Monday June 22, 2009
Chinese Calvinism
The Guardian has a rather strange article about the growing popularity of Calvinism in China. "Although Calvinism is shrinking in western Europe and North America, it is experiencing an extraordinary success in China. I spent some time on Monday talking to the Rev May Tan, from Singapore, where the overseas Chinese community has close links with mainland China. The story she told of the spread of Calvinist religion as an elite religion in China was quite extraordinary. There may be some parallels with the growth of Calvinism in South Korea, where the biggest presbyterian churches in the world are to be found, but it's absolutely unlike the pattern in Africa and Latin America. There, the fastest growing forms of Christianity are pentecostal, and they are spreading among the poor. "
Losing the Millennial Generation
This is a short but good article from True Woman. "Really, should it surprise us that we are losing our teens when we've spent so many hours away from them through the week? Has church robbed us, many times, from family meal-times, family devotion-times, family game nights, or family camping trips? Is this what the church should be doing?"
Some Benefits of Life Without Television
Jim and Amy Spiegel reflect on life without television and offer a list of five benefits they've experienced by not having TV in their home.
My Dad
This is a great Father's Day reflection from pastor Ken Davis: "The father of the author of these devotionals was born in Clown's Cove, Freshwater, Carbonear, Newfoundland. His parents had been brought to faith in Jesus in a ripple effect of the Welsh revival of 1904. The village of Freshwater was a fishing community of Welsh immigrants and when the revival hit in Wales, a preacher from there came to the village to preach the Gospel. I am a third generation spiritual descendant of the Welsh revival and all four of my children are the fourth. Some have said that revival didn't produce any long term effects. My family is living proof that that is not true."
Give Bankruptcy a Chance
From David Skeel: "What if regulators hadn't bailed out Bear Stearns? If we conduct this simple thought experiment, it raises serious questions about both the conventional wisdom and the Obama administration's new proposals for regulating investment banks and bank and insurance holding companies. Bankruptcy starts to look much better, although it could use several market-correcting tweaks."
Deal of the Day: What Would Jesus Say About Your Church?
At Monergism Books you can get 50% off the retail price of What Would Jesus Say About Your Church by Richard Mayhue. Registered customers enter the code yourchurch during check out in the coupon box and your book will automatically be 50% off retail at checkout. One per customer. Offer ends Wednesday June 24th or while supplies last.
The Guardian has a rather strange article about the growing popularity of Calvinism in China. "Although Calvinism is shrinking in western Europe and North America, it is experiencing an extraordinary success in China. I spent some time on Monday talking to the Rev May Tan, from Singapore, where the overseas Chinese community has close links with mainland China. The story she told of the spread of Calvinist religion as an elite religion in China was quite extraordinary. There may be some parallels with the growth of Calvinism in South Korea, where the biggest presbyterian churches in the world are to be found, but it's absolutely unlike the pattern in Africa and Latin America. There, the fastest growing forms of Christianity are pentecostal, and they are spreading among the poor. "
Losing the Millennial Generation
This is a short but good article from True Woman. "Really, should it surprise us that we are losing our teens when we've spent so many hours away from them through the week? Has church robbed us, many times, from family meal-times, family devotion-times, family game nights, or family camping trips? Is this what the church should be doing?"
Some Benefits of Life Without Television
Jim and Amy Spiegel reflect on life without television and offer a list of five benefits they've experienced by not having TV in their home.
My Dad
This is a great Father's Day reflection from pastor Ken Davis: "The father of the author of these devotionals was born in Clown's Cove, Freshwater, Carbonear, Newfoundland. His parents had been brought to faith in Jesus in a ripple effect of the Welsh revival of 1904. The village of Freshwater was a fishing community of Welsh immigrants and when the revival hit in Wales, a preacher from there came to the village to preach the Gospel. I am a third generation spiritual descendant of the Welsh revival and all four of my children are the fourth. Some have said that revival didn't produce any long term effects. My family is living proof that that is not true."
Give Bankruptcy a Chance
From David Skeel: "What if regulators hadn't bailed out Bear Stearns? If we conduct this simple thought experiment, it raises serious questions about both the conventional wisdom and the Obama administration's new proposals for regulating investment banks and bank and insurance holding companies. Bankruptcy starts to look much better, although it could use several market-correcting tweaks."
Deal of the Day: What Would Jesus Say About Your Church?
At Monergism Books you can get 50% off the retail price of What Would Jesus Say About Your Church by Richard Mayhue. Registered customers enter the code yourchurch during check out in the coupon box and your book will automatically be 50% off retail at checkout. One per customer. Offer ends Wednesday June 24th or while supplies last.
Comments (9) »
1. Redeeming Riches
June 22, 2009
9:53 AM
Interesting link to the “Losing the Millenial Generation” post. Personally, I believe that if you want to look at why kids are leaving the church you must scrutinize the home first, and the church second.
As difficult as it is to admit, what you’ll find in the homes often times (certainly not all) is a hypocritical, religion-filled home with no joy, no heart, no love or zealous passion for Jesus, but more or less a lifestyle of religion because that’s just what you do.
We need to make the gospel attractive to our kids with an authentic faith and by finding Jesus as our greatest treasure.
JT
http://redeemingriches.wordpress.com
2. Jackie
June 22, 2009
10:10 AM
Reverend May Tan? Preacher? Female? Calvinist?!!!! Gasp!
3. pentamom
June 22, 2009
10:24 AM
Having grown up in mainline churches rather than the evangelical culture, my outsider’s perspective was amused the first time I found out what church “family nights” were. That’s when the family gets in a car and goes somewhere together so they can all be split up into different rooms doing different things with people not from their families.
In their place, such church programs aren’t a bad thing. But the name “Family Night” always struck me as a colossal contradiction.
4. J.P.H.
June 22, 2009
10:38 AM
Without having done a lot of research, I’m going to suggest that people in the church have been talking about “losing the youth” for at least the last 50 years. Maybe that’s because it’s been a long, gradual thing, but regardless I don’t think the millennial generation is “special” in this regard.
If I were to identify a cause, I’d say it’s that the prevailing culture these days is much less tolerant of “unauthentic” religion compared to in days past. My theory is that teenagers in, say, the 1950s, had much less of a problem with just attending church regularly and paying lip service to the doctrines. Basically cultural Christianity. Today, a kid who might have done the cultural Christianity thing 50 years ago just says, “Screw it, I’m not going to church at all.” In many ways that’s more healthy.
I do agree with the author, though, that the parents’ example has an incredibly huge impact on a child’s attitude towards God.
5. Jugulum
June 22, 2009
1:09 PM
“The story she told of the spread of Calvinist religion as an elite religion in China was quite extraordinary.”
Wait. Calvinism is spreading as an elite religion? What does that mean, exactly?
I couldn’t tell from the article. It might just have to do with intellectual development—that many classic Calvinistic works are being translated into Chinese, providing brain food for Chinese Christians interested in Calvinism.
But if it means that only upper class Chinese Christians are embracing Calvinism… Then that’s a mixed blessing.
6. Humanitas Remedium
June 22, 2009
2:23 PM
I have not owned a TV for the last few years and found the article on the benefits of not watching it outlined in that post to be true.
7. Humanitas Remedium
June 22, 2009
2:24 PM
I have not owned a TV for the last few years and found the article on the benefits of not watching it outlined in that post to be true.
8. James
June 22, 2009
9:54 PM
On losing are children, Ken Ham & Britt Beemer have released a book called “Already Gone” which is based on a survey of 1,000 twentysomething adults from conservative evangelical churches who have walked away from the church.
I have not read the book yet but the stats I have seen are quite eye opening.
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/2009/05/19/a-shock-to-the-church/
9. Marie
June 22, 2009
10:55 PM
I doubt that children of Christians are lost to hell because they all go to church too much.
I’d suspect quite a few things (secularized education, secularized living, winking at sin, low standards of behavior, lack of prayer, lack of personal devotions, lack of family devotions, media driven temptations, worldliness in general) before I’d suspect churchgoing. Even for the dread family night where apparently everyone goes to different rooms.
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