faithrunner

Worship through service at Minnie's Food Pantry Worship is a deeply personal thing, so I admit that what I am about to share may or may not ring true with you.  My hope is to encourage you to change your thinking from worship as attendance at a performance in a building on a scheduled day to an act of total attention to the One who loves you and gave his life for you.  Worship is an expression of our total being. Jesus calls us to love God "with all your soul, with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength." ( Mark 12:29-31 ) So, sitting and occasionally standing for an hour and thirty minutes and listening to people perform on a stage is not really the heart of the matter. Yes, gather with your brothers and sisters to worship in word and song, but don't limit your worship to someone's manufactured experience for you. Here are my top 5 ways to worship . Three are individual, and two are in community. Immerse yourself in Scripture ...

Despicable Me USA Today recently reported on a study that concluded, "... U.S. society since 1960 has become increasingly focused on the self ." I'm not sure we needed a study of 750,000 plus books written in the US the last 52 years to verify the shift from 'we' to 'me;' but, quantitative evidence helps the sometimes skeptical who may not be paying attention . Individualism is a prominent trend in our culture--and a threat to the church as it was created to be. Let me jump to my question for discussion, "What does this trend have to do with the church, either the local church or as a movement of God's people?" My first response is for us to look at the language of our worship songs and sermons since 1960 . (Anyone out there looking for a PhD or DMin project?) My hunch is that our worship choruses have more "I's" and "Me's" than "Us's" and "We's." I do believe that trend ...

I recently traveled to Cuba with B H Carroll Theological Institute to teach students who are part of Carroll's masters program there. I traveled with three others from Carroll on religious visas to serve in Camaguey . This was my third trip to Cuba, and I was as impressed with the people and the church on this trip as I was the first time I went there. We held classes in the buildings and among the people who are Primera Iglesia Bautista in Camaguey. The building was built in 1904 and sits in the heart of the historic city. But it is not the quaint nature of the structures that draws your heart to the church; it is the people. The Cuban Christians are warm, hospitable, and truly love the Lord .  They accept what they have been given, and they live joyful, hope-filled lives in Christ. They take trains, walk, ride their bikes, or "BC Taxis," to gather as God's people to worship in song, to learn God's Word, and to pray. And, oh, how they pray! We gathered on...