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A La Carte (5/17)
- 05/17/10
- 7
Introducing Hymns - James Grant offers some sound advice on introducing old hymns to a congregation.
Practical Shepherding - Brian Croft has done a great job of carving himself an important little niche in the blogosphere as he deals with issues related to the practical aspect of pastoring. In his most recent article he writes about doing hospital visits.
What To Do With Internutters - Mark Driscoll has posted a good article on dealing with internutters. I’ve got a feeling he sees some of the worst of the worst of what the Net has to offer in that regard.
Cell Phones and Cancer - A massive study on the link between cell phones and cancer concludes with a rather unsatisfying conclusion. “Experts who studied almost 13,000 cell phone users over 10 years, hoping to find out whether the mobile devices cause brain tumours, said on Sunday their research gave no clear answer.”
Monergism Books is now permanently offering free shipping for all orders in the U.S. for $25 or over that select Economy Mail. They have some good specials this week: Systematic Theology: New Combined Edition - 60% off retail ($19.95) and Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatics: Four Volume Set -56% off retail or $89.
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 
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This review of the bestselling
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Comments (7)
After reading the straightforward advice offered in”What To Do With Internutters?,” what caught my eye was:
“…don’t waste your time or emotional treasure. ”
…Two things we need to guard well. It doesn’t matter if we’re toiling away in obscurity or standing in a proverbial “North Church” pulpit, wisdom calls for the Christian to heed the things of God and not the things of man and admonishes us to know the difference.
Re: Monergism- SOLD! Give me free shipping and I’ll transfer loyalties from Amazon. That is, until I need to buy more than books. ;)Re: Cell phones- Who funded the research? That’s more important than the findings, really.
It’s a pity that Monergism doesn’t do free international shipping like http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/
I am so glad to see the article about appropriate introduction of hymns to contemporary congregations. I go to a church where much of the worship is more contemporary (though generally very well chosen) but we do always sing a few wonderful hymns every Sunday. Our worship leader takes the time to explain certain confusing phrases to the congregation and he does it repeatedly, because we are a church with many, many visitors every week. So while some of us may have heard about raising ebenezers 42 times and counting, a visitor who is un-churched or might come from a church that doesn’t sing hymns may enter in and not be distracted by how strange it sounds at first.
When I came back to the church after 6 fierce years of rebellion, it was hymns just like “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” that brought me to my knees with relief over and over again — saying for me the things that in my emotional repentance I could not say well for myself. And it is through these hymns still that I am reminded of the paths and dark places from which I am saved by my beautiful, triumphant, blessed Savior.
Great link, Tim.
Driscoll’s advice sounds a little off the deep end to me. Perhaps I’m a little more sensitive to it since our pastor preached a great sermon yesterday about believers dragging one another into court (1 Cor. 6) & how damaging it is to the church. I realize that Driscoll lives in a weird celebrity bubble, but his advice to pastors strikes me as extremely paranoid. I pray that we are not raising up a generation of pastors who reach for the phone to call their lawyer when counseling or church discipline are in order.
You are a good thinker and writer so this will only get worse. This is a Little League test and if you pass it you get to move up to the next league.
…..so….if you can hold off the lawsuits and throw all your critics in the slammer, maybe you’ll get a big church & a book contractjust like MD!! Would that be considered the “next league?” Are faithful pastors in tiny churches and missionary outposts still in the minors? Ick.
I’m not a pastor — but we do get some pretty scary and harassing emails over this way. I think this is less an issue for when you are counseling someone or actively pastoring someone and more for those who attack online.
There is something about the distance created online for some folks that allows them to go absolutely zany with very few real consequences. I’ve seen this literally tear a church apart in my community — a pastor and half the staff leaving, and then the congregation dropping away in droves, all as a result of what started as an anonymous blog by some member of the church.
And I’ve also received some of the most chilling accusations and diatribes in our office inbox from folks. It makes me take this advice from perhaps a different perspective and think that it’s not an overreaction at all. Watch comment threads on most any site (though people tend to behave abnormally well here!) and just try to pick through the flame wars and troll rants when any remotely controversial topic comes up (infant baptism anyone? oy! on both sides of the coin!). I really do think that’s more what this article was aimed at. Some of those can get very personal and extremely direct very quickly.
Paula, keep in mind that Driscoll’s article is basically the text of an email he sent to a particular pastor who was receiving harassment and threats — it might not necessarily be the advice he’d give to every single pastor dealing with troubles from internet crackpots.