What’s Wrong With This picture?

Just a short note today, something that I hope you would think about. Really just a couple of simple questions. First, the style of music that is dominant in the “seeker” or “emergent” churches; was it developed in the church and taken into the world, or was it developed in the world and brought into the church? You know what I mean; the driving drum beat, amplified guitars, strutting “praise leaders”, music so loud that you can’t hear the person next to you singing repeated over and over and over and louder each time? Where did all that come from? Second, the dress that we see most common in the churches today, you know, pastors in jeans with jelled hair, and their shirts unbuttoned, women and teeny-boppers with all they have out for all to see...

An Unencumbered Journey

Tertullian, one of the fathers of the early church, is quoted as saying, “And so it is when a man walks along a road, the lighter he travels, the happier he is; equally, on this journey of life, a man is more blessed if he does not pant beneath a burden of riches.” Panting beneath a load of riches? What’s that? Aren’t riches a blessing? One of the by-products, and even sometimes the motivating force in striving for success in our careers, is the opportunity to gain financial increase through our efforts. We work hard to improve our performance, to satisfy our customers/supervisors, to learn how to do whatever we do with increasing value and effectiveness, and often we succeed. Our success brings with it a greater ability to acquire “things.” Things like, well you know, bigger...