Friday, May 04, 2012

Around the Horn

Thom Rainer leads us off with a  two-fer: ten signs of an inwardly focused church and seven common traits of breakout churches. These are thought-provoking articles. Spend some time here and see how you measure up.

At second, a church made the curious move of advertising Easter services with a dead rabbit. Note to self: When something associated with CT calls you stupid, you probably are not even close to the line. It makes me wonder what some people are thinking. Listen, I know there are a lot of different ways to reach people. I know there is a lot of debate about some of them. But a dead rabbit? It reminds me that if you are going to offend people, do it with Jesus and the cross, not with stupidity.

Round third, and speaking of Christianity Today, here is a thought-provoking article on urban ministry and school choice. Education is a very controversial issue. We all want the best for our kids. But what sort of mindset should control that? This article tells how a few couples answered this question.

Lastly, for all your Detroit pastors, let me encourage you to consider this Greek refresher class. It’s free, easy, and low commitment—everything you wish Greek would have been the first time you took it. I still find the original languages very useful. I regularly read Hebrew (my Hebrew is better than my Greek). I usually translate at least some of the passage that I am preaching each week. I am not great at it, but it keeps me in it, and with the tools available, you don’t have to know as much as you used to.

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