Category Archives: Six-Pack

Saturday Six-Pack (10)

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Welcome to some weekend “Wandering & Wondering”.

In an effort to add some information and inspiration to your Saturday, today’s Six-Pack follows the usual guidelines.  Most articles are faith-focused or ministry-geared, with the “disorderly pile of who-knows-what” tagline at the top of this page catching everything outside of that!

Today’s collection:

1) Twelve Months, Twelve Religions
Out of Ur provides this springboard into more extensive blog reading OR the buying of a book.  If you only have one click to spend on this story, some of the comments after the short article are worth the time.

2) What the Holy Spirit Can Do for Your Preaching
Jim Cymbala sees radical need for churches to be powerful witnesses for Christ in our world.  What does your preaching really need to fuel and feed toward this end?  It needs the Spirit of God.

3) Prayer is Hard Work
Though prayer is instinctive, it is also difficult labor. David M’Intyre makes and explains this point in his book The Hidden Life of Prayer.  Tim Challies provides this excerpt.

4) By What Standard?
A few years ago, a documentary called Collision was made where Douglas Wilson debated Christopher Hitchens on Is Christianity Good for the World? Hundreds of hours of footage was shot and edited down to 90 minutes of solid debate and conversation.  Discussion and highlights of this work can be found here.

5) Eulogies and Dyslogies for Charles Colson
Colson passed away last month.  I found no better post dedicated to his life and passing than this one from InternetMonk.  If, for whatever reason, you don’t know much about Charles Colson, this post will still contain plenty for you.

6) 14 Action-Inducing Lessons from Benjamin Franklin
Dumb Little Man has provided a “get moving” post here that features some great quotes.  Provocative enough to nudge the most planted butt off the couch.  Read it, and get rolling!

That’s a wrap.  Treasure the day, friends–renew yourself and reverence God.

Saturday Six-Pack (9)

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Final weekend of April, and another Saturday Six-Pack.

If you’re “Wandering & Wondering” for the first time, every Saturday’s post features a half-dozen online offerings that have been impacting to me recently.  Typically, these articles are faith-focused or ministry-geared, but the “disorderly pile of who-knows-what” tagline at the top of this page catches everything outside of that!

Today:

1) Prisons and Other Places the Kingdom Takes Root
Philip Yancey reflects on a few surprising places he has witnessed the work and wonder of God.

2) People God Uses
From the preface of “Accounts of Revival”, Ray Ortlund brings this list of qualities seen consistently in the men and women that God uses in revival movements.  You could be one of these!

3) The Secret Sexual Revolution
Recent research has shown that the call for abstinence, once heralded loudly among Christian youth, is falling upon deaf ears… or upon ears attached to bodies that are unable or unwilling to execute “true love waits”.  Relevant Magazine offers an insightful look behind this reality.

4) God Uses Broken Leaders… Like Me
Shane Sebastian was shocked to consider himself as a broken leader.  Even more shocking, he was certainly not alone!

5) Making Time
Need more of God?  Deeper connection?  Nourishment down to your core?  Ann Voskamp offers you a few words in that direction.

6) Why Moving the Needle a Little Makes a Huge Difference
Ever feel overwhelmed at life?  So much to do, so much to be, so much to change.  Where to begin?  In two words, start small.  Two more words: Then go.  Spence Smith wants you to know the power of small movements.

Have a great weekend, friends–renew yourself and reverence God.

Saturday Six-Pack (8)

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Another week, another weekend.  Thanks for coming for a bit of “Wandering & Wondering”.

The Saturday Six-Pack brings a weekly dose of online pieces, written to inform or inspire.  Generally, these articles are faith-focused or ministry-geared, but the “disorderly pile of who-knows-what” tagline at the top of this page catching everything outside of that!

This week:

1) God is Most Glorified When We are Most Dependent on Him
Justin Buzzard takes aim at the hidden dangers of chasing independence.

2) Farewell Rob Bell
On February 26, 2011, John Piper rocked the Twitter-verse with three words: “Farewell, Rob Bell.”  The adieu was viewed as a cutting critique of the not-yet-released “Love Wins”.  This interview provides the behind-the-tweet story that you have likely not heard before.

3) Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for “Destruction of All Churches in the Area”
When I was in Syria, the group I was part of was hosted for a feast by the nation’s Grand Mufti, in Damascus.  This was more than a big deal, as the Grand Mufti is one of the country’s most influential Islamic leaders.  Knowing that, you can now appreciate the context of this article’s opening line: “Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.”  Read this brief piece to enlarge your perspective on what fellow Christians around the globe are facing, as they live out their faith.

4) Life on God’s Time
In a culture bent on instant gratification, how do we follow a God with a completely foreign sense of time?  How do you trust a Being beyond time?

5) How Do You Keep from Getting Distracted?
How do you buckle down and focus deeply when you cannot afford distraction?  Donald Miller has a few ideas.

6) Top Five Regrets of the Dying
What do you get when a palliative care nurse spends years learning from her patients how they look back on their lives?  You get a full-blown book, shrunk down for this blog post.

Have a great weekend, friends–renew yourself and reverence God.

Saturday Six-Pack (7)

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Welcome to the weekend, for another installment of the Saturday Six-Pack.

Typically, these online offerings are faith-focused or ministry-geared, but occasionally they fall into the “disorderly pile of who-knows-what” description in my blog’s tagline!

This week’s half-dozen:

1) Proof of a Good God: ‘Crucified Under Pontius Pilate’
Thoughtfully written by Mark Galli, this piece looks at Jesus’ crucifixion as they key strand to answering the question: Can we trust God to be truly good?  Tie-ins are made to the discussion around Rob Bell’s “Love Wins”.

2) The ‘Above All’ Commandment of the Sabbath
Need a call from God to quit striving after transformation?  Look no farther than one of the Ten Commandments.

3) ‘Blue Like Jazz’ Opened Yesterday
The film based on Donald Miller’s best-selling book opened yesterday in select theaters.  Head here if you need some help catching up on this not-featured-on-Entertainment-Tonight piece of work.

4) The Good Life: An Interview with Trip Lee
I’ve never been a huge rap fan, but for some reason, I’ve been inundated with notice this week about Trip Lee’s latest release.  If you care to learn of the life and faith behind this rising artist, Tim Challies’ post is worth a bit of your weekend.

5) The Staggering Demand for Pornography
Chaplain Mike presents some shocking research on the vast power of the internet to spread this soul-crippling poison.  How do Christians pursue purity in the world-of-the-web?

6) Creativity Lessons from Charles Dickens and Steve Jobs
Every leader in our rapidly-changing world needs well-honed creativity.  The lives of Dickens and Jobs offer some helpful trends to notice in how creativity is nurtured.  So says Anne Kreamer of the Harvard Business Review.

There you have it, a Saturday smattering to fill you.  Have a great weekend, friends–renew yourself and reverence God.

Saturday Six-Pack (6)

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Welcome to the weekend, and thanks for spending some time “Wandering & Wondering”.

Typically, the Saturday Six-Pack features articles that are faith-focused or ministry-geared, but I reserve the right to live up to the “disorderly pile of who-knows-what” tagline at the top of this page!  This particular edition covers everything from conflict, to creativity, from iPhone addictions to inbred elephants. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Without further delay:

1) Why Conflict in Life is Terrific
A better life can be found on the other side of conflict.  Donald Miller provides some guidance on how to navigate those potential-filled times of tension.

2) Creativity, Excellence,… and Patience
If you want to be great at whatever you do, then check this brief read out.  If you don’t want to be great at whatever you do, then find something else to do.

3) Our Hearts, Desperately Deceptive
If you can guess the connection between pears, prostitution, and the crookedness of the human heart, then don’t click on this one.  But if you can’t…

4) Quotes for Lent
The season of Lent is all but finished for another year, but this wonderful list of quotes might help you look back on the season that was and help you consider what God may have wanted to do in your life over the past forty days.

5) How Can I Stop Using My Phone all the Time and Actually Connect with Real People in the Real World?
After awarding this post with the longest-title-in-in-the-history-of-the-Saturday-Six-Pack trophy, I now direct any technology-trapped readers to rediscover the world that is NOT contained on that admittedly incredible screen in your pocket.  How to create a bit more freedom from the phone?  Read on.

6) Stop Inbreeding Innovation
Any article that begins with a paragraph about inbred elephants gets stuck in the Six-Pack; that is one of this blog’s founding principles.  That said, when the trunked beasts and their dangerously narrow family trees is set aside, what you’ll find here is a challenge to broaden your chances at fresh and creative ideas.  If you could use that, you could use a lesson in pachyderm sperm bank management first.

Have a great weekend, friends–renew yourself and reverence God.