Live long and prosper?

I have no idea who John Piper is, but this is the most powerful video about the prosperity gospel I have ever seen.

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It’s been far too long

Between Lucaslabrador posts.  I know some of you cringe, and feel free not to press play on the video if you can’t bring yourself to, but this was so bordering on hilarity I just had to post it.

In this video, dripping with the intellectual wit and understanding he is famous for, [...]

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The Chair-O-Great-Authority

This cracked me up.  Then I sighed.  Then I cracked up again.
Compare to Authority Umbrellas.
*sigh*
*giggle*
[Via Barb then Bill]
[Edit: Just found Brant's post and thought it fit well here]

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The Olympic Facade

Amongst the hype and excitement surrounding the Beijing Olympics there are some reports coming out of China that are disturbing to say the least.
Like the farce of the angelic singing child in the opening ceremonies, the religious freedoms being shown by the Chinese government during the games is just a pretty facade.
Inside the Olympic Village [...]

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How weird is too weird?

I’ve probably been reading far to much FSTDT, but I have been wondering about something lately.
With all the weird people around saying they’re being “persecuted for Christ” and living a completely separated lifestyle, it got me to thinking – how weird is too weird?  As followers of Christ, are we called to be different in a way [...]

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The dark side

Some words from Missy Higgins from the song “Nightminds”:
Just lay it all down. Put your face into my neck and let it fall out.
I know, I know, I know. I knew before you got home.
This world you’re in now,
It doesn’t have to be alone, I’ll get there somehow,
‘cos I know I know I know
When even [...]

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A Manifesto For Church

I’ve been tagged by Barry to write about what a good church should look like.  I had to think about it long and hard.  I’m not much of a visionary.
However, what I came up with was this:
1. Church should be fundamentally and foundationally missional.  We are a sent people, every single one of us.  The entire [...]

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An Unequal Blessing

A couple of people around the place have been commenting on God’s blessing lately – specifically Grace and Cynthia talking about the “Lakeland Revival“.
It got me to thinking, as posts from Grace and Cynthia often do.
How does the blessing of God work?  Why does it fall so unequally on those who need it most and so [...]

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Support holy stuff for I am holy

We had a fantastic discussion in our church gathering yesterday that I’d love to share.
A couple of weeks previous we all watched a documentary about Oasis, a Salvation Army centre for youth homelessness located in Sydney.
Yesterday we discussed the film. We especially focused on our personal responses and our response as a group. We talked [...]

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End Child Slavery

Today is the Oak Tree Foundation’s End Child Slavery day.
Although we won’t be able to attend, my thoughts and prayers are with this little group of young people who are out to change the world.  First it was Melbourne’s Make Poverty History concert, where Bono dropped in.  Now they’re tackling the massive problem of child slavery.
From [...]

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A letter

I’m doing this with a little apprehension, but I know it’s time.  After our discussion in a previous post about institutional church, I believe that sharing this letter now might help others to find a voice within their churches.  Before now, only a few of our closest friends and another few who we felt might [...]

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Church?

A post over at The Boar’s Head Tavern (found via iMonk) got me thinking yet again about institutional church.  Oh, that and a post by Jeff McQuilkin.
It is all starting to seem a little unnecessary to me, this ‘My Church, Your Church’ denominational stuff, even to the point of questioning the need for the Institutional Church [...]

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Social Justice

I came across this poll on Church Marketing Sucks.  I’m still not really sure what to think of it.
Should I be sad for the 47% who barely even broach the subject?
Thankful for the 23% who make it a priority?
Worried that social justice is such an overlooked part of the Bible, and the gospel?
I really don’t [...]

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Learning from the Jesus Movement

 
This is referencing an old post, I know, but I was re-reading it and realised anew the importance of learning from the past. The Blind Beggar warns of the pitfalls of the Jesus Movement in the 60’s, and catalogues some of their mistakes that he hopes the emerging church doesn’t make. Excellent reading.

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Messy is good!

I have finished Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli.
All I can say is, if you haven’t read it, add it to your ‘must read’ list immediately! I honestly think it’s the most real and down to earth commentary on Jesus and the ways of the Kingdom of God that I’ve ever read.
The book is basically [...]

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A whole day’s food for the cost of a third of a latte?

I didn’t think it was possible! I spent $3 on my latte this morning, and here I find Nathan and Laura doing a very intriguing experiment where they are eating with a dollar a day for just over a month.
Yes, I’m very late to the party. They’re up to day 30 already, but [...]

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More from dear old Lucaslabrador

It’s lovely to have somebody about whom you can say “If he says it, chances are I believe the absolute opposite”.
Really, Lucaslabrador never fails to amaze me.

Some choice quotes:
(From the sidebar of the video)
There is a very simple way to know it is sin; the vast majority of the women approve [...]

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Our Social Justice God

Deuteronomy 10:17-21
For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and [...]

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Sorry

My estimation of our new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, is continuing to rise. Today he did what past governments have refused to do. He has said sorry.
It doesn’t sound that difficult, really, to make a simple apology. But the terror struck in the hearts of former leadership comes from the possible monetary [...]

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Australia Day Synchroblog

We have a special little day here in our upside-down land. It’s a bit like Independence Day but without the alien-busting movie named after it.
We call it Australia Day, and we celebrate it by gathering family around the BBQ and eating. Apparently the more Aussie-minded also play cricket in the backyard, but that ‘aint gonna [...]

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