What I’ve Been Reading 25May2012

May 25, 2012 Tim church life, 0

• Whooping Cough  Wait, what?  I didn’t realize that there was a religious tie-in with vaccinations.
  “Washington [state] allows people to refuse being vaccinated for religious reasons”
• Reverse Legalism
  “To reverse the roles in another parable, gospel-liberated heirs can be, rather ironically, like the Pharisee who prayed (at least in my version), “Lord, I thank you that I am not like this Pharisee. I know that I’m totally depraved and am justified by grace alone. I’m so glad I ‘get it’—of course, thanks to you.” ”
  “ Reverse legalism keeps us slaves of the rule-oriented system of our past. If we are to be genuinely free in things indifferent, we must no more be expected to indulge than to abstain.” 
• Hire Church Staff Proactively, Not Reactively
  “ Pastors with a biblical theology of staffing possess a deep-seeded conviction that all believers, not just the “professionals,” are gifted for ministry. Thus they invite all believers to engage in ministry and view themselves as equippers of the ministers within the church.”
• Competitive Mothering
  From the comments: “Follow Jesus! Do what God has called you to do, whether it’s homeschooling or not, gardening or not, having a large family or NOT. Follow Jesus! Agree with your own husband. And do what seems right to you.”
  Also from the comments:  “Motherhood is hard work. In our own human effort to build ourselves up and find meaning in our lives, we turn our choices into accomplishments, our children into gold stars that show our worth. Whether we are bragging about how many hours they slept alone in their crib or how many kids share our bedroom, we are getting it wrong every time we find our value in life that way.”
• How to Leave Your Old Church and How to Start at Your New Church  Some words from Kevin DeYoung that would be helpful to us all.

What I’ve Been Reading 18May2012 Church in the park this Sunday! (June 17, 2012)