And Jesus sent forth his disciples two by two and said unto them, “Go forth and develop marketing plans, with which thou shalt draw all men unto the institution that I am founding. And bring forth some kick-ass logos to let the nations know that thou art hip and relevant. Create programs that appeal to … Continue reading The Great Omission
Institution
Above Criticism?
Let’s talk about criticism. For starters, let’s understand what criticism really is. To criticize something or to critique it, implies that you are examining an argument or a writing or a performance of some sort, and trying to determine its accuracy or its worthiness. While there are nuanced connotative differences between the words criticize and … Continue reading Above Criticism?
Good Enough for Me
Never having been one to shy away from overstating the obvious, I can authoritatively state that I’m pretty critical of religion. For the last two and one half years, this blog has been primarily dedicated to dismantling the lies and the walls of religion, and encouraging people to seek God outside the guilt, coercion, dogma, … Continue reading Good Enough for Me
There Is No Formula!
My last few posts were a tongue-in-cheek look at the dogmatic, formulaic views of salvation by a few of the more popular Christian denominations. I imagine that most folks who hold any of those particular views would be irate at the lampooning of their views, but would chuckle at the depictions of the others. I … Continue reading There Is No Formula!
The Word
What John (the gospel writer) called the logos went far beyond the word “word” as we casually understand it today. John’s understanding of logos was probably influenced by Aristotle who used logos to refer to a logical, apprehensible truth. In Jesus, John got a glimpse of God’s intent distilled into being and made alive before human eyes. “The Word was made flesh and lived among us, and we beheld his glory.”
The Housechurch Movement Ruined My Life
Heather Goodman over at “All Things Are Yours” has written a great post about the pitfalls of the house church movement. I’m re-blogging it here, unedited. The title is intentionally dramatic, but don’t be put off by it. The article is very balanced, something that is quite rare, in my experience. She eloquently addresses some insidious areas where those who leave the institutional church may tend to miss the mark.
Catchy title, no? I thought about various things I could call this blog post when I started writing it — things like, “The Dark Hole of House Church” and “the Dangers of Housechurch” and the “Slough of Housechurch Despondency.” I finally settled on “The Housechurch Movement ruined my life” because, there’s enough truth in that to be worth titling this post that, and, I bet it will make you curious — and rightfully so.
First, let me talk about what I mean by “the Housechurch Movement.” In recent years, regular institutional-style churches have taken to calling midweek meetings that go on in homes a whole host of names, anything from “life groups” to “cell groups” but occasionally “house church” or “home church.” At any rate, these things are generally healthy and that’s not the house church movement I am talking about.
The House Church movement is a movement about…
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The Artificiality of Institutions and How They Create Barriers
We have erected artificial walls, one meticulously manufactured brick at a time; and now we find ourselves lost in a labyrinth, escape from which is impossible without divine intervention.
And All God’s People Said?
When our religion is characterized by a one-way flow of ideas and psychological manipulation designed to produce unquestioning compliance, then it’s time to start asking what the manipulators are hiding, and it’s time to start looking for a better way.
Working at Cross Purposes
Religious institutions are intentionally designed—are purposely structured to manipulate people’s actions and beliefs. Growth is the product of systemic manipulation and corporate marketing rather than organic flourishing. And so the body of Christ is suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Read more...
Cultural Decline and the Foundations of Faith
Ultimately, if our culture is in decline, then we all share in the blame. Before we start pointing fingers at folks we don’t like, we ought to take an honest look in the mirror.
