Whoever leaked that clutch of Climategate emails last month must be laughing his socks off. For he has unleashed upon the rest of us the phenomenon of the born-again climate sceptic, the kind of man (always a man, almost invariably wearing a tweed jacket) who now materialises beside me at parties and confides that he has been having second thoughts about climate change.
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If climate change doesn’t grab you, meet its evil twin
Below is a compelling and liberating audio series by Dr. Kruger on the Father’s heart, our adoption in Christ and our true identity and calling as the sons and daughters the Father has always wanted. Here Baxter revisits Jesus’ parable of the Father and his two sons and then takes us through a study of Ephesians 1:3-5 to help us experience the Father’s eternal love for us
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You Are the Child The Father Always Wanted!
Between his campaign against President Gerald Ford in 1975-76 and his race against Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan delivered more than 1,000 radio broadcasts, running about three minutes each, writing nearly all of them himself.
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Reagan on secularization of Christmas
BY MICHAEL PASQUIER I’m always looking for documentaries to screen in my classes. Zack Godshall’s latest film “God’s Architects” will definitely find a spot in my syllabus next semester. Godshall, currently writer-in-residence in LSU’s Department of English , was recently named the 2009 Louisiana Filmmaker of the Year by the New Orleans Film Society .
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God’s Architects: A Documentary by Zack Godshall
How does one “settle the issue of our worth” when we are taught we are not worthy? I’m speaking of Christ-centered confidence, not self-made worth. Self-worth and self-dependence can blind us to the holiness and glory of God. God sees us as worthy! He is like the shepherd that left the 99 sheep to look for the one lost lamb.
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Feeling Worthy When We Aren’t
This week was the third gathering of the four week Advent Retreat in Daily Living I’m giving at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. Our theme for this week is Our Response to God’s Invitation.
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Advent Retreat in Daily Living – Our Response To God’s Invitation
It is not unusual to hear that a leader is in a lonely place. After all, church leadership, like all leadership, is a difficult place to be. There are stresses and strains not only in your own life, but also the burdens of others that you care for. There are confidences to keep and decisions to make that effect so many. As a preacher the problems are perhaps compounded by the solitary nature of the preaching ministry (most tend to prepare alone, then “recover” alone too). Some of this loneliness is unavoidable. The unique stresses and difficulties have to be acknowledged and lived with. Being a preacher is often a lonely road and the emotional ups and downs in some ways simply have to be accepted and pressed through. However .
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A Lonely Place
Always on the search for good loops?
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Free Worship Loop – SnowFlake
BY MICHAEL PASQUIER As all red-blooded Protestants of the 19th century loved a good convent captivity narrative , so too do all blue-blooded historians of the 21st century love a good archival horror story. Sadly, I have no such tale to add to the genre.
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Know Your Archives, Part VIII: American Catholic Archives Tip Sheet
The Manhattan Declaration had common cause among Catholic, evangelical and Orthodox believers on abortion and gay rights and avoided any mention of doctrinal differences. For that reason, two prominent evangelicals, R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur, have refused to sign it, saying that without a clear understanding of what counts as Christian belief, agreeing on points of public policy is deceptive.
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Sproul and MacArthur Reject ‘Manhattan Declaration’
The old saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” Maybe. Practice can also ingrain bad habits. I think it was Howard Hendricks who said that “evaluated practice makes perfect” (inexact quote, please comment to correct wording and source!) I want to offer a suggestion for “evaluated practice” that can really help. First the obvious sources of feedback, then the more obvious one. Obvious sources of feedback – While you may not have pursued it diligently, you’ve probably considered asking listeners for feedback on your preaching. Perhaps you’ve handed out evaluation sheets to a select few, or perhaps you’ve asked for feedback on a specific issue of content, clarity or delivery. Perhaps you’ve sent your mp3 to another preacher or trusted friend for critique. Perhaps you’ve gone so far as to form a preaching team that includes non-preachers, creative communicators, etc., to evaluate and feed into your church’s preaching. The more obvious source of feedback – Perhaps this is so obvious, but it’s worth a mention. Feedback as a form of evaluation is something you can also do for yourself. Don’t just do this yourself and avoid the input of others, but don’t miss this either. After preaching, why not carve out some time to prayerfully evaluate the message. What went well? How did the time slip away in the middle section? Which transition felt clunky? When did attention drop? If possible, sometimes listen to the message and ask the same questions, plus, How much variation is there in vocal punch, pitch, pace and pause? Now and then get a video of yourself and also watch for eye contact, gestures, expressions, movement, etc. Whatever you do, whether it is thinking back over the message, listening to it, or watching it, be sure to make some notes. Perhaps have a journal of sermon evaluation. That journal will offer nudges in the right direction, and great encouragement when problem areas become strengths in time.
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Practice Makes . . . ?
On November 17, 13,200 bloggers from across the globe participated in BloggersUnite: Fight For Preemies . Their posts about the rising rates of premature births raised the awareness of approximately 3 million readers. Through a mix of sobering facts, statistics and moving personal accounts, these bloggers poignantly illustrated the impact premature births have on both the individuals involved and on our society as a whole
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Fight For Preemies: 13,000 Blog Posts Reach 3 Million Readers
Hinduism and Human Trafficking in India Examiner.com [2] One Hindu website defines the status of a married woman as follows: As a married lady, protected by her husband: Hinduism places great value on …
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Hinduism and Human Trafficking in India – Examiner.com
and reasons why you can start this Sunday. If you don’t see a video box, click the title.
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Reasons why people don’t come to church
Kelly Baker My previous post on Screening a Lynching focused on the cinematic recreations of the Leo Frank Trial and subsequent lynching. This is my very tardy follow up post, and I promise no more about Leo Frank from me until at least next year. The newest attempt to narrate this sensational trial and its aftermath is The People Vs
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Recreating a Lynching, Part II
Listen, before I go on a rant… hey, I’m over here… and sound like I am berating all dog lovers… I said, over here. Yoohoo… I love a good puppy dog as much as the next guy but… YO! Are you listening to me or do I have to remove this picture?! That’s better
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PETA gets Christians barking mad and butt naked with Jesus
Today’s Gospel from Matthew is a short statement from Jesus that always has a powerful effect on me. Jesus invites the crowds, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” It is an invitation that I feel to the depth of my being at times when I’m feeling overwhelmed and anxious. The tendency at those times is to sink within ourselves to see only me and my challenges and difficulties
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Come to Me
There are many stories in the Bible, and this is one season in the year when most of us are preaching stories. In some ways Bible stories give the preacher an advantage. For example, stories offer a flow, a plot, a progression, that can be replicated in the message (although it amazes me how many preachers try to preach a story without telling the story!) Also, stories offer vivid images and allow for effective description. But how do we forge the connection between “back then” and “today”? A few thoughts, I’m sure you could add more: Don’t just historically lecture, but preach to today. It is easy to fall into the trap of presenting what happened back then, but not recognizing the enduring theological significance for today. People appreciate hearing about what happened, but they deeply appreciate it when the preacher can emphasize the relevance of that happening to us today.
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Connecting With Story
As of December 1, 2009, new FTC guidelines went into effect requiring bloggers to disclose any time they are compensated for endorsing or reviewing products or services. Bloggers should now be disclosing any time they receive payment, free products or services, or perks in return for a post on their blogs. Also any relationship with a company or organization that can be viewed as creating a conflict of interest should be disclosed
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Bloggers Must Comply With FTC Disclosure Guidelines
Real Southern Baptists are giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering! These guys hip hop to tell the life of Lottie. “Errbody in da church helpin’ Lottie.” Thanks to George Robinson for the link.
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Lottie Moon: Are you helping?
When I was a very young child (I’m talking really young, age 3 or so), I had a friend named Arthur, with whom I used to get into all sorts of mischief. Whenever Arthur and I got caught doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing, our first response was always, “Dee-Dee did it,” Dee-Dee being my younger sister, Diane, who was about 1 at the time
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Taking Responsibility
Just what every kid wants for Christmas – government documentation. In its annual roster of Christmas charity gifts, Plan Canada, formerly Foster Parents Plan, is selling the opportunity to pay for a birth certificate for a child from the developing world
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Birth registration protects children
This week, @TonyBerkman and @AngieAlaniz are out of the office and that means Rocky and Ariela, the office pugs, are gone too. While the office isn’t quite the same without our trusty pugs–it is quieter and smells a whole lot better–it does give us a chance to appreciate a new addition to the BlogCatalog office. Tom Wilkinfish is a little fish in a little bowl, and he is often overlooked by everyone other than his friend and caretaker, @ithinkdancan
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Even Fish Use Twitter
by John G. Turner Worth reading in part because of commentary from two incisive historians (Michael Hamilton and Larry Eskridge) of American evangelicalism, the Los Angeles Times observes Ted Haggard preaching to overflow crowds, albeit in his living room instead of at his former megachurch. In American popular and political culture, we love both sin (this year’s stars include Mark Ensign, Mark Sanford, and Tiger Woods) and redemption (Eliot Spitzer), thus I’m sure no one is surprised that Haggard is making a comeback.
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Ted Haggard’s New Life
I was pondering the passage I preached yesterday. It was Matthew 1 – the genealogy and Joseph’s dream. I engaged with the text, tried to preach it with it’s own emphasis, and emphasised the relevance to us today. A couple of comments afterwards referred to the new or different angle or take on the story. So why was it new? I don’t think it was. I think I preached the text according to the prompts in the text. I don’t in any way think my message was somehow better than others, but I have pondered what might be expected from the preaching of that passage that I didn’t do, or vice versa. Perhaps one of the following explanations clarifies what was supposedly new or different?
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Why Is This New?
In the midst of the storm occasioned by the perfectly awful bill being proposed in the Uganda legislature, the wringing of hands about who speaks for The Episcopal Church on such matters and how long it takes to get a statement out, and the election in Los Angeles of The Rev. Mary Glasspool to be bishop, a major regrouping of the Church Center staff is taking place with almost no notice at
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Regrouping at Church Center
Laurie Maffly-Kipp sends along this fellowship opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill In the department of religious studies As part of a continuing commitment to advance scholars from underrepresented groups in higher education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity is pleased to announce the availability of postdoctoral research appointments for a period of two years
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Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunity