Korean Non-Communion

Korean Non-Communion

It was at the North-South Korean border. An American military official approached the line, accompanied by one or two South Korean officials. He held a megaphone. Stopping just before the line, he aimed the megaphone over the border and explained that South Korea had found the body of a dead North Korean soldier and wanted information on how to turn it over to North Korea officials. As he spoke North Korean soldiers looked at him through binoculars and scattered about like flies until they finally went inside their building and closed the door.

It is difficult to take it all in. Normally, when you try to talk to someone, they listen, receive your message, and pass the message on. But, the North Korean officials seemed to assume that South Korea had some other intentions, as if the South wasn’t saying what the South was saying. That’s not to mention that the South had to communicate with a megaphone because no one in the North would receive a simple message.  · · · →

Why the West Misunderstood Willow Creek

In 1975, Bill Hybels and Dr. Bilezikian discussed a concept that would be one of the most impacting—and one of the most misunderstood—in the Western Church.

While they implemented may ideas, some of the more notorious included diligent research and feedback, emphasis on local community, and effective communication. These principals, and others, grew their numbers at a startling rate, and eventually drew respect of many in the American Church, including some of their largest opponents from their early years.

Why was their such a misunderstanding, though? And why do many Christian groups misrepresent what Hybels did at Willow Creek? Perhaps this is easier to understand if we review three closet assumptions held by many Christians in America…

1. Research and market feed back are shallow, aesthetically-focuses, and greed-driven, only used by top-heavy, bureaucratic, for-profit businesses.

2. Good Bible teaching must use big words that normal people shouldn’t understand. Since seminaries teach with big words, those big words must be taught to the plumber in the pew before he can understand the Bible… even though those big words aren’t in the Bible.  · · · →

No Joke

Zombies, perverts in airport security, and now the movie theater seats show the same criminal genius as the movie theater screen. Where did it start?

Rather than thinking legal/policy, just for a moment, connect the spiritual dots. The music and entertainment industry’s blatant agenda, tolerance without wisdom, hate is everywhere, immorality defended, murder aliased abortion, spite for the Ten Commandments…  “Religious rules only oppress people,” they say. What’s wrong with forbidding murder? Wouldn’t it have been nice if the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not commit murder,” had been welcome in a Colorado theater at midnight on July 20?

Movies don’t kill people. Guns don’t kill people. Baseball bats don’t kill people. People kill people. Human beings give power to tools and inspiration  of death and sadness—and we give such power through participation and tolerance of sin. What about giving power to tools and inspiration of Life? We can’t outlaw love for morals, then ban weapons of crime anymore than we can demand more jobs while punishing employers who create those jobs.   · · · →