Ten things that aren’t evangelism

‘It is time for people to understand what evangelism is, and what it means for the church of the 21st Century to engage in evangelism. So, to begin to ‘stir this pot’ I would like to introduce 10 things that evangelism is not.’

Nearly there

‘Two decades later and my son is gone. No gravestone marks his death, or memorial service to recall in our grief. Instead, my son lives apart from us. His path, he said, forked away from faith, and as he walked that wide way, it lead him away from us.’

Pastors, fight against fear of man by fighting for fear of the Lord

‘When I began pastoral ministry, I didn’t realize it would be my job to disappoint people. I had to tell a young man he wasn’t ready for ministry. I had to counsel a couple that they shouldn’t get married. I had to  inform the church that Sunday’s text means exactly what they don’t want it to mean. Pastoral ministry is full of no-win decisions. Because of this, ministry is a miserable place for a pastor who needs everyone’s approval.’

How not to debate ideas in the public square

I think this is reasonable advice. You may quibble with some of the specific details, but it’s hard to argue with the headings.

Banning what?

‘Something that doesn’t happen, and for which existing legislation could be employed if it did, is going to be banned in order to further underscore the claim of the immutability of gender and sexual orientation. It’s about the symbolism.’

6 criticisms the resigning pastor will hear

This is sad, but probably all too true.

From the archive: The speaker is the master but words, nonetheless, mean specific things

‘Words, which have an objective meaning, are not the same thing as what we intend to mean when we use them. Humpty Dumpty’s meaning was whatever he intended it to be, but the words did not mean whatever he intended them to mean. Words have specific meanings and we can either use them rightly or wrongly. Authorial intent is not quite the same thing as words mean whatever I want them to mean.’