Internet access has been hard to come by, so here are some accumulated notes and observations from my time here so far. Most pastors struggle with either “super-pastor” (I can do it all) syndrome or “struggling pastor despair” (Look at me, I?m broken). Both are masks we hide behind to conceal our true selves. What […]
Archives for 2005
Nashville
I’m off for Nashville very early in the morning. I’ll be checking out the Emergent Convention with the rest of our staff. I haven’t been to an “Emerging Church” type gathering in a few years. Back in 1999 I was at the Young Leaders gathering in Seattle. I got to hang with Brian McLaren before […]
May 17, 2005 by 9 Comments
Set Theory
In a couple of previous comments, John has mentioned “set theory” and how it applies to evangelism, etc. Here is a good summary by Steve Collins. Give it a look and leave a comment if you want to discuss it further.
May 16, 2005 by 14 Comments
A Bona Fide Apologetic: Part 3
Part 1 Part 2 As the following graphic shows, thinking of our faith in terms of good and bad as well as right and wrong makes for some intriguing possibilities. It’s possible to have wrong faith that’s bad; as well as a wrong faith that’s good; and right faith that’s bad; and of course, right […]
May 12, 2005 by 18 Comments
A Bona Fide Apologetic: Part 2
Part 1 . . . I want to torque your thinking a bit by suggesting that in the long run quality trumps content. In order for that last statement to make sense, I need to define what I mean by the “quality” of our faith. Our faith can be right or wrong (content). It can […]
May 10, 2005 by 16 Comments
A Bona Fide Apologetic: Part 1
At a time when most spiritual conversations are charged with the electricity of suspicion, many of us are asking how we can lovingly tolerate the religious beliefs of our neighbors, while at the same time remaining true to ours. On one hand, we don’t want to be Christian Bin Ladens, believing our goal is to […]
May 9, 2005 by 13 Comments
Book List
I’m doing a little housekeeping around here today. I’ve posted a new and improved Book List.
May 9, 2005 by 3 Comments
Malibu
I’m in Malibu for the Pepperdine Lectures. Right now I’m on a spotty wi-fi connection so I’m not sure how much posting I’ll be able to do for the next few days. SoCal is beautiful this time of year.
May 3, 2005 by 6 Comments
The Last Word and the Word After That
I finished McLaren’s new book a couple of weeks ago. As usual, I enjoyed the way he challenged the norm and opened up new ways of looking at a subject. In this case, the norm he’s challenging is the way we Christians typically use the concept of “hell” in our evangelism and discipleship. Most of […]
May 2, 2005 by 9 Comments
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons