, I was wrong." Yes, a little humble pie goes a long way. And the most important aspect of it is it builds trust. How do you restore a relationship after conflict? If both sides do not admit their mistakes - then neither side can truly trust the other. Without trust there can be no real restoration.
In the end, that is why I think we just go along to get along. Our egos will not allow us to admit our mistakes, so we avoid conflict so that things can keep functioning on some level.
Problem is, they are not really functioning.
Sounds like a lot of churches to me. Aren’t we “Church Nice”? Isn’t our tendency to smile and pretend that all is okay, at least until the person is out of earshot, and then we say what we really think. We call it being “gracious.” Hmmm. I wonder.We really do have to learn how to fight in the church. I think there are two important things we need to learn in order to do so. We have to learn to listen and we have to learn humility.
Isn’t it interesting how explicit Scripture is? If you have something against someone, it is your responsibility to go to them (Matt 18:15). If you know your brother or sister has something against you, it is your responsibility to go to them (Matt 5:23-24). It is always your responsibility.
To often, we sense "attack" and grow defensive which means we never hear the actual point the "attacker" is trying to make. A lot of times, the point being made is a good one, maybe even one we agree with, but we have worked so hard to makes things the way we want them that the slight adjustment their point leads to cannot be tolerated. Nonsense - listen and learn.
There are no more important words in conflict than "You were right, I was wrong." Yes, a little humble pie goes a long way. And the most important aspect of it is it builds trust. How do you restore a relationship after conflict? If both sides do not admit their mistakes - then neither side can truly trust the other. Without trust there can be no real restoration.
In the end, that is why I think we just go along to get along. Our egos will not allow us to admit our mistakes, so we avoid conflict so that things can keep functioning on some level.
Problem is, they are not really functioning.
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