'Amen' digs below the surface

Subject: "Amen"
Target passage: Various
Date: Jan. 24, 2016

With the proliferation of social networking "share and type amen" memes, "amen" has continued as one of the most overused, misunderstood, and misapplied expressions in the English language.

Five reasons why you should NOT join a house church

That's not a typo in the headline.

Our friends at Seedbed published a guest blog post from yours truly that lays out a quintet of reasons for why many people may try out house churches, but also why those same people should re-consider their motivations.

If you’re just curious, or seriously considering leaving your brick-and-mortar church for a house church (or simple church, organic church, micro-church, etc.), we want to assist you as you prayerfully seek God’s will. Aside from their many advantages, below are five reasons why you should not join—or not start, for that matter—a house church.

If we talked to people the way we talk to God

Couldn't resist!  Carry on, prayer warriors ...

'Faithful sayings' for when you're not sure exactly what to say

While coming up with a list of the instances of the phrase "this is a faithful saying" (or "trustworthy saying") in the New Testament, I couldn't come up with much in terms of a clever talk. They're unrelated for the most part. Each saying is faithful in its own regard -- maybe this would make for better for a series of lessons on each saying, with supporting verses for each.

Nonetheless, I felt that this was God's leading to share Paul's uses of the phrase, without having to parcel them out into the new year. I'm grateful for having a fellowship of believers that can take Scripture at face value and simply receive it, without there having to be an entertaining tie-in or "ah-ha" moment (house churches for the win!). They even called me out: "I thought you said there were six!" So we read one from Revelation. And, in writing this blog post, I found if you look in the Greek you can throw a seventh one in there from Revelation -- straight from our Lord's mouth.

Some food for thought on the Fruit of the Spirit

Topic: Bearing active spiritual fruit
Target passage: Galatians 5:16-25
Date: Nov. 29, 2015

You've probably heard the venerable litany many times before. You might even have the Fruit of the Spirit memorized: "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." They might seem less like fruits and more like old chestnuts as many times as we've heard them! But they deserve a fresh look.

Children bring prosperity; are never 'wrongful births'

Note: This post of mine originally appeared in The Travis Tracker.

About 120 women are suing drug company Endo because an alleged packaging error they say resulted in unplanned pregnancies ... and, along with that, the expense of raising children.

The class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania last week. The class members hail from 26 states, and it is unclear at the time of writing if a Texan is among them. According to the suit, the birth control pill manufacturer distributed pills (see full list at the bottom of this post) in 2011 with incorrect markings and packaging -- resulting in 113 unforeseen pregnancies in 26 states. Fully 94 of the women carried the babies to term. Other state courts have rejected similar lawsuits.

The class is reportedly seeking millions in damages, including, in a few cases, the costs of raising children through adulthood (allegedly because of the birth control goof-up). While many prestigious sources put the cost-estimate of raising a child from 0 to adulthood at $200,000 to $250,000, that's not a universally held figure.

According to one source we found, a money management site called TheSimpleDollar.com, children can actually bring in money at certain points along the way. Here's the breakdown from author Trent Hamm, based on a working husband and working wife with two children in Iowa at the onset of the Obama Administration (costs have certainly gone up since then, but bear with us!). His comments are in italics below and are worth a read (full article).

Breathing new life into old songs

A quirky take on a forgotten favorite.

Although my wife is a classically trained singer with a degree in performance, sometimes it can be hard for us to figure out from the notes in a hymnal or chord chart how to sing a particular "psalm, hymn, or spiritual song."

Especially when these songs are largely forgotten. And especially when you only have a living room full of voices to mask the fact that none of you really know how to sing them!

Recently, we have been enthralled by the lesser-known hymns of Charles Wesley (no surprise, given my theological leanings). A hymnal I bought for a couple of bucks as Lillenas Publishing Co. was going under provided much inspiration but many questions on how to best interpret the bar notes on its pages.

Chicken and cake ... and God's grace

If you don't recognize this scene, you're not living the church life!

One of the tell-tale signs of a functioning house church is eating. It only makes sense that if you're having people you love over for an activity that will surely run during (or up to) a meal time -- and within feet of a well-stocked kitchen -- that you would want to combine culinary talents and eat together.

Is there anything more New Testament than food? Breaking bread from house to house? The Love Feast? Even the Lord's Supper?

So much of the life of the church is devoted to eating. Even institutional churches, where it's a central element to Christian fellowship. Unfortunately, this is a trend that seems to be waning.

Taking Pastor Appreciation Day to the next level

In honor of Pastor Appreciation Sunday, we house church-types would like to expand the the occasion to make it bigger and better than ever before! Now we can wish everyone a Happy ...

   Pastor Appreciation Day
   Server Appreciation Day
   Teacher Appreciation Day
   Exhorter Appreciation Day
   Giver Appreciation Day
   Administrator Appreciation Day
   Healer Appreciation Day
   Helper Appreciation Day
   Tongues Speaker Appreciation Day
   Tongues Interpreter Appreciation Day
   Preacher Appreciation Day
   Prophet Appreciation Day
   Elder Appreciation Day
   Deacon Appreciation Day
   Presbyter Appreciation Day
   Singer Appreciation Day

#BetterTogether

(In all seriousness: If you bear the burden of preparing several lessons per week, evangelizing the lost, administering finances, counseling the hurting, overseeing worship programs, and coordinating compassionate ministries, we hope your congregation gives you the respect you deserve for taking on all that work yourself. We also believe that respect comes from your flock using their God-given gifts to assist the same work you're doing to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to your community and worldwide. Take some of that load off your shoulders, for crying out loud! One Sunday and a pancake breakfast ain't gonna do it.)

Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:8-10, 28; Ephesians 4:11; I Timothy 3; Titus 3; I Peter 4:11 (did we miss one? Leave a reply in the comments below).

'If they ... have not love, do not listen ...'

It was actually Tertius, but ok.  ("Saint Paul Writing His Epistles" by Valentin de Boulogne, c. 1820.)

There's an old saying often attributed to John Wesley (bonus points if anyone can find the actual quote):

"And even if they come to you with sound teaching and persuasive words, and have not love, do not listen, do not listen, do not listen!"

In other words, if even the best preacher, teacher, or evangelist makes his case persuasively and consistently, and provides chapter and verse for all his claims, yet fails to exhibit any care for those around him (discounting any personality quirks, genuine shyness, rushed schedules, etc.) then it's best to take what they have to say with a grain of salt (I John 2:15). If you don't understand what it means to love, then "the greatest of these" (I Cor. 13:13) is missing from even the most convincing message of faith and hope.