Pastors and Depression

This article focuses on pastor suicides, but it seems to me that the most important information contained in the article is about pastoral depression.   You have to read the article carefully to get to the important stuff regarding depression and pastors.  (While the information on pastors and suicide is important to note, it is also important to note that the article itself says – despite its own focus – that there is no statistical evidence to indicate that pastors commit suicide at a higher rate than the general population.)  Read on to see a few of the highlights.

4000 Attend Mango Hospital Ground Breaking

From ABWE Missionaries in Mango, Togo.  Three things stand out to me:

1. Mango is ready for a hospital and ripe for the Gospel.
2. God is at work there.  So many things are coming together that can only be attributed to God’s grace and work in a special way.
3. It rained.  Make sure you read the last paragraph.

Singing 5 Octaves

A little video for your Friday afternoon.  I laughed till I cried . . .

Pornography Help

Two articles by David Powlison to help you wage your war with pornography.

Breaking Pornography Addiction Part 1

Breaking Pornography Addiction Part 2

Two excellent sermons by John Piper:

Sex and the Supremecy of Christ Part 1

Sex and the Supremecy of Christ Part 2

Text Exchange With My Son

Question: How do you say I love you to your 14 year old son?

Answer: Ask him how his day went.

This is how the text exchange went . . .

Presidential Ground Breaking: Mango, Togo

Missionary Tim Neufeld writes about their preparations for the hospital ground breaking (October 22, 2009) which is amped up because the President of Togo is attending.

Update: President a no-show but approximately 4000 other Togolese present for ground breaking!

Of Dead Kings and Borders

I’m working my way through Deuteronomy with my small group.  (Actually, they would probably say that I am inflicting Deuteronomy ON them!)  It is sometimes odd to me the ways that God communicates with us, and Deuteronomy is full of such examples.  For instance, the verse that seems to randomly mention a dead king in the midst of a description of borders.  What’s that about?

Reformed Missional Thinking

Yesterday I posted on Newbigin’s understanding of missional leadership.  That post showed that the Reformation doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is crucial for the church to fulfill its missional calling.  Today I’ve been reading some posts by Reformed theologian Michael Horton (HT: Mike Wittmer) that speak to the same issue:

Newbigin on Missional Leadership

Lesslie Newbigin’s The Gospel in a Pluralist Society outlines his understanding of the role of the church in culture, namely, to be a sign, foretaste, and instrument for the kingdom of God.  But what about church leadership?  What is the role of a church leader in a missional community?

Why I Love the Missional Church

“Missional” is the latest buzzword in evangelical circles.  Some want to be missional.  Some claim to be missional.  Others simply don’t understand what missional means.  Wherever you find yourself, you absolutely must read this: