Can you be a “life coach” when you can’t coach your own?

[Christian Post]

When life coach and televangelist Paula White went into her marriage 18 years ago, she thought she’d end her life with her husband, Randy. Divorce was not anything she ever wanted to happen, she recently said. Now separated from Randy and continuing her own ministry, White has found herself in the midst of a wide debate as more evangelicals show acceptance of divorce.

“The fact is as many have been critical or judgmental [about the divorce] … I’ve also found thousands that have reached out to me in a way that maybe they never did,” said White in a live interview Monday with CNN’s Larry King.

The famed pentecostal preacher’s divorce announcement in August compounded with the divorce case of another power couple – televangelist Juanita Bynum and Bishop Thomas Weeks III – that same week fueled discussions on whether Scripture allows the separation of marriage partners as both couples received support.

“I think conservative Christians are becoming more liberalized in the sense of, I guess, making more room for the acceptance of divorce and remarriage,” said Mark Galli, Christianity Today magazine’s managing editor, according to Religion News Service. “You’ll see a lot of churches that plunge right in and have divorce ministries. … Marriage is a really difficult thing in our culture right now.”

Meanwhile, theological conservative John Piper called the widening grounds of legitimate divorce “tragic.”

Both Paula White and Bynum continue to have a strong following even after their highly public divorces. White has out a new book, You’re All That!, and Bynum said she believes her experience may broaden her ability to reach people.

Read about it here.

[From me]

How can we as believers talk about family values when ministry and career seem to be valued more than the family?  I agree with John Piper.  This is tragic.  Marriage isn’t a high school steady that you break up with and move on.  God can and does use people who have experienced divorce.  But it is not His ideal.  Divorce happens to fine people and many never wanted it. But shouldn’t people regardless if they are in ministry or not be doing whatever it takes to save their family instead of making statements like it has broadened my ministry?

Our priorities should be God, family, and ministry in that order.  But too often people confuse ministry with their personal relationship with God. It is a sad day for God’s Church when the divorce rate among believers is the same as those outside the faith.

What do you think?

Could you preach someone else’s sermon?

[Christian Post]

More than 1,500 pastors across the country and around the globe have pledged not to short circuit their sermons with someone else’s. In a new campaign aimed at putting the centrality of the Bible back into a preacher’s message, “The Preacher’s Pledge,” introduced by SermonCentral.com, has been signed by pastors from over 50 nations so far.

“We introduced The Pledge because we think preachers must engage the Bible in their sermon preparation and not simply short circuit the process with someone else’s study,” says Ron Forseth, general editor for SermonCentral.com. “Our site is a valuable supplement but not the primary source for a sermon. God’s Word is.”

Read about it here.

Take the pledge here.

[From me]

I could never preach someone else’s sermon! Period! I’ve had some false accusations to the contrary but never, never, never have I downloaded and preached someone else’s study. To me that is lazy and robs the person delivering the message an opportunity to grow through their study. God teaches me new insights every time I study. I have taught the same passages before but somehow God teaches me something new. Other great speakers give challenges to me and I gain wonderful ideas. But my personality and style is different than other speakers. I don’t get this.

Could you preach or teach some else’s work?

What do you think?

I wonder what this means for the church?

[Boston.com]

There is a new generation coming up– the so-called Entitlement Generation, the upstarts at the office who put their feet on their desks, voice their opinions frequently and loudly at meetings, and always volunteer – nay, expect – to take charge of the most interesting projects. They are smart, brash, even arrogant, and endowed with a commanding sense of entitlement. And since a new crop is graduating from Boston’s high-powered colleges and universities every year, chances are, one may be heading to your office soon.

Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, says that this includes virtually everyone born after 1970. According to Twenge, these young people were raised on a daily regimen of praise and flattery from their baby boomer parents and from teachers who embraced a self-esteem-boosting curriculum that included activities like the Magic Circle game. Never heard of it? In this game, one child a day is given a badge that says “I’m great.” The other children then take turns praising the “great” child, and eventually these compliments are written up and given to the child for posterity. This constant reinforcement, argues Twenge, is largely responsible for those young co-workers who drive you nuts.

Read about it here.

[From me]

We can whine and complain about the way the next generation acts or we can find ways to minister to them.  What do you think this kind of thinking means for the church?  I mentioned on several occasions that I’m concerned greatly about the next generation.  I we don’t find ways to reach their hearts we will have a Judges 2:10 generation that grows up and knows nothing about God.

What do you think?

Scary!

[CBS News]

Scout leaders are being ousted at a rate of 1 every two days because of molestation.  

Tim Kosnoff, an attorney analyzed the numbers of child molestation in Scouts and came to this shocking conclusion: Before 1991, “a Scout leader was being tossed out for child molestation at the rate of one every three days,” he said. “Post-1991, the rate was one every two days.” That includes people suspected of abuse.

Read about it here.

[Houston Chronicle]

1 in 3 females online daters report first date sex.

Women who date online are likely to take precautions to protect their personal safety when first meeting a man face-to-face, but often are much less careful about protecting their sexual health once that encounter moves to the next level, a Houston-based study has found.

While the women who were surveyed went to great lengths to screen online acquaintances before meeting them, nearly a third reported having sex on the first date and three-quarters of those said they did not use condoms, according to the study by The University of Texas School of Public Health.

Read about it here.

[From me]

I admit I have a spiritual bias here.  Take that out I think even those without Jesus can see the dangers here.  I was in the Boy Scouts and I can’t believe that there are not more precautions taken to make sure that they have to kick out a leader every other day.  Wow! That is scary.  This is scary for Church leaders too.  If the Boy Scouts have those kind of sickos in their midst, I’ll bet churches have more than we would like to admit.

The second story is unbelievable.  How can people give away such an emotional part of themselves on a first date?  I admit I have a spiritual bias and think sex should be saved for marriage only.  But I would think even un-spiritual persons can see that sex is more than physical.

What do you think?

Christmas in August?

[Houston Chronicle]

On a sweltering afternoon this week, Nancy Kiely found refuge in a world of holiday cheer — an air-conditioned oasis of artificial trees, tinsel and Santas. All it took was a quick walk over the burning asphalt into her local Hobby Lobby, where in one corner was a veritable winter wonderland for shoppers devoted to purchasing Christmas wares early. The Hobby Lobby across from Meyerland Plaza began setting up for Christmas in June. It was not the first. Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts began in May.

Read about it here.

[From me]

O my!  This is why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Christmas has been stolen from Jesus.  It has become commercialized and I don’t even enjoy it anymore.  Of course, I have wanted to be the first to with the Holly-Lilly Crowd Merry Christmas at the end of the Easter service.

What do you think?

Virtual Adultery?

[From Wall Street Journal]

Ric Hoogestraat sits at his computer with the blinds drawn, smoking a cigarette. While his wife, Sue, watches television in the living room, Mr. Hoogestraat chats online with what appears on the screen to be a tall, slim redhead. He’s never met the woman outside of the computer world of Second Life, a well-chronicled digital fantasyland with more than eight million registered “residents” who get jobs, attend concerts and date other users. Hoogestraat has never  spoken to her on the telephone. But their relationship has taken on curiously real dimensions. They own two dogs, pay a mortgage together and spend hours shopping at the mall and taking long motorcycle rides. This May, when Mr. Hoogestraat, 53, needed real-life surgery, the redhead cheered him up with a private island that cost her $120,000 in the virtual world’s currency, or about $480 in real-world dollars. Their bond is so strong that three months ago, Mr. Hoogestraat asked Janet Spielman, the 38-year-old Canadian woman who controls the redhead, to become his virtual wife.

The woman he’s legally wed to is not amused. “It’s really devastating,” says Sue Hoogestraat, 58, an export agent for a shipping company, who has been married to Mr. Hoogestraat for seven months. “You try to talk to someone or bring them a drink, and they’ll be having sex with a cartoon.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

Sounds like there may be a virtual divorce.  Why in the world would the man want a virtual mother-in-law?

Seriously, with all of the other dangers in marriage, this kind of technology can do nothing but destroy marriages.

What do you think?

Religious Trends?

[Christian Post]

Christian apologist says the church is producing atheists.

Churches are producing atheists by not answering the questions of young people and explaining why they believe in the Bible, said a Christian apologist who works with young adults. Anthony Horvath, who was formerly an atheist himself after years of Christian education, pointed out that renowned atheists such as Richard Dawkins were raised in the Church but have become some of the fiercest attackers of God.

Christians worldwide are simply becoming too busy for God.

Christians worldwide are simply becoming too busy for God, a newly released five-year study revealed. In data collected from over 20,000 Christians with ages ranging from 15 to 88 across 139 countries, The Obstacles to Growth Survey found that on average, more than 4 in 10 Christians around the world say they “often” or “always” rush from task to task.

New Film makes fun of the Ten Commandments.

A new movie set to be released this Friday will feature the Ten Commandments from the Bible in a very unflattering way. “The Ten,” written by the same director of Wet Hot American Summer, is a compilation of ten different stories, each depicting one of the ancient commandments given to Moses by God.  Christians have expressed their concern about the film and how it degrades and insults God and His laws. Many critics, however, believe the movie will have little influence. “The Ten Commandments have been a cornerstone of our society for nearly one hundred years,” explained “The Ten” director David Wain on the film’s website. “If you’ve ever taken a Sunday off, or if you’ve ever stopped yourself from murdering someone, then you yourself have been following the Ten Commandments without even knowing it.”

A main example of one of the acts tells the story of a virgin librarian who takes a trip to Mexico and experiences a sexual awakening with a local named Jesus H. Christ.

[From me]

We do need to teach apologetics in church.  That is why I’m so passionate about discipleship.  You can only grow so much from preaching.  For a person to just listen to preaching they are not going to grow very much in their faith.  It is very important for people to be spending personal time studying the Bible.  But we need to spend time discipling new believers too!

I’m not surprised by people saying they are too busy for God.  But that is a cop-out.  You will make time for what is important to you.  I sure don’t want to get to heaven and God say He is too busy for me.  Thankfully that won’t happen.

I don’t get the need for people to make fun of the Bible.  If they are making fun of the people–that’s one thing but why do people feel the need to blaspheme the name of Jesus?  Sad!

What do you think?