A Change of Heart

Here is a story of a young woman who moved from being a director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, to being actively pro-life. This is what caused her change:

After watching an ultrasound abortion that left her deeply agitated, Johnson took an unexpected turn when she left her job as director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas, in October 2009. She immediately joined forces with Coalition for Life, whose members she had watch protest the clinic during the eight years she worked and volunteered there.

Since she has seen the inside of both the pro-life and pro-choice movements, she has a little bit of advice.  It’s worth reading.

Persecution in Iran

As this article notes, Iran makes room for Christianity – but it seems that it must be practiced on the government’s terms (which includes a prohibition of evangelizing Muslims).

The latest raids have targeted grass-roots Christian groups Iran describes as “hard-liners” who pose a threat to the Islamic state. Authorities increasingly view them with suspicions that range from trying to convert Muslims to being possible footholds for foreign influence.

Christian activists claim their Iranian brethren are being persecuted simply for worshipping outside officially sanctioned mainstream churches.

Caught in the middle is the small community of Iranian Christians who get together for prayer and Bible readings in private residences and out of sight of authorities. They are part of a wider “house church” movement that has taken root in other places with tight controls on Christian activities such as China and Indonesia.

You may want to read the whole thing.

Saw this posted on Jesus Creed this morning, and thought it was worth passing along:

 

(not that I’ve ever done anything like this, of course…)

Prayer and the Mission

I am reading John Dickson’s very helpful book The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission. At the same time, our church is doing a sermon series on prayer that we think in incredibly important.  So, I was glad when I got to Dickson’s chapter called “The Hidden Mission” because he combines what the church should be doing within our community with what the church should be doing behind closed doors.  Namely, praying.  Please take a moment and read what he says:

Small Group Prayer

This fall, we will be doing a sermon series on the Psalms.   The series is designed to move us as a church toward prayer, and toward better prayer.  I’m excited about it, because I think prayer is a neglected part of churches today.  So I was excited about this article that I read on small group prayer.  But in the end, I was disappointed.  I think the article fails.

Introverts and the Church, Part 2

Last week I noted that extroversion is rewarded by our culture, including modern church culture.  (As I mentioned then, I’m reading this.)  It’s unfortunate, because spirituality is not measured by how outwardly focused a person is.  Nonetheless, extroversion seems to be the spiritual goal in many churches.  Does the following list fit your experience?  (You might even be able to add to the list…)

Introverts in the Church, Part 1

As I observe interactions among various people in a variety of settings, I am struck by how difficult it is for some people to fit.  Because of some reading, I began to realize that we operate in a culture that rewards extroverts, and this culture has become part of our church culture.  So I picked up Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture. It’s been helpful, even for me (those who know me well know that I am an introvert).  See if this statement reflects the challenges you face in an extroverted culture:

The Church’s Purpose

From Out of Ur comes some survey results regarding the purpose of the church.  1,000 people were asked, “Why does the church exist?”  What’s your answer?  See below to see a good quote regarding the survey results.

Selling or Evangelizing?

When I grew up, making friends with people who were not Christians was all about evangelizing them – that is, be friends in order to unload the gospel on them.  Jim Henderson did the same thing for most of his life, and then changed his mind (the entire article is here):

Back in his soul-chasing, church-starting days, he began hearing a grating dissonance between his faith in Jesus and the way he went about winning new converts. Henderson realized he was doing unto others what he would never want done unto him. He was manipulating conversations to set up a pitch. Viewing people as potential notches on his evangelism belt rather than fellow sojourners and prospective friends. Listening only to the extent it could reveal an argumentative opening.

So what did he do?

Suffering and Redemption

This is a tough story to read, and I nearly did not make it to the end because I was filled with anger.  But I made it, and was glad I did, because this true story showed exactly how God takes the evil of this world and turns it to good.  It is proof that no matter what Satan tries, he ultimately cannot win.  Here’s a little intro for you (but I warn you – if you start, you won’t be able to stop).