Does Your Church Do Anything for Valentine's Day?

Ed Vasicek

Sweet heart banquets, sour heart seminars —sermons on love, marriage, or romance – does your church acknowledge Valentine’s Day in any particular way? Is this a useful holiday, a neutral one, or a worthless one. What are your thoughts?

Poll Results

Does Your Church Do Anything for Valentine’s Day?

Discussion

If you could change the name of your church, would you?

Ed Vasicek

Name changes are all around us. Some of them seem absurd (e.g., “Converge” for the Baptist General Conference); even when some have good logic behind them, the change is just not right IMO — like Cru for Campus Crusade). Churches are taking out the name of their denomination or type. I personally dislike that trend — if you are part of a group, you ought to be proud of that fact or get out! I know, things are not that black and white. Still, just saying.

Anyhow, please feel free to express what you would call your church or a new church that was starting out.

Discussion

Points of Failure - Another Look at the BJU GRACE Report

Aaron Blumer

A bad idea is one thing. Flawed execution of a good idea is something else. Thomas Edison is said to have botched the execution of the light-bulb concept about a thousand times before he got it right. Today, we’ve decided that the incandescent light bulb is not such a great idea anymore. But does anyone think that the general concept of converting electrical energy into light is a bad idea?

Discussion

Doctrine Worth Fighting For

Richard Bargas

From Voice, Jan/Feb 2015. Used by permission.

A few years ago I read this headline in my local newspaper. As a pastor, it grabbed my attention immediately. It said: Instruments Stolen From Five Manhattan Beach Churches. It told the story of how five local churches had been robbed in the period of one week. They took guitars, keyboards, ukuleles, drums, a tambourine, a mixing machine, audio and video equipment, projectors, laptop computers, microphones and speakers. They cleaned out those churches. The worst part is that it seems that the thieves got access to the church through unlocked windows and doors. They just walked right in!

I would like to suggest to you that as sad as it is that a church was robbed partially due to its own negligence, there is a greater danger that is facing the church—the danger of giving up the foundational doctrines that undergird our faith. And much like the robberies in those churches, the Church and each of us as members of the body of Christ are too often leaving theological and doctrinal windows and doors open allowing the thieves in.

Discussion