MondayMorningInsight

How to Estimate Church Attendance

2009-11-23T14:24:29+00:00

Andrew Jones (many of you know him as the TallSkinnyKiwi) recently posted an excellent and practical article on how to correctly estimate your church attendance. Here are some of his criteria:

- 50% if its a Pentecostal worship service because they count the legs and forget to divide by two.

- 30% if its a Baptist church because they count members on the roll and not all of them are still living.

- 25 % if its a Reformed church service because they count the people who SHOULD have been there.

+ 10 if its a Vineyard service because those rugs on the floor were actually people!

+ 20% if it's a fundamentalist church because they don't count the people they didn't want there.

- 10% if its a megachurch because the worship team and welcome team got counted during all 5 services.

+ 20% if it's an emergent service because those having a smoke outside were not counted.

Funny, huh? Andrew has some others for you to check out over at his blog as well!

Can you come up with any yourself?

Zondervan Issues an Apology for “Deadly Viper”

2009-11-23T14:04:08+00:00

I've been watching this feud from a distance over the past couple of weeks. It looks like it's finally over. Zondervan has apologized for a racially insensitve book and pulled it from the shelves of all bookstores.

At dispute: The book: Deadly Viper: A Kung Fu Survival Guide for Life and Leadership. The book, written by Jud Whilhite and Mike Foster, uses Chinese characters and images for its illustrations.

It all started the first part of November when North Park Theological Seminary professor Soong-Chan Rah called for an apology because of the author's (and Zondervan's) insensitivity to Asian culture.

Quoted at Christianity Today and on his blog, Rah said, among other things:

This video clip is extremely offensive and portraying Asians in a cartoonish manner in order market your merchandise. Particularly offensive is the voiceover of a white person doing a faux Asian accent: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=35881373178&ref=mf

This image presents Asian as sinister enemies: http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=deadly+viper&init=quick#/photo.php?pid=2233965&id=101311418670

This quote reveals an insensitivity to the Chinese language and mocks Chinese names: “There is a killer called Zi Qi Qi Ren. No, this is not some communicable disease, but it certainly is deadly. This funky Chinese word”

The use of Chinese characters and kanji in a non-sensical manner.

Rah continued: "Mike and Jud, you are two white males who are inappropriately co-opting another culture and using it to further the marketing of your book," he wrote. "You are not from our cultural framework, yet you feel that you have the authority to represent our culture before others."

After Mike Foster, initially responding negatively to the criticism, many Asian American blogs picked up on the story; and the pressure began to mount on Zondervan. On Thursday of last week, Zondervan finally did:

This book’s characterizations and visual representations are offensive to many people despite its otherwise solid message.

There is no need for debate on this subject. We are pulling the book and the curriculum in their current forms from stores permanently.

What do you think? Is this a case of being politically correct, or a real act of racism? (A personal note: Deadly Viper was actually released two years ago in 2007. I read it shortly after it came out. It's a good book. I never thought twice about racial stereotypes when I read the book. Maybe because it wasn't about anything racial; maybe because I'm just racially insensitive. The book had a Kung Fu theme in an attempt to attract young men. It's a sharp, over-produced, expensive to make, little book. My teenage son went through a small-group using the book; and enjoyed it. It has many great themes, including integrity, self-discipline, and sexual purity.) None of us ever thought twice about the Kung Fu-i-ness of the book and how that might misrepresent Asian culture.)

Which begs the question: Are some of us under-sensitive? Are some of us over-sensitive? What's the proper balance?

You can read more here...

Love to hear your input...

Todd

Cornerstone University: Staff Can Now Drink Alcohol; Students Outta Luck

2009-11-23T13:55:06+00:00

Cornerstone University is lifting a ban on faculty and staff alcohol use that has stood since the institution was founded 68 years ago.

According to the Grand Rapid News, President Joe Stowell told Cornerstone’s 279 employees at a staff meeting Friday that alcohol abstinence — a component of a lifestyle statement that had to be signed every year — is being dropped because a three-year internal study concluded it is “biblically indefensible.”

“Given scripture’s lack of a prohibition against use of alcohol in moderation, we are releasing our faculty and staff to discern what is best for them concerning its use in their personal lives,” said Stowell, in his second year as the university’s president.

The change doesn’t apply to students, who remain banned from using alcohol.

Faculty and staff are being told to avoid using alcohol in any setting where students are present. Cornerstone will continue to ban alcohol on campus and at all university-sponsored events, Stowell said.

As some of you know, I grew up GARBC (General Association of Regular Baptist Churches). Cornerstone used to be one of the GARBC approved schools. Joe Stowell's father was a leader in the GARBC as well. I'm sure that much will be made of this decision on many of the Baptist blogs. That's ok.

Cornerstone has long been the outsider in those Baptist circles. I mean, they dropped the ban on student dancing back in 2004. ICABOD is written on the door! (Haven't heard that phrase in a while)

You can read more here...

So... what do you think? Good or bad move to ok alcohol for faculty and staff at a Christian college? Shouldn't we drop any rule that is 'biblically indefensible'?

I'd love to hear your comments...

Todd

H. B. London Speaks out on Ted Haggard’s Return

2009-11-23T13:48:55+00:00

Usually quiet, H. B. London is now speaking out publicly, saying he wishes Ted Haggard would have followed the counsel of his restoration team.

Here's some of what H. B. had to say to The Christian Post:

“The irony of all of this is that, from the very beginning, Mr. Haggard had been counseled to go to another city, complete his restoration program, experience healing in his family and with his addiction, and only then begin again. But, he has made a choice not to do that. We, who were members of his restoration team and those who served New Life Church as overseers, wish he would not do this. We feel it to be insensitive to a church that provided generously for him and his family for over a year after his misadventure. But, more than that, he violates his own words that he would not begin a new church.

Meanwhile, New Life Church and it's new pastor, Brady Boyd are taking the high road: New Life "will always be grateful for the many years of dedicated leadership from Ted Haggard and we wish him and his family only the best."

Haggards new 'bible-study-church' meets within one mile of the New Life Campus.

You can read more here...

What do YOU think?

Todd

I Don’t Think T-Dog is Reading the Same Bible as Us…

2009-11-20T12:45:02+00:00

You gotta love cable access shows, especially when you pair a really serious KJV guy with someone who wants to talk about this particular Bible passage...

Let Henrietta and Merna Be the First to Wish you a Merry Christmas!

2009-11-20T12:42:27+00:00

A special thanks to the folks at Tominthebox for sharing this wonderful Christmas song. I hope you enjoy!

Kenny the Banana Makes his Debut on Christian TV

2009-11-20T12:37:21+00:00

Everyone loves a person in a giant banana suit. Especially Christians. Come on... you know you like it!

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen on Christian TV?

Todd

Gotta Love Jack Van Impe… But Come On…

2009-11-20T12:29:33+00:00

Jack's now predicting the Tribulation to begin because of the new One World Order (John 2:34) brought on by Barak Obama (Isaiah 6:42). I've watched Jack Van Impe off and on since I was a child (Ez. 7:19), and he's always had a plan (Mark 2:14) that kept us on our toes (Lev 2:34) and prepared us for what is to come in the next six months to two years (Phil. 3:14).

What do you think? (Hez. 3:31)?

Stressful Jobs that Pay Badly: #10 Pastor; #5 Worship Pastor

2009-11-19T14:06:20+00:00

You think your job sucks? You may have just gotten some confirmation. According to this article from CNNMoney.com, two major church roles have the distinction of being the most stressful jobs that pay badly!

Coming in at #5: Music Ministry Director

Median pay: $40,800
% who say their job is stressful: 67%

You may not think of people who plan, direct and conduct performances for religious services as being under a particularly high amount of stress. But they also choose the appropriate psalm or hymn for every wedding and funeral -- only some of the most important events in a family's life. And those stressful situations can create some demanding clients.

"Every now and then you'll get a strange request," said Dan Fenn, Music Ministry Director at St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minn. "A couple of years ago I got a request to play the Beer Barrel Polka at a funeral. You have to ask yourself, is this appropriate for a worship service?"

Coming in at #10: Minister

Median pay: $45,300
% who say their job is stressful: 71%

They may answer to a higher calling, but all that spirituality does not come stress free. It's a lot of responsibility being an authority on morality. Leading religious worship every week and providing spiritual and moral guidance can be a heavy cross to bear for those in the ministry.

"People who are deathly sick, people with substance abuse problems, things of that nature, that can be emotionally draining," said Father Dan Skvir of Princeton, N.J. "I've had calls at 2 or 3 in the morning to come and attend to someone, people in imminent danger of death."

You can read more here...

What do you think?

Todd

(Thanks to Jimmy for the heads up to this article!)

Pick a Faith Already: The Changes in Church Affiliation in the US

2009-11-19T12:55:26+00:00

A Pew Research Center survey showed Americans switch religions often. Here are just a few famous people known to convert their beliefs more than once.

According to the survey: Americans change religious affiliation early and often. In total, about half of American adults have changed religious affiliation at least once during their lives. Most people who change their religion leave their childhood faith before age 24, and many of those who change religion do so more than once. These are among the key findings of a new survey conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes in detail the patterns and reasons for change.

The reasons people give for changing their religion - or leaving religion altogether - differ widely depending on the origin and destination of the convert. The group that has grown the most in recent years due to religious change is the unaffiliated population. Two-thirds of former Catholics who have become unaffiliated and half of former Protestants who have become unaffiliated say they left their childhood faith because they stopped believing in its teachings, and roughly four-in-ten say they became unaffiliated because they do not believe in God or the teachings of most religions.¹ Additionally, many people who left a religion to become unaffiliated say they did so in part because they think of religious people as hypocritical or judgmental, because religious organizations focus too much on rules or because religious leaders are too focused on power and money. Far fewer say they became unaffiliated because they believe that modern science proves that religion is just superstition.

Catholicism has suffered the greatest net loss in the process of religious change. Many people who leave the Catholic Church do so for religious reasons; two-thirds of former Catholics who have become unaffiliated say they left the Catholic faith because they stopped believing in its teachings, as do half of former Catholics who are now Protestant. Fewer than three-in-ten former Catholics, however, say the clergy sexual abuse scandal factored into their decision to leave Catholicism.

Read more here... Also for a slideshow of some more infamous people who have changed their religion repeatedly, check this out...

Todd