The First Thanksgiving

Things were a little different than the way we do it.

With Thanksgiving in two weeks, I thought I'd share this excerpt about the first Thanksgiving from Nathaniel Philbrick's great book, Mayflower. 

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Get Out of Your Mind!

A review of Timothy Witmer's book, Mindscape

I reviewed Timothy Witmer's new book, Mindscape over at Books at a Glance. Here is a teaser:
Does becoming a Christian affect your thinking? Should it? How does your faith and knowledge of God change your private thought life?

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Who is the belle of the bald?

The burning question raised by TMWITA.

Given the title which the Mad Woman in the Attic has given to today's podcast, and if Tim Keller is the bald, La Diva still hasn't told us if it is myself or Todd who is the beautiful.

Ah well, in the land of the bald, the one haired man is king.  That is some consolation.

 

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Postcards from Palookaville
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Tim Keller, Cupcakes, Yoga, and Preaching

The guys want to know, if Tim is the Balding, who is the Beautiful: Carl or Todd?

Tim Keller is a well-known contemporary voice on the topic of the church and cultural engagement. He writes pretty extensively on it in his book Center Church. And not only does Keller write on this topic, he’s just a pretty darn engaging guy in general. You will notice from our podcast interview that it is easy and enjoyable to have a casual conversation about things that count with him.

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Of sponsoring gift baskets and other cultural problems

Until the structural/cultural problems with Big Eva are addressed, I will remain unconvinced that the big beasts of the parachurch world have much positive to offer.

My fellow Ref Packers have drawn my attention to the fact that Kevin DeYoung has republished his (and Ryan Kelly's) part of a friendly exchange we had recently in the British evangelical journal, Foundations.
 

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Postcards from Palookaville
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Martin Bucer: Carer of Souls (Part 2)

Dear pastor, you may think, “I don’t have what it takes. I’m just an ordinary man.” Well, you are right. In and of yourself, you don’t have what it takes. You have WHOM it takes–and your Savior is no ordinary man! Let us be concerned about the true care of souls. Let us labor in the Lord’s vineyard, pastor in his pasture with the words of Paul ever before us, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Col 1:29).

In the previous post in this series, we considered what Martin Bucer taught in his pastoral manual, Concerning the True Care of Soulsabout what it means to be true Seelsorgers–true carers of souls.  Among the variegated tasks of pastoral care, Bucer set out five as being primary.

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Pastors, Let Us Be Terrified of Pride

The bigger threat to your church...

“You didn’t build that.”
 
Those rather infamous words, some of you will remember, were spoken by our President to business owners about their businesses. And while those words are terribly misguided when applied to business owners they need to ring in the ears of every pastor who has ever experienced anything that could be construed as success.
 
Numeric growth is much more fun than numeric decline. I know. I’ve experienced both. But let us never confuse numeric growth with health.

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When Our Prayers Take On A Different Flavor

What do your prayers sound like when you are going through a hard time?

Let’s face it; discipline stinks. Our children illustrate all too well this truth that we learn to cleverly disguise as adults. No one asks for discipline. And yet, loving parents know that it is necessary for growth. Our Father in heaven also disciplines every one of his children. And so we are encouraged in Hebrews not only to expect divine chastisement, but also not to grow weary from it because it is a sign of God’s love: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.

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Pictures of Lily

As far as Mars Hill goes, The Who offered the best analysis way back in the 60s.

This article in Christianity Today is remarkable for a number of reasons, perhaps especially for the eloquent line, 'In a lot of ways, I considered Driscoll one of my pastors.'  Such a sentiment is certainly consistent with the risible TGC video where megachurch/multisite is discussed (Remember: Mars Hill will easily outlast Capitol Hill Baptist because it is not dependent on the pastor).  But I am tempted to respond with the following 'note to self': 'If someone doe

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Postcards from Palookaville
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The Visible Word

As Calvin so helpfully observed, our faith is "slight and feeble." It needs to be propped up on every side. If we neglect the means that God has given for this very thing, we will be tempted to find other means, and they will always be far less satisfying.

I was visiting a church once and heard an exchange between a pastor and one of his congregants that has stayed with me ever since. A woman asked the pastor before the service, "Is the video this morning going to make me laugh or cry? It always does one or the other." The pastor was quick to respond that he thought this one would make her cry. Apparently, immediately following the sermon in their worship services, this church showed a video every week. It set the tone for the closing song and the end of the service.

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