- RSS FeedSubscribe
- « Previous PostFriends of the Blog 2
- Next Post »A Jealous Love
A La Carte (4/20)
- 04/20/11
- 12
Two of my kids get to go on class trips today. My daughter is going to a concert by a French band; my son is going to the dump. And yet they are still both excited. I guess anything is better than another day in school…
At Home with the Pope - In case you’ve ever wondered what a “normal” day looks like for the pope, well, TIME will let you know.
The Hidden Exodus - While we’re on the subject of Catholicism, here’s an article from a Catholic news source on the exodus from Catholicism to Protestantism. “Any other institution that lost one-third of its members would want to know why. But the U.S. bishops have never devoted any time at their national meetings to discussing the exodus. Nor have they spent a dime trying to find out why it is happening.”
Dramatic Non-Fiction - “Writing non-fiction (or speaking, teaching or preaching) doesn't mean you can't build in drama. Including stories as illustrations is always good, but there's more to it than just telling the tale. Here are a few options to keep your audience with you every word of the way.”
Natural Cut Fries - Wendys new natural cut fries aren’t entirely natural. “People are saying they want high integrity ingredients, things their grandmother would have used, that don’t look like they came out of a chemistry lab,” Calwell explained in an interview with BNET. “But they’re also saying I’ve got a family to feed and can only afford to spend about $4 on my lunch, and I’ve only got about a minute or two to eat it.”
One to One Bible Reading - This brand new book from Matthias Media is on sale at Westminster Books for the next few days. “Imagine if there was a way that people could grow in their knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ--a way that returned gospel growth to the everyday fabric of personal relationship, rather than relying on church-run programs. That guided people in a deeper, more meaningful way than an event, program or class could possibly do--guided on an individual basis by someone who cared for them personally.”
The Price of Everything - Carl Trueman does it again. This time he explains why the church needs pessimistic church historians.
Don’t Dress Your Girls Like Tramps - This is an interesting article from CNN. “Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see alright. … I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she’s not even in middle school yet.” The author nails it at the end.
Roasted Peanuts - I can’t remember who put me on to this blog, but it’s quite a good one. The author is going through old Peanuts comic strips.
The wrath of God is not ignoble. Rather, it is too noble, too just, too perfect—it is this that bothers us. —James Montgomery Boice
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
Releasing on April 1, The Next
Published in 2008, this book
This is a guide that calls men,
This review of the bestselling
New to the site? You can get
This is a guide written
Comments (12)
The new Wendy’s fries are nasty.
The new Wendy's fries are nasty.
I actually don’t mind them. But they’re certainly not as good as “real” fresh-cut fries.
thank-you for giving me a reason to eat at five guys exclusively! and the article about little girls and their clothes should be read by every parent!
The Catholic thing seems to be going both ways. At least a handful of folks have left the non-denominational protestant church I attend and converted to Catholicism. Another handful have joined a local theologically conservative Anglican congregation. Basically they get the liturgy and “solemnity” without all the wrong theology.
Interestingly (and in saying this I’m in no way disagreeing with what he writes), the author of the column on girls’ clothing is divorced (presumably from a woman) and is openly gay.
Here is the most interesting quote for the “Exodus” article:
“Thanks to Pope Pius XII, Catholic scripture scholars have had decades to produce the best thinking on scripture in the world. That Catholics are leaving to join evangelical churches because of the church teaching on the Bible is a disgrace. Too few homilists explain the scriptures to their people. Few Catholics read the Bible.”“The church needs a massive Bible education program. The church needs to acknowledge that understanding the Bible is more important than memorizing the catechism. If we could get Catholics to read the Sunday scripture readings each week before they come to Mass, it would be revolutionary. If you do not read and pray the scriptures, you are not an adult Christian. Catholics who become evangelicals understand this.”
Trueman’s comment on “Passion of the Christ” is spot on. I remember being in a church staff meeting watching a promo film from Saddleback/Willow Creek telling us that this film is going to bring on the biggest evangelism opportunity since the first century. While I’m sure it brought some to ask questions, it didn’t do much more than that.
Tim-
I LOVE that Nick is going to the dump for a class trip. And yet, I can think of nothing that would be more intriguing to boys. Big trucks. Machinery. Understanding the where and how of the whole operation. Can’t wait to know how it goes:)!
I went the Protestant-to-Catholic direction myself, but I know a number of people who have gone the other way as well. I think of Protestantism as a good safety net for people who can’t stand the Catholic Church but don’t want to abandon Christ. (Yes, I know many of them have more complex reasons than that for leaving.)
I remember being in a church staff meeting watching a promo film from Saddleback/Willow Creek telling us that this film is going to bring on the biggest evangelism opportunity since the first century.
Oh, boy! I saw a lot of churches try that too, and it fell flat every time. The Passion is good for what it is: the celluloid equivalent of an icon. If you’re a believer already, it stirs you down to your toes. If you’re not, all you see is some guy being beaten to a pulp and then tortured to death.
If you do not read and pray the scriptures, you are not an adult Christian. Catholics who become evangelicals understand this.
Evangelicals who become Catholic understand this too. You’d be surprised at how many cradle Catholics grasp this fact as well. Times have changed since Pius XII, and Evangelicals have been a good spur to Catholics to read their Bibles.
I went the Catholic to evangelical route because the Catholic church simply doesn’t teach the gospel. If there is one think all my Catholic grade school teachers and Catholic high school teachers were united on (as well as the Countil of Trent’s “On Justification”), it is that our own good works help save us. Wow. My first 18 years (till I left the Catholic church) were pretty frustrating and miserable.