I wish there was a button for that.  Actually, I don’t, but there are some brothers reading this who do…

Today’s special is almost gone… Carol Channing singing your favorite gospel and negro spirituals.  Hurry, there’s a limited supply left.  Order yours today.

Click here to hear some short out-takes from the album:

Enjoy.

HT:  fourfour.typepad.com and christiannightmares

Pretty cool.  Take a look at this video synopsis of Elevation Church’s Code Orange Revival:

See if this looks familiar:

Police say the person who called in a bomb threat to Southeast Christian Church was one of the congregation’s own members.

Michael Schad pleaded not guilty to charges of terroristic threatening Wednesday morning.

Police say he told them he put bombs in Southeast Christian Church, where he’s a member, and Lampton Baptist Church.

Officers didn’t find anything.

Schad’s attorney says his client is taking medication for bipolar disorder.

Schad was released from jail on the condition that he visit the VA Hospital and stay away from Southeast.

More here.

How would your church respond?

Richard Roberts, son of Oral Roberts, was arrested early Tuesday on complaints of driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding, records show.

An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper clocked Roberts’ 2006 Mercedes going 93 mph in a 65-mph zone just after midnight on the eastbound Creek Turnpike west of U.S. 169, according to his arrest report.

The report says Roberts’ blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.11, which is greater than the legal limit of 0.08.

The trooper noticed a strong smell of alcohol after pulling Roberts over on northbound U.S. 169 just south of 71st Street.

Roberts was unable to complete two field sobriety tests and was taken to the Jenks Police Department to determine his blood-alcohol level, the report says.

He was booked into the Tulsa Jail about 2:45 a.m. and was released on $1,100 bond about 5:45 a.m., records show.

Roberts, who lives several miles southwest of where he was arrested, according to jail records, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Roberts, 63, the son of ORU founder Oral Roberts, resigned in 2007 after 15 years as the university’s president amid allegations that he and his family misused university and ministry resources.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/specialprojects/news/crimewatch/article.aspx?subjectid=450&articleid=20120125_11_A11_CUTLIN615032

Catalyst One Day is coming to Atlanta! Make plans to attend on Monday, March 26, at North Point Community Church. Join Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel for a one day leadership event focused on the topic of Creating Healthy Organizational Culture. This practical leadership experience includes 4 sessions of content, Q and A, dynamic music, and a full day of practical insight from two of the principal voices on leadership in the Church today. Visit http://catalystoneday.com to register to attend & get the best rates available! Best rates end this Thursday, January 26.

I had a great time at the Elephant Room yesterday.  I was able to take my new pastor with me and we had an excellent day learning from ALL of the speakers.

I realize that there were many critics of the Elephant Room, especially this year, especially with the invitation extended to Bishop T. D. Jakes.

After attending the live venue (in Aurora, IL), I can say that I really believe in what James MacDonald is trying to do with The Elephant Room.  The premise is simply this:  When you have an open discussion, particularly with people you don’t know and people you don’t agree with, you will have a better understanding of them; and have greater insight and learnings from someone who is not necessarily in your ‘tribe’.

My ideas, thoughts, and feelings definitely changed about a couple of the Elephant Room participants.  And for the better.  Not because I now agree with them theologically, but because I better understand them, understand them to be my brothers in Christ, and have had the opportunity to see their more human side up close and person… rather than what some write about them on blogs; or what their ‘tv persona’ is.

It was very valuable for me.

It cost James MacDonald a lot, including his resignation this week from the Gospel Coalition.  That’s too bad.  But I do believe that James is doing what God is calling him to do… model civility and the old thought of thinking the best of someone you don’t know.

Not surprisingly, that is not something that James has always embraced from his fundamentalist background.

And many of James current friends on the conservative side think he’s crazy… in fact… I think James is really going through a period of finding out who his friends are.

Many times, boldness and being obedient to Christ has consequences.  I think this has been the case for James MacDonald.  The loss of dear friends on one side; and the addition of new friends from the other.

I commend all the courage of each speaker for the Elephant Room.  To go LIVE in front of thousands of your peers, not knowing exactly where the conversation will go, is nothing short of gutsy.

But I, for one, am happy for gutsy church leaders… even (and especially) the ones who aren’t necessarily in my tribe.

Oh, and btw… for all who were wondering… turns out Bishop T. D. Jakes IS actually a Christian.    I know that may infuriate some of you.  You’ll have to find some other person to pick on now.

DID YOU ATTEND THE ELEPHANT ROOM?  What is your feedback?

For a full synopsis of what happened yesterday… please go here and download Tim Schreader’s full notes from the day in PDF form!

A mid-state mayor has a bold vision: mixing church and state and business. The mayor of Mt. Juliet said he plans to actively recruit a mega-church to their city to attract more Sunday afternoon business.

“What a boom that would be to our retailers- to have 3,000 or more people exiting church at 12 noon and getting lunch at Providence, or shopping at Providence or going to a movie or spending their day in some other form in Mt. Juliet,” said Mayor Ed Hagerty.

The Mayor’s vision goes beyond building economic growth through a mega church. He said he wants to build on his town’s brand as a patriotic locale and make sure those visitors and passersby know where the residents in Mt. Juliet stand.

“If we are able to recruit a mega church to our community, if they would put up a huge cross then everyone driving through Mt. Juliet on the interstate would immediately know that we stand first and foremost for God and country,” he said.

As for questions about mixing church and state, Mayor Hagerty said no taxpayer money would be spent, and said he sees no conflict in his office pushing for a place of worship.

From NewsChannel5.com.

Mt. Juliet, TN:  about 17 minutes east of Nashville

Population:   23,671

Any takers?

Somehow… I think this will not be a good plan for the mayor.  I’m guessing he’ll get some backlash.  Kind of like when the mayor of Toledo, OH proposed providing housing for deaf people next to the airport.  Or when Fort Wayne, IN wanted to name a municipal building after a former mayor, Harry Baals (pronounced Balls).

Some thoughts from Mark Driscoll on why he’s getting so much flack… from Christians… on his new book on sex and marriage.  Here are some exerpts from a piece he wrote for CNN’s Religion Blog:

You try to write a book on marriage and sex with your wife and next thing you know there are a lot of ants crashing your picnic.

My wife, Grace, and I recently published “Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, & Life Together,” which quickly became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller.

In it, we’re brutally honest about our past struggles, share the lessons we learned along the way and talk frankly about sex. Criticism has ensued.

If you wish to find that criticism, just do a Google search. You’ll find plenty. My intent here is not to name names and pick a fight with my critics, but to provide context on why there is criticism.

We knew before we wrote the book that we’d catch a lot of flak, especially on the chapters dealing with sex. We also knew the criticism would come from every direction, as some people would think we went too far and others would think we didn’t go far enough.

But we wrote it anyway. Why? Simply put, we want to help marriages — and single people aspiring to marry — and we wanted to do so in a way that is practical, biblical and applicable to the reality of today’s culture.

If the book accomplishes that, we’ll take the criticism in exchange for helping people. We don’t think our book is perfect and we tell folks upfront (literally in the preface) to take what is helpful and leave the rest…

///

Many Christians, because of upbringing and past church experiences, view sex as gross and something that should not be talked about in public…

Those who view sex as gross criticize our book because we speak too openly and frankly about sex for their taste. The accusation is that the private counsel that pastors give to people in the church isn’t suitable to give in a public context.

But many critics tend to want to debate nuances of theology rather than engage head-on the practical realities that many people are facing…

While it may be fun for bloggers and critics to discuss these things, our hope was that couples would instead be the ones having these conversations to build their marriages in ways that don’t pressure, abuse or use one another.

///

There are some who think about almost nothing else but sex, treating it as a kind of god. This can happen in the form of addiction to sex or porn, severe promiscuity, adultery or participating in various sexual acts that the Bible speaks against, making personal preference and desire more important than what God says about sex…

Those who view sex as a god criticize our book because it doesn’t go far enough for them. Because we teach that the Bible does call some sex acts sin, such as pornography, premarital sex, homosexuality, adultery and more, we are criticized for being judgmental, prudish, antiquated and fundamentalist..

In the end, for conservatives we’re too liberal, and for liberals we’re too conservative. We can’t win.

///

Thoughts?

You can read more here.

Uh… an important reason to make sure your Facebook and other internet passwords are secure, Pastor…

Don’t be this guy.

What do you think of this ‘Church Discipline Contract’?

This was posted over at JesusNeedsNewPR.  I’ve taken and blurred out the name of the church; not because I want to hide it; but I don’t want it to skew your original thoughts on to whether this is a good or bad way to handle a church discipline matter.

Take a look.  I’d love your first reaction.  Is this a great way to handle a church discipline issue?  A horrible way?

Thoughts?

You can read more here.

Agree or disagree?

Dr. Chappell is pretty friendly and likeable for a strict fundamentalist.  One of the friendliest I’ve seen.  I think he’d be a great guy to sit down and have lunch with.  (And he’d actually have lunch with me, even though I’m not a Baptist).

Here are some things that help determine, in his mind, who we can link to/support in the Christian community:

1.  Fundamentals of the Faith

2.  Cessationaists

3.  Alcohol

4.  Bible Version

5.  Music Choice and Conforming to the World

6.  Identity as a Baptist

I do appreciate that he is friendly and not condescending to those who do not agree.

And, unlike many ‘independent baptists’, he does not discount the ‘christianity’ or ‘savedness’ of those outside of items 2 -6.  But he’s pretty firm that he won’t feel comfortable recommending or ‘sharing a platform’ with anyone who doesn’t keep his view of items 2 -6.

I understand the logic.  It’s what I grew up with.  But I think it’s flawed for one simple reason.  I think Dr. Chappell has made items 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 to be equal with #1.

I do not.

I don’t believe that a drum or a verse from The Message is something that should be a ‘test of fellowship’.

Nor do I believe that being Baptist should be a pre-requisite.  Man, that constriction alone takes out ALMOST everyone in the New Testament.

So… all that said… we all have lines.

Where’s yours?

Who will you NOT fellowship or break bread with?  And why?

According to a new study conducted by sociologists Hui-Tzu Grace Chou and Nicholas Edge at Utah Valley University, research showed a correlation between a Facebook user’s disposition about their life and the amount of time spent on the social network. Approximately 425 students were asked to identify how much they agreed or disagreed with statements like “Life is fair” and “Many of my friends have a better life than me.” In addition, the students were asked about how much time they spent on Facebook, their number of Facebook friends as well as how many of those friends they had actually met in person. The researchers also attempted controlling for factors like relationship status, gender, religious beliefs and race.

Seeing a pattern emerge, the two sociologists discovered that as people spend more time on Facebook, they start to believe that others have a better life than they do. Within the paper, Chou and Edge stated “Those who have used Facebook longer agreed more that others were happier, and agreed less that life is fair, and those spending more time on Facebook each week agreed more that others were happier and had better lives. Furthermore, those that included more people whom they did not personally know as their Facebook “friends” agreed more that others had better lives.”

Read more here… (HT:  DigitalTrends.com)

Thoughts?