The ongoing water problems at The Lighthouse continue. Today as they were working on the sprinkler system, a line broke under pressure and flooded out the dining room. In case you are counting, that’s three floods now. Later in the day as Marcel and I were talking the fire alarms went off again and we [...]
church
Submission to physical abuse?
I know many of you are John Piper fan boys but this is appalling. Piper is telling women to "submit" to abuse for a season and then go to the church. Really? What about an abuse shelter? What about pressing criminal charges? What about leaving him? Abuse can never be tolerated. Piper talks about abuse [...]
The end of the line for Prairie Bible Institute?
Canada’s oldest fundamentalist Bible College finds itself in the middle of a sex abuse scandal. As Jeremy Klazus reports in the Calgary Herald, instead of looking outward for a third party, it is trying to handle things internally. Callaway, who did his master’s research on sex abuse in churches and recently completed a doctoral thesis on [...]
Sermon feedback
I don’t do a lot of public speaking anymore but when I did, I would have appreciated the kind of feedback that AKMA is proposing here. Still, one wonders what would happen if sermons were regularly reviewed by a good critic (or by an itinerant representative of the diocese/synod/whatever), or if it were permissible to [...]
For Sale
The Crystal Cathedral is for sale. Seriously. According to the L.A. Times The Garden Grove church, which said it owed more than $50 million to creditors and vendors when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, will file a reorganization plan with a Santa Ana court as soon as Friday. The plan includes [...]
Fringe Expressions
Andrew Jones has launched a major new project called Fringe Expressions. As he calls it. We are going to partner with leading mission organizations and denominations by helping them start 50 new church/mission structures around the world that will act as role models for church planting in the toughest parts of the world. As well [...]
Where have all the denominations gone?
In the Wall Street Journal Are we witnessing the death of America’s Christian denominations? Studies conducted by secular and Christian organizations indicate that we are. Fewer and fewer American Christians, especially Protestants, strongly identify with a particular religious communion—Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, etc. According to the Baylor Survey on Religion, nondenominational churches now represent the [...]
The Grind of Poverty
"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings." Nelson Mandela This is the third in a series on poverty, homelessness, and a concentration of services in Saskatoon’s inner city. You can find part 1 and part 2 in the [...]
A Pastoral Touch
As calls increase for the the Pope to resign over his alleged role in not dealing with pedophiles as the Cardinal Archbishop of Munich and subsequently head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, I was wondering if it has any historical precedent. To my surprise, it isn’t that hard to do and [...]
Missional Challenges
Over the last year I have noticed a trend when in a mixed group of churches (often evangelical) and NGOs. It is the local evangelical churches inability to organize or work with outside groups. All of them share the following characteristics. The needs and convenience of the local church are more important than other partner [...]
