Category Archives: Six-Pack

Saturday Six-Pack (38)

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Happy Mother’s Day to every Mom and child of a Mom!

Here’s the latest installment of the Six-Pack, as assortment of worthwhile reads I’ve recently discovered. Most are ministry-minded or faith-focused, with a sprinkling of who-knows-what.

If you need direction, begin with my two *Picks of the Week*, and move out from there.

Follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ), where I share sharp quotes and solid articles 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) The End: A Conversation with Dr. Scot McKnight
Since hearing Scot McKnight speak several years ago, I’ve paid increased attention to his work and writings. Here he reflects on the end-times-obsessed soil in which his early faith sprouted. Some good reflections here for any Christian who’s ever wondered how to make sense of end-times teachings.

2) Old Testament Law and the Charge of Inconsistency (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Okay, that title will not draw you in! But this is a great little article. Within some discussions (regarding homosexuality among other topics), Bible-believers sometimes get accused of being inconsistent in their picking and choosing of Old Testament laws to enforce. Timothy Keller provides this sharp primer on how to make such distinctions with theological integrity. Valuable read for believers and non-believers alike.

3) 33 Leadership Quotes from Jim Putman and Francis Chan
Brian Dodd was at Exponential ’13. While listening, he put down these quotes from two presenters. Don’t expect flow or context; these are simply quotes taken on the fly by one listener. Jim Putman is a minister in Idaho who has had some influence upon the leadership of our church; he is dead serious when it comes to making disciples and one of the straightest shooters I’ve ever visited with.

4) Ten Ways to Grow a Small Group
Some great points; some less than that. Either way, several pitfalls toward healthy and thriving Small Group ministry are noted here.

5) Baptism as WarfareA guide in an ancient church once showed me a baptistry and highlighted how its styling made it a vivid point of declaring new allegiance. Or as this article highlights, it was a declaration of war. This image adds great depth to a teaching that is tired in some circles and misunderstood in others.

6) Open Letter from a Non-Mom on Mother’s Day (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Amy Young puts forward this thoughtful piece on how churches handle Mother’s Day. It actually impacted what will happen in our service later this morning.

Blessings on you, my friends.  May your weekend be refreshing in rest, play, and worship.

YOUR TURN: Direct other readers to the best stuff above by making a comment below, or weigh in on what you read.  Your input makes this post better!

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Saturday Six-Pack (37)

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Welcome the another week’s end, friends! Here is the latest installment of the Saturday Six-Pack.

As has become custom, most of these pieces are ministry-minded or faith-focused, with just enough room to allow for some who-knows-what.

If six options disorient you, start with my two *Picks of the Week*, and roll on from there.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ) to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) Devoted to Destruction (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
If you’ve ever wondered how to handle the “destroy everyone” passages in the book of Joshua, this article is a bit thick but certainly provocative. Thanks to Richard Beck for stirring the pot.

2) 32 Leadership Quotes from Michael Lukaszewski
Michael, from the Rocket Company, was recently a presenter at the Orange Conference. One listener quickly grabbed these notes.  More recently, the Rocket Company ran an excellent online seminar for eager-to-improve preachers. Their resources are certainly worth checking out.

3) The Real World: Leadership Lessons from Disaster Relief and Terrorist Networks (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
This brilliant piece, from Margaret J. Wheatley, is long but fascinating to any who desire to lead in ways that really make a difference in the real world. And how often do you get to draw lessons from terrorists anyway?!

4) May It Be Done (Let it Be)
Within our home, the music of Steve Bell is among the most-played. On a recent road trip, Steve blogged this piece about the Feast of Annunciation.

5) Quotes from the Master: Seth Godin
John Richardson is a huge Seth Godin fan! Here, he compiles some of Godin’s best quotes. Here are some gems from an unusually sharp (and blatantly unusual) mind!

6) Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret
Lifehacker shares this Seinfeld-secret, created and crafted when Jerry was still a largely-unknown comic, just trying to make it.

Blessings on you, my friends.  May your weekend be refreshing in rest, play, and worship.

YOUR TURN: Direct other readers to the best stuff above by making a comment below, or weigh in on what you read.  Your input makes this post better!

[You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or email, in the upper right corner of this page.]

Sunday Six-Pack (36)

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Saturday escaped me one more time, but here is the latest Six-Pack.

The best ministry-minded or faith-focused articles I could find this week? Here they are, with some grace space for a bit of who-knows-what.

If six options stuns you, start with my two *Picks of the Week*, and pick up steam from there.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ) to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) Autopsy of a Deceased Church (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Thom Rainer’s most popular post last week was this piece of post-mortem analysis on a church that he had sadly predicted would die.

2) 42 Leadership Lessons from a Disney Executive
Brian Dodd put together this best-of, point-form review as he listened to Disney’s Brian White (also a church elder) present at the Orange Conference.

3) Fired
In this recent Leadership Journal piece, Nathan Kilgore shares a few lessons he’s learned through an abrupt move from pulpit to pew.

4) Why Traditional Churches Should Stick with Traditional Worship…if They’re Content with Dying a Slow Death
Every church, regardless of heritage or style, will need to figure out how it expresses its corporate worship, and why it chooses that particular expression. Adam Walker Cleaveland interacts with a few recent posts to highlight why he thinks this is so important.

5) The Outside View of a Former Church Insider (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Shaun King was wrapped in roles of ministry, serving as pastor and church planter, back into his teenaged years. An unforeseen exit at age 29 put him in the unfamiliar role of church outsider. From there, he’s made at least ten insightful observations.

6) Jerry Seinfeld’s Productivity Secret
Anyone who has ever desired to “get in a groove” will be intrigued by this simple move that kept Seinfeld on track when he was still a struggling-to-make-it comic.

Blessings on you, my friends.  May the week ahead be filled with God in ways that you can sense. Tune yourself in, and walk on!

YOUR TURN: Add a line below to direct other readers to the best stuff above or to highlight the piece that gave you something worth keeping.

Your input makes this post better!

[You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or email, in the upper right corner of this page.]

Spring Renewal

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Last weekend, our church held a sharply focused prayer evening. It was aimed at last night, when we kicked off Spring Renewal 2013 with a night of significant worship and seeking of God. Full details of the event are HERE; if you’re in the city, it isn’t too late to join us.

The past week has been absorbed in the final preparations for this weekend, so no Six-Pack will be posted today.  Back to normal to next week. As well, my series of posts on Losing Faith will continue in the week ahead.

Blessings upon you, loved people!

Saturday Six-Pack (35)

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Here we are–the weekend arrives with the latest Six-Pack arriving on your digital doorstep.

Below are a half-dozen of the best ministry-minded or faith-focused articles I read this week. Here they are, with a smattering of who-knows-what.

If six options are too many, start with the two *Picks of the Week*, and roll on from there.

For a steady stream of such links, follow me on Twitter ( @JasonBandura ) to the right of this post.  Sharp quotes and solid articles are tweeted 3-4 times daily.

Today’s edition:

1) Five Tips on Surviving Criticism
Count Donald Miller among the rest of us who have tasted criticism at some point.  Here are a few ways to handle it the next time it arrives.

2) Philadelphia Abortion Clinic Horror (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Kirsten Powers, for USA Today, offered this piece on the shocking media silence surrounding the nightmarish trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. You won’t have heard this on the news. You’d best hear it here, though you won’t enjoy the read.

3) A Word to Those Who Preach (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Kent Hughes shares this word to preachers in his commentary on Isaiah, regarding the pleasure of God in the task of preaching. Thanks to Tim Challies for sharing.

4) The New Sexual Identity Crisis
From the Gospel Coalition, there are a number of very valid points made in this finely nuanced piece.

5) Fresh Air, with Jack Levison
 Scot McKnight posted this interview with Jack Levinson (done by Mark Stevens), about his new book on the Holy Spirit.

6) Former White Supremacist Sheds Hate and Embraces Christianity
The Religion News Service shared this powerful piece of the miles-from-my-experience life of Chris Simpson.

Blessings on you, my friends.  May your weekend be filled with rest, play, and worship to re-create you one more time!

YOUR TURN: Add a line below to direct other readers to the best stuff above or to highlight the piece that gave you something worth keeping.

Your input makes this post better!

[You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or email, in the upper right corner of this page.]