Archives For mission

Francis

Pope Francis Drops the F-Bomb…for Jesus?

Chris —  March 4, 2014

Apparently, Pope Francis dropped the F-bomb. Except, not really. If you read up on the story, it seems he mispronounced a word that sounded similar to the Italian word for “penis.”

Why is this news?

Probably because it’s funny. But also because our culture has a decidedly limited idea of what makes for a Jesus follower.

For decades, we’ve promoted a gospel of “sin management.” As Pastrix Nadia Bolz-Webber says, we’ve gotten really good at “not doing things.” As the tirade goes “Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t dance, don’t chew, and don’t go out with girls who do.”

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Everything I Know About Church Planting I Learned From Jimmy Fallon

Chris —  February 10, 2014

Last October, a group of friends started gathering to start the adventure church planting. I’ve read some books and graduated from seminary, but one of my greatest inspirations for our new community is the Jimmy Fallon show.

Like most people, it took me a long time to warm up to Jimmy Fallon. His time on SNL swung violently between hilarious and obnoxious. When we started a Late Night show, I was just confused.

As he’s grown into the role, and mastered his unique approach, I find myself wishing that our new church planting efforts would eventually be described as “kind of like the Jimmy Fallon show, but for Jesus.” Continue Reading…

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I Didn’t Watch the Nye/Ham Debate. Here’s Why:

Chris —  February 5, 2014

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. But this endless arguing about how old the earth is doesn’t make any sense to me.

And like any child of the 90s, I think Bill Nye is great.

I’m an outsider on this conversation. The churches I grew up in had their own unique variety of fundamentalism. While I occasionally overheard the debates about “creation vs. evolution,” I was never indoctrinated to think “we don’t believe in dinosaurs.”

My question is always “how can we live as missionaries in present day America?” The Bill Nye and Ken Ham debate is a great example of how damaging such arguments are to this cause.

It’s hard to take young earth creationists seriously for three reasons:

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Three Straw Man Arguments for Bi-Vocational Ministry

Chris —  January 7, 2014

There is a growing voice calling for church leaders to be bi-vocational. In some cases, this seems to be a financial necessity. Others seem to hold it up as a badge of honor.

This is a huge shift. It doesn’t always work, and can also lead to some really hurt people. We need to talk about this. That’s why my friends Zach Hoag and Scott Emery started the discussion.

Whether I like it or not, I’ve been bi-vocational for awhile now. I’ve worked full time church jobs. For the majority of my career, I’ve worked full time, attended seminary and been a leader in my church. Currently, I am helping plant Austin Mustard Seed while I also work as a Freelance Writer and Social Media Manager. So I know it both sides.

 

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Is 2014 the year of American Atheism?

Chris —  December 30, 2013

The UK’s Daily Telegraph has some important thoughts on the secularization of America:

My point is that the religious geography of America is changing – partly as a result of immigration (Hispanic, chiefly) but also because the Washington Post maps show how washed out and feeble Catholicism and mainline Protestantism have become. They may occupy the same territory that they did 50 years ago, but the Post’s map below tells a dismal story…

..Let’s put this simply: America is secularising just like Europe – and all that talk of “American exceptionalism”, the free market in religion that kept it thriving, has turned out to be hogwash. We can discuss why on another occasion. But some of us saw this coming a long time ago. And, please, don’t kid yourself that Pope Francis, wonderful man that he is, can do more than add a percentage point here or there.

With 2014 just a few hours away, how will you and your church approach these changes?

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