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God’s Calling is about more than Some Day

April 30, 2013 — Leave a comment

singer sewing machine

My wife is a stay-at-home mom; I have no doubt that this is one of the most significant callings in the world. What if women who stayed at home with their kids understood the significance of the calling that God has given them as a mother? My dad has this boss who recently told them that he needed to make sure to not be in work on Sunday so he could spend time with his family. What if more bosses didn’t simply try to maximize the profit an employee can make, but also actually cared that their employees were spending time with the people who matter most? A recent survey said that 77% of teenagers want to be their own boss someday. Imagine the world we would live in if we helped these teenagers understand the significance of starting businesses in a God-honoring, kingdom building kind of way. What if the future businesses in your city were all run by people who believed they have a calling by God to be a blessing to the world through the running of their organizations.

In Theology

Riet Schumack, mixing her passions of gardening and children, has been living out her calling in the city of Detroit by making community gardens. Brightmoor moved to the city of Detroit in 2006 and this is how she has been serving her neighbors.

Posted on April 17, 2013 In Theology

7 Practices That Make Church Weird

April 16, 2013 — 2 Comments

weird church

Church is weird. And don’t worry, I’m not suggesting we change that. Acknowledging our weirdness can be helpful for those of us who have become accustomed to the way church is done. As more and more people are less interested in church, more and more people are not familiar with the common practices of church. This means that churchgoers and church workers would do well to be aware of how weird our weekly practices are. Let’s learn to be a church that not only embraces our weirdness, but also help new people understand why we do what we do.

7 Practices That Make Church Weird

1. We are all supposed to sing together. This is not a very common thing to do. You may have sung with a group of people in your high school choir, at a major league baseball game, or maybe even a birthday party. Outside of that, it’s not very common.

In Culture, Theology

What is Gosnell?

April 13, 2013 — 1 Comment

Gosnell

The internet has started a storm about this guy with the last name of “Gosnell.” So what is it all about? What is Gosnell? Dr. Kermit Gosnell is accused of the murder of a woman and 7 babies. Gosnell’s clinic was raided by the FBI in 2010 to investigate the misuse of selling painkillers. What they found during the raid was appalling.

“There was blood on the floor. A stench of urine filled the air. A flea-infested cat was wandering through the facility, and there were cat feces on the stairs. Semiconscious women scheduled for abortions were moaning in the waiting room or the recovery room, where they sat on dirty recliners covered with blood-stained blankets.”

Gosnell is charged with the murder of 7 babies that were born alive and also with performing illegal late-term abortions. Gosnell’s trial began on March 18th and there was a surprising lack of news coverage considering the magnitude of the allegations. As social media has the power to do, #gosnell has grown in awareness as bloggers, journalists, and twitter users have been making their voice heard about the atrocities of Gosnell and the lack of media coverage.

Here’s a round-up of some articles, blogs, and media that’s helpful in making sense of this:

Philadelphia Abortion Clinic Horror: Column

Kirsten Powers’ article was the first I read about the disturbing events that happened in Pennsylvania. The first sentences were enough to make me aware of the what this was all about, “Infant beheadings. Severed baby feet in jars. A child screaming after it was delivered alive during an abortion procedure. Haven’t heard about these sickening accusations?”

In Culture, Theology

If we looked at everything we do as a calling from God, it might change everything. What if when we sweeped the floors, tucked our kids into bed, sent an e-mail, or walked through the neighborhood that we understood that God has called us to live out our faith in the places he has put us. What if we actually believed that God not only called some to be preachers and missionaries, but also to be stay-at-home moms, blue jean designers, and assembly-line workers?

Photo Credit: Corey Grunewald

Posted on April 11, 2013 In Theology

God in the Garbage

April 8, 2013 — Leave a comment

Life sometimes feels like garbage. Guilt, pain, tragedy, depression, betrayal, sickness… we could go on far too easily. It’s inevitable that at seasons in life, things will feel like a mess. It might be because of a mess we’ve made or because of the reality that life is messy. The most difficult thing about the times when our life feels like a garbage dump is that we can’t picture anything beyond the trash that we are living in.

The message of the Gospel is one that speaks directly into our mess. The Gospel speaks the truth that God comes into the midst of our garbage and loves us anyway. The truth that your mess isn’t too big for the cross. The Gospel speaks the truth that God not only cleans up the mess that you’ve caused, but he also promises to be with you in the mess of life. The truth that God will never leave you, no matter how bad it gets. And in the midst of all this mess, God promises to work.

In Theology

The Definition of Marriage Has Already Changed

March 28, 2013 — 8 Comments

wedding

Marriage is changing. Regardless of your political party, religious persuasion, or sexual orientation the way culture defines marriage is not only in the process of changing, but it has already been changed. I want to be clear up front; this is not a post about defending traditional marriage – although I think Christians should defend the definition of marriage, and it is not a post about human rights – although justice should be upheld for all people. Because of the nature of all that is going on in the political arena around this topic, some of the things that I may talk about might be sensitive. And some may think that I’m being far too fundamentalist and others may feel like I’m being far too liberal.

In Theology

6 months before I got married, I was faced with a dilemma. In a few short months, I would no longer be only responsible for my own well being, but I would also be given the responsibility to take care of my soon-to-be-wife. I would not be just son and student, but I would become husband. And that meant I needed to make enough money to give us a place to live; and health insurance would’ve been nice too.

I had been planning for most of college to end up as a youth pastor, but 6 moths before marriage I still didn’t have a job doing youth ministry. But I did have an opportunity to work as a garbage man. So I was faced with a dilemma; I felt like God had gifted me to do student ministry, but I also knew God had given me the responsibility to fulfill my future vocation of husband by being a good provider. Because of my calling to be a husband, I knew that it might actually mean that I was also being called to be a garbage man.

In Theology

Being Cautious with Technology

March 14, 2013 — 2 Comments

nbc technology

Every morning, first thing after i get up and bring our little man into bed for some morning cuddling, a couple things always take place. First, I inevitably grab my iPhone to check the new blog posts for the day and shortly after I start reading blogs on my iPhone, Elijah usually starts climbing on me and pointing for the iPad which is charging on the nightstand next to us. Since Daddy is on the iPhone, he should obviously get to watch Mickey Mouse on the iPad.

Technology does some incredible things. We are more connected in our world than ever before. Something can happen on the other side of the world and I almost immediately can hear about it. I found out about the recent election of the new pope without ever once checking a news source. My son will have technology at his finger tips that I cannot even begin to imagine. People walk around with bibles in their pockets on their phones; hundreds of years ago you couldn’t own your own bible let alone read one while you were in the bathroom. Technology changes the way we function.

In Technology, Theology

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