At least once a month, someone writes me about their youth minister. What to do…what to do…what to do….with the zealous, sincere, yet wrong-headed young fellow who is about to split the church between the youth who would die for him and the adults who want to kill him.
Author Archives: Chaplainmike
Pictures. Story.
The former City Methodist Church building, Gary, Indiana.
Let's Not Be Simplistic About CCM
I’m a big Andrew Sandlin fan, and I’ve never disagreed with him that I can remember, but Sandlin’s sudden enthusiasm for CCM needs a bit of tempering with reality.
Paleo-Orthodox Baptists?: A Recommendation For My Readers
Wyman Richardson is doing something important. He’s exploring ways to relate his Baptist faith to the larger, ancient, “paleo-orthodox” Christian tradition. I think he’s onto something important, and I want my readers to check it out. Here’s a list of the current posts. More will be coming, so blogroll his site.
An iMonkish Quiet Time: My Most Helpful Devotional Resources
One of the blessings- and I truly mean that- of the Internet Monk web site has been the amount of mail I receive. Of the various kinds of mail, some always contains questions from readers. Often the writer is seeking advice, or resources or counsel. Depending on how appropriate it is for me to beContinue reading “An iMonkish Quiet Time: My Most Helpful Devotional Resources”
One Stubborn Text That Refuses to Go Away: What Does The New Testament Teach About Unbelievers In Public Worship?
The following is my contribution to a question that is dominating discussion among evangelicals: Should worship be “seeker sensitive?” What kind of worship experience should we seek when we want to reach out to the unbelievers in our culture? The New Testament was written by believers and to believers in Jesus Christ and the Gospel.Continue reading “One Stubborn Text That Refuses to Go Away: What Does The New Testament Teach About Unbelievers In Public Worship?”
Spurgeon and Osteen: The Tale of Inaugural Sermons
Charles Spurgeon preached two sermons at key moments in his ministry. The first was his first sermon at New Park Street. Just a boy, he had come to the old church of John Gill, determined that the God of the Gospel would once again be heard. His topic was “The Immutability of God.” The second,Continue reading “Spurgeon and Osteen: The Tale of Inaugural Sermons”
The Sanity Verses
Sometimes, I don’t need inspiration. What I need is just my sanity. I don’t need verses that tell me I’m about to see a miracle. I need something that says God wants me to make it to tomorrow, and still be able to be useful. Sometimes I need to know that God doesn’t always wantContinue reading “The Sanity Verses”
War of the Worldviews: Temptations for the Church in the Information Age
This is one of the longer pieces I’ve posted on IM recently, and is an attempt to understand some of what we see going on among evangelicals these days through the lens of some basic sociology. Is the behavior of many evangelicals an indicator of Biblical faithfulness….or cultural fear? Are conservative churches growing for theContinue reading “War of the Worldviews: Temptations for the Church in the Information Age”
When Loving You Is Killing Me: Thoughts On Pastoring The Small Church
David Hansen writes a wonderful, poignant, real-world account of how four high school boys wearing baseball caps to worship became an issue that, as he puts it, “decapitated Mount Saint Helen’s,” and put his church and ministry through a season of pain, learning, and eventually, growth. Almost every young preacher I know wants to startContinue reading “When Loving You Is Killing Me: Thoughts On Pastoring The Small Church”
The Internet Monk Archives 