Love has lost its true meaning. In modern cultural language, love is often replaced by the complexities of sexuality. During my time as a youth pastor, I witnessed too many teenagers have a revolving door of partners, whom they supposedly loved. They would return the statement of I love you, but really meant to say…
Reflecting on the US Presidential Election one month later, December 10th, 2012. As we find ourselves one month beyond the conclusion of the 2012 US Presidential Election, it’s apparent that the echoes of discontent persist on social media platforms. Despite Obama securing re-election, a substantial segment of the American population adamantly resists embracing a Democrat-led…
It’s common to hear us church-goers get into a heated debate over church politics, leadership structure, etc. Every once in a while, I’m reminded and humbled that the Church doesn’t just exist in our Western world circles. The Church is alive and active all over the world. Much of it, experiencing terrible persecution for their faith. In our Western culture, I wonder if and/or when we will experience persecution.
How should churches balance biblical authority and cultural change in defining women’s roles in leadership?
Our friend from Washington State visited Canada. We used to live in Calgary, and a friend from Washington came to visit. We tried to do a few things that were iconically Canadian to give her a bit of Canuck-culture.
My starting point for today’s post is a caveat; generally, I do believe the old adage that, “With age comes wisdom.” The older a person gets, for the most part, the stronger their ability to make the right decision in various situations. That being said, we can’t ignore the conflicting cultural motto, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
The widening gap between the old and the young. I’ve been thinking about the difference between today’s paid ministry staff compared to the voluntary workers in the early church. Specifically, I was asking the question, “Who was in their twenties and thirties during Paul’s day, and what were they doing?”
Back in the day, MySpace was some strange time-waster for teens and college students. Then Facebook came along, almost single-handedly pushing MySpace out of existence. As well, as picking up a tonne of first-time social media users. All of a sudden, we started to think very differently about this social networking thing.
Though the social media wave has been gaining speed and volume, many still oppose its use. Many believe this social phenomena is just some band-wagon craze that will eventually die off. I’m not so sure.
I didn’t simply decide to read through the Mosaic Law. I actually picked up a Chronological Bible and decided that it would be a fresh way to read through Scripture. Needless to say, it has definitely given me a better understanding of how things took place and why they happened when they did.
The teens before us (in the 80s) had broken through a lot of the legalism regarding playing cards, pool halls, going to movies and best of all, listening to rock music! By the 90s, Christian rock options were coming out of every major city faster than we could memorize lyrics. Christian artists were coming out of the woodwork, creating sounds that drove teen culture; yet carried positive or at least neutral messages with every note.
Our first residence in Alaska was supposed to be a ground level, a two-bedroom apartment within a couple of miles of the church. We soon found out that we’d be temporarily staying in a traditional Alaskan log cabin!