Defending the Faith - The Problem of Human Nature
From Voice, Jan/Feb 2015. Used by permission. (Read Part 1.)
Believers best defend the faith by turning the Bible loose through careful, accurate and patient teaching. Ultimately this becomes an issue of biblical anthropology: how do you view man? Is he able to fully comprehend and judge facts as if The Fall (Genesis 3) had no affect upon him?
Discussion
Men (not) at work
An article about the rise of men 25-54 who do not work, and an interactive map of the rate across the US.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/upshot/the-rise-of-men-who-dont-work-…
Discussion
Newsweek's "Diatribe" Against Christianity
Body
Newsweek published a front-page hit-piece against Christianity. One Christian scholar responds to this “unmitigated disaster” of an article.
Discussion
Are Christian Podcasts Replacing Church?
Body
“Podcasts have become such a phenomenon among Christians that some are starting to worry: If listeners can just download ‘church’ and partake on their own time, will they still feel the need to belong to an actual church?”
Discussion
The Dangers of Door-to-Door Evangelism
Body
“Why winning people for Christ needs something better than a polished sales pitch.”
Discussion
"It is easy to identify what some people want in the preaching ... but what, exactly, do they need?"
Body
“I am talking about seeing the needs God has designed the Scripture to meet and then providing preaching that, in a balanced way, reflects that design.”
Discussion
Ministry Success & The Great Commission
A two-fold assumption is often evident when believers are evaluating the effectiveness of churches, ministries, movements, and denominations. The assumption is, first, that the Great Commission is the standard of measurement and, second, that effectiveness is measured by the number of people who are hearing the gospel or are being brought into worship services.
Certainly it’s exciting whenever thousands or tens of thousands are gathering for worship and hearing the gospel. If they’re doing so in multiple locations linked by cutting edge video technology—well, many of us see that as progress into a new and wonderful future for the body of Christ.
But, to understate, exciting and wonderful in our estimation is not always exciting and wonderful in God’s—even when our hearts are in the right place. Four principles argue that if we’re going to evaluate churches, ministries, and movements in a way that approximates God’s evaluation, we’ll have to consider more than the Great Commission, understood as number of souls reached.
Discussion