Having Church with Buffalo Wings – First it was movie theaters, now it's restaurant chains. "When Riverchase United Methodist Church announced they would hold church services in a local Buffalo Wild Wings, they probably hoped to make a splash in the city of Hoover. I doubt they knew the move would inspire a top ten list on David Letterman … Christians need to abandon the idea of holy buildings and holy sites. Our church buildings are not the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament temple. Jesus is … We meet with God not in a physical building, but through Jesus who gave his life for us." A concise look at a breaking story.
Your Church's Story, and the Surrounding Community Story – "From mega churches to house churches to traditional churches to community churches, the diversity in expression for the people of God in cities is vast. Yet amidst all the diversity, there is one commonality among North American urban churches: they all exist within a changing religious culture. Whether a church chooses to adapt, engage, withdraw or reject such change, they can't deny that the church's role in culture is in fact changing." A short look at two churches in Vancouver, Canada that find the larger community around them undergoing dramatic shifts.
Redeeming 'The Little Drummer Boy' – Evangelicals generally disdain the popular carol for having no basis in scripture, however: "Worshipers of Jesus (like the magi) compel their neighbors (like the drummer boy) to consider Jesus—to come and see him, as it were. And when the neighbors do, if they would believe, a moment happens when they realize their bankruptcy is exposed. They see Jesus and comprehend his glory, and then they look at themselves: But I am broken. I am empty and poor. I’ve got nothing to bring this King that even comes close to representing the honor that is due him." This Desiring God commentary helps us see the carol in a new light. Which brings us to …
Why So Many Seasonal Songs are Written by Jewish Musicians – "In their music and lyrics, Jews captured Christmas not only as a wonderful, wintry time for family gatherings, but also as an American holiday. What they drew on, said Rabbi Kenneth Kanter, an expert on Jews and popular culture at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, was their background as the children of European-born Jews, or as immigrants themselves, in the case of Russian-born Berlin and others." “Why not Hanukkah songs? Although celebrating the birth of Christ was not something these Jewish songwriters would want to do, they could feel comfortable composing more secular Christmas singles."
Christianity without Christmas – "Some 'conservative Quakers,' said Chris Pifer, a spokesman for the Friends General Conference, one of several national Quaker groups, refuse to observe Christmas at all, under the "every day is a holy day" rubric. But not all of the nation's 33,000 Quakers share that stance … Perhaps the most conspicuous of Christmas-shunners are Jehovah's Witnesses, millennialists whose ranks include 1.9 million members in the United States. Although the group initially observed Dec. 25 as a holiday, church spokesman J.R. Brown said from the church's Brooklyn, New York, headquarters, further study by one official in 1928 led them to drop the observance." All this and more from a Mormon news website.
Why Teenagers aren't Sharing their Faith – "[W]e have an almost irrepressible appetite for doing outreach events instead of mobilizing our teenagers to be the outreach event … Of course, outreach events are fine and good and needed from time to time. But if they are replacing, rather than enhancing, our teenagers' personal evangelism efforts then they are limiting our true outreach effectiveness." Seven points in total, but all of these could apply just as easily to adults. Which leads us to …
Christ Centered Youth Ministry – This article could also apply to Children's ministry or various adult departments of your church. So imagine you're a youth pastor, only a few weeks on the job, when a parent corners you in the office with this: "As a father, I take the role of instilling Christ into the lives of my children very seriously. Because of that responsibility I want to make sure that my kids are involved in a youth program that is Jesus-focused. So tell me, why I should trust you and the program you run?"
Slain in the Spirit – When I first saw this video I was sure it was faked. Think of Benny Hinn throwing his suit jacket at people, only ramped up exponentially. The pastor, Chris Oyakhilome, has his own page on Wikipedia which states that he is, "a Nigerian minister who is the founding president of Believers' LoveWorld Incorporated also known as "Christ Embassy", a Bible-based Christian ministry headquartered in Lagos … Pastor Chris' ministry has expanded rapidly beyond coasts of Nigeria and South Africa, and he now holds large meetings in the United states and has Healing school sessions in Canada, and United Kingdom." The one-minute video is entitled, "Watch as Pastor Uses Invisible Power to Knock Down Church Members." (Hopefully, this isn't the only Christianity people in that country see.)
Parting Shot – In Arkansas, it's a war of the billboards between atheists and a church.
Paul Wilkinson blogs at Thinking Out Loud and is getting everyone in his church one of these for Christmas.
