Late last night I watched the video of Steve Jobs’ press conference addressing the firestorm of criticism over reception issues with the iPhone 4. He chose to deal with the issue by: acknowledging that there is a problem; giving perspective on the scope of the problem (one half of one percent of owners registering complaints); […]
Dealing with criticism Read More »
Ed Stetzer, one of the most informed experts on church life today, has written a piece for Tim Challies’ blog called The Problem with Pastor as Rock Star. He warns of this “sin issue” which is manifested in four ways: personal imbalance, hindering community, approval addiction, and selling out the church’s future. But then he
Christian Leader Rock Stars Read More »
Our culture has come to a point where we have high expectations of leaders–very high, sometimes unreasonably high–and the effects that this produces can be dicey.
Great Expectations Read More »
In an interview in the May 8, 2010, issue of World, Tim Keller (Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City) explains how his pastoral service in a small Virginia town helped shape his preaching: “In a small town your pastoring sets up your preaching. In a big town your preaching sets up your pastoring.
Keller on preaching and pastoring Read More »
by Thomas Keppeler, Ph.D., Pastor of Global Outreach, Elmbrook Church Last week a group of about 20 leaders from in and around Elmbrook Church spent a few hours interacting with John Seel of The Clapham Institute and James Davison Hunter, the author of To Change the World – The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity
On changing the world Read More »
I found the 130 comments that many of you posted on the topic of temptations today very helpful as I prepared the sermon for last weekend at Elmbrook. I asked you to complete the following sentence: “One of the powerful temptations we all have to guard against today is…” The results? Dozens of different ideas.
Christopher Hitchens doubts that God exists. Actually, that’s a huge understatement. Hitchens, a noted journalist and literary critic, positively disbelieves in the existence of God. And he wants to disbelieve. On a television talk show, Hitchens told NBC journalist Tim Russert that he doesn’t believe in God because he thinks there is no evidence for
An atheist rejects a kind of God that should be rejected Read More »
One of the most vivid descriptions of salvation in the New Testament that every believer should hang onto is the concept of adoption. Because God adopted us in Christ, we have the assurance that we have a new relationship with God that is decisive, determined, and certain. It is a matter of status, not just
Adoption is everybody’s issue Read More »
So what do we learn when we compare Islam, which has some interest in Jesus, with the historic Christian view of Jesus? In Christianity, of central importance is the fact that Jesus Christ is the speech of God. The New Testament book of Hebrews begins with this statement:
Muhammad and Jesus – Part 6 Read More »
Over the centuries, Islam spread well beyond Arabia. Much of that 1,400 years has been a history of war. A conviction that has been called a “sixth pillar” of Islam is jihad, which means “exertion or struggle.” Sometimes Muslims have thought of jihad as the struggle for true religion in a chaotic world, and sometimes
Muhammad and Jesus – Part 5 Read More »
It’s all about grace. Of all the stirring phrases of Katharine Lee Bates’ famous song, “America the Beautiful,” there is one that jumps up and shouts at me: “America, America, God shed His grace on Thee.” The enduring value of the phenomenon in world history called America is the grace of God. It is more
America the Beautiful Read More »
On this fourth of July weekend, thinking about freedom… We cherish freedom as a gift from God, but why is it that we have such a difficult time handling freedom when we have it? A young man turns 21 and now has new freedom—legal rights that should be seen as privilege and honor—but he turns
Freedom can be hard to handle Read More »
Atlantic Monthly has an interesting set of articles called “14 3/4 Most Powerful Ideas of the Year.” Some are stark (“The Catholic Church is Finished”); some controversial (“America is No. 2”); some telling (“Boredom is Extinct”); some disturbing (“The End of Men”). If you were asked to contribute something to a list of “powerful ideas”
Most powerful ideas of the year Read More »
It was great to listen to and watch the interactions earlier this week during our first event sponsored by The Brook Network. Almost a hundred pastors, worship leaders, and other leaders converged on the theme of “Spirit and Truth: Preaching and Creativity in Worship Today.” It was particularly encouraging to listen to the ideas and
Reflections on “Spirit and Truth” Read More »
“Islam” means “submission,” and “Muslim” means “one who has submitted his life to God.” Islam focuses on the total submission of one’s life to a lifestyle based on law. Islam is more a religion of deed than belief. It is appealing to some because it is so concrete and specific in what it requires. Sexual
Muhammad and Jesus – Part 4 Read More »