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When Police Pepper Spray Peaceful Protestors… There Is Hope

Police Pepper Spray Peaceful Protestors

I just watched a video of police pepper spraying peaceful protestors at UC Davis, which led me to investigate further into why people are occupying Wall Street (and plenty of other streets too), which further led me to read some of the testimonies of people who are suffering in this present economic …

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What’s Right With the Church in 2011

Church

Because of my role as an Editor and Online Community Facilitator, I'm exposed to a very wide variety of thinking within the modern church. I read blogs by the reformed, the missional, the fundamental, the emerging, the evangelical, and the conservative points of view. I read books about theology, church growth, …

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Ir-rev-rend: Christianity Without the Pretense

Ir-rev-rend

Pastor Rick Warren has often said that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and an ounce of pretense is worth a pound of manure." Fake faith is a pet peeve of mine, and it is certainly an issue God addresses rather directly in Scripture. I believe God is serious about it because ultimately, …

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My Church Planting Model Is Better Than Yours

Harvest

Not really. Or at least I'm not sure. Church planting is a hot topic right now in western Christianity, and it needs to be with the spiritual condition of North America and western Europe. And when anything is a hot topic, it creates tension. Tension can be good. Out of tension flows a creative discussion …

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Go, Disturb Your City

Disturb Your City

Two thousand years ago, the good news of Jesus Christ had a tendency to upset entire social structures, flipping society upside down and leveling the playing field so that people from any position in life could have a restored relationship with God because of what Jesus Christ accomplished by His death on the …

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We Need That Old Time Religion!

oldtime

I'm writing this article to a generation that might never have heard the old song, Old Time Religion (so I included a clip from an old movie for you). I grew up in an old-fashioned church. We had an old building, built in 1833, and an old cemetery with civil war era headstones. We sang old songs on old …

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OpenChurch: A Global Influence Platform for the Whole Church

openchurch2

Only 10% of Christian believers live in America, but 80% of global influencers are Americans. Imagine for a moment if the portions of the church that are richest in resources could pool those resources and create a global platform for communicating about ideas and sharing resources globally. Apparently, just …

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Does Rick Warren Endorse Chrislam?

Saddleback Church

No. Period. It's a funny thing. Since we've announced that we'll be planting a new church in cooperation with the new Saddleback Network and that Rick Warren has endorsed and sent us, I've gotten quite a few questions about the controversy over "chrislam." I'm not going to link to any articles - Google …

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What Good Is Your Church Anyway?

Light Bulb

I recently read the quote of a skeptical unbeliever that stopped me in my tracks... The church is a parasite. It owns the best property, doesn't pay any taxes, and doesn't help anybody. As a Pastor who loves the local church rather deeply, everything in me wants to argue. Who does this anonymous skeptic …

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When We Disagree, We Should Declare…

Victory

There are a few options here, but typically we fall to either declaring war or declaring love for those with whom we disagree. Some causes are worth fighting for and many issues demand a debate, but when Christians choose the wrong battles, it gives the distinct impression it's an "us vs. them" situation. …

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Goodnight moon. http://t.co/YcnI3Hwg7B7 hours ago