Categories
church

Should a Local Church aspire to be “Real” and “Cool”?

Image via Wikipedia I appreciated some of the concepts presented by The Perils of ‘Wannabe Cool’ Christianity in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago. Here is a sample from the article: “As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don’t want cool as much as we want […]

Categories
faith renewing the church united methodist church

Class Meetings at Resurrection Online

I have been inspired by Kevin Watson’s series of posts about the Methodist Class Meeting. It was part of what made the Methodist movement powerful. I have hoped to use the following series of posts as a guide for leading class meetings when I am the lead pastor at a church one day. The Methodist […]

Categories
faith question and response

Are Jesus’ miracles true?

It seems that this question has most to do with how one interprets the Bible. Scripture is inspired by God and paints a picture of God’s character, God’s action and God’s people. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God’s people may be thoroughly […]

Categories
faith question and response

Is Jesus’ resurrection true?

Jesus, the one who died, lives! Belief in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is one of the central beliefs of Christianity. Jesus resurrection is true and historical fact. Paul addresses this question in 1 Corinthians 15:12: “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that […]

Categories
faith question and response

Do I have to subscribe to all the beliefs in Christianity to be a Christian?

There are some things which one needs to believe to be a Christian. They are what makes Christianity distinct from other religions, systems of belief or unbelief. One of the most basic guides to the Christian faith is the Apostles’ Creed. This is a statement of faith that helps to set the guidelines or the […]

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question and response united methodist church

Do I have to believe all the beliefs in Methodism to be a Methodist?

You do not have to agree with all of the beliefs and positions of The United Methodist Church to be a United Methodist. However, you do need to agree upon some of the central issues of Christian faith. The founder of Methodist movement, John Wesley, preached a sermon titled, Catholic Spirit, in which he addresses this […]

Categories
leadership ministry

Scaling Up Resurrection Online

Resurrection Online has experienced 38% growth in year-to-date average weekly worship attendance over last year. This is really exciting and has also lead to some challenges. We are looking at how to continue to provide the best possible experience for those that worship online, offer opportunities to grow, give and serve as well as launching […]

Categories
faith fun

Trinity as a S’more

I heard this way of considering the Trinity for the first time recently from a co-worker. If you take out the graham cracker, chocolate, or the marshmallow, you do not have a s’more. Each is integral to the reality of the s’more. Each person of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit is integral to […]

Categories
ministry question and response

Is the depiction of Jesus and other religions in The Shack true?

I received this question in the open forum at the end of Discussions on The Shack last Thursday. I am going to direct back to several posts that I have written in the past on this topic. Christianity and Other Religions Good News for All Can one be saved by faith in God alone, without faith […]

Categories
changing lives

Flickering Pixels

I just finished reading Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith by Shane Hipps. After just finishing the book I felt thoughtful, peaceful, powerful, aware and enlightened. This book was an unexpected breath of fresh air into my life. Hipps is a Mennonite pastor in Arizona who formerly worked in advertising. He has a distinct […]

Categories
changing lives

Messy Spirituality

Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli is accurately described by the subtitle – God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People.  Yaconelli presents an approach to discipleship that is not about clear next steps and unquestionable outcomes. Instead, the path of discipleship that he presents is full of changes, turns and a never failing trust in God. Yaconelli refutes some […]

Categories
leadership renewing the church

unChristian Author at Resurrection

David Kinnaman, co-author of unChristian, is going to be at Resurrection next Tuesday, September 23 at 7:00 PM in the Student Center. unChristian is a research based look at young Americans’ perception of Christianity. I am looking forward to being a part of the event and hope that you will be able to be there […]