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Welcome.
One of the most common questions I receive is on the topic of the unique truth claims of Christianity. This is also known as the problem of pluralism. The basic issue is that there are many religions that claim to be valid ways of knowing God. But Christianity claims it is true and the other ideas are false. Isn’t this a bit arrogant and intolerant? And probably false and stupid too?
There are many related questions on this topic. Let’s look at them in turn.
Who doesn’t want to be part of an exciting, growing, and large church?
The greater the desire for a bigger and better church, the more important church growth strategies are.
The motivation from this post came as I read through 2 Corinthians, looking for how Paul pastored this church. His methodology is so different from my own. It is sharply distinctive from what I often see promoted as the best way forward for the church. By pulling these ‘strategies’ together into one list I hope to remind us about the nature of Paul’s approach to ministry. My hope is that this knowledge changes how we act and relate to one another in churches today.
People are changing their minds about a great deal of moral and religious truth claims. Because of these dramatic changes, I’ve heard many people advocate for adopting the future moral consensus as the right moral consensus.
For instance, consider four significant trends with me:
This talk was given at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church during their 2012 “Voices of the Nativity” Advent Forum.
A quick summary of the talk:
Main point: The wise men were wise because they passionately sought after Jesus.
Primary application: Be wise like the wise men – passionately seek after Jesus this Christmas.
Every time a major tragedy grips the conscience of America, some prominent Christians will offer unhelpful explanations. I’d like to look at some of the most embarrassing examples, consider a few reasons why this happens, and then contrast their perspective with the teaching of Jesus.
As we’ll see, there is a stark difference between how some Christian leaders and Jesus respond to tragedy.
How do we love our friends on Facebook? It is a new tool, so I’m not sure we have the answers we need to this important question. But with over a billion users, when Christians participate on Facebook, they should do so in a way that honors God and serves their friends. Why? Because we are called to be salt and light wherever we are (see Matthew 5:13-16).
It is time to be creative, intentional, and prayerful in how we use this website.
So here are 60+ suggestions for how to love your friends on Facebook:
The Apostle Paul led an amazing life. It seems that everything he did somehow advanced the gospel. Even when he persecuted the church, dragging men and women into prison, and oversaw the martyrdom of Stephen, we learn that “those who were scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4)!
Today, however, I want to look at how the Apostle Paul intentionally spread the good news about Jesus. In particular, I want to give specific attention to the time he was on trial before Festus the Governor of Judea, King Herod Agrippa II, and Bernice the sister of King Agrippa. Also present for this speech were the military tribunes and the prominent city leaders.
Many pastors would like to include apologetics in their preaching and teaching. Why?
Because they know that people in the pew are starving for reasons to believe in Christianity, struggling with doubts, and hopeful for answers.
They know that nonChristians are listening in, questioning everything, and wondering why they should change their minds about Jesus.
But pastors don’t want to bore people, be overly rationalistic, or lose focus on their main point. And they are busy. So how can pastors add apologetics into their sermons?
Here are six simple, easy-to-implement suggestions for time-crunched pastors.
One of the most common phrases I hear about research scientists is that they love to be wrong. Why? Because when they are wrong, it means there’s a good chance they have discovered something new. This new data, which does not fit the current paradigms, can lead them to a breakthrough discovery. So being wrong can quite literally lead to fame and fortune.
By contrast, of course, the common perception seems to be that Christians absolutely hate to be wrong. Rather, Christians (especially conservative, evangelical, or fundamentalist ones) appear to have a high need for certainty that they are right.
Think about it: don’t these words all seem to go together?
Christians seem to have a poor reputation for answering questions.
Would you like to know why people don’t listen to our answers? And do you want some ideas for changing this situation? Then this post is for you!
Let’s start by understanding the problem a little better. There are at least three reasons why people are not always interested in our answers:
So today let’s break out of the box and look at five different ways to answer a question!