Posts in Culture

The Information Age

By Gary McIntosh May. 19, 2013 9:05 p.m. Church Life, Culture, Evangelism, Ministry and Leadership

Peter Drucker wrote that in our knowledge-based society, information is the key resource and building block for every type of organization.  Information is the new money, currency upon which organizations rise or fall.  How may a local church respond to the new currency of information in today's world?

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The Value of Office Hours

By Ben Shin May. 3, 2013 1:11 p.m. Biblical Exposition, Christian Education, Church Life, Culture, Ministry and Leadership, Spiritual Formation

I love my office. There are many reasons that I love my office. One is that I can store the many books that I own in there. Second, it is a place for study or reading in a quiet setting. But what I love most is that my office is a place for ministry and discipleship to occur. In other words, it is a safe place to meet students who are not only facing the challenges of academia but also the hardships of life. For this reason, the value of my office hours is priceless!

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The Secret to Becoming Irrelevant: Spend All Your Time Trying to Be Relevant

By Thaddeus Williams Apr. 4, 2013 5:06 p.m. Theology, Church Life, Culture, Evangelism, Ministry and Leadership

Often times it seems that harder the church tries to be relevant, the more irrelevant we become. The Bible is full of this kind of upside down logic. The self-clingers lose themselves, the prideful end up humbled, those jostling to be first end last, and, now it seems, those trying the hardest to be relevant end up most irrelevant. Thaddeus Williams explores what happens when the church puts relevance to culture ahead of reverence to Christ. 

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Resume Red Flags: How to Read a Ministry Resume for All Its Worth

By Ben Shin Mar. 29, 2013 12:24 p.m. Christian Education, Church Life, Culture, Ethics, Ministry and Leadership, Spiritual Formation

Looking over a resume in order to hire a person for ministry can be trickier than one realizes at first. This is especially true because they typically want to give the benefit of the doubt to one’s accomplishments and experiences as listed on a resume. However, it has been the experience of this writer that what is often listed on a resume may not actually be the truth. There are those who like to “stretch” the information or possibly “embellish” the facts to point in favor of the applicant. Then there are those who just flat out lie about who they really are and what they’ve done. This blog will highlight some clues or signs of “red flags” that may show up in ministry resumes. 

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Bunnies, Malted Milk Balls, and the Crucifixion

Mar. 28, 2013 8:37 a.m. Culture, Spiritual Formation

While Christians decry the secularization of Christmas, the spirit of that season (gift-giving, twinkling lights, warm cocoa) coalesces rather well with the celebration of God coming to earth in the birth of Jesus. Easter is more difficult. For the Christian, the meaning of Easter is directly connected to the brutal and unjust execution of the one born in Bethlehem. Easter is the exuberance of the empty tomb, and yet it stands in solidarity with the alienation of a blood stained cross.

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Amos: Part Two

By Joe Hellerman Feb. 20, 2013 9:45 a.m. Church Life, Culture, Evangelism, Old Testament

Social Justice or The Proclamation of the Gospel?

In Amos Part One (2/18) we encountered the Northern Kingdom experiencing great prosperity during the reign of Jeroboam II. Suddenly, the prophet Amos appeared on the scene predicting Israel’s destruction and exile.

I ended the previous post with this challenging question:

“Why has God become so angry with a people that He has so richly blessed?”

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Amos: Part One

By Joe Hellerman Feb. 18, 2013 7:15 a.m. Biblical Exposition, Church Life, Culture, Old Testament

We are presently teaching through the Minor Prophets at church. I had the joy of tackling the book of Amos over a couple Sundays in February—not exactly a seeker-sensitive text.

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