Lessons (Hopefully) Learned from Willow Creek and Harvest Bible Chapel

Living in what the people of Chicagoland call “the northwest suburbs” theologian Scot McKnight and his daughter, teacher Laura Barringer had a front row seat when things began unraveling at Harvest Bible Chapel and Willow Creek Community Church, and furthermore were acquainted with many of the people who became a part of our daily Twitter and blog feeds about both stories.

For this writer, the allegations about James MacDonald were hardly surprising, but I was more deeply invested in Bill Hybels, so there I found the greatest shock and disappointment. That the actions of these leaders were both shielded from the parishioners and the general public, and/or softened for public consumption meant that other leaders were culpable as the accusations intensified.

As I pointed out in this article, by the end of 2020, the damage done to the lives and legacies of various church leaders — not just pastors — was devastating and in no way limited to Harvest and Willow. So in writing A Church Called TOV: Forming a Goodness Culture that Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing (Tyndale House, 2020) McKnight and Barringer were not afraid to name names.

This serves as an example of the truth and transparency that they see as just one of the seven marks of what they call “the circle of TOV,” which ought to be a mantra for every church wishing to have a healthy internal governance culture. Before getting there however, the first 80-or-so pages define the problem, and only then do they embark on what I consider the redemptive properties of the book, though they do not, by any means leave the naming of names behind, but continue to address situations that are relevant to each of the seven healthy characteristics they are defining.

It is at that point that some more positive anecdotal content is presented, including some very moving accounts from the late Calvin Miller. And the scriptures. In some chapters, especially the scriptures. (I ran a very brief excerpt from the book at Christianity 201 a few days ago as an example.)

If you get a copy, you need to copy and print an enlargement of their “circle of TOV” and hang it in whatever room your church board/elders meets. It should guide every aspect of the decision-making processes.

So why review a 2020 book now? In publishing marketing and publicity, this isn’t done, but reading Jesus and John Wayne (reviewed here) and The Making of Biblical Womanhood (briefly reviewed here), I simply had to include this one in my personal reading, especially knowing how much it has impacted many church leaders since its release.

(Unfortunately, Tyndale House doesn’t have representation in Canada, so I had to use a borrowed copy, but by mentioning the book here and now for my U.S. readers, I am trying to practice in this situation my own culture of grace and goodness.)

The book also begs the question, ‘Should megachurches even exist?’ Or to say it differently, ‘Was the modern megachurch ever part of God’s plan?” If you’re reading this, and in the middle of a search for a church home (a new church, or you’re looking for the first time) I would strongly suggest looking at churches with 200-500 in attendance (or 100-300 in Canada) as your best options.

With the passage of time since the book’s release, our emphasis now, rather than focusing on what went wrong, should be to look to the future with a vision of local church communities which promote the good, just as God, when he saw all that he had made, said that it was very good.

 

Our Summer Church-Visit Holidays: The Pattern

We wanted to hear Rob Bell in person. The first time we travelled to Grand Rapids he was away, but we went back again to have the complete experience. Not long after, Rob was gone from Mars Hill Bible Church over his view of hell, among other things.

I had some history visiting Willow Creek to hear Bill Hybels, but my wife had not. We went several times to South Barrington to hear him. Last year, in the wake of #MeToo, Hybels was no longer at Willow nor were the people he had chosen as successors.

I had been captivated listening to James MacDonald’s preaching on radio while driving to work every morning. The first time we drove there we didn’t know that Elgin was just a new Harvest Bible Chapel campus so James wasn’t there. The second time we drove to Rolling Meadows and he was at Elgin. So technically, I’ve never heard him in person. This week he took — or was placed on — an indefinite leave of absence over issues involving money and control.

The moral of the story is we need to stop visiting churches…

…Actually, the moral of the story is something my father taught me several decades ago: Don’t invest your confidence or admiration in an individual preacher; they will invariably let you down at some point. The megachurches are always the biggest blips on our radar and many of them got there due to the charisma of a key personality.

Many of these Bible teachers are great communicators with a style that local church pastors may try to emulate though not always successfully. Often however, the character strength by which they are able to get up and speak to thousands of people each weekend also masks a character weakness in terms of how they handle that power and responsibility…

…There are a couple of churches I would still like to visit to hear the lead pastors speak in person, instead of on a small window of my computer screen. In the wake of all that’s transpired, I’m thinking it might be best not to. 

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Sidebar: Both Hybels and MacDonald ministered in the area of greater Chicagoland called the ‘Northwest Suburbs.’ I wonder what the impact is there on both Christians and non-Christians alike in the wake of watching the fallout from leadership crises at two of the largest churches in the area. I can imagine doubters and skeptics saying, ‘See; I told you it was all a sham.’

While these two churches will continue to serve their congregations, no doubt some disillusioned people will take a step away from church, at least for a season. It may also be the case the smaller, local churches are left to pick up former members at Harvest and Willow who want to escape the megachurch environment.

The people — and pastors — in this part of Chicago really need our prayers.

Willow Creek: From Bad to Worse, but with Some Hope

Steve Gillen, interim lead pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL addresses the church’s weekend services.

Just six days ago I reported on the resignation of teaching co-lead pastor Steve Carter, incorrectly assuming perhaps that the worst was over. Instead, just days later co-lead Heather Larson resigned along with the entire Willow Board of Directors (in graduated steps to ensure some continuity in the very short term.)

I was greatly impacted by Willow in the 1980s, so for me, this is personal. While I’ve only attended 4 or 5 actual services — my wife attended an Arts conference as well — I’ve been a part of an extended Willow culture which preferred lost people over simply doing church for the benefit of the membership. Willow was a model for many of us attempting “seeker sensitive” churches, and when the needs of spiritual seekers was seen to have changed over a decade ago, Willow had the courage to change the model appropriately.

So for me it’s been a time of grieving the damage that has been done to one of the most significant movements of the last century, the loss of reputation for Bill Hybels, and the demise of the succession plan for Willow he worked for years to put into place.

I considered updating that story from last Tuesday but decided to revisit this again today.

Watching the Saturday night service live, new lead pastor Steve Gillen — previously at Willow Creek North Shore — was honest in his reluctance to accept the interim position at the main, South Barrington Campus. (You can read that here, or watch the service yourself.) But at the same time, as a seasoned preacher, he spoke with authority, while at the same time cautioning that the church is not out of the woods yet; more difficulties could follow.

Should they have chosen someone with a 20-year history in the organization or brought in someone completely fresh, from outside, to fill the position? Regrettably, time was not on their side, so they acted decisively and swiftly.

I tweeted that “I feel a small measure of optimism returning.”

I really do. I don’t think that all the families who have kids in Promiseland and youth programs are going to sever those relationships just yet, especially with a new school year commencing. I don’t think the people who are fixing cars and distributing food are going to just walk away from those they serve. Even in the middle of their own sorrow as a church, they rose to the occasion last week and welcomed a deluge of pastors and leaders to the annual Global Leadership Summit.

Willow isn’t the type of church where people stay away when it’s the pastor’s week off. Guest speakers have been common. That, at least, is something they built into their culture which other churches could emulate; especially those congregations in which attendance drops by 25% or more when the teaching pastor is on vacation.

Yet another investigation will commence, with Scot McKnight part of the team, though for many, what’s missing at present is an apology and confession from Bill Hybels.

Screen shot of capacity crowd at last week’s Global Leadership Summit at Willow Creek Community Church. Despite their internal challenges, church volunteers stepped up to serve pastors and leaders from around the world, and those watching by satellite in over 600 locations.

 

Thursday Link List

It’s a great weather day where I live, so for some of you, these are the only links that matter.

A few things seen the day after I would like to have included yesterday. Some of the items below are perhaps of greater interest to people in vocational ministry, but I chose things that I think all of us can connect with. If you missed the bigger list yesterday, click here.

• Canada’s John Stackhouse guests at Lorna Dueck’s website and looks at the composition of the Willow Creek church board and how the choosing of board members can influence outcomes in situations like the one the church just faced. “From what I could read … the website indicates that the Board of Elders of this large, globally influential church features eight impressive people who are long-time members of Willow Creek and who bring a range of gifts and experiences to the Elder Board. All well and good. Collectively, however, they list not a single year of theological education. Nor do any of them have experience in pastoral ministry.”
• Egalitarian in theory, but not in practice: Canada’s Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada — the country’s direct equivalent of the Assemblies of God — has been at the forefront of ordaining women and even having women as senior pastors. But it doesn’t always translate into actual positions being granted with what the denom would like to see. So, at this year’s annual conference in Victoria, BC, they affirmed their stance: “Two decades later, we recognize that although our accepted, official position is one of equality between men and women, that position has not translated to reality. Women continue to be vastly underrepresented both as vocational pastors and in governing roles at District and National levels, despite female students consistently attending our Bible Colleges in significant numbers. There is a gap between our official position and our lived reality.”
• Following up on a link from yesterday, we listened to the most recent John Mark Comer sermon online. If nothing else, listen to the first 5-10 minutes. We also linked yesterday to a piece about “data dumping” where pastors simply unload a great volume of information in a non-academic, church environment. With that in mind, check out how this is done in Comer’s sermon. It’s a friendly, unthreatening approach with an admitted theology “nerd” sharing what he learned and recognizing some people may temporarily tune out. I think however, it’s also the degree of sermon prep which attracts people to his church.
• Andy Stanley has been the most recent target of the label Marcionite, because of a sermon in the “Aftermath” series wherein he spoke of the first generation church ‘unhitching’ itself from the Old Testament way of doing things. Peter Enns addressed this a few months back, noting that God’s so-called “split personality” isn’t just apparent along the OT/NT divide: “Different portrayals of the one God are self-evident, not simply between the two Testaments but within each Testament. Israel’s Scripture does not present God in one way, but various ways—depending on who is writing, when, and for what reason. Same with the New. This is what keeps theologians so busy, trying to make that diversity fit into a system of some sort.”
• Staying with the OT for a minute, what is the last book of the Old Testament? Did you say Malachi (the Italian prophet)? “The Bible that Jesus was familiar with, what we now refer to as the Old Testament, did not end with Malachi. In fact, it wasn’t even a single volume book. Rather, it was a collection of separate scrolls that were made to be read as a unified collection, and the book designed as the concluding crown jewel was 1st and 2nd Chronicles! Your favorite book of the Bible, I’m sure.” We don’t know how the change happened but we do know the “The general picture we get from the book is that the long years of Israel’s exile did not fundamentally change the hearts of the people. They’re still in rebellion against God, the temple is corrupted, and it leaves the reader waiting for some kind of resolution.”
• An Arminian website offers “Five Biblical Texts that Calvinists Can’t Wiggle Out Of.” The outline parallels TULIP, and at the end, they admit their strongest case is made with “L” — an argument against limited atonement.
• Still continuing with the number ‘5’ an article by a lawyer at Christianity Today offers five things your church should purchase before adding a coffee bar, or making another such purge. (This article may be pay-walled soon.)
• Got an hour to think about comedy? We listened to this over two nights. Christian stand-up Jon Crist was the guest on The Wally Show (WAY-FM) and they left a camera running in the studio as they recorded the segments.

Willow Creek Continues to Rewrite the Playbook for Weekend Services

Two weeks ago Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago’s Northwest suburbs had an “Authors Weekend.” Teaching pastor Steve Carter interviewed Anne Lamott and then went into an another exchange with Lee Strobel, the latter having been a former Willow staff member. (Later in the week Josh McDowell visited on Wednesday night.) You can watch those interviews at this link.

Doing an interview in a church service can be a hit or miss proposition. Especially if it is replacing a traditional teaching segment aka sermon. Furthermore, the reaction to any particular guest is going to be subjective. Just a week or two earlier, Willow hosted Olympic gymnast Gabrielle Douglas. That one didn’t resonate with me so much.

But watching Carter talk with Lamott and later Strobel, I realized what they are doing has some broader implications.

First, I have for a long time questioned how much time sermon has left.  With all due respect to those of you currently honing your homiletic craft at either the undergraduate or graduate level, I really think that this particular form is destined to go the way of the CD or the land line phone. I’m not saying there aren’t some great preachers out there; I spend my evening hours listening to sermon after sermon online. But that’s me. For others there are a host of reasons why sermon doesn’t work. ADD or ADHD comes to mind. Some sermons are simply too long. Some say it’s just not how they learn. Some claim that high profile Christian pastors have simply set the bar too high and average pastors can’t achieve the quality that is now widely available online. Others would argue that we’ve become accustomed to media bursts, sound bites, and increased concision.

Second, I have for a long time advocated teaching modules rather than a single focus half hour. A few of us are old enough to remember when NBC introduced the show Real People. Hailed as the first magazine format program — though I’m not sure it predated 60 Minutes — this variety-meets-information type of programming is now widely used. I always thought that the ideal solution in church would be to break up the 30 minutes into three 10 minute segments, separated by music, announcements, or scripture readings. One module might be topical. One might be exegetical. Or if you prefer, one might be light while one might go deeper. One might deal with family life. One might delve into an obscure Old Testament character. (If that last one sounds boring, remember, we’re talking ten minutes here. You don’t have time to lose people!)

What Willow and Carter did that Sunday met these objectives in the ways that follow, but I also want to add one extra point.

The interview was a nice alternative to a sermon. Key here was the fact that the two authors really had something to say. The aforementioned sports star was a good testimony, and she’s probably a role model for a lot of young girls — and they did have a sermon that week as well — but Strobel and Lamott brought a lot of substance to the table. There was also spontaneity, including an opportunity to text in questions. (I wasn’t there in person, but watching the Saturday night service live, I could have easily participated in this.)

The interviews would appeal to different people. Strobel’s was also a testimony, but also tied into an upcoming movie. A number key points in Christian apologetics were covered. Another aspect to this story is what happens in a marriage when one partner has crossed the line of faith and the other is hostile toward Christianity. I hadn’t read anything by Lamott but her personal, unaffected demeanor probably connected with people early in their Christian journey, with seniors, and also with women. In other words, a wide swath demographically.

The interviewer had done his homework. This was the thing that really impressed me. Steve Carter wasn’t just ‘winging it.’ He had spent some time studying both the literature and the biographies of his two guests. Willow had a point to all this, they were doing it for well considered reasons; otherwise they wouldn’t have done it at all. But if they were going to do it, they were going to do it well. (Their commitment to excellence shone through their Good Friday and Easter services this past weekend, also available online.)

Finally, a confession.

I’m a sermon guy. Yes, I just said it’s a dying art form, but I enjoy them. So it would be quite easy for me to feel disappointed I wasn’t going to get one from Willow that week. Truth is, I tuned in especially to see what Strobel would say, and because his connection as a former Willow Creek staffer made it especially interesting. Plus I’ve seen Carter and Bill Hybels do this sort of thing many times before and they aren’t exactly novices.

Can your church snag top name guests? You probably don’t have the budget, nor do they have a lot of availability. But there are probably some stories that Christian people in your community can tell better on a two-chair set than can be related from behind a podium. There are probably topics that can be presented with two members of the pastoral staff taking a tag team approach. There is probably preaching content that can be modified to suit a Q & A format, even if it’s not as spontaneous as you would like it to be. Finally, there’s possibly someone in your church who might, on a one-off Sunday, have something vital to share but would need the help of a more seasoned speaker to rein them in when they go off topic or off focus, or to simply keep the message moving.

I’m not advocating this for everyone; I’m just saying it deserves consideration.

 

 

Wednesday Link List

Time for your midweek break and some news and opinion pieces you may have missed:

• As a New York state couple refuses to rent their facility for a lesbian wedding, we flash all the way back to July, where a blogger asks if people are overreacting. 
• Don’t tweet these: 25 Things You’ll Never Hear God Say.
• Why the Robin Williams death is hitting so hard.
• If you were one of the two SIM workers who contracted Ebola, would you even consider going back to Africa? The two are now immune; can’t spread the disease or contract it.
• Straining at a gnat? You decide. An argument against communion by intincture.
• Christian faith and depression medication: An article at Patheos turns up at Time Magazine.
• 

  You can also read today’s link list at Leadership Journal by clicking this image.

  Essay of the Week: Five Ways to be a Better Atheist.

• We know that women outnumber men in most churches. Here are five ways leadership can get men on board.
• Interesting topic, especially online: How to Give and Receive Criticism. (It’s a terrible article.)(Just kidding!)
• The responsibilities of a worship leader include a teaching ministry that goes far beyond just teaching songs.
• With 20 locations, is LifeChurch.tv still the multi-site leader? The 20th opened on the weekend in Wichita, KS.
• For one writer, in the U.S. Christian Twitterverse, some things create much internet heat, while other current events rarely get mentioned.
• While written with mainline UK churches in view, this article on personnel and human resources issues in multi-staff churches applies here as well.
• Bahamas pastor (hey, someone has to do it) Thabiti Anyabwile on secular psychology versus Biblical counseling.
• A look at the guiding principles which shape sexual morality in 2014…
• …and from the same author, some stats on what that morality looks like.
• With the school year not yet underway, a serious security breach at a Canadian Bible college.
• The wife of a former-policeman turned missionary reflects on events in Missouri last week.
• As if there aren’t enough forums for poking fun at Christianity, now there are irreverent board games and card games.
• Deconstructing overused Christian clichés.
• We seem to have a new Christian movie announcement every week, though in this particular case, with a name director (Last Temptation of Christ) the drama mixes with church history…
• …Then there’s the documentary Holy Ghost, opening September 6th and shot with no script. Watch the trailer.
• Protect your brand: You’ll soon be able to get a .church domain for your church website.
• Who says they never come back? John Ortberg does his annual return to Willow Creek. (Choose audio or video.)
• Also at Willow, founding pastor Bill Hybels still amazes me. This summer sermon was the setup for a Baptismal Service which followed. (Choose audio or video.)
• It must be one of those military exercises you hear so much about: First you remove all the Bibles from the guest rooms, and then you put them all back…
• …Meanwhile, in England, Travelodge has removed all Bibles to respect diversity.
• Rev. Cindy Kent springs to the defense of Cliff Richard in the latest wave of allegations of past impropriety.
• Well, I rather expected this: “Please note that Pastor Mark Driscoll is generally unavailable for interviews through the end of 2014.”
• Another volley in the worship wars: Apparently modern worship “declared itself a viable choice.”
• Increasingly in the UK, families cannot afford funerals.
• Bulldozers readying the site for the Answers-In-Genesis (Ken Ham) Noah’s Ark attraction inadvertently uncover evidence proving that the earth is billions of years old. (Okay, I totally made that one up. Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Won’t happen again.)
• Pastors, your people do really miss you when you’re gone, but there are reasons for taking a breather.
• Canada’s Christian-owned, family-friendly network, CTS is being re-branded as YES-TV.
• Tabloid-style-link: Justin Bieber: Is he reconnecting with Selena, with church?
• Another exciting episode in the life of Isaac Wotts, Church Custodian. (Actually, there are no other episodes.)
• A group consisting of Ray Boltz and Jennifer Knapp (among others) grows with an announcement by Vicky Beeching.
• Hey, it’s okay to be in ministry and be living with someone because, “Paul wasn’t married…Many significant Bible characters were not married. Marriage is not a prerequisite for being in the pulpit.” (You gotta admire the logic, or the chutzpah.)
• Finally, has anyone else noticed that the Mormons have all the cool baptism songs.

Paul Wilkinson is available to speak or sing on any dates you had previously booked with Mark Driscoll, Vicky Beeching or Gungor and may be contacted through his blogs, Thinking Out Loud and Christianity 201.

Video Moments Worth Sharing

This weekend I watched a number of things that I thought were worth sharing. The first is embedded below for your convenience, the others are linked. This video is from the Canadian daily Christian talk show, 100 Huntley Street and features author and “spiritual navigator” Jamie George discussing his new book Love Well (David C. Cook Publishing). I’m about 95 pages in right now and am impressed with his transparency and candor.

The first of the Willow links was John Ortberg’s annual visit there. He was on staff at Willow Creek for many years, and on this summer’s visit, was sharing some of the content from his book Soul Keeping which we’ve reviewed here. The message runs 42 minutes; click this link and then choose audio or video.

The second Willow link is the man himself, Bill Hybels doing what Bill Hybels does best and preaching like no one else. The message which led into a Baptism service runs 37 minutes; click this link and then choose audio or video.

I do have one more for you as well, this is Bruxy Cavey teaching through basic Bible doctrines as part of a systematic theology course for beginners.  You’ll see all the messages at the link, but the one I especially wanted to recommend today is the one from Week 9 – Eschatology. Click this link, and then choose audio or video.

Some of these may be reiterated on the link list tomorrow as well.

Wednesday Link List

This long de-commissioned church photo appeared back in October at the Twitter feed of AbandonedPics.

There’s something here for people at every age and every stage, including links to stories of interest to lay people and clergy, liturgists and charismatics. Or at least that’s the theory. 

The link list is now owned and operated by PARSE the blog of Leadership Journal, a division of Christianity Today.  Anything you click below will take you first to them, then you can click the item again.

• The Gideons are no longer welcome at an Alabama Air Force base.
• While being confronted about his infidelity, a Connecticut pastor dropped dead in the pulpit.
• So will resurrected bodies have gender and corresponding gender roles to what we have now? An organization promoting the Biblical view of such things may have overstepped scripture in saying yes.
• 13-Step Program: How to make a mess of scripture interpretation.
• The problem with church metrics: When the focus is all about parking spots and seating.
• Pastor Must-Read: Six ways to avoid finding yourself in an embarrassing ministry situation.
• If you studied classical philosophy or Catholic theology, or perhaps you just like donuts, here’s a refresher to enjoy with coffee.
• Giving it up for Lent: A Baptist writer thinks we should give up criticizing people who do or do not observe the 40-day tradition.
• Analyzing the “nones” finds many of them to be unaffiliated believers, not atheistic.  (“Nones” never works verbally; people think you mean “nuns.”)
• How to spiritualize a preference: Don’t like Daylight Saving Time? Turn your dislike into a sermon.
• On the one-year anniversary of their son Matthew’s death, Kay Warren says not to tell grieving people it’s time to move on.
• Infographic: The social media, music, books, conferences and controversies that shaped the Young, Restless and Reformed movement, aka The New Calvinism.
• Mark Driscoll has withdrawn his claim as a New York Times bestselling author in the wake of both criticism of his actions and exposure of the process that afforded that status.
• Whether you’re a pastor or author or neither, if you’ve gained a platform on social media, you can monetize it without selling your soul. (33 minute podcast with Michael Hyatt)
• With the relaunch of the TV show Cosmos, Phil Vischer asks why religion and science can’t just get along.
• Essay of the Week (1): Shana Niequist talks about her one-year older sister. You know her as Willow.
• Essay of the Week (2): Do Roman Catholics worship relics? The artifacts are important, but this writer thinks worship is the wrong word.
• Essay of the Week (3): In two U.S. states smoking pot is no longer illegal. Does that mean Christians are free to light up?
• Intermission: A 3-minute film based on an article by Pete Wilson.
• Orthodox Church leaders will meet for a rare summit in 2016; the last such meeting was 1,200 years ago.
• A New Mexico student pastor gets an “I am your father” message on Facebook which turns out to be true. (Actually, it was a little less Star-Warsy.)
• Marriage Checklist: Twelve reminders to keeping your spouse as your best friend.
• Need a little redemption after a long day at work? A Florida church offers drive-thru prayer in the church parking lot.
• Some see it as an extension of the church’s regulatory obligations, but here is an argument in favor of church membership…
• …Unless of course your church has these praise dancers. (Video clip not safe for church office, or possibly anywhere else.)
• The Pope’s first year: A video highlights reel…
• …and Shane Claiborne reflects on the pontiff’s first 365 days on the job.
• If you call your ministry Eternal Perspectives, it’s only a matter of time before you write about growing old…
• …at the same site, Randy Alcorn’s daughter Angela offers wisdom in using Facebook that applies to church leaders and everyone else.
• Book your flights; according to this rundown, Christian conference season is in high gear.
• Christianity and Culture: A review of Popcultured by Steve Turner.
• Video of the Week: The Fundamentalist classic, Be A Missionary.
• Seriously, Video of the Week: From Paul Baloche’s about-to-be released album recorded live in Toronto, He is Risen.
• Finally, an Easter gift for the person who has (almost) everything. For only $299, a full size replica of the Shroud of Turin.

All I know about this comic below is that I found it on the floor of my office, apparently photocopied from a 2002 book of Christian cartoons by Doug Hall. (Does anyone know the book title?) The sentiment expressed here is still alive and well a dozen years later.

Wednesday Link List

Random screenshot from this week’s Phil Vischer Podcast even though there’s no reference to it in the link list, because, honestly, we didn’t have a picture this week. Left to right: Phil, Christian Taylor and Skye Jethani (Click image to watch)

Each installment of the link list takes on a different flavor, and this one is no exception. No, that’s not right, it is an exception, that’s what makes it different. (Maybe I should have gone with the “no two snowflakes are the same” intro.) 

Clicking anything below will take to PARSE, who own the link list, then click the items there you wish to view.

• Okay, hands up everybody who knows where the Bible verse numbers came from?
• Here’s another Bible translation teaser: If you haven’t heard of the Modern Evangelical Version or the Hebrew Roots Bible, then you might want to follow The Bible Hunter.
• OverviewBible.com is an infographic project typified by this one, listing every dream in the Bible.
• Your mileage may vary: Not everyone will agree with all twelve points in this list of things preachers can learn from TEDTalk presenters.
• According to this writer, the ideal Christian radio station would include portions of intentionally dead air.
• Christianity Today talks to Brian Brodersen, successor to Calvary Chapel’s Chuck Smith. (They didn’t always agree.)
• Ready to quit the ministry? This writer speaks from the experience of crossing over to the dark side, with a knowledge of what happens after you submit the resignation.
• The Catholic Church is bolstering their ranks of trained exorcists.
• Sermon of the Week: From early last month, Gary W. Burge talks the Willow Creekers through the familiar ground of Psalm 23.
• J. D. Greear explains why planting additional campus locations might make more sense than planting new churches.
• Megachurch pastor Perry Noble goes public on taking anti-depressants for anxiety issues.
• A few weeks ago we looked at U2charist, but that was before we had heard of having a Hank Williams mass.
• Seven-time author Becky Garrison suggests that Mark Driscoll has been altering the history of his church, rendering it more of a one-man accomplishment.
• “You never think you’re in a cult when you’re in a cult.” A reminiscence of growing up under Bill Gothard’s teaching.
• Emmy award-winning Actress Patricia Heaton from ABC-TV’s The Middle on Christians in Hollywood.
• The latest abuse-of-children allegations are being pointed at Chicago’s Jesus People USA. The community birthed the Cornerstone Festival and Resurrection Band. The complaints against JPUSA form part of a 90-minute documentary.
• The lead singer of the band As I Lay Dying pleaded guilty last week to hiring a hit man to kill his wife.
• On my own blog this week, creating an online social media index for your church family; and a book review of Is Sunday School Destroying Our Kids, a short indie book that grew on me the more I read it.
• From the vault, one year ago, eight issues that don’t make or break Christianity.
• This one is worth consideration: A short essay on the proper and virtuous application of hate.
• I never thought about God as “the beginning and the end” as being less like a line and more like a circle. Another wrestling through ‘If God made everything who made God?’
• Many leadership blogs encourage aspiring authors to start building an online platform, but that goal is fraught with spiritual dangers.
• Tech stuff: This article is about the pursuit of excellence in our weekend services, but I especially love the title: Leading Worship from the Booth.
• With both the Olympics and Superbowl in the rear view mirror, David Platt laments our idolatry of sports.
• Does the church need to have a distinct ministry to its youth subculture?
• Yes, the Pope did say a bad word in Sunday’s sermon. (Confusing two similar Italian words is easy if it’s not your first language.)
• Writing from a country where we don’t have flags in our churches, it’s tough to grasp the religious significance of this type of story.
• Randy Alcorn on how we dress up, or dress down for church.
• The Son of God movie is going to have its detractors in the Christian blogosphere, of which this one is representative…
• …the same type of sentiment that resulted in the Noah movie adding a disclaimer…
• …while in other Noah news, Ken Ham is going ahead with plans to build an ark, at a cost of $73 million.
• Biomedical Ethics: The UK is moving toward a fertilization method that would result in three-parent babies.
• Finally, remember when the pastor told you to take John 3:16 and write your name in it? (“For God so loved Bill…”) Well, now you can have your name inserted in over 7,000 places.

Like I said, no time for picture shopping this week, so Mrs. W. suggested we mine the vault for classics:

Wednesday Link List

I couldn’t decide whether my intro should tie in with Halloween or All Saints Day, so I decided to play it safe and just get to this week’s links…These links don’t actually link to anything other than today’s Out of Ur version of the list!

• The UK has become Biblically illiterate to the point where while watching the Monty Python movie, Life of Brian, viewers no longer get the humor.
• The Liberty Convocation videos on YouTube are a Who’s Who of Christians thinkers and leaders. Last week they welcomed National Community Church pastor Mark Batterson.
• Essay of the Week: This one will leave you speechless. A writer shares her heart in the middle of a marriage that seems like a giant mistake.
• Analogy Avenue: One more response to John MacArthur’s conference, this one invoking transportation (trains and the lunar rover) from author Mark Rutland.
• So here is possibly the last word on that kid who was given the name Messiah, and the challenges that could create.
• After Natalie Grant and Wow 2014, the number 3 position on the Billboard Christian music chart goes to Bryan and Katie Torwalt. “Who,” you ask? They’re part of Jesus Culture, and sound like this.
• Randy Alcorn engages the subject of pro-life organizations that use explicit photographs to reinforce their anti-abortion message.
• The authors of the non-Canonical gospel texts hoped that they would be taken seriously. It’s our job, however, to eliminate the late stories and isolate the early eyewitness accounts, even though we’re tempted to do otherwise.
• The only thing noteworthy about an article that advocates for Christians to enjoy dancing, is when you find it at the website of Associated Baptist Press.
• When your kids have a question, do they ask you, or do they automatically take all their questions to a search engine?
• If you get struck by lightning twice in the same day, you may be correct in assuming that God is trying to get your attention.
• When you read the Bible, do you follow the Flyover Route, the Direct Route, or the Scenic Route? David Kenney reviews a new NLT edition I’ve had my eye on for awhile: The Wayfinding Bible. (Tyndale Publishing, you have my address!)
• Resource of the Week: You’ll want to bookmark (or share) Sam Storms’ eleven factors that can destroy objectivity in Bible hermeneutics, along with his basic rules for Bible interpretation.
• Passionate Teaching: I always love it when Wheaton College’s Dr. Gary Burge drops in for a midweek service at Willow.
• In Detroit a female Bishop in a Baptist denomination informed her congregation that for more than six months she has been married to another woman. And then she resigned.
• After a week of focus on Steven Furtick’s house and John MacArthur’s conference, who would guess our attention on the weekend would be on Mark Driscoll, as evidenced here, here and here?
• Meanwhile, Furtick debriefed his church on all the attention they’ve been getting.
• Here’s another article suggesting you take an Internet hiatus. What makes this different is that it spells out exactly how to keep important messages coming. (Don’t all of you do this however, or nobody will be here next week!)
• Here’s a link that gets you eight more links…to eight short newsletter articles the National Association of Evangelicals published on the subject of Holy Humor. (Includes some writers you know well.)
• …And speaking of links to other links, here’s what an Academic edition of the Wednesday Link List might look like. (Brian LePort publishes one of these each week.)
• 48% of teenagers have received a sexually explicit message on their smartphones. A mobile monitoring system offers some advice applicable to youth workers.
• Get Religion is a media analysis site which last week looked at the coverage of the baptism of England’s Prince George from two different perspectives on what wasn’t mentioned.
• Got 3 minutes? Turns out Eric Niequist, the brother of Willow Creek’s Aaron Niequist has a film company which recently completed this very short film.
• That wraps up this week’s list. If we could end with a cartoon, it would be this one.

The Wednesday Link List is produced in our studios just east of Toronto, Canada where, for the record, we don’t have snow yet. Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this link list, without the express written consent of Major League Baseball, is prohibited.

Today’s graphics were located at Matthew Paul Turner’s blog.