By: gfesadmin on February 22, 2013
Two days ago I was in a village in Central India. We dedicated a small Life Center for the use of the Believers there. Village church buildings are called ‘Life Centers’ since it becomes a resource in the hands of the congregation to reach out to the community to meet various needs during the week. New Believers…
By: gfesadmin on February 22, 2013
Value is in the heart of the beholder. Just about everything is marked with meaning and carries some level of value. Often times, value is ascribed to something that is sentimental. The value of something can have a major impact on culture or society at large. In some cases, it may not go any further…
By: gfesadmin on February 22, 2013
Wayne Muller in his book Sabbath tells a story about Harvard President Neil Rudenstine oversleeping one morning in November of 1994. For this zealous perfectionist, in the midst of a million-dollar-a-day fund raising campaign, it was cause for alarm. After years of intensive, nonstop toil and struggle in an atmosphere that rewarded frantic busyness and…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
Since the life of Christ, believers and churches have pursued the ministry of discipleship in obedience to the great commission text of Matthew 28:19-20 and out of the desire to bring back the King, Matthew 24:14. Two dynamics have thwarted the ministry of discipleship. The first was the clergy and laity division. The idea that…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
A few years ago, I had the privilege of participating in a golf tournament near Celebration, Florida. This entirely planned community was built by and located near the fantasy land of Disney World. After the tournament, the organizers shared the benefits of living in a community dedicated to relationships and then took us on tour…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
Catholic theologian Vincent J. Miller unpacks the intersection of religion and consumerism in Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture. The strong point to Miller’s sketch is the depth and breadth of how he draws late modern capitalism, globalization, postmodernism, and Western Christianity together to show how culture has become fully commoditized. …
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} I have been involved in helping to lead a Bible Study of business men for over 10 years. We…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
Last weekend I was able to join Nadia Bolz-Weber at the conference „Kirchehochzwei“ in Hannover, Germany and translate her keynote from english into german. She was invited as one of the main speakers to share her experience of her ministry at House for all Sinners and Saints, a ELCA-church she founded in Denver, Colorado. The…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
(Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) In this writing I have decided to choose and explore a few concepts discussed by Vincent Jude Miller in his book Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture; those of need, desire, scarcity, and lack; and analyze how these might interact and manifest. I will also briefly discuss…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
Today I was stunned. The first “stun” may seem small and stunned may be on overstatement. It was about choosing lights for a remodel in our church. We had to chose lights for a new foyer area. I was hoping to have very distinct lights, the design and color of which I first thought would…
By: gfesadmin on February 21, 2013
In “Consuming Religion,” Vincent J. Miller argues that the problem with a consumer culture and structure isn’t with belief but in its praxis. Nobody would argue that child exploitation for cheap products is good. A majority of folks active within Christianity can tell you what correct belief is, but that belief hasn’t trickled down to…
By: gfesadmin on February 16, 2013
After reading Douthat’s book: Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, I am compelled to ask if the ‘bad religion’ of American Christianity is bad only for America? Has it left just America in a crisis? In the wake of globalization, I believe this same version of Christianity has reached the urban shores…
By: Joy Mindo on February 15, 2013
The openness of Ross Douthat explains how America became a nation of heretics gives me a good understanding of the decline of Christianity. Although is difficult to relate to the American experience of Christianity through the years there are segments that many African Christians can relate. For many years, the evangelical main line churches…
By: gfesadmin on February 15, 2013
Maybe it is just me, but there seems to be a pungent sense amongst ministers today, and indeed in times past, with those preparing for the professional ministry and those who are already well seasoned, that we mostly focus on those things that divide instead of what unites us. In pursuing our various customized agendas,…
By: gfesadmin on February 15, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr_5wDmX3kY Oprahdoxy…is it as bad as Douthat imagines? Has it turned U.S. Christians into throngs of heretics? In the book Bad Religion: How we Became a Nation of Heretics, Ross Douthat, a conservative Catholic journalist, writes a synopsis of the history of Christianity in its various forms and denominations from the 1950’s to the present.…
By: gfesadmin on February 15, 2013
Douthat’s Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics is aserious review of the present condition of Christianity in America. Christianity which once had significant influence on American life and history has fallen from those heights. It has now come face to face with its enemy. Douthat points out that the enemy is not any external…
By: gfesadmin on February 14, 2013
Ross Douthat in his book Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics does an excellent job of explaining the scope of American Christianity over the last century. He delves into the complex reasons of the ebb and flow of various branches of American Christianity (Mainline Protestantism, Catholicism, and Evangelicalism) and their intersections. He…
By: gfesadmin on February 14, 2013
Different Phases The title caught me. I resonated with it immediately, thinking of others – then realization sat in. He was talking about me. Ross Douthat in Bad Religion holds the premise that through the ages, a “core orthodoxy” has held the church together and allowed her to weather the storms of heresy. However, today…
By: gfesadmin on February 14, 2013
I remember going to Dodger Stadium when I was in Junior High School to hear Billy Graham speak. The stadium was packed out. We sat in folding chairs in right field. He shared a dynamic and stirring message. George Beverly Shea in his baritone voice sang “How Great Thou Art” and I will never forget…
By: gfesadmin on February 14, 2013
A few weeks ago during the super bowl, a crowd of friends and family members came together to watch the big game at our house. Not long into the game, the Super Bowl was no longer what everyone was excited about. Rather, everyone was now excited about seeing some of the knew commercials during the…
