As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Three entities of the Southern Baptist Convention have joined other religious organizations in urging the Seventh Circuit Court to reverse the ruling of [a Wisconsin judge], who said the allowance violates the First Amendment’s prohibition of government establishment of religion.” BPress
Reprinted with permission from As I See It, which is available free by writing to the editor at [email protected]. Read the series so far.
An interesting Greek inscription discovered in Jerusalem is reported by Meyers:
Theodotus, son of Vettenos, the priest and archisynagogos, son of a[n] archisynagogos and grandson of a[n] archisynagogos, who built the synagogue for purposes of reciting the Law and studying the commandments, and as a hotel with chambers and water installations to provide for the needs of itinerants from abroad, which his fathers, the leaders and Simonides founded.1
This inscription, besides mentioning three successive generations of “rulers of the synagogue” in one family (on which title, see below), it also addresses two of the three major purposes for the synagogue’s existence: reading the Law and studying the commandments. Only prayer of major synagogal public activities is not mentioned. Hospitality shown to travelers was considered worthy of note as well (following Abraham’s example in Genesis 18?).2
“Are the medium and the message really so detached that, no matter how an idea is packaged or presented, its meaning remains the same?” Hipster Christianity, revisited
From Paraklesis, a resource of Baptist Bible Seminary (Summer, 2014). Used by permission.
What exactly is the pastor’s job? Some churches expect their pastor to speak 20 times a month. Another church demands only three sermons each month. In some churches, the pastor cannot delegate the setting of the temperature on the thermostat. Different churches go to the other extreme and require the pastor to preach and do not let him do anything else.
One pastor took a survey of his church members to find out what their expectations were for how he spent his time. One person put down more hours than there are in a week for the pastor’s average work week.
While tradition plays a role in understanding what a pastor’s job description happens to be, it is the Bible that should prescribe the details of the pastor’s job. God has designed the office of pastor, elder, or overseer. If churches are out of balance or are missing some of what is needed, they will suffer loss in their ministry. The acronym POET is a helpful learning device for remembering what the Bible teaches about the pastor’s role in the local church.
I am not asking if your church offers coffee, but does it offer expresso, latte, etc? Wondering how widespread this is, and how it is correlated to city/rural.
Poll Results
Does your church have a coffee bar?
Discussion