Weekly Once-Over (11.14.2013):

3 Ways Christ Can Be Outside Your Church: "Yet here's the great irony: For all its fine reputation, Jesus was standing outside the door of this dazzling church, knocking (Rev. 3:20). To me, this is one of the most extraordinary pictures in the Bible. Christ outside his own church! Jesus knocking on his own people's door! I know this text is often used to invite unbelievers to open their hearts to Christ. And that's fine. But the first application is not to unbelievers, but to the church."

Did the Devil Make Me Do It?: "Sin isn't evidence of demonic strongholds in our lives; it is simply disobedience that is inconsistent with our salvation in Christ. We don't need an advanced degree in demonology in order to be obedient; we don't need exorcisms or deliverances."

A Mommy's To-Do List: "We live in a culture that celebrates productivity and efficiency. We like to see results. We like to get things done. We like when we accomplish something big. It makes us feel important. At least it does for me. But here is something I’ve learned in my first year as a mommy."

6 Actions For Younger Women: "Younger women are critically important in the church. Not only do they have much to contribute as they serve and lead as deacons and ministry volunteers, but those who are mothers help shape the next generation of children who we pray will love Jesus. Paul give Titus six characteristics of a godly younger woman."

5 Actions For Younger Men: "Everything here should be viewed through the lens of Jesus and his redemptive work in reconciling all things to himself. The principles of how to be a godly man can be lived out in a million different ways, but it must be in Christ."

4 Actions For Older Men: "For older men, the evidence of the gospel changing us from the inside out exhibits itself in these behaviors. Paul says in Galatians 5:13-15, the outcome of obeying Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit is summed up by how we love our neighbor. We know we're maturing in Christ if the gospel takes root in us and works itself out in our life and relationships."

Three Vital Questions to Consider Before You Decided to Get Married: "As I've thought about the issue while talking with friends, considering my own marriage, and searching through the Scriptures, I've concluded there isn't any quick, easy answer. Instead, I want to simply put forward three questions, and a couple of caveats, to help singles and couples navigate the dating and marriage decision."

How To Be A Man At Home: "Having been married for 19 years and being the father of four kids, I have learned a lot about what it means to be a man at home.  Here are five simple but effective things that I strive to live out every day."

Osteen Keeps Using God's Band-Width: "To the surprise of no one, Joel Osteen is on the cover of another magazine and the author of another book. The life-coach with a million dollar smile continues to be widely popular. To be clear: I am not against life-coaches or good smiles. I even have a personal soft-spot for a mullet and a well fitting suit. However, what I am against is a guy who continues to use Jesus’ bandwidth to broadcast his message."

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Weekly Once-Over (11.7.2013): 

PhoneStack: Next Time We Meet, Let's Do This: "Of course, this might not work for every gathering (Kempt got a boatload of negative responses and exceptions), but I do love the intentionality of a group of people acknowledging the challenges of smartphones and choosing to do something together to enrich their time." Here is a fun game to play the next time your out with friends.

Elected Homecoming Queen: An Exceptional Story:  "Molly Anne Dutton shouldn't be here today. Not according to the opinion polls. Even many pro-life Christians make an exception that would have snuffed out her life." This is a great post about hope and encouragement for pro-life.

Men, here is How to Plan Fall Traditions:  "Gentlemen, it is time to start thinking about and planning this season. Think about some of your favorite childhood memories. Chances are they involved two big things: repetition and your senses." Gentlemen, the words "I don't care" should not be words in your vocabulary. Here are some practical ways husbands can plan traditions for their families.

Driven vs. Called:  "The pressures of church planting can shift the defining reality of our hearts from following God's call to being driven by our own merits. Here are a few practical ways to check the motives of your ministry."

Is All Sin Equal in God's Eyes:  "A reader of this site recently asked me this question: Is all sin equal in God’s eyes? It is a common question and the answer is of the variety that is always a little bit unsatisfying: It is one of those “yes and no” answers." Let the blog post explain.

Top Ten Myths About Giving:  "...in the spirit of Mythbusters, I have used bad science to compile this top ten list.  Gallup can spend their energy accurately polling the populace to determine ranking.  I will continue to eschew proper sample sizes in favor of personal conjecture. But regardless, I’m fairly confident that you have fallen prey to at least one of these myths about giving, so read on."

18 Thing I Will Not Regret Doing with My Kids:  "Like most parents, I have those moments where guilt and regret comes over me like a wave. I consider then how much of my parenting time has already passed by and how little remains. My oldest child, my son, is thirteen. He is already a teenager, just one year away from high school, just eight years from the age I was when I left home to get married. My girls are following close behind him. When that wave rises up, when I feel like I could drown beneath all that regret, I sometimes consider those things I will never regret. Here are 18 things I know I will not regret doing with my kids."

"Evangelism is as much about listening as it is about speaking." - Steve Timmis 

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Weekly Once-Over (10.31.2013) :

Flight or Fright? How to Redeem Halloween: Every year Halloween seems to grow in popularity. Bigger decorations, better candy, badder costumes. And every year Christians wonder how to handle this strange event that brings neighbors together over ghoulish scenes of death and unhealthy piles of chocolate. So as Christians, what do we do?

Those Who Sleep in the Dust Will Awake:  I believe that day is really coming. The sin of the man of dust will not get the last word in Hope's life and death, nor mine. Instead, the man of heaven will come and call us to life. Everyone joined to him by faith can anticipate the day to come when once again, God will breathe his very own life into bodies that have become dust.

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?:  ...There is no demon meat – just meat that can be eaten in celebration of Jesus. Jesus made meat, and it is a good gift. Don’t get rid of the meat. Rather, get rid of its demonic association and redeem the meat for Jesus...

Parents, Require Obedience of Your Children:  I am writing this to plead with Christian parents to require obedience of their children. I am moved to write this by watching young children pay no attention to their parents’ requests, with no consequences. Parents tell a child two or three times to sit or stop and come or go, and after the third disobedience, they laughingly bribe the child. This may or may not get the behavior desired...

How To Read More - A Lot More:  When you read a lot of books people inevitably assume you speed read. In fact, that’s probably the most common email I get. They want to know my trick for reading so fast. They see all the books I recommend every month in my reading newsletter and assume I must have some secret. So they ask me to teach them how to speed read.

God's Commitment to Forgetfulness:   When God promises to forget your sin and never bring up your past indiscretions, your flaws, failures, and rebellious deeds, He is serious. He will never again bring up your sins. As far as the east is from the west, our sins have been removed.

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Weekly Once-Over (10.24.2013): 

The Wisdom Of Walking Away from Some Friendships: "Recently I’ve been giving a lecture about how we will become like the people we hang out with. It’s true. In five years, you’ll become a conglomerate of the people you spend the most time with." Wise, discerning blog post by Donald Miller about times when you should walk away from friendships.

What the Church Can Learn from Chick-fil-a: "The church doesn’t need Chick-fil-A. We don’t need successful Christian businesses, athletes, films, and reality shows for the advance of the gospel. The tip of the spear is the local church. But when we can glean a few pointers from another body reading our Book, we might as well take notice." 

From Strangers to Missionaries: NextDoor Neighborhood Strategy: "In our world today, pathways into people’s lives have changed. In times past, permission was given to enter through their front door (literally). People were much more accessible and approachable. Neighbors felt like neighbors. Now neighbors are more like strangers than ever before." Tim Brister gives us a great strategy to getting to know our neighbors.

I Hope I Die Before I Get Old:  "It was during a frustrating car ride home one day. Circumstances in their lives led them in that car ride to through tears and faith say to the Lord, “Whatever you want, whatever will magnify you, that’s what we want.” Richard had his seizure that led to his diagnosis a few days later." Sobering Blog post about death and the pursuit of Christ now.

The Perfect Church:  "For the last ten years I’ve been on the search for the perfect church. I’ve been to mega-churches, house-churches, school-churches and slum-churches in America and Africa and Mexico…looking and searching and hoping that one day I’d find the long-lost church of my dreams: the perfect church. The music would be perfect, the chairs would be perfect, the sermon would be perfect, and the people would be perfect." Great blog post from a dear friend of mine Kyle Rogers talking about the imperfect church pursuing the perfect Savior.

Interview with Nagmeh Abedini, Wife of Pastor Saeed Abedini (VIDEO BELOW): "POWERFUL interview and testimony about Pastor Saeed who has been imprisoned in Iran for his faith. This is conducted by Oak Hill Church in Humboldt, IA. The pastor, Doug Wolter, is a good friend from college."
 

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 Weekly Once-Over (10.17.2013) 

How To Humanize the Workplace: The brokenness of the workplace is compounded when combined with the brokenness of the community and also the individual.  How do we humanize the workplace?

6 Early Working Signs You're Dealing With a Toxic Person:  You’ve dealt with them before. At your church, as a volunteer, on your staff, as customers. Toxic people, are well, toxic...So…how can you tell early on that the person you’re dealing with might be that person? Here are 6 signs.

Thinking About Consuming Culture: A helpful review of Brett McCracken's, Gray Matters. "The basic point is this: I, like many young evangelicals, don't need more worldliness. I need less. That applies to a good number of movies and television shows I could watch but don't, because frankly they won't help me. I teach college students, and I can say with great confidence that their chief need is Christward conformity and transformation."

Hijacking Back Your Brain From Porn:  Pornography lays down real physiological paths in the brain. All sexual experience tends to migrate to these paths. I concluded that none of this brain research takes God by surprise. He designed the interplay between the brain and the soul. Discoveries of the connections between physical and spiritual reality do not nullify either.

5 Ways We Should Forgive: Some in our culture advocate forgiveness, but it is not biblical forgiveness. Why do we really forgive, and how do we put Christlike forgiveness into practice in real life? 

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Weekly Once-Over (10.10.2013) 

The State of the Church in America: Hint: It's Not Dying:  The church is not dying. Yes, the church in the West—the United States included—is in transition right now. But transitioning is not the same as dying, particularly if you hold the belief that Christianity is represented by people who live for Christ, not check "Christian" on a survey form.

What If I Screw Up My Kids?:  When I became a parent I found myself frequently getting drawn into vicious thought cycles of pessimism concerning my son. It would usually start with a simple observation like, “My son doesn’t like naps” or “My son’s hair is thin.” That would lead to a series of fearful and often ridiculous what ifs...

Tim Keller Wants You to Suffer Well: Suffering. Is there a more perennially and painfully relevant topic? Countless books address the subject—and countless sufferers read them. Beneath the sometimes shiny veneer, after all, this world is a profoundly tragic place...Check out this blog post about Tim Keller's new book on suffering well.

How to Fight with Your Wife (or Husband):  For nearly 20 years I have been blessed to have a good marriage (which seems to be rare). Some of this can be attributed to the fact that my wife and I have learned to fight well. Having also performed marriage counseling for 20 years, I have seen the resulting carnage from marital fights. Learning to fight well is critical for marital success. I am writing this primarily to husbands. On Wednesday, my wife will be posting a follow-up post for wives.

Feeling Shame Is Not Repentance:  "What do you say to people who are dealing with shame from sexual sin?" a longtime friend asked me in a text message. That question deserves more than a text response, but I wrote, "It could only be the strategy of Satan to allow the shame of one sin to lead you into more sin. And so I would go to Psalm 51—this psalm shows how to deal with shame from sexual sin.  And the prayer for restored joy is a big key."

Thursday Humor: 

"What do you say to people who are dealing with shame from sexual sin?" a longtime friend asked me in a text message. That question deserves more than a text response, but I wrote, "It could only be the strategy of Satan to allow the shame of one sin to lead you into more sin. And so I would go to Psalm 51—this psalm shows how to deal with shame from sexual sin. And the prayer for restored joy is a big key."

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