Tag Archives: revival

Six-Pack (55)

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Welcome to the latest Six-Pack! I am so grateful for every reader who stops by to check out the latest assortment of “best links”.

As regular readers already know, these pieces are generally centered on faith or ministry, though we leave sufficient license to include who-knows-what as we discover it!

If six ever feels overwhelming, start with my two *Picks of the Week*, and move out from there.

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

Today’s edition:

1) New Life after the Fall of Ted Haggard (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
 Seven years ago, one of America’s best-known pastors crashed in a blaze of drug and sex scandal. What does a church look like after such a disaster? One looks like this.

2) Ted Haggard on How Not to Repent
While we’re discussing Ted Haggard, David Murray makes these observations about what true repentance looks like.

3) Advent and Shepherd Leadership
For Missio Alliance, Karen Wilk offers this thoughtful piece that begins with the Magi of the Christmas story and ends with some great prompts for those in leadership positions.

4) The Most Important Commandment in the Old Testament is Not What You Think (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Citing a teaching from Walter Brueggemann, Hacking Christianity offers this fascinating reflection on Old Testament law.

5) God, The Bad, and The Ugly
Bethel Church in Redding, CA, is the scene of what are some are calling an all-out revival. Some are swept up in the claims of what God is doing there. Some are skeptical of the place. Others just love the music they’re producing. Kris Vallotton, one of their pastors, wrote this piece about how they seek to respond to the criticism they receive from other Christians.

6) The Science of Posture
Buffer, who make a great Twitter-related app, offered this recent post on how far-reaching the benefits of good posture might actually reach. Straighten up, my friends!

May your week ahead be filled with life, as you seek the One from whom it flows!

leaveacommentYOUR TURN: Your input makes this post better!

  • Which link above was today’s best-of-the-best?
  • Why that one?

Direct others to the best of the bunch with a quick comment.

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

Six-Pack (46)

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After an unscheduled blog break, it’s good to be back at it.

From a small stockpile of articles that had collected, here comes the latest Six-Pack of faith-focused or ministry-minded pieces with enough room for some who-knows-what!

If you need an easy in, start with the *Picks of the Week*, and move 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) Would You Know a Revival if You Saw One?
Justin Taylor shares this clip and video from J.I. Packer. For anyone craving revival in their here-and-now, there are some great thoughts here on what to desire and how to discern it.

2) An Atheist in the Pulpit (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Plenty of the tone in this piece makes suggestions I disagree with. Even still, there are enough fascinating descriptions of the movements between faith and doubt to make it well worth the read.

3) Why Fewer Churches Offer Vacation Bible School
It all appears to come down to one word.

4) Ten Things I’ve Learned about Pastors
Thom Rainer highlights a list of things he’s learned about pastors over the past couple years. Any what you’d expect? Any that surprise?

5) Why MLB Hitters Can’t Hit Jennie Finch
This SI piece breaks down reaction time and why baseball’s best can’t touch fastball’s first lady.

6) Stunning: Comparing US and World Covers for Time Magazine (*PICK OF THE WEEK*)
Well, this brief and picture-filled piece is disturbing, if not slightly expected.

Pleasure to be back with you, friends. Enjoy the Six-Pack, and may your final week of August be wonder-filled!

YOUR TURN: Which link above was most intriguing–why that one? Direct others readers to the best of the bunch. Your input makes this post better!

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

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 (2)

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

With the inaugural edition of “Saturday Six-Pack” out of the way, let me once again provide a half-dozen directions you might look for some fine online reading this fine day.

Typically, these articles 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!

In this edition:

1) Can We Prepare our Culture to Receive the Gospel
Justin Taylor provides this quote from “Christianity and Culture”, an essay written by J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937).  Living out faith within a culture that many describe as increasingly closed to Christianity, how might these words speak into what can or cannot be done in “opening doors”?

2) What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him
Byron Yawn has written a newly released book by this title, and Tim Challies provides this positive review of its contributions toward helping men become more the men, husbands, and fathers that God has created us to be.

3) How to Tell a Good Story with our Life
A few years back, Donald Miller wrote a book called “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years”, which challenged readers to consider their lives against the list of ingredients which compose all great stories.  How might we pursue a life comparable to the rich tales we love?  A much-shorter-than-the-book summary can be found here.

4) It’s Time to Move from Minutia to Movement
If you’re seeking spiritual revival, dreaming that it could happen in your church or country or lifetime, then this piece by Mark Driscoll may feed (or fuel) your hunger.

5) Your Best Creative Time is Not When You Think
The tag line of this article, from Scientific American, says this: “Morning people have more insights in the evening. Night owls have their breakthroughs in the morning.”  Translation: Out-of-the-box thinking, the type often needed to troubleshoot life, is a tad odd.  How to maximize it?  Start with this article.

6) Music for Lent
Searching for some fresh tunes for these pre-Easter days?  How about something that nudge you along in the classic Lent themes of struggle and sin moving into hope and even resurrection?  Go with Bruce Springsteen. Yes, the born-in-the-USA Bruce Springsteen.

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

How Revival Begins with One

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Ever heard the name Jeremiah Lamphier?  What about the Fulton Street Revival?

I hadn’t until today.

Six minutes can change that, and it may set you on a path toward revival.