We live in a world today where promises are not much more than cute ideas. Promises mean very, very little. We promise someone something and then we go on our merry way. For example, "I promise to pray for you." Really? Most people don't and we know that. The most heartbreaking is of course marriages. Men and women promise to be together for life. Those promises are basically worthless in our culture.The...
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
How Do You Do It?
Whenever the topic of Doubt on Tap comes up there are a few questions that inevitably come up. The first is why do we do it? The second is almost always about how do Christians and non-Christians interact? The third question then is how do we do it?This third question is the practical one. It's all about gathering people and conversations. What surprises me every time that I have this conversation...
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
How Can You Do It?
When I describe Doubt on Tap to my friends who are Christians they have a couple of standard objections. The first is often about the beer. The second is about how do we "bring the truth to the pagans" that come?First, it's not about the beer. Do we have a beer or two with our conversations? Yes. But...
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Doubt On Tap
Tonight a group of people will get together at a pub to have a conversation about things that matter. They will discuss religion, politics, and anything else that comes to mind. It's a conversation that can't be had in polite company.So why do this? Why grab a beer and have these conversations?Because...
Monday, February 24, 2014
I Go To Church
I have had a few friends drop me lines about "Christians". They have landed in two categories of questions. The first, is about Christians who "blindly follow" just because they grew up "going to church". The second is about Christians who think "going to church" is all that's required of them to be...
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Values - Transfer-ability
When I was a kid we used to make cool t-shirts from iron on transfers. Dukes of Hazzard and Spider-man provided the coolest transfer options ever. Little did I know that these iron-ons would be the perfect image for launching a church. Our family is living on mission together in Ypsilanti. With...
Saturday, February 22, 2014
The Pop...
One of my favorite recent movies is Trouble With the Curve. One of the best moments is when Clint Eastwood talks about "hearing it". Whether it's a hitter or a pitcher, it's about the sound. I wish I could find the exact clip but, this is still pretty amazing...https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=efWgBKLzVZkWhen you're on the diamond and you hear that pop off the bat or in...
Friday, February 21, 2014
On Faith...
I have had a few friends drop me lines about "Christians". They have landed in two categories of questions. The first, is about Christians who "blindly follow" just because they grew up "going to church". The second is about Christians who think "going to church" is all that's required of them to be "good Christians".What do we do with these questions? What is the nature of faith? How do we know if...
Thursday, February 20, 2014
She's A Woman...
I have been writing about convictions and persuasions recently. One of the issues that I said had shifted from conviction to persuasion was my perspective on women in ministry. A few friends asked me to share the story of the shift and where I'm at now in my journey. If you haven't yet, please read...
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
A Persuasion or Three or More...
We all have convictions, persuasions, and opinions. Convictions are those things that we are willing to part company over. Persuasions are those things that we are convinced of and will argue but we are unwilling to break a relationship over. Opinions are things we think are true but will not argue...
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
What Matters Most Part 3...
We all have convictions, persuasions, and opinions. Convictions are those things that we are willing to part company over. Persuasions are those things that we are convinced of and will argue but we are unwilling to break a relationship over. Opinions are things we think are true but will not argue...
Monday, February 17, 2014
What Matters Most Part 2...
We all have convictions, persuasions, and opinions. Convictions are those things that we are willing to part company over. Persuasions are those things that we are convinced of and will argue but we are unwilling to break a relationship over. Opinions are things we think are true but will not argue...
Sunday, February 16, 2014
What Matters Most...
We all have convictions, persuasions, and opinions. Convictions are those things that we are willing to part company over. Persuasions are those things that we are convinced of and will argue but we are unwilling to break a relationship over. Opinions are things we think are true but will not argue...
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Hope Springs...
Pitchers and catchers have reported to their spring training sites. The final free agents are settling their contracts. Most Major League Baseball teams are finalizing their rosters.As I look outside my window I see nothing but snow. It's piled taller than my ten year old daughter in places. I feel...
Friday, February 14, 2014
Ch..ch...ch...Changes
I began really following Jesus the summer after my freshman year in college. I was on a summer project with Cru in North Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a crazy summer. I learned so much about Jesus and about being in community. I also became a fanatic. I was a fan of the evangelical worldview. It made sense...
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Grace...
U2 sings that grace "makes beauty out of ugly things" and that it's an idea that changed the world. When I was on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ I would often ask students, "How do you define grace?" Typical answers were "beauty" or "you know, like a good dancer" and then I would explain to them...
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Church...Church...Church...
There's a great movie starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd called "Spies Like Us". They spoof James Bond and it yields some pretty hilarious results. This might be my favorite scene...I feel like when we get into conversations about "church" this is what's going on. We have many people using the word...
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
It's a TRAP!!!
I remember sitting in a meeting with a group church leaders staring at the budget. There was growing concern that we would not make budget that year. We decided to tighten our belts, limit our spending, and begin to let the church know that we needed money.That night as I listened to and prayed for...
Monday, February 10, 2014
Scripture Says...
I don't typically like engaging directly with celebrity pastors. This morning though I saw a number of people in my Facebook sharing a post by Joel Osteen. The post was typically shared with comments like, "Amen" and "Yes". Take a look,Post by Joel Osteen Ministries.It makes me really sad to see things like this written by "pastors". Especially pastors that have the following of Osteen. They tag "Scripture...
Sunday, February 9, 2014
50 Years From Now...
It happens with everything. The cadence of time and progress keep moving forward. The things we experience today will look nothing like they did in the past. Some things though take a turn and we begin to realize that maybe the old ways were not as bad as we thought and we return to our roots.I was...
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Saturday is for Baseball
So far in the 28 days of blogging I have been hitting on some heavy stuff. But, today is Saturday. Saturdays are supposed to be fun! They were the days of sugar cereal (I preferred Cap'n Crunch Berries) and cartoons.The best part of Saturday was, This Week In Baseball...I loved TWiB! This was before Sportscenter and cable. TWiB and Mel Allen were the best way for a kid like me to learn about all the...
Friday, February 7, 2014
Sheeps and Wolves
The story of man goes like this, God made humankind in his own image and it was very good. Humankind broke relationship with God by trying to be God and it got bad, really bad, really quick.Have you ever thought much about the spiral of sin in the world? It's really quite heartbreaking to consider the...
Thursday, February 6, 2014
I Didn't Watch It...
In case you didn't hear, there was a debate this week. Bill Nye The Science Guy debated Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis. They were to have a debate on origins. Nye, a television personality, and Ham, a Christian celebrity, apparently went on for over two hours. My Facebook stream was filled with commentary...
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Stop It! Just Stop It!
I love this piece by Bob Newhart where he plays a counselor,"Stop it! Just stop it!"I wrote yesterday about how hypocrisy is a sore subject for those of who seek to follow Jesus. It's brutally tough because we are compared by the whole world to Jesus. That is our name after all isn't it? "Christian" or "little Christ". Jesus is the plumb line and we fall short.Our lives don't reflect well the...
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
You're A Hypocrite!
E. Stanley Jones, the missionary to India, asked Ghandi: “Mr Gandhi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is it that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower (Christian)”? Ghandi famously replied, “Oh, I don’t reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It is just that so many...
Monday, February 3, 2014
What's the Center?
In the realm of politics a "centrist" is one who doesn't fit neatly in one party or the other. They are a middle ground sort and find that they agree and disagree with bits of both ideologies. In the church there is a debate about what the center of the faith ought to be. Some argue for the Scriptures...