"The apostle Paul—hero pastor if there ever was one—strongly condemned allegiances to leaders: “What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’.... The problem with human heroes is they can displace or diminish our heart’s loyalty to our ultimate hero, Jesus Christ." - TGC
"James MacDonald, controversial founder of Harvest Bible Chapel in greater Chicago, is now in danger of losing his custom-built home in Elgin, Illinois, for failing to pay his mortgage with the Republic Bank of Chicago, according to a new lawsuit." - CPost
"Pop singer Mariah Carey wanted to honor first responders, the pastor says, so she’ll sing her hit “Hero” while footage of local workers is shown. ...Rapper Kanye West, whom Osteen calls “one of a kind,” will sing with his choir from California. ...Hollywood heavyweight Tyler Perry will offer words of encouragement as well" - Church Leaders
"The highest privilege and greatest honor in pastoring is not standing in the church pulpit but praying by the hospital bed." - Challies
"MacDonald claims his new ministry, which seeks to equip a network of home church groups, will provide 'all the impact of a large church but none of the drama.'" - Church Leaders
"'Early in 2020, around the anniversary of my last local church sermon, we will begin considering interim preaching opportunities,' MacDonald said in a message on his ministry website, jamesmacdonaldministries.org, where he lists Vertical Church and Act Like Men as ministries that are 'coming soon.'" - Christian Post
“I was, am, and will remain very sorry for the careless and hurtful words that were illegally recorded and publicized,” the apology states. “I immediately sent written apologies where appropriate, grieving what it revealed about the state of my heart at the time, as well as the hurt caused to those who trusted us to be a more consistent example of Christlikeness. I have no excuse and am truly sorry.” - Christian Headlines
By David Gunn. Republished with permission from Baptist Bulletin © Regular Baptist Press. All rights reserved.
A professor once explained the evolution of social history in a novel way, using the concept of the voice of culture. It went something like this: During the Reformation the rallying cry of sola Scriptura transformed the entire societal landscape, and so the preacher became the voice of culture. As time passed, the ideals of the Enlightenment elevated reason and empiricism over revelation, and so during the modern era the scientist became the voice of culture. In response to modernism’s hubris, the postmodern impulse began, and so the philosopher became the voice of culture. Postmodernism died by its own hand—its defenders claimed that words have no meaning, then proceeded to write books about it! (Oops!) The result is our present confused and confusing society in which style is prized over substance and sound-bites over discourse.
