Training Event: Evangelism & the Missional Church
What does it mean to “share the gospel?" Some of us don’t even know. Others of us are jaded by bad experiences: pushy people, emotional manipulation, gospel tracts devoid of relationship. Most evangelism training methods are stuck in the 80's, rooted in cultural assumptions that are no longer true. To borrow a metaphor from Tim Keller, we tend to assume the "intellectual furniture" of God, man, sin, Christ, and faith is already present in our hearers' minds and just needs to be rearranged. But what if the furniture isn't there in the first place?Coram Deo's leaders have seen a pressing need in our church for better training in this area. So, in partnership with Porterbrook Omaha, we’re bringing in a friend: Reid Monaghan, a fellow Acts 29 pastor from New Jersey. Reid will train us in the “how-to’s” of sharing the gospel – in the context of a missional church and a post-Christian culture. No tract-bombing. No canned gospel presentations. No “close-the-deal” salesmanship. Just a theologically rooted, biblically faithful, contextually appropriate way of talking about Jesus.We're excited to open this event to all of our friends in Omaha who might benefit. Please help us spread the word. For further details or to RSVP, go here.
Veggie Tales: "Morality, not Christianity"
VeggieTales “convinced kids to behave Christianly without actually teaching them Christianity.” So says founder Phil Vischer in a new interview.
VeggieTales was a rags-to-riches entrepreneurial success story. Vischer and his counterpart, Mike Nawrocki, left college to pursue their dream of making wildly creative children’s videos. At the height of their success in the late 1990s, VeggieTales videos sold 7 million copies in a single year and generated $40 million in revenue. Though primarily aimed at a Christian market, VeggieTales had a broader cultural influence, pushing forward the boundaries of computer animation and children’s programming.
Announcement: Coram Deo and Core Are Merging
Yesterday we made a historic announcement: Coram Deo Church and Core Community Church are merging. These two churches, which have been pacesetters in the work of urban, missional church planting in the Midwest, will join forces as one church.Core Community Church was founded by Ethan Burmeister in the fall of 2000. It was the fourth church to join the then-fledgling Acts 29 Network. Ethan was, in many ways, a man ahead of his time...
Your Sexual Sin is Killing God's Mission
I met for lunch a new friend of mine - a graduate student from the Middle East who was dramatically converted to Christ 2 weeks ago. He was radiant with new life in Christ and brimming with questions - about God, about the Bible, about Christianity, and about what it means to follow Jesus. "It seems to me that there are many people who say they are Christians, but don't live the kind of life Jesus talks about... This is one of the things that led me to doubt the Christian gospel."
Infographic: Pornography in America
Make no mistake: porn is killing us. The infographic won't fit in the preview pane... click below to see it. Pay close attention to the bottom of the infographic, where the true social costs of pornography are tracked.
Homosexuality and the Need for Purpose
Roger Denson defended homosexuality recently in the Huffington Post by asserting that it's a form of population control. Here's a portion of his argument:
Population control... provides gays and lesbians, and in particular gay and lesbian youth, the purpose in life we seek.
Why We Love Entertainment and Distraction
The lights must never go out,The music must always play;Lest we know where we are:Lost in a haunted wood - Children afraid of the darkWho have never been happy or good.- W.H. Auden, "September 1939"
The Gospel and Homosexuality, Part 1
Homosexuality will be the cultural issue facing the church for the foreseeable future. The church’s responses to it have run in two polarizing directions: blanket derision or wholehearted acceptance. Some churches shun homosexuals. Others ordain them. Thoughtful, prayerful, biblical consideration of how the gospel addresses homosexuality has been woefully absent from the conversation... A gospel approach to homosexuality must address the issues of righteousness and identity. These are the foundational questions of the human condition: Who am I? And how do I know that I’m OK?
Gospel Change: "I Never Affirm People"
I have learned that I live very legalistically with the people around me. I affirm only when I see something blatantly positive. I never give undue praise and typically affirm only a behavior instead of Gods work in a person. I force people to perform for my affirmation. This is a wicked sin and contrary to the heart of the gospel.
Crossfit: Heaven is a Healthy Body
One of the first things you will notice at any Crossfit box are the people - the beautiful people. Many of the athletes will be muscular and barely dressed, flaunting their developed musculature and great fitness. They're not afraid of sweat, blood, or flopping down on the floor in exhaustion after a workout. But why are they sacrificing things like sugar, comfort, and the flesh of their hands from too many pull-ups? Is it just to look good?