As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Serving as a bi-vocational pastor has undeniable challenges…both pastors and police officers statistically have high burnout rates. To maintain his mental, emotional and spiritual health, he surrounds himself with biblical support, from his wife and the elders at his church to weekly meetings with a Christian counselor.” - C.Post
“It’s not that our students ‘got smarter’ when they left home; rather, someone actually treated them as intelligent. Rather than dumbing down the message, the agnostics and atheists treat our youth as intelligent and challenge their intellect with “deep thoughts” of question and doubt.” - C.Leaders
“In short order, we went from 250 songs everyone knows to more than 250,000 songs nobody knows… . The key is familiarity. People enjoy singing songs they know.” - C.Leaders
“While individual NRB members have wide-ranging views on the subject, the association has not weighed in on the question of the personal choices being made with respect to vaccines, because this is outside the scope of NRB’s public policy engagement” - CPost
I’d like to share the way our congregation structures its worship service. I have nothing special to offer―only my own reflections on where our congregation is, and perhaps where we’ll go. What we do on Sunday mornings, and how we do it, is important. Perhaps my comments here will be useful.
Many Christians don’t think critically about what happens on Sundays. This isn’t a rebuke, just an observation. Over 40 years ago, Robert G. Rayburn shared similar misgivings:
“Pastor Greg Fairrington, during an Aug. 1 sermon, told congregants of his church to ‘do your job as Christians on Sept. 14 and vote yes on recalling an immoral governor.’” - C.Post
“I had been prepped to be wary of family-dominated churches, of people whose people had been in the church for multiple generations. It was an unwritten rule that many generations in a church was probably not healthy, that those people would reflexively side against their ‘outsider’ pastor. Bah, humbug. Bad advice.” - SBCVoices
Prior to 2020, there was only one stretch of time in my life when people ceased from their normal routines and showed a profound interest in spiritual things.
That, of course, was in the days following Sept. 11, 2001. The response was palpable. It was overwhelmingly patriotic, unifying and somber. People also turned their minds toward eternity. In fact, their reaction was so robust in those early days and weeks after the terrorist attacks that some even pondered if we were witnessing the beginnings of a genuine revival.
“The necessity of a first among coequals in human economies is resonant with (though not equivalent to) the way the Son submits to his Father in the incarnation (Philippians 2:5–11), as well as in the order God ordains in the home (Ephesians 5:21–33). Leadership is not a consequence of the fall, but represents God’s good design for human flourishing in a well-ordered world.” - Desiring God
Solitary confinement is said to be one of the worst forms of punishment. Often referred to as “the hole” in prisons, solitary confinement deprives prisoners of communication and conversation, making it a form of torture. Being alone, with no one to share life with, is a horrific way to live. In fact, prolonged time in “the hole” has detrimental mental and physical effects on prisoners.
Discussion