As I think about the Christmas story, I can’t get Galatians 4:4 off my mind. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the [...]

I’m still thinking about the ongoing controversy among cultural Christians over whether secular businesses greet them with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.” A comment from Seminary Wife on my last post has got me thinking: The Christians who are worked up over this are spoiled. In the Middle East, Christians suffer persecution. In central Asia, Christ-followers are killed. In China, [...]

Is God pleased when a non-believer says “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays?” Lots of people (mostly in Texas and Florida) seem to think so.  First Baptist Church, Dallas recently launched GrinchAlert.com, (HT) a website that posts user-generate lists: businesses that greet customers with “Merry Christmas” make the Nice list, while “Happy Holidays” earns them a spot on the Naughty [...]

The state of missions in 1970: too few workers, limited resources, separation between church and mission field, competing sending organizations, a remarkable lack of information about missions. The state of missions today: too few workers, limited resources, separation between church and mission field, competing sending organizations, overwhelming amounts of unremarkable information about missions. Except for the move from “not enough [...]

Some churches divide pastoral responsibilities across specialized staff positions. There’s the Youth Minister, the Children’s Minister, the Ministers of Education, Music, and Missions. Many churches have Ministers of Media, Ministers of Technology and Ministers of Parking. There’s a Minister of job for just about everything. It’s like the cabinet of the French government. But when economic times are tight, those [...]