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Can You Critique The Church?
Read more: Can You Critique The Church?I was reading Josh Carroll’s post about the disease called “Critiqueomania” and I found that I myself have had rather severe bouts of this plague. Some of these outbreaks have been part of my former angst, but others seemed very well meant. Some were definitely “Critiqueomania,” but there were other times where my criticism was well…
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I’m Sorry, I Can’t Pray for You
Read more: I’m Sorry, I Can’t Pray for YouDear whoever you are church member, This past week you probably felt somewhat confused and hurt when I told you in no uncertain terms that I would not be able to commit to praying for you after you shared your struggles with me. Now, I did pray with you after we talked about your situation…
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Redeeming the Friend Zone
Read more: Redeeming the Friend ZoneDon’t ever condemn someone to the “friend zone.” If you do, that person will become a stripper. That’s the moral of the stage musical Rock of Ages, which some of my co-bloggers and I caught during a weekend trip to Las Vegas last month. The first act launches a love story between Drew, a busboy…
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Blood on my Hands
Read more: Blood on my HandsWhen I heard that we were receiving communion as a church staff, I was thankful. I needed it. I was wearied from two stressful weeks of constant ministry. Lots of counseling, lots of planning, lots of situations in which I had no idea what to do. I was tired. That morning, it had taken everything…
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The Butthead Prayer
Read more: The Butthead PrayerThis past weekend, our youth ministry began a series exploring the ins and outs of worship. As a way to ease into the series, our middle schoolers (5th-8th) spent Sunday morning practicing prayer through the acronym PRAY (praise, repent, ask, yourself). The students progressed to different stations where they explored different Scriptures that related to…
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Wandering Minds
Read more: Wandering MindsAs I settled into the book of Deuteronomy this evening for a little devotional reading, I was taken aback by the following verses: “Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of…
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Remote Control
Read more: Remote ControlIf you happened to be sitting between rows 24 and 27 on the American Airlines flight from San Antonio to Dallas last Sunday, you might have heard the following rhyme playing repeatedly during the 38 minute flight: I’ve got a remote/ and I’m ready to roll/ making things happen/ ‘cause I’m in control! While I…
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Ten Reasons Why I HATE Santa and You Should Too
Read more: Ten Reasons Why I HATE Santa and You Should TooAbout the author: Lindsey has a BA in Sociology from Cedarville University and a MA in Education (math) from the University of Colorado. After having taught 5th grade for four years, she currently stays at home and spends her days wrangling three toddlers while anxiously waiting for the sound of the garage door. Growing up, we…
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The Slavery of God
Read more: The Slavery of GodI used to believe that all evangelical theologians were a gift from God. This is what my Reformed background taught me. My honest confession in this short piece is that I no longer believe that. In fact, evangelical seminaries and Bible schools are turning out a great number of men and women who are anything…
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Being the Answer
Read more: Being the AnswerSometimes in life we have the opportunity to be something especially beautiful: we have the opportunity to be the answer to someone’s prayer. I was staying at a friend’s house one night, and we were sitting together watching TV when I got a call from my sister. She was sad and overwhelmed and had no…