Here’s the list for Wednesday the 21st: That means spring is one-third gone already! (Or autumn for all our mates down under.)
- Gotta love the new style of church names, right? Okay, maybe not all of them. The blog Out of Ur has put them all in this collection.
- What’s the worst thing a Methodist preacher can do? Re-baptize someone, according to this piece by Talbot Davis at The Heart of the Matter. Mind you, I can think of worse things!
- Cornerstone Church without Francis Chan? Tell me he’s just testing his congregation again. Here’s the 11-minute video at Resurgence. Or listen to the message on 4/18 here.
- David Kenney went to church on Good Friday and Easter, only Jesus never died at the one, and never rose again at the other. In this piece, he suggests that it’s all about life.
- Tom Datema sets the bar low enough on church “purpose statements” that any local church can attain, in this piece at Brain Twitch.
- Can you handle one more Jennifer Knapp post. “…Let’s assume that it is a sin. Then my question is: Can a sinful person love Jesus? Oh! We’ve got to be so careful how we answer that question. To me, the answer is an obvious “yes”. It is obvious to me because my own life testifies to it. In every season of my life, I have struggled with different sins. But in all of those seasons I have still loved Jesus.” Read in full at Upwrite.
- All those progressive Christian radio stations can keep playing Owl City, now that Adam Young has hit the online pages of Christianity Today.
- Colin at the blog simply titled Words has an analogy on the subject of “constructive reconstruction” of faith with the piece, My Brother the Bike Mechanic.
- Jon Acuff from Stuff Christians Like finally gets around to doing a book promo video, but you might draw more from this CNN clip of a piece he appeared in. (Canadian readers: Does John Roberts hint at the end that he attends North Point?)
- Allen Flemming, who claims an intimate knowledge of the family says that Canadian David DiSabatino’s DVD documentary on Larry Norman has got it all wrong, setting up a website refuting Fallen Angel called Failed Angle.
- Pastor Craig Groeschel of Lifechurch.tv re-establishes his church’s purposes in The Code, a series of 13 statements spread out over three blog posts at Swerve. You’ll have to click here and then head for April 14, 15 and 16 posts; but they’re good reading. (Or see them all in the comments section here.)
- Andrew Jones aka Tall Skinny Kiwi, has a balanced look at discernment ministries in 10 Ways to Keep Watchdogs from Barking.
- Jason Wert is thankful for Anne Jackson drawing attention to the issue of human trafficking in Moldova, but suggests this event has been going on for a long while, even in the United States.
- Adrienne at the blog, Contemplative Life, has a short post here introducing a piece by Ann Voskamp about Ann’s daughter’s baptism. Start here, and then click the link to Ann’s piece.
- Bill at the blog, A New Language for Christians, puts a more modern spin on the story of the good Samaritan.
- This week’s cartoon is from Thom Tapp at Baptist Press:
Thinking Out Loud 
Craig’s code:
1) We are faith-filled, big thinking, bet-the-farm risk takers. We’ll never insult God with small thinking and safe living.
2) We are all about the “capital C” Church! The local church is the hope of the world and we know we can accomplish infinitely more together than apart.
3) We are spiritual contributors not spiritual consumers. The church does not exist for us. We are the church and we exist for the world.
4) We give up things we love for things we love even more. It’s an honor to sacrifice for Christ and His church.
5) We wholeheartedly reject the label mega-church. We are a micro-church with a mega-vision.
6) We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ. To reach people no one is reaching, we’ll have to do things no one is doing.
7) We will lead the way with irrational generosity. We truly believe it is more blessed to give than to receive.
8] We will laugh hard, loud and often. Nothing is more fun than serving God with people you love!
9) We will be known for what we are for, not what we’re against. There are already enough jerks in the world.
10) We always bring our best. Excellence honors God and inspires people.
11) The only constant in our ministry is change. God is always doing a new thing. Why we do what we do never changes. How we do it must change.
12) We don’t recruit volunteers; we release leaders. Volunteers do good things but leaders change the world.
13) We’re living in the “good old days.” We’re thankful for God’s blessings today and expect even more tomorrow.
Comment by paulthinkingoutloud — April 20, 2010 @ 9:24 pm
First of all I am intrigued by Craig’s Code…#6 has really got me thinking
The Wed. list is extensive…I will copy the links to Word and then go through them when time allows
Thanks
Comment by Cynthia — April 21, 2010 @ 10:47 pm