Ed Stetzer on Missional Churches' Lack of Missions Passion

Ed Stetzer is an incredibly valuable resource to the Church today. His passions for helping revitalize churches and for global missions make much that he writes essential reading. So when I saw his article entitled, Five Reasons Missional Churches Don't Do Global Missions-- and How to Fix It, I had to read it.

You see, I want us to be missional in focus--realizing that every aspect of our lives is to be purposefully engaged for God's glory and gospel penetration of the culture around us. I also want us to see global missions as the task before us as a church. Using both terms--missional and missions--is not always fashionable, but I believe both are important. This article was a great read, and I commend it to anyone who wants a quick introduction to the problem that has plagued many who emphasize missional church life--the loss of zeal for reaching the peoples of the world.

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Rob Bell's redefinition of ‘evangelical.' What do you think?

Rob Bell's interview with the Boston Globe during his current speaking tour (it is short; read it here) is rather disturbing, not just in what it includes, but what it leaves out. In the interview, he expressly repudiates efforts to convert others and only embraces the term "evangelical" if it involves environmental issues and poverty; Jesus and the gospel are not mentioned.

We often find evangelicals not caring enough about the pain and injustice in this world, but the solution is not to ignore the coming of the new heavens and earth, the judgment to be faced before then, the necessity of the coming of Jesus to change things, and the clear warning of the Bible that not everyone will enter that blessed state. Perhaps there is much more that Bell said that was not recorded, but this interview as presented is very disturbing. I hope Rob will issue a clarification and expansion.

Oh, and by the way, I came up the same way he did, but it didn't feel nearly as bad as he seems to feel about it. Perhaps my calling really is more akin to performance art than preaching, but I'm not convinced yet (read the article to see what I'm referring to).

I want to believe that Bell is being outrageous for effect, but I can't tell if he is, or if it is something more.

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Ignatius the Ultimate Youth Pastor

This has been around for a while, but it is both funny and a bit too realistic, unfortunately.

Amazing Video--Did You Know 4.0

This is pretty thought-provoking stuff! (ht Jeff Mooney @ www.socaltheologica.com )

Thought Provoking Article on American Health Care

David Goldhill's How American Health Care Killed My Father in The Atlantic magazine is an article that highlights some of the reasons we are having a health care debate.

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Publishers Announce End of TNIV; overhaul of NIV

Christianity Today's Liveblog site has an article entitled, Correcting the 'Mistakes' of TNIV, Translators Will Overhaul NIV.

This is a major development that indicates the widespread dissatisfaction with the TNIV as a replacement for the NIV. Much of that dissatisfaction comes from significant stylistic changes, the most notable being "gender inclusive" language in many places (though never in reference to God). This change caused many conservative evangelicals to move away from the NIV, and may account for at least some of the popularity of the more recent ESV.

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