More Goofiness from PETA and Other Interesting Stuff from Around the Web

There's a reason why very few people take PETA seriously.  If you need yet another reason, here it is (and this one is just plain gross).  Click here: PETA Urges Ben & Jerry's To Use Human Milk - News Story - WNBC | New York

Erroll Hulse reviews Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist’s Journey with the New Calvinists, written by Collin Hansen (Crossway, 2008). Click here: Banner of Truth Trust General Articles

Guess what?  You've got a new curate.  She's hip.  She's punk.  And she likes lager.  Oh my . . .  Click here: Pictured: Lager-loving punk who dresses as a dominatrix is appointed village curate | Mail Online

Julia Duin (who was recently interviewed for an up-coming White Horse Inn) has written a new book on why so many evangelicals are just plain dropping out of church.  Here's why . . . "Many believers have grown tired of quickie services, PowerPoint answers and pop lyrics. Many `quitters' she interviewed were yearning for intimate, down-to-earth churches where pastors and people knew their names. They'd been born again. Now they wanted to know how to face the doubts and pains of daily life. They wanted real spiritual growth."  Click here: New book examines why so many are quitting church | ScrippsNews

Comments

["lee n. field"]

I must, simply must, get Julia Duin's book.

[DB]

Perhaps the church in Dursley (shades of Harry Potter!), Gloucestershire thought the Bishop said he (or maybe she) was sending them a "dominee" instead of a "dominatrix"!

Wanting to go to the mission field? I wonder how she would do in one of those conservitive African diocese?

[Zrim]

Sounds like Hulse may have discontinued his subscription to the CTJ:

http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/how-many-points/

[Jason]

"Many believers have grown tired of quickie services, PowerPoint answers and pop lyrics."

If any of you are in the Denver area, come on over to our church; you won't be leaving until you hear our pastor preach for over an hour (average of about 65-70 min.), I guess this is why we don't get very many "repeat" visitors. :-) Oh well..if we can't sit under "Gospel" preaching for an hour, how are we going to handle being in the presence of God for eternity?!

[timinator]

“Why so many evangelicals are just plain dropping out of church. Here's why . . . "Many believers have grown tired of quickie services, PowerPoint answers and pop lyrics.”

Well of course many people are leaving churches "if you can call them churches,” as many of today's churches well grab the newest book, Purpose Driven Life, to study or preach from. When a new hit modern worship song hits the air wave, well you bet they have got to be singing it on Sunday.

Churches today are like a little bit of the Bible or God and lots of entertainment. You hear about the pastor and his family more than Jesus our Saviour. You learn what movies and sports team the pastor likes as well.

That is why many people are tired of today’s so called church. I know because that is why I left the last church I was at and now am so happy to attend a real church. You know, one that preaches the Word of God and Jesus Christ, the real reason why we go to church. Thank God I don't have to sing the latest Modern Worship song but the good old HYMNS which are rich in theology.

If we look at history people wanted to understand the Bible not the pastor when the bible was being preached in their language the churches were filling up more than Angel Stadium.

[JCL]

Re: Julia's book, What she was disappointed with was the service opportunities for single women. Hmmm...not sure what I'm smelling here, but its not pleasant. Listen to what she says, and see how she views the church to be revolving around her even though she can't be faithful to participate in it. She can't be there but she needs a pulpit, by golly. Or at least be in front playing the harp for everyone to see.

This is what she says:

"At the last church she attended before dropping out, Julia Duin was not impressed with the service opportunities available to her as a single woman.

She could do child-care work, greet people at the door or join the women in the altar guild. However, since her journalism work required frequent travel, Duin sought more flexible commitments. Perhaps she could play harp before services? Fill an occasional teaching role, using her seminary training or material from her books?

After several frustrating years, she quit going to church."


My advice to Julia is to humble yourself before the Lord and not to think of yourself more highly than you ought. Door greeters and child care workers are honorable and necessary for the Body of Christ. You are not too good to do it.

[JCL]

Re: The punk rock preistess, its a shame that she wasn't wearing her dog collar for the photo. I wonder if it has a leash attached, or do you have to buy those separately?

[Char]

JCL, what you quoted shows no disparagement of child care or door greeting or other services. It is clearly stated that the author couldn't do them due to her schedule.

And I don't see how not being cut out for those things is proud. I would never do child care, not because I think I am too good for it but because frankly I can't stand children. I would be utterly horrible in such a role. I think it's great if someone else wants to however-they can just go right ahead.

Really I think the problem in that statement is the idea that one must be involved in some kind of ministry and that it is somehow the church's duty to provide such opportunities. Why? Why can't we be out in the community serving?

[PB]

Jason - An hour, huh? Hope he's good enough to do that, because length for its own sake is not the point. As I heard somewhere once, just because Jonathan Edwards read his sermons with his head down, close to the page (bad eyesight) for up to an hour does not mean you should try it - you are no Jonathan Edwards!

[Zrim]

JCL has a decent point. If you read the piece linked here she at one point seems to want a folksy church. Hers is almost the "Cheers" model: I wanna be where everybody knows my name.

My experience with folksy churches is that they are often mega-churches write small, they just don't have the capital yet. The principles of consumerism subsumed the little Bible church I cut my own teeth on. Now, after brow-beating with "forty days of purpose" and raising the cash, they occupy a high spot around the bay and meet felt needs all the week long.

If we're serious about not being number-drive, we should remember that The gospel can thrive in big and little churches alike. And we should be careful not to hurrah critics like Duin just because she disses Powerpoint, as it were. Consumerism can come in lots of forms.

[Philip Walker]

Now, I don't get that curate story. She's called Miss Denno, she's living with her "partner" and has a child. Lambeth '98 specifies that sexual activity is only permissible within marriage, and defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Shouldn't she be out of a job or in marriage?

[Jason]

PB--Why don't you come to over and listen for yourself on our SermonAudio page? You can find it by clicking on my name, going to my blogsite and finding SGCC on my sidebar. From there you can listen to any number of our sermons which are grounded in a redemptive-historical understanding of the Scripture and a thorough-going Biblical Theology. I'm not the pastor and I'm no Jonathan Edwards; but if he's the only one who has ever preached the Gospel, then I guess we're all being taught by heretics nowadays. :-)

Why does the pastor have to be "good", anyway? If the Gospel is preached (accurately), he's doing his job. If he were to simply read the Scripture and explain the Scripture for an hour (or more, e.g. Neh. 8:3-8), then he's doing his job--and it would be better than the swill coming out of most pulpits today (e.g. Osteens Lakewood Church, etc). If people can't handle "depth" in Gospel preaching anymore, that's not the fault of a faithful pastor or the Gospel--it's our "hard hearts" that is to blame.

Jason--not to be confused with Jonathan Edwards :-)

[Alberto]

It seems that oversimplification occurs when people talk about why people leave churches. I think there are many reasons why; some reasons are good, and others are bad.

I didn't notice anything significantly insightful, helpful, or encouraging in the article on Duin's book. Some of the things mentioned in the article about what people want can be found in a Roman Catholic or Mormon congregation. The people who leave churches in the article seem to want comfort and friendship; this is not bad, but where is the desire for the Word? Duin's analysis doesn't seem to be a significant contribution to understanding why people leave churches, and she does not seem to be significantly interested in doctrinal purity. The article didn't move me to read the book.

Just out of curiosity, isn't the Washington Times affiliated with some cultic church and person? I may be mistaken, but I think I read about the Rev. Moon being connected to it.

[Alberto]

I hope nobody thinks that the first paragraph of my first post was directed at them. I had the article and past experiences in mind.

I also think that JCL made some good points. Much of it doesn't smell good.

[PB]

Jason, I don't doubt his faithfulness for a moment. And my use of "good" was sloppy, but you ger the idea. I've heard long winded and orthodox preachers who still would have been better off sitting down after the first ten minutes or so!

["lee n. field"]

"Just out of curiosity, isn't the Washington Times affiliated with some cultic church and person? "

Unification Church, aka "Moonies"

[Jason]

"I've heard long winded and orthodox preachers who still would have been better off sitting down after the first ten minutes or so! "

I agree, PB. I probably sounded like I was taking your comments personally...sorry about that. I realize that "long" sermons don't necessarily make for edifying, "Gospel" sermons; but I just can't see how a 20-30 min sermon could ever have the depth to honor our Lord and His gospel.

It seems to me that not only the church "congregation", but also the church "pastor" gravitate towards "trite", short "sermonettes" because they are easy--it doesn't take any work to "hear" them or to "preach" them. The sheep and the undershepherd are both guilty, I believe, of watering down the Gospel NOT in order to "reach the lost" (which doesn't make sense to me anyway) but to avoid the "work" involved in preparing and proclaiming the truth (for the pastor) and listening and interacting with the truth (for the congregant).

It doesn't seem to me that "Christians" are all that concerned anymore with understanding the faith that they say they believe or with "growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ". This takes time...and "work". We must be faithful to "preach" the Gospel and to "hear" the Gospel--and this takes effort that I don't believe Christians (pastors or congregants) really want to put forth anymore.

Anyway, that's what I was getting at with my post. Thanks, PB

Jason

[PB]

Jason, I couldn't agree more. Right now I've got enough trouble getting folk to show up regularly. You can't come in and out during an expositional study of a book and complain that it "doesn't do anything for you". And the preacher can't keep summarizing all the messages they miss each week just to catch everyone up. Rant over!<grin>