January 6, 2006 It’s so subtle and is happening so slowly and smoothly that it’s hardly noticeable to some people—the faint shift from day to day to the acceptance of immorality. Think for a moment about the church growth “movement” of the last decade or two. Consider the shift from Christ centered to man centered theology and from Biblical principles to marketing strategies for growth. Then take into account the music that fills the minds and the airwaves… no longer Christcentric but egocentric. Consider the shift from Bible study to “focus-groups” that address “felt needs” or personal interests or individual…
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It’s easy to forget some things — many things — really. It’s especially easy to forget things in a moment of panic, in the tyranny of the urgent or after a long span of time. Or, in an obituary. Or at a memorial service. I’m thinking you know what I mean. Attending numerous funerals and memorial services through the years has kept this thought pretty fresh in my mind. Time has a way of softening rough edges in some relationships — sharpening them in others — and has a way of distorting things when the accumulation of days, experiences and…
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Can you believe we’re living in these days? That in the history of the world — His-story — we’re alive in these days! Remarkable! Truly remarkable! These thoughts and more came to me while reading in 2 Thessalonians 2 and elsewhere today. All over the world there are great surges of sensational events — and they truly are worldwide; the world is in chaos. And the catastrophes are piling up! The multifaceted cataclysmic tragedy in Japan seems to me to be a great picture of these days — especially within the church. And a subtle, but similar rumbling is afoot…