Next Week’s Testimony

The youth minister at my church shared this in passing last night:

“May this week be next week’s testimony.”

I like that.

With all the doom and gloom we get though social media and the news, perhaps what we need to hear more than anything else is how God made the difference in your week and mine. That reminder–we all need it. To hear how God has been faithful in both the good and the bad that any week throws our way.

On the way to church, I stated that something I said was a lament. I asked my son who the prophet was who wrote Lamentations, and this steered the conversation into Jeremiah being called “the weeping prophet.” And that weeping prophet wrote this in the third chapter of his laments:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

May that same spirit of hope and gratefulness be in our recollection of this week in next week’s testimony.

Christian Podcasts Worth Listening To

OK, so the title is a little hyperbolic, and perhaps I give my own tastes too much credit. Regardless, I think these podcasts are worth your time.

I want to add that while some individual churches do publish podcasts, and I do listen to a few of those, I want to keep this list unaffiliated to any one congregation. So, there are no individual church podcasts in the list. I hope that’s understandable.

No particular order follows, just good, solid content. May these all richly bless you.

Fire on Your Head

Fire on Your Head (Steve Bremner) is one of the best charismatic podcasts out there. A missionary in Peru and a Canadian national, Steve brings a different perspective. I find myself saying “amen” to this podcast more than any other, and for those of you who have wondered what a podcast of Cerulean Sanctum might be like, Fire on Your Head is about as close as it gets. I’m working backward from 2015 in my listening to this, but so far, it’s solid stuff. The podcast on worship alone is worth 100 listens (“Entering into God’s Presence without Even Singing Songs.”)

No Lasting City

No Lasting City (Peter Smythe) is another top-notch charismatic podcast, with a focus on Bible exposition. That alone makes it unusual. Peter is a lawyer by profession, and his reasonings on both familiar and difficult passages make sense and may even challenge you to think differently about the Scriptures. My only complaint? He needs to publish more frequently!

The Phil Vischer Podcast

The Phil Vischer Podcast (Phil Vischer) examines popular culture and Church oddities through the slightly off-kilter lens of the VeggieTales creator. Joining him are Miami University of Ohio grad Skye Jethani, who provides the theological insights, and Christian Taylor, who provides the heart and the grounding. Guests appear also. Interesting, sometimes controversial, but always fun.

The Mockingpulpit

The Mockingpulpit (Mockingbird) is a team effort by the folks at Mockingbird, ardent promoters of Law/Gospel preaching from an Episcopal point of view. The messages are from a variety of speakers/teachers/preachers, but all of them are thought provoking and grace filled. Some of the best preaching I’ve ever heard has come from this site. Not every message will slay you, but many will. Soaked through with the grace we so need to embrace.

Christ Hold Fast Cast

Christ Hold Fast Cast (Christ Hold Fast) is also a team effort, but by the folks at Christ Hold Fast, also ardent promoters of Law/Gospel, this time from a Lutheran point of view. Less preaching than Mockingbird, but still offers grace-filled discussions and interviews. Caters to a younger, hipper crowd, but even this old guy likes it.

Virtue in the Wasteland

Virtue in the Wasteland (Jeff Mallinson & Daniel van Voorhis) tackles culture, history, philosophy, ethics, and religion from a Lutheran perspective. The hosts are professors at Concordia University, and the smarts in this podcast will enlarge your mind. These two down-to-earth guys will help bolster your Christian worldview, guaranteed, while the connections they draw will make you smile.

Let My People Think

Let My People Think (Ravi Zacharias) enlightens with Christian apologetics from a man who is a treasure to the Body of Christ. What I love most about Ravi: His intellect never obscures his heart. He’s got you saying “amen” one moment, and you’re crying the next. Many of the podcasts are repeats of older talks, but fresh material arrives now and then. No matter, it’s all superb.

Unbelievable?

Unbelievable? (Justin Brierley) is the quintessentially British take on apologetics, with a BBC-like feel. Host Justin usually features two guests from opposing sides who discuss a theological or ethical issue. Given that some of the loudest atheist voices are British, it’s often atheist versus Christian. One of the headiest podcasts out there, you’ll definitely learn a few things about competing worldviews by listening. Fire up your pipe, pour a couple fingers of 18-year-old Talisker, and have a go.

The God Journey

The God Journey (Wayne Jacobsen) is a podcast for folks burned by institutional “churchianity.” While I have reservations about Wayne’s association with the book The Shack (he was a collaborator with the author), I’ve found his insights into letting go of religious dross and renewing one’s intimacy with God to be freeing, plus he comes from a solid Foursquare background. Still, he remains controversial. If you feel the way we do Church in America makes cold, hard stones instead of warmhearted disciples, Wayne might be worth a listen.

So, lend these podcasts an ear if you want to be edified. And feel free to comment or to suggest other Christian podcasts you find helpful.

God bless you.

Five Steps to Transform Your Church in Seven Months, Guaranteed

Did that title grab your attention? Good. Because I mean it.

Rather than add some pointless setup here, I’ll go right into it:

1. Stop the sermons.

Most people can’t remember one point of the three-point sermon they heard last week. Many pastors couldn’t deliver a transformational sermon if the lives of their flock depended on it (and sadly, that is probably the case). I’ll go so far as to say that the average sermon given on an average Sunday doesn’t change the average American pew-sitter one iota. While that’s a crying shame— and shouldn’t be the case—I suspect it is.

So maybe it’s time to pack away the sermons for seven months. Discipleship is a long-haul reality, and no one will have his or her spiritual life derailed for want of seven months of so-so sermonizing.

Besides, we’re going to substitute something guaranteed to change lives.

2. Find a good orator—or three.

We put our best musicians in front of the church, right? Let’s find two or three people in our church who truly grasp the English language and can breathe life into words. This is both a gift and a talent. We should encourage those who speak the language with gusto and life. (Leaders, you are making it a priority to identify, encourage, and utilize the giftings of people in your church, aren’t you? And the best speaker in the church may not be you—or any of the other leaders.)

3. Open the Bible.

Remember the Bible? In some churches it seems as if hardly anyone does, despite its being the word of God. We’re going to open it and see what it says.

4. For that Sunday, have an orator read one book of the New Testament in its entirety before the assembled church.

Okay, so a few of those longer books may need to be split into two readings, but considering the length of the average sermon in an Evangelical church, it’s doable for most of the books.

5. Repeat for all 27 books of the New Testament.

Now enjoy the positive transformation. Your church WILL be changed.

I’m not kidding.

We’ve got our heads in the sand if we think that most Christians have experienced the Scriptures this way. Fact is, the way we Americans teach and read the Bible is a piecemeal shambles. We approach it in such microscopic bits that most Christians have no idea how it fits together. We have no vision for the wholeness of the Scriptures. Bible with cross It’s why the Bible-reading plan I advocate reinforces repetitive reading of entire books. Simply put, most Christians have never read the New Testament books as they were meant to be read.

We’re also fooling ourselves if we think that most Christians have read the entirety of the New Testament. Nearly half of all college graduates, once they step out of those ivy-covered halls, will never again read a book all the way through. This is especially true of men. For those who didn’t graduate from college, it’s certainly worse. And no, I don’t believe the Bible gets a pass on that lack. Given how little Scripture is read in the average church on Sunday, most Christians may otherwise never hear the entirety of the books that forge the backbone of all we are supposed to know and grasp.

We get all huffy about interpretation and so on, but do we trust the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to deliver on their promise to transform lives? Faith comes by hearing the word of God, right?

How then can this plan not be an EPIC WIN for your church—or for every church in North America?

I say we start this Sunday.

Because the system we have in place for transmitting the Scriptures to people in the pews simply is not working.

And because the Word of God doesn’t need our additions to work miracles in the lives of those who hear it.

All we have to do is believe that is true.

Do you?