Connector Churches

by The RevNo Comments
I read this today and thought that the nine traits listed in Ed’s book are really insightful. What do you think?http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/ Creating Deeper CommunityChurches that are effective at attracting and developing young adults place a high value on moving people into a healthy small group system. Young adults are trying to connect and will make a lasting connection wherever they can find belonging. Making a Difference through ServiceChurches that are transforming young adults value leading people to serve through volunteerism. More than being pampered, young adults want to be part of something bigger than themselves and are looking to be part of an organization where they can make a difference through acts of service. Experiencing WorshipChurches that are engaging young adults are providing worship environments that reflect their culture while also revering and revealing God. More than looking for a good performance, young adults desire to connect with a vertical experience of worship. Leveraging TechnologyChurches that are reaching young adults are willing to communicate...
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Baseball, Redemption, and a Hospital Room

by The RevNo Comments
A week ago yesterday my bride received a phone call. It was one of those calls that you dread. Her dad, Dennis, was in the hospital due to a stroke. It was “minor” but for a man like Dennis and for a family like ours it is major. Dennis is an athlete (at times becoming a scratch golfer!). Dennis is the life of the party. Dennis is the picture of the entrepreneurial spirit. Dennis is the kind of man that other men want to be. This is seen in the respect that his four son-in-laws have for him and the tender love that he bestows on his four daughters.Amy left Detroit early last Thursday morning and drove (I am sure more quickly than she cares to admit) directly to the hospital room in Evansville, IN where Dennis was beginning his recovery.But wait, that’s not the whole backstory.The beloved St. Louis Cardinals were about to finish their three game homestand against...
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A Response to the Election in the Words of a Teaching Elder

by The RevNo Comments
Below is a letter that was sent to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church by Pastor Rufus Smith of City of Refuge Church in Houston, TX. It is moving. It is poignant. It is something that we need hear and consider. November 6, 2008To: My Fellow Followers of “That Way”From: Rufus Smith, Pastor, City of Refuge Church (Houston, TX)As Chairman of the EPC’s Urban Ministry Network and the only black senior pastor in the Central South, may I ask you to consider pausing this Sunday or next to openly recognize the historic American election this past Tuesday? The question is not whether you or I voted for President-Elect Obama or not, but the issue is the potential capacity of his election to expedite the erasing of the stain, stigma and stereotype in the collective soul and psyche of an indigenous ethnic group and a nation.Whether you agree with the election results or not, on Tuesday, something happened in the minds and hearts of...
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The Blue Parakeet — A Review

by The RevNo Comments
First, Dr. McKnight and Zondervan thank you for the advance copy.–The Blue Parakeet is a text that discusses how we actually read the Bible. Dr. McKnight brings up two key ideas throughout his short work. His first organizing principle is the concept that the Bible was written in a certain period’s time and ways. The second is that we are to read the Bible alongside of tradition as opposed to through it.Dr. McKnight seeks to challenge some of the assumptions that we have regarding how we read the Bible. He begins with a discussion of his own history where people would “read the Bible and do what it says” even though as he began reading the Bible for himself he realized that they did not do all it says. This then leads to the dominant question that he seeks to answer: how do we read the Bible in our times and our ways?The book is divided into four parts, “What...
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Where Are You From?

by The RevNo Comments
The Hansen Report: Where Are You From? | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders.This article is quality. I think that the ramifications are huge for a congregation like the one that I am a part of. We live in a suburban setting and there are tons of church choices.This reality makes implementing change very difficult. The reason for this is that instead engaging with the body in the midst of change the “I will go to that other church” card is played. This also frees people from having to engage with the church when there are deficiencies.When my wife and I moved back to the Detroit area we decided to choose a church and not shop for a church. This meant that we never visited a different church. We came to our church and stayed. No matter what.We believed that any weaknesses in the church were things that God had for us to step into there.It makes me...
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In honor of two weeks of political rhetoric…

by The RevNo Comments
Thanks Derek…A Savior on Capitol Hill | [derekwebb.net]I’m so tired of these mortal menwith their hands on their wallets and their hearts full of sinscared of their enemies, scared of their friendsand always running for re-electionso come to DC if it be thy willbecause we’ve never had a savior on Capitol Hillyou can always trust the devil or a politicianto be the devil or a politicianbut beyond that friends you’d best beware’cause at the Pentagon bar they’re an inseparable pairand as long as the lobbyists are paying their billswe’ll never have a savior on Capitol Hill[Bridge]all of our problems gonna disappearwhen we can whisper right in that President’s earhe could walk right across the reflection poolin his combat boots and ten thousand dollar suityou can render unto Caesar everything that’s hisyou can trust in his power to come to your defenseit’s the way of the world, the way of the gunit’s the trading of an evil for a lesser oneso...
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Blue Parakeet…

by The RevNo Comments
The next grand installment is coming to Church Remix. Zondervan was offering about 100 free copies of Scot McKnight’s new book, Blue Parakeet, to bloggers. I am excited to announce that my copy is on its way and as soon as it does the posts will be rolling in.I am also thinking that I will be posting thoughts, random or otherwise, from my Older Testament class this semester. I think that there might be some useful insights from those earlier incarnations of the people God. What do you think? Just maybe?That’s where things are headed....
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