The Fine Line…

Where is the fine line that lies between mission and evangelism? Is there one? Is the end goal/result the same? Is the desired outcome of mission to get people to adopt your way of thinking? Is the desired outcome of evangelism to get people to adopt your beliefs?

The Train

Wow. I’m on a train with free WiFi connection. This is the first time I have had this privilege.

A Lot Has Happened

Since I last posted a lot has been going on with Cassie and I:

We are going to Luxembourg for almost two weeks on a Mission Trip, and we leave for that in about a week. Whilst there we will be involved in Youth Work, and Church Ministry-whatever that means.

We have been offered jobs in Canada on a Leadership team for 4 months, starting at the end of May, so we are processing a lot of paper work for that at moment-not to mention booking flights.

We have received our results for our semester 1 exams and essays, we both got really decent marks, so are pleased about that, and we are now in full swing studying and researching for semester 2, and the essays and exams that will bring.

I have got another baby brother. Born at the end of February weighing in at 8lbs11oz please welcome to the world Noah George McCormick.

That’s about it, I will try and post something more substantial soon.

Renewal

It has been well over a month since my last post, and even longer since I posted anything of any real substance.  I haven’t really had much to say, and if you don’t have much to say perhaps it is better just keeping quiet.  But I do have some things to say now, so watch this space, I have once again found value in blogging, and will resume with a proper post later on today.

iTouch

I now have an iTouch. I love it. More to come after I’m done playing.

2009

Hello readers and casual stoppers by.  First and foremost, welcome to 2009.  I hope it is a great year for you.

Following the example of Jessica Turner, I am choosing a word for the year.  My word this year is pursue (and variations thereof).  I want to pursue things this year more than in the past, and I want to pursue them in the right ways.

Pursuit never got harder.

Winter Greetings

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues,
but it is so difficult in today’s world to know exactly what to say without
offending someone. So I met with my solicitor yesterday, and on there advice
I wish to say the following:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an
environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive,
gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced with
the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices
of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or
traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular
traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted Gregorian
calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice
of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our
country great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical
ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is
subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no
alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to
actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void
where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the
wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual
application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance
of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is
limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole
discretion of the wisher.

No trees were harmed in the sending of this message

(H/T: Brian Heasley)

Gay Pride

There has been much media attention afforded to this years Belfast Gay Pride parade in relation to an advertisement planned by the Sandown Free Presbyterian Church, which the ASA (Advertsing Standards Authority) thought to insight hatred.  The Free Presbyterian church has claimed that they were merely expressing a Biblical point of view on Homosexuality, backed up by Leviticus 22.  Issue, however has been taken by the fact that they were using extra-biblical idiom to refer to, and boycott the Pride Parade.  Yesteryears parade was filled with such controversy as one of the members of the parade carried a banner claiming ‘Jesus is a fag.’  While this banner is offensive to many, it seems to me, more ironic that a group that primarily call themselves Christians would respond in a way which seeks to destroy the other person.  The leader to a Belfast Gay Pride, and many committee members have stated that this banner was not endorsed by Gay Pride, and when it was brought to their attention on the day, it was immediately removed.  If you are interested William Crawley has posted a number of articles and podcasts at his blog Will and Testament.  If you are brave enough, feel free to weigh in on this….

Gay Pride Unoffical Banner

Fake Republic

Congratulations Shane and Alli.

God loves you.

Alan Knox shares this encouraging post.

(H/T: Guy Muse)

What if Starbucks marketed like the church?

This has been making the rounds around the blogosphere recently.  On the off chance that you have not yet seen it, please watch this hilarious video.

Self Leadership

How can one really claim to grasp the concept of leading people before they have understood who they are, what they are about, how they function and how to manage that effectively?

There are countless journal articles, books and excursus’ on leadership styles, methods and structures, and no doubt with the announcement of the President of America looming over us in the hours to come there will be more and more splashed across the international media, with what will surely seem like an endless array of new material assessing the strengths and weaknesses of his character.  So once again the question is posed, can one successfully and effectively lead an organisation, a church, a company, a country, whatever, without first mastering themselves.  I would suggest not.

I believe in some cases leadership is a natural gifting.  I am however not so naive as to think that everyone who is naturally gifted in that area is a great leader, and I suspect in some cases it is because they do not approach honing their gifting in an advantageous way.  Whilst being naturally gifted I think it is still peoples responsibility to test themselves, challenge themselves and push themselves further in order that they may grow in knowledge and understanding of how to out-work their gift to the best of their ability.  I would suggest things like personality tests, finding our who you are, and how you relate to the world around you.  I would suggest things like SWOT analysis, so that people can work out their strengths, weaknesses and highlight and be aware of areas of opportunity and threat.  It seems to me that the better people can manage themselves the better the can manage other people.  While I have talked quite a bit about natural leadership ability I feel compelled to say that I do believe leadership is something that can be learned as well.  It may however take a lot of working, but people are and have been willing to doit, to be the best that they can be.

When we look at the ministry and leadership ability of Jesus there are just a couple of things that I want to mention, before closing.  He didn’t start until he 30 (ish).  That is 30 years of getting to know himself, working out who he was, what he was about, and what exactly he was to do.  He had a group of people around him.  Very rarely during Jesus’ ministry years do we find him without his disciples, this group is the one to whom he was passing on his knowledge (leaving a legacy) and they supported him.  They didn’t always understand him, in fact I highly doubt they understood him even after he had gone, but they were devoted to him.  Jesus was a man whom a lot of people wanted to follow.  He was sure about his mission, and didn’t deviate from that.  When John the baptist was in prison, and remember he was the one who prepared the way for Christ, he questioned Christ’s authority and deity because Jesus had not released him from prison, but that was not Jesus’ mandate to release one person, he had a bigger earthly calling than simply freeing John the Baptist from jail, and in many ways I think John knew this to be true.

I guess the main point I want to get across today is lead yourself before you try and lead others, and you will find that the latter will come more naturally, and continually assess yourself.

Strange way.

This song by Martyn Joseph is one of the most phenomenal songs, in my opinion, about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection.  It is a song about Jesus, life and how he seemed to do the strangest, yet most beautiful and compelling things.  Enjoy.

Can this be right?…

Jonathan Brink (Missio Dei) points this out.  (His thoughts are much more coherent and well formulated than my own.

Available from Samaritan’s Purse.

$100 – One Emergency Shelter

$750 – One Well

$7,500 – One House

$20,000 – One School

$25,000 – One Medical Hospital

$75,000 – One Church Building

Now please don’t hear what I’m not saying, I’m sure this is a great charity, and it does a lot of great things, but is this necessary, is it even right?  Are we perpetuating our western view of church, are we trying to impose an unnecessary mega church agenda?

Update from the road

I am currently on a megabus from Sheffield Meadowhall to London, and from London I will be travelling to Cardiff where I will spend the next few days. I have been in a bit of a blogging rut the last week or so and therefore haven’t posted anything, I am also behind on reading the blogs I subscribe to, so that has contributed. I am also studying quite a bit at the moment and trying to maintain some sort of social life.

This semester I am taking classes in Cross cultural Communication, which involves looking into subjects about how to relate to people of different cultures, what the Bible says about intercultural relations, how we process our thoughts and articulate our thoughts, it is a very interesting class. I am also studying Introduction to Biblical Hebrew, so at the mintue we have just concentrated on things like the sounds, perfecting writing the alphabet and transliteration, this can be a little bit monotonous at times, but should be more interesting when we start to engage practically with Biblical texts etc. I am also studying New Testament Christian Origins, this involves looking at issues about how the Christian faith came to be, and how it functioned in its formative years. My favourite class this semester is Old Testament studies, we are looking at theology of the Old Testament, and have covered issues like Canon of the Old Testament, Old Testament criticism and other wonderful things. The professor for this sibject is a genius and I am really enjoying his classes. Next semester I will be taking New Testament Studies, Old Testament Backgrounds, Organisational Leadership, intermediate Biblical Hebrew and Early Church History.

Things are going well in general, I have read some interesting books recently which I hope to be able to share about here.

In Cardiff some friends and I are going to be going to a Martyn Joseph concert, the guy is a musical and lyrical legend, and if you don’t know any of his stuff youtube or google him and get accquainted.

Anyways that’s all from me for now, I’ll try and check in again tomorrow, but failing that I’ll update on Sunday night UK time.

Internet Connection

This blog hasn’t had much activity from this end in a little while.  That’s because since about the 16th of September, upon returning to University, the internet has been down.  It seems to be fixed at the minute, and I hope this lasts, as I have missed blogging.  Normal service should resume on Monday, as I am away this weekend.

Some interesting things have been happening, and I have some things that I am excited about sharing them with you.

Sign Wars

Those adorable signs outside church…usually with some form of cheesy “Jesus PR” on them….what happens when signs go wrong.  Please look at these pictures, I nearly cried laughing so hard.

(H/T: Jonathan Brink, of the much talked about Missio Dei)

936 Dots

If a dot represented a month in the life of an average human being, we would see 936 dots.  Please see this image representing the life span of an average human being, with some interesting milestones and people’s achievements along the way.

(H/T: Brother Maynard, of the fascinating Subversive Influence)

Limited time on the net…

I use google reader to subscribe to peoples blog, and manage the amount of blogs I read etc.  I find it a great program for that sort of stuff.  Anyway, when I only have a limited amount of time on the internet or to check my reader, I have noticed a trend, there are a couple of blogs I will always check, to see if they have updated, and always read their posts first.

These are, in no particular order, Tall Skinny Kiwi by Andrew Jones, Missio Dei by Jonathan Brink, Jason Clark and YSMarko by Mark Oestreicher.

Honorable mention recently goes to Jonathan Brink, who sometimes updates as much as a couple of posts per day, of top quality stuff.  What I love about Jonathans blog is that he has a healthyly balance of posts that are only intended to provoke thought, posts that provoke conversation and teaching posts.  Check it out if you a moment, well worth the read, and well worth being added to your RSS feed.

Ohh Danny Boy-By the Muppets

The muppets have produced an excellent version of Danny Boy, check it out.

(H/T: Mark Dowds)

A Movement of People

In my opinion this is an absolutley key article from Jonathan Brink, not only on understanding the emerging church better, but also key to understand the conflict between actions and ideologies.

One of my favourite lines from the article,

When I look at the words of Jesus, I see a movement of people. And the ideology, the core essence of what that movement believes, must not just be pondered but practiced.

Summer Reflections and Autumn Goals

Upon talking with a friend and mentor a couple of days ago, it has put me in a reflective mood about the summer.  We chatted about some of our difficulties, and ways that we struggle to connect with God.  One thing that came up for both of us, as our main one, was prayer.

I find that it is often one of the first things to go from my own life once things start getting busy.  So after having realised the problem, I have started to redress the balance.  In the fall I am starting to read Lockyer’s Prayers of the Bible, I have started doing something called a Daily Office, which is a set prayer and reflection time done three times a day, Morning, Noon and Night.  (The Daily office link that I have provided is not actually the one that I am doing.)  I will also have a mentor start to teach me on prayer, coach me in that particular area, and hold me accountable.

Tips for Telling Stories

Here are Five Tips from the Times for telling better stories. Enjoy.

Ear Bible

What do you guys make of this? It is the Ear Bible. I have seen it being marketed as “the Bible for busy people.” I have mixed feelings about this at the moment. on one hand I am thinking it is a great idea, and would be a great product, but it would probably have a very niche market. On the other hand I am thinking is it just going to become a cop out for some people, is it going to be something they do out of duty, a way of appeasing God?

The Awkward Truth

The awkward truth can be packed into a single crass statement:

Either we are all beggars, hookers and junkies, or nonw of us are. There is no in-between.

At times- and for some, all the time- we all live with the cruel designations others have carelessly tattooed on us. Subjugated by what others think we are, and opressed by what we feel stuck doing or being, while our hearts and minds long for release.

Every day I play the role of a beggar. I look to the charity of others, seemingly wanting something for nothing to feed my ego and the overwhelming need to belong. Every day I play the role of a hooker. I try to see the words, ideas and actions I think might make me desirable to others, often against my own better judgment, in order to get the emotional validation I need to survive. And every day I play the role of a junkie. I feed my addictions, supplying relentless cravings with products, entertainment, daydreams and relationships that are bad for me. Thus. when rendered solely in vulgar human slang, I believe we are all beggars, hookers and junkies.

These words are from Tim Huff’s book called Bent Hope, they are found in the prologue. I find them profound on many, many levels. These words spoke to my soul: challenged me, convicted me, and stirred me.

I too, am a beggar. I too, am a hooker. I too, am a junkie. At times however, I am too pround to admit to any of this.

Long Time

Image by jhaskellus via Flickr

I realise I haven’t posted anything on here in a long time, furthermore, anything of any real substance in an even longer time.  I hope to resume normal service once again sometime this week…please be patient with me.  I think you’ll understand better once you hear about how this week has been…

New, Educated Generation

Read part of an article by Krish Kandiah, it proves to be very useful, and an interesting read, click here to see part of the article, you have to subscribe to read the whole thing however.

A short comparison between orthodox Christianity and Hinduism

Introduction

Hinduism is a multi faceted and complex religion, which is difficult to compare with orthodox Christianity, because of its sheer magnitude. This essay, however, will seek to explore the doctrine, praxis and culture of Hinduism in the light of orthodox Christianity. Radhakrishnan declares that ‘while it gives absolute liberty in the world of thought, it enjoins a strict code of practice. The theist and the atheist, the sceptic and the agnostic may all be Hindus if they accept the Hindu system of culture and life…what counts is conduct, not belief.’[1] When studying Hinduism it is clear that one is not only concentrating on its religious aspects but one is studying a people group, and a social system; a way of life. Hinnells and Sharpe observe that ‘the western student approaching Hinduism is faced with what may seem to be insurmountable obstacles to understanding,’[2] in light of this observation, this essay shall seek to address Hinduism in the broadest sense, as nothing short of a thesis would be acceptable to sum up this vast religion.

Background

‘Unlike religious traditions that have developed from a singular source (e.g., a founder or an authoritative set of teachings), Hinduism is rooted in a highly varied array of beliefs and practices. “Hindu” and “India” are related, and derive from the Sanskrit word sindhu,[3] meaning “river,” the modern-day Indus.’[4] It has been noted by many scholars that the exact origins of Hinduism (the religion) are hard to trace, and are more associated with an Aryan people group that assembled around the river Indus, and the way they governed themselves.[5]

Scriptures

Kantikar and Owen note that ‘scripture doesn’t play the central part in Hinduism that it does in some other faiths.’[6] The Hindu scriptures are not adhered to as Christians would adhere to the Bible. However, practising Hindu’s would still revere their scriptures as sacred texts. There are many sacred texts in the Hindu religion, with the Vedas[7] perhaps being the most sacred. The Vedas can also be collectively referred to as the Shruti.[8] There are four Vedas: the Rig-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Yajur-Veda and the Atharva-Veda. These sacred texts which were written before 1000BCE contain the life, customs and beliefs of the early polytheists who inhabited India,[9] they also contain liturgies, chants and prayers associated with the worship of their many gods.[10] Kantikar and Owen assert that some of the most important, respected and central Hindu philosophies can be found in the Vedas.[11]

Whilst the Shruti texts are sacred, there have been a number of other texts that have emerged, and which subsequently have been accepted by the Hindu people. The Bhagavad-Gita, a smriti text is very popular with Hindus as Krishna, the god around whom the book is based, is an incarnation of the god Vishnu, and he is very important in the Hindu religion.[12] The smriti texts are commonly accepted by Hindus as long as they do not clash with the more important and perceived word of god, the Shruti texts.[13]

The Hindu comprehension of sacred and holy texts differs greatly from that of orthodox Christianity. Christians believe that the Bible is the authoritative word of God. The scriptures are united into one canonised book, The Holy Bible, and are to be read in unity and in light of one another. There is no hierarchical order of scripture, all are deemed to be the infallible word of God. Orthodox Christians will not deviate from the Bible as their source, but will certainly read other books alongside the Bible to aid their understanding.

Perception of God

It has been heralded that Hinduism could have up to 330 million[14] gods. With such a plethora of gods it makes any observations of this calibre almost obsolete, however, one will attempt to make some remarks on a few of the beliefs about gods, and some gods that are particularly important to the Hindu religion. At the highest level there is a general belief in an impersonal Godhead; Nirguna Brahman.[15] Brahman is generally thought of an incomprehensible. Kantikar and Cole note that ‘Brahman is still thought of as nirakara, without form, and nirguna, without attributes,’[16] and is thus unattainable and inconceivable by Hindus. Burnett asserts that ‘there is almost no religious ritual directed to Bhagvan because he is regarded as beyond reach.’[17]

There are gods who are considered to be secondary to Brahman and are physical and therefore worshipped by Hindus. ‘These deities are the major gods of Hinduism that do the work of Bhagvan.’[18] Secondary to Brahman would be the more popular gods like Vishnu and Shiva, who would be considered as accessible and worshipped in place of Brahman, or as a way of accessing Brahman. Vishnu is commonly thought of as the preserver, and Shiva as the Destroyer. So therefore Nirguna Brahman is the head god of Hinduism, and there are gods below him (e.g., Vishnu and Shiva and many others) next there are Devatas, which are lesser manifestations or spirits of the divine. They are usually associated with a major deity.[19]

Hindu’s can and have accepted Jesus Christ as one of their many gods, however this is not enough, they must declare Christ as Lord of their lives, and merely accepting Him as one of the gods is different to the view that is held by orthodox Christianity.

So, whilst Hinduism and Christianity share a belief in the spiritual world and in the supernatural it is apparent that they have a very different approach. Christians believe in one God, represented in three ways; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Trinity. Unlike Brahman the God of orthodox Christianity is personal and accessible through prayer, and the Holy Bible.

Common Practices and Doctrines

Like all other aspects of Hinduism their practices and doctrines are vast, and therefore this assignment will only seek to address a select few of the main doctrines and practices.

Eckman notes that ‘the law of Karma is at the heart of the Hindu ethical system.’[20] It dictates how you live your life, and what happens to you in the afterlife. Kantikar and Cole assert that karma will debit or credit you for good or evil actions and determine your rebirth.[21] In Hinduism one can try to approach god through having a good karma.[22] A Hindu’s quest is to break the cycle of reincarnation that comes from karma. If a Hindu’s good deeds are seen to outweigh their evil deeds they are able to be reincarnated in a higher caste system. The caste system, still in operation in India today, is a hierarchical system which dictates your social, economic and spiritual standing. Karma is ultimately a means of achieving salvation through deeds. The effects of karma are cumulative and these shape a Hindu’s life. A Hindu can change their future at any stage by changing their actions.[23]

It is clear that karma asserts that salvation can be won or earned; this differs greatly from the view of orthodox Christianity which accepts that salvation comes through faith and faith alone. Out of that faith good works should arise, but the works themselves do not earn salvation.

Sanatana Dharma is another interesting part of a Hindus life. Pancholi notes,

‘The basis of belief is Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana means eternal, but the word dharma is very difficult to translate to English as there does not seem to be an exact word for it. To a Hindu dharma means that which prevents one from going down, ruining oneself in any manner and which makes for one’s welfare, progress and well-being all round. Thus, dharma has more to do with the nature and behaviour of men than with their beliefs.’[24]

It is generally assumed that dharma means right conduct, but this may differ from person to person, thus making it a very difficult theory to pin down and analyse. Hinduism allows the freedom for people to worship god according to his or her own faith or dharma.[25] Dharma is completely opposite to Christianity, in the fact that it allows for the freedom of worship according to dharma, and the conduct of lifestyle according to dharma. Orthodox Christianity expects its membership to worship the one true God, and not deviate from the Bible as their guide to life.

Moksha is the Hindu idea of salvation and of liberation from the cycle of rebirth.[26] Moksha is a state where the recipient understands that the successes of the material world, great as they are, are not sufficient.[27] To achieve Moksha is the ultimate goal of any Hindu. Pancholi asserts that ‘all souls have the chance to attain Moksha (salvation) by controlling their karma (actions).[28] Moksha is the idea of becoming nothing. Sens however notes that, ‘this ideal of liberation is not a negative state. It is a state of completeness, of fullness of being, free from the bondage of karma and, thus from rebirth.’[29] Many Hindu’s believe that when they achieve this state of nothingness it is the closest they can come to perceiving Nirguna Brahman, the unperceivable. This is completely similar, yet wholeheartedly removed from the understanding of salvation held by orthodox Christians. Christians too strive to achieve salvation and completeness, but it is perceived in a completely different way to Hindus. Orthodox Christianity asserts that their is life after physical death, and that we go and be co-heirs with Jesus Christ, the saviour of humanity.

Conclusion

This vast religion has many similarities with Orthodox Christianity in principle, but in praxis they could not be further removed. This essay has viewed the theology, beliefs and practices of Hindu’s in light of orthodox Christianity, and as a result of this research it is apparent that the differences are vast, and that Hinduism is a deeply complex religion, and only if given proper time, attention, respect, and research could be understood.

---

[1] Radhakrishnan cited in Pancholi, Six World Faiths, p14

[2] Hinnells and Sharpe, Hinduism, p1

[3] This is the Persian word for the river Indus.

[4] Robinson and Rodrigues, World Religions, p151

[5] Pancholi, Six World Faiths, p13

[6] Kantikar and Owen, Teach Yourself Hinduism, p106

[7] Vedas means the ‘book of knowledge.’

[8] Sen, Hinduism: The Worlds Oldest Faith, p45

[9] These people were later labelled the Hindu people.

[10] Eckman, The Truth about Worldviews, p27

[11] Kantikar and Owen, Teach Yourself Hinduism, p107

[12] Kantikar and Owen, Teach Yourself Hinduism, p108

[13] Hammer, The World’s Religions, p174

[14] 330,000,000

[15] Also referred to as Bhagvan, the terms can be used interchangeably.

[16] Kantikar and Cole, Teach Yourself Hinduism, p38

[17] Burnett, The Spirit of Hinduism, p103

[18] Burnett, The Spirit of Hinduism, p103

[19] Kantikar and Cole, Teach Yourself Hinduism, p42

[20] Eckman, The Truth about Worldviews, p32

[21] Kantikar and Cole, Teach Yourself Hinduism, p104

[22] Sen, Hinduism: The World’s Oldest Faith, p39

[23] Pancholi, Six World Faiths, p15

[24] Pancholi, Six World Faiths, p13

[25] Pancholi, Six World Faiths, p14

[26] Hinnells and Sharpe, Hinduism, p34

[27] Sen, Hinduism: The World’s Oldest Religion, p23

[28] Pancholi, Six World Faiths, p15

[29] Sen, Hinduism: The World’s Oldest Religion, p23

Bibliography

Cole W. O., Six World Faiths (London: Continuum, 2004)

Kantikar V. P. H. and Cole W. O., Teach Yourself Hinduism (London: Hodder Education, 2003)

Robinson T. A. and Rodrigues H., World Religions (London: SCM Press, 2006)

Beaver R. P. et all eds., The World’s Religions (Herts: Lion Publishing, 1982)

Hinnells J. R. and Sharpe E. J., Hinduism (Newcastle upon Tyne: Oriel Press, 1972)

Sen K. M., Hinduism: The World’s Oldest Religion (London: Penguin, 1961)

Burnett D., The Spirit of Hinduism (Kent: Monarch, 1992)

Eckman J. P., The Truth about Worldviews (Illinois: Crossway Books, 2004)

Feed information

For feeds for this blog it seems that www.fuzzyorthodoxy.wordpress.com must be used in place of www.fuzzyorthodoxy.com.  I have found this for Google Reader.  Don’t know about other reading tools.

Finding Interdependence

Image by mystiqueisland via Flickr

Jonathan Brink has produced a short post on Community, dependence and interdependence, but whilst the post itself may be short, its message and potential ramifications are huge.  I’m with you on this one Jonathan, once again- thanks for sharing.

Mark Driscoll

It seems everyone in the Blogsphere is posting the Wittenburg Door article about Mark Driscoll – which by the way is hilarious.  But Jason Clark has offered something a little more on Driscoll.  Also there is news that Mark Driscoll is in the UK, and will be speaking tonight at St James, Clerkenwell at 8pm.  It is a free entry, so just turn up and go in.  (Sorry for the short notice.)

Cries of a Youth Pastor

Jeremy Zach, a Youth Pastor in California compiles a funny list of the Top 10 Things that Frustrate a Youth Pastor.

Marriage

Ben Myers from Faith and Theology discusses Marriage and perhaps why it shouldn’t be in the church.

The Bible and Mission

Todd Hiestand, a number of weeks, perhaps even months ago, asked the question “Is the Bible Missional?“  He wrote some thoughts on it then, and follows up with a quote a few weeks later in “The Bible and Mission.”

Mission Trip Fundraising ideas

The Rethinking Youth Ministry blog seems to have some really amazing ideas, what they have here is no different. I found some of these ways to raise money absolutley genius. I’m even going to put some of them into practice myself. My favourite is the flamingo idea. Thanks once again for all the great thoughts, resources and ideas Rethinking Youth Ministry.