The news of Fred Phelps’ death last week caused me to reflect on two experiences I’ve had with Westboro Baptist Church. The first was my last congregation’s random selection for picketing by Westboro following our High School’s presentation of The Laramie Project, a play depicting the life and murder of a high school student named…
Month: March 2014
Laodicea: The Measure of Passion
Passion is a word with multiple uses. We use it to describe the relationship of those who are romantically involved. There are also instances when passion is used to describe feelings so intense that it is implicated with our behavior, such as a crime of passion. We use passion as a descriptor of Jesus’ suffering…
Americans Divided on the Importance of Church
Barna Research has published a new report on the importance of church attendance among Americans. You can read the report HERE. According to Barna, approximately 50% of believing Americans do not feel that church attendance plays a significant role in their spiritual formation. In fact, church attendance didn’t even make the top ten list of…
Philadelphia: The Measure of Opportunity
In 1271, Niccolo and Mateo Polo went to visit the great Kubla Kahn, who at that time was ruler of India, China and most of the far east. Kubla Kahn was so impressed with the message of Christianity that he requested 300 trained missionaries be sent to his kingdom to learn more about the Christian…
Sardis: The Measure of Vitality (part 2)
Yesterday I shared two imperatives that Christ gave the Church at Sardis. Today I want to share the next two. If you didn’t read yesterday’s post you’ll want to catch up before reading further. 3. “Go back to where you started!” If you’ve ever lost anything, one strategy you may employ is to retrace your…
Sardis: The Measure of Vitality
Write this letter to the angela of the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being aliveābut you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what little remains, for…
Thyatira: The Measure of Holiness (part 2)
What do we need to know about holiness? The Bible affirms time and time again that we are the holy people of God. But what does that mean? To be holy means to be consecrated or set apart for Gods special purposes. Let me explain it this way. When my wife and I got married,…
Thyatira: The Measure of Holiness
Holy Bible. Holy Spirit. Holy Ghost. Holy People. We use the word holy all of the time in Church, but do we really know what it means? My dad grew up in the Great Depression. His mother died when he was five years old. Church was always a part of his struggling family’s life, and…
The Gospel According to Joel
Last night for Ash Wednesday I did a survey on the minor prophet, Joel. Joel was a recommended prophetic reading for Ash Wednesday because of his emphasis on confession and repentance. But as I read the entirety of the three chapter missive, I discovered that the theme of Joel was more than a call to…
Fast Facts About Fasting for Lent
Barna Research has released a research report on those who will observe Lent by fasting in some regard. There are some interesting findings, such as on 16% of Protestants will observe Lent by some form of fasting. Another interesting insight is that younger generations are willing to give up their technology such as social media…