Stop Trying to Fix People's Problems

(PROJECT TGM)

 

Sam S. Rainer III serves as president of Rainer Research, a firm dedicated to providing answers for better church health. He also serves as senior pastor at Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville, TN. He writes, speaks, and consults on church health issues. You can connect with Sam on Twitter, or at his blog.

 I once made the mistake of giving my cell number to a suicidal transgender alcoholic. For several nights in a row, I had the privilege of answering my phone at 2:00 AM, only to have the same conversation ending with the same advice: “Stop going to gay bars, getting drunk, and picking fights with drag queens.” My advice was simple. The situation was not.
The mistake was not that I reached out to someone desperate for help. Of that I have no regrets. The mistake I made as a pastor was buying into the perception this person had of me. He thought I was going to “fix it” and give some magical advice to make the pain go away. Of course I shared the gospel. Of course I shared how Jesus heals. But I did little to lower the lofty expectations of my abilities to solve his issues. He believed I could fix it. I played the part. I am a pastor after all. It’s what I do, right?   MORE

The Destructive Legacy of Helen Gurley Brown

(Penna Dexter)

DALLAS (BP) -- One popular magazine that sometimes makes it embarrassing to take your kids through a grocery line is Cosmopolitan.

The magazine has actually been around since 1886. It used to be a family publication. Then changed in 1965 when the faltering publication hired Helen Gurley Brown as its editor. At that time, television was becoming the recreation medium of choice and advertising dollars were increasingly flowing in that direction. Helen Gurley Brown transformed the magazine to target the single working woman. During her 40 years at its helm, Cosmopolitan's circulation hit more than 2.5 million. MORE

A Review on "The Harbinger"

The following is originally published by Herescope and is republished here with permission:

By Pastor Larry DeBruyn
A Review and Commentary On The Harbinger
Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger: The Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of America’s Future (Lake Mary, FL: Front Line—Charisma Media/Charisma House Book Club, 2011). 254 pages + Notes. In the Front Matter, it is stated: “What you are about to read is presented in the form of a story, but what is contained within the story is real.” (Emphasis added)
By applying words of judgment spoken and written to ancient Judah (circa 732 BC) by the prophet Isaiah (i.e., Isaiah 9:10-11), Jonathan Cahn creates a prophetic picture in The Harbinger—one the author admits to be part fiction and part fact—of God’s looming judgment over the United States of America (i.e., harbingers being signals of what is to come). As Jehovah judged His chosen nation in the ancient world for their iniquitous ways (Israel and Judah), so God has begun to pour out His wrath upon His chosen nation in the modern world (the United States). As such, The Harbinger (TH) delivers a spiritual wake-up call to the church and citizens of our nation.*

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Seven Common Comments Non Christians Make About Christians

(Thom S. Rainer) One of my greatest joys in research is talking to and listening to those who clearly identify themselves as non-Christians. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not celebrating their absence of faith in Christ. My joy comes from listening to those who don’t believe as I do, so that I might be better equipped to witness to them.

Over the past several years, my research teams and I have interviewed thousands of unchurched non-Christians. Among the more interesting insights I gleaned were those where the interviewees shared with me their perspectives of Christians.

In this article, I group the seven most common types of comments in order of frequency. I then follow that representative statement with a direct quote from a non-Christian. Read these comments and see if you learn some of the lessons I learned.

1. Christians are against more things than they are for. “It just seems to me that Christians are mad at the world and mad at each other. They are so negative that they seem unhappy. I have no desire to be like them and stay upset all the time.”
2. I would like to develop a friendship with a Christian. “I’m really interested in what they believe and how they carry out their beliefs. I wish I could find a Christian that would be willing to spend some time with me.”  MORE

Three Beliefs of a Proud Heart

(JoeThorn.net) P ride is not something you do, it’s worse than that. Pride is a kind of spiritual heart disease; a sickness of the soul that destroys faith and piety leading to disgrace and destruction. This disease spreads by means of lies our proud hearts are eager to believe. There are three beliefs common to a proud heart which must be refuted by the truth.

“I Am Better”

A proud heart plays the game of comparison with a stacked deck guaranteeing that all others lose. It assures a man that he is good, very good in fact, in comparison to others—others he deems to be failures. A proud man ignores the strong and mocks the weak in order to establish himself as superior. In every form of its existence “I am better” is built upon self-righteousness. It is the belief held by the pharisee who stood near the tax collector in the temple who, even as he prayed, was playing the game. He was so fixated on the unrighteousness of another man he lost sight of the holiness of God making it easy to imagine himself to be holy. He found comfort in his perceived exaltation over another sinner when he should have been humbled and broken before the face of God, just as the tax collector was. For the proud heart to exist, it must believe “I am better.”  MORE

Abortion and the Black Woman

Abortion and the Black Woman

(the Gospel Coalition) Tamara* grew up in a loving home with two parents. People who knew her would have said she was an overachiever, one of those "Most Likely to Succeed" types. She was one of the many African Americans in her school to receive scholarships to attend college. Then she met a man---an older man who stole her heart and her virginity.

Pregnant at 18, she made the choice to have an abortion. Unfortunately, Tamara remained in sin, and by the time she was in her mid-20s, had four more abortions. Now 30 years old with two kids, Tamara lives with an ache in her heart at the unnecessary loss of the other children by her choice to abort them.
"Having children made me realize the ultimate value of life beyond my selfish motivations of what I felt life was about," Tamara told me. "After having my first child I realized or began to feel the other children I once had the opportunity to have were still my children. I have dealt with a greater sense of regret and conviction after having children. I have realized the gift it is to be chosen by God to nurture and raise the seeds he plants, his children, whether they were conceived by sin and lust or by love."  MORE

How Do You Explain the Trinity to Childern

(Moore to the Point) Yesterday a journalist friend emailed to ask a question I think many Christian parents have asked. How does one explain the concept of the Holy Trinity to children?
I think the reason this question resonates with so many parents is precisely because we adults can’t adequately explain the doctrine ourselves. We can teach children the inerrancy of Scripture by simply saying, “The Bible Is True.” We can explain something of the atonement by saying, “Jesus paid for our sins and is alive forever.” The Trinity, though, is another matter. MORE

25 DNC Speakers Defend Abortion

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BP) -- Led by President Obama and Vice President Biden, the Democratic National Convention saw 25 speakers reference the party's support for legal abortion, an average of eight speakers a night in what was the biggest emphasis on the issue since at least the 1992 convention.


It was a big change from recent Democratic conventions in which the party tried to downplay the issue. The 2004 Democratic nominee, John Kerry, didn't even reference abortion in his acceptance speech, and Obama, in his 2008 acceptance speech, mentioned "abortion" but only in the context that the two sides should work together to reduce the "the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country."  MORE

The Great American Worldview Test - 2012 Election

(by Albert Mohler)

American presidential elections are the world’s most public display of the democratic process. The global media follow the American elections with a fervor that is easily understood — what happens in an American presidential election matters all over the world. Our presidential campaigns are political pageants and electoral dynamos. But, as any honest thoughtful observer will understand, our elections are also great worldview exercises. We reveal our worldview by our vote.
This is particularly true of the 2012 election. The presidential nominees of the two major parties represent two very different worldviews and visions. President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have adopted policy positions that place them in direct conflict, and the platforms of their respective parties reveal two radically different renderings of reality.  (MORE)

Eight Things a Husband Cannot Do

(By Perry Noble)

#1 – A husband CANNOT be harsh with his wife (I Peter 3:7)…and if she says you are harsh…then you are!
#2 – A husband CANNOT show up at home after coming home from work, sit in a chair, watch the same episode of Sports Center three times in a row and “zone out” in regards to his wife and children and then expect to be respected as “the spiritual leader” by his family.
#3 – A husband CANNOT expect his wife and/or the church to lead the family spiritually, He’s got to step up (I Corinthians 13:11!)   MORE

3 Media-Made Myths about Abortion

(The Gospel Coalition) It's election season again, and our country's ongoing debate over abortion is raging. In watching newscasters and reporters comment on the abortion debate, I've pinpointed three common myths about abortion perpetuated by people in the media.

MYTH #1: Believing abortion should be outlawed in most or all cases is an extreme position.

The pro-life position is not extreme. It is the view held by a majority of Americans today. Consider this recent poll from CNN:

CNN has released the results of a new poll showing a majority of Americans want all or most abortions prohibited --- a clear pro-life majority.

The survey asked: "Do you think abortion should be legal under any circumstances, legal under only certain circumstances, or illegal in all circumstances?" Some 62 percent want abortions illegal in all cases or legal only in certain instances while just 35% want abortions legal for any reason.

My Top 10 Women's Blogs

(By David Murray) HeadHeartHandBlog

You read women’s blogs?

Yes, quite a few. And don’t worry, my wife knows, and she shares my enthusiasm too.
I’ve found many women have a unique gift to write about the Christian faith and life. They approach subjects and events differently to men; they see angles and dimensions we are blind too; and they remind us of the important roles and responsibilities that God has given to Christian women, stimulating prayer and appreciation for God’s work in them and through them.
I’m listing my Top 10 Women’s Blogs below, but I’d love to hear your recommendations too. Use the Comments to tip us off about other Christian women’s blogs that are worth a click. MORE