News & Comment - Fall 2005
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Kent comments:
I know this is a significant problem today, and I also realize that these guys are "against it" - BUT . . . this is as much of this announcement that showed up in my mail viewer when the message first came up. And it just goes to show how deceptive first impressions can be.
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From Agape Press
October 31, 2005
Compiled by Jody Brown
...Funeral services are pending for a Texas pastor who was electrocuted in front
of his congregation yesterday while performing a baptism. Rev. Kyle Lake was
standing in water up to his shoulder in the baptistry at University Baptist
Church in Waco when he grabbed a microphone and was electrocuted.
Kent comments:
This is not funny or amusing - but it is something, and the word for it escapes me just now. It is certainly something immersionists of all stripes should think about. Presumably, very high tech - a cordless mic - would have prevented the tragedy. But medium tech - a mic hooked by a cord to a high-voltage amp - helped create disaster.
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from Preaching Now, Vol. 4, No. 37
Equipping your worship leader
In his "Worship Matters" email newsletter from Crosswalk.com, Bob Kauflin encourages pastors to take care in recruiting and preparing the worship leader: "A pastor can serve both his worship leader and his church by taking time to choose carefully the right worship leader. Too many churches have a 'revolving door policy' for worship leaders that is the result of poor planning or research. A pastor should look for someone who loves God's glory, and is not striving after personal recognition. Anyone who wants to lead worship out of love for attention ought not to have the opportunity, regardless of gifting. Other areas to evaluate are family life (as applicable), faithfulness in Bible study and prayer, and leadership gifting. A worship leader is meant to be an example for the church . . . Spiritual maturity can make up for a certain lack of musicianship, but the reverse is never true.
"Once the right worship leader has been chosen, a pastor should take the responsibility to train him theologically. Here's a sobering quote from John Witoliet: 'Many worship leaders can't name a single book on the theology of worship. Most denominations (admirably) require preachers to pursue rigorous seminary studies before preaching. Yet we require of worship leaders only that they be willing to attend a single rehearsal or committee meeting. We would do well to lovingly challenge our worship leaders to grow in the knowledge and love of God.' (Reformation and Revival, Volume 9, No. 2, "Discerning the Spirits")
"A wise pastor provides a book allowance for his worship leader and offers recommendations on what to read. I know I have benefited from reading books not just on worship, but on topics such as the cross, sanctification, and the Holy Spirit. It's also a good idea to attend conferences with your worship leader that will foster discussion and strengthen your relationship."
Kent comments:
This has come up in another context, but it is worth noticing here again. Apart from all the "pastor" talk and the weird use of the word "gifting" - notice how, in all these little helpful quotations, the "worship leader" is assumed to be the person who leads church music. Again I say that we need to re-think our use, or misuse, of the term "worship."
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Published by The 100-Minute Press http://www.the100-minutepress.co.uk/index.htm
The 100-Minute Bible is a new way of looking at the Bible. It is published with
the hope that it will enable people who are not familiar with the Bible to
understand something of the book that is the basis of the Christian faith. . .
The 100-Minute Bible is primarily intended for people who have an interest in
Christianity but not the time (nor tenacity!) to read the whole Bible. As the
title indicates most people will only take 100 minutes to read it, making it
ideal for an upcoming rail or aeroplane journey.
"It has been said that The 100-Minute Bible has been written in a style to
encourage readers to keep turning the pages. I can vouch for that because I was
still turning them on a seat at Slough station as my Ealing train came in and
left without me!"
NH Slough
We have some bad news for lazy Christians – your favourite excuse for not
staying in touch with God has just disappeared with the arrival of The
100-Minute Bible. On a bad traffic day in Nairobi, you can begin reading it on
Waiyaki and by the time you snake your way to the Nyayo Stadium roundabout, you
will be done.
Daily Nation, Nairobi
Launched on 21st September 2005, Canterbury Cathedral, UK
The 100-Minute Press, Canterbury, UK
Kent comments:
Remember the days before "spiritual reading" when people were encouraged to read through the Bible in a year, or something like that? Unfortunately, nobody back then thought of the most simple solution to this problem: just shorten the Bible!
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Washington, D.C. ------(Friday, November 18, 2005) Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners and Convener of Call to Renewal, made the following statement today on the narrow passage of the House Budget Reconciliation Bill.
STATEMENT BY JIM WALLIS:
The prophet Isaiah said: "Woe to you legislators of infamous laws ... who refuse justice to the unfortunate, who cheat the poor among my people of their rights, who make widows their prey and rob the orphan." Today, I repeat those words. When our legislators put ideology over principle, it is time to sound the trumpets of justice and tell the truth.
It is a moral disgrace to take food from the mouths of hungry children to increase the luxuries of those feasting at a table overflowing with plenty. This is not what America is about, not what the season of Thanksgiving is about, not what loving our neighbor is about, and not what family values are about. There is no moral path our legislators can take to defend a reckless, mean-spirited budget reconciliation bill that diminishes our compassion, as Jesus said, "for the least of these." It is morally unconscionable to hide behind arguments for fiscal responsibility and government efficiency. It is dishonest to stake proud claims to deficit reduction when tax cuts for the wealthy that increase the deficit are the next order of business. It is one more example of an absence of morality in our current political leadership.
Budgets are moral documents that reflect what we care about. Budget and tax bills that increase the deficit put our children's futures in jeopardy - and they hurt the vulnerable right now. The choice to cut supports that help people make it day to day in order to pay for tax cuts for those with plenty goes against everything our religious and moral principles teach us. It says that leaders don't care about people in need. It is a blatant reversal of biblical values - and symbolizes the death of compassionate conservatism.
The faith community is outraged and is drawing a line in the sand against immoral national priorities. It is time to draw that line more forcefully and more visibly.
I applaud those House members who have stood up for better budget priorities and fought hard all year to keep issues of basic fairness at the forefront of this debate. And I thank those on both sides of the aisle who stood up and did the right thing in voting against this bill, despite pressure from the House leadership. These strong voices provide some hope for getting beyond an ideology that disregards the role of government for the common good.
Kent comments:
Did you know that it is the "will of God" to have higher taxes and bigger government? Yes, that's the way it is - at least for Liberation Theologians and other socialists. I have always wondered why people like Wallis don't just take up a collection for the needy. I seem to remember reading about something like that somewhere in an old book.