What Works And What Doesn't Work

I lurked, and saw what became of the Biblier Than Thou Movement. No, it did not completely die. It did not die as I watched. It did not die years later, according to my information. As far as I know, it still exists. But it's not much of an existence. The surviving leadership looked deep into...

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. - Jesus (Matthew 15:14) And so it happened that I was met by someone from a kind of church I hadn't heard of. And because I hadn't heard of it, and for other reasons that don't...

And now here's where I come in. All that I have shared in previous installments I discovered late. But I wanted to share it first because it explains my own experiences. At the time, I was perplexed because I did not know all that history. I had no wish to perplex you. Cause precdes effect...

Can what is lost be brought back? With God all things are possible. But can it be brought back by human effort? Or can men of faith put pressure on God to act at a time and place of their choosing? It seems many throughout history have reasoned: yes. Let's look at how that turned out. I can...

I say again: the early Church was about the acts of the Apostles. There is nothing like the Apostles in the current age. To begin with, the Apostles' powers did not persist to this day. According to the Church fathers themselves, they ceased sometime in the mid 2nd Century. But wait, you say...

Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. - 2 Corinthians 12:12 And now, let's clear up some things about the Bible and church... The first thing to understand about the Church of the New Testament, the Body of Christ, was...

It's not easy to be clear in a world of confusion. You have to revisit every concept and get to the bottom of what it really means. You have to question everything - not just in the sense of whether it's true or not, but before that - in the sense of what it even is. I was young when I first...

I've brought this up before, but let's put it in a blog entry so as not to lose track... One of the biggest mistakes a well-meaning but sheltered Christian can make in witnessing is telling someone from a dysfunctional family to honor his father and mother. If this shocks you, then I'm talking...

How does the Christian church offer an alternative to the world? To offer an alternative, two things are necessary: 1. To be different in a way that is clear. 2. To be relevant to the world. I have seen churches fail by focusing on only one of these things to the neglect of the other. Many...

The idea that relationships should be based on trust always struck me as unrealistic. I think it may even be idolatrous. "Cursed is he who trusts in man." - Jeremiah 17. Thus says the God who loves those He cannot trust. I don't demand that someone earn my trust before I extend compassion. I...

Eat whatever is sold in the marketplace, without raising questions of conscience. But if someone with a weak conscience comes along, we should make accommodations. Up to what point? The standard is: what furthers the Kingdom of God, and what hinders it? Jesus got criticized for much of what he...

"It is for freedom that Christ has set you free." (Gal 5:1) Freedom from the bondage of sin, but also freedom from the bondage of the law. If freedom is having the options to solve problems, then bondage is not having the options to solve problems, and sin is that which prevents the solving of...