May, 2010religion sucketh

se7en

May 30, 2010 — 0 Comments

It’s been awhile since I did one of these, maybe this time around I can make it a weekly habit.

So here’s my favorite posts (and one not so fave) from the last week from the blogs I follow, as well as a bit of news.

News:

Slipknot bassist Paul Gray found dead in hotel room. Sad, and not just because I’m a Slipknot fan. Click here to see the Slipknot press conference video from the day after.

One Prayer 2010 is just a week away!

North Point finally decided to post the opener from Drive 2010. Very cool.

Not really news, but this is an amazing video, shot from the inside of Texas Stadium as it was imploded.

Blog Posts:

Mark Driscoll with a post on why weird teams are the best teams.

Mark Driscoll with a humorous take on legalists.

A Leader Loves Their Enemies. This post really spoke a lot to me this week.

Philip Nation on how Two Rivers Baptist Church responded to being protested by Westboro Baptist Church.

Tyler Braun (the inspiration for this “best of” post) asks a very good question: Are we beginning to equate music and church music exclusively with worship when we say thing like, “Worship was good today.”?

Tim Stevens on research showing how The Come to Us model of church which has been used the last 1,700 is reaching fewer and fewer people.

Leaders – what are you doing TODAY to cast vision for your church?

Do you long to live a simple, uncomplicated and focused life? You’re not alone.

John Piper answers the question: Which Grieves You More: Bad Theology or Division?

In se7en bad theology, baptist, big snow, Buckhead Church, division, donald miller, drive10, drive2010, Ed Stetzer, enemies, enemy, ignition, Jeff Henderson, john piper, leader, legalism, legalist, love, mark driscoll, north point, North Point Community Church, NPCC, one prayer, paul gray, philip nation, prayer, protest, simplicity, Slipknot, stadium, team, teams, Texas, texas stadium, theology, tim stevens, tobyMac, two rivers, two rivers baptist church, tyler braun, weird, westboro, westboro baptist church, worship

Love Your Enemies

May 26, 2010 — 5 Comments

A topic that keeps coming up in conversation with friends is Christ’s command to love our enemies.

The analogy I’ve used with them is to think of someone you can’t stand.

A friend who betrayed your trust.

An ex who broke your heart.

As one friend said, someone who, if you found out had died, a part of you might actually be glad.

Yeah, that’s a little screwed up, but it works.

Then I was reading something Donald Miller posted at his blog and saw a perfect example – Osama bin Laden.

Think about it.

Who do Americans hate more than bin Laden?

Now, before anyone freaks out, remember, the Bible never says love and forgiveness = removal of punishment or consequences. Just look at King David as an example; he had sex with another man’s wife, got her pregnant and then had her husband killed in battle to cover everything up. And even though God used the prophet Nathan to confront David and forgave him of his sins, David still had to face the consequences of his actions (2 Samuel 12:11-23).

So I’m not saying that by loving and forgiving bin Laden we also let him off the hook.

I am saying if we are to live according to Matthew 5:44, we have to love even bin Laden.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, but to follow Jesus it is necessary.

In Jesus bathsheba, bin laden, david, forgiveness, king, king david, love, nathan, osama, samuel, uriah

Love Your Enemies

May 25, 2010 — 0 Comments

HT Donald Miller

In Jesus enemies, enemy, love

Sunday’s Coming

May 6, 2010 — 0 Comments

A rather humorous look at trends in the church, thanks to the church many would call a trendsetter, North Point Community Church. This was played earlier this week at their annual Drive Conference. I think the message here is quit copying others and do what God told you to do.

“Sunday’s Coming” Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

In Church Church, drive, north point, North Point Community Church, sunday

Nashville Flood Recovery

May 5, 2010 — 0 Comments

Here’s a video from Ed Stetzer’s blog on how you and your church can help with disaster relief efforts.

The Exchange with Ed Stetzer, 05-04-10 from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

Websites Mentioned:

Twitter: Pete Wilson, Rice Broocks, Ed Stetzer

Churches: Cross Point, Bethel World Outreach Center, Two Rivers Baptist Church

Ministries: Samaritan’s Purse, North American Mission Board Disaster Relief, Nashville Baptist Association

Please get involved.

In Uncategorized disaster, Ed Stetzer, flood, nashville, pete wilson

Pet Peeves

May 3, 2010 — 1 Comment

What’s the deal with people who have no clue when it comes to proper grammar and spelling?

I realize Twitter has a 140 character limit and Facebook also has character limits, so sometimes you have to shrink words – but seriously, there’s no excuse for some of the butchering of the English language that I see on the web.

Here’s an example, taken from a Facebook fan review of A Nightmare on Elm Street:

People Have An Issue Becuz Freddys Not As funny As He Was In Da Other 1s.. But They Cant Make The Movie Exactly Da Same. They R Changing All The Movies A Bit. I Mean in Friday The 13th Jason Was Running. It Was Gud U Just Have 2 B Open Minded N Not Expect The Original Knightmare On Elm Street

Not bad enough? Here’s another from the same comment thread:

PPL TLD MEIT WAS ASS BT IMA WATCH IT BOTLEG SHIID IAINT WASTING MY MONEY

You can make any excuse you want, but that ain’t leetspeak. That’s something else entirely, but for the sake of my readers I won’t write it.

But it rhymes with mucked up.

In Culture English, facebook, grammar, l33t, language, leet, leetspeak, twitter