Churches

Attraction type: Melaka Churches, Christian Churches, Historical Landmarks Churches in Melaka Melaka is a sleepy city built on a rich historical background. And so, in July 2008 it was honored one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among the numerous astonishing historical buildings in Melaka, its churches are quite popular. These historical landmarks reveal Melaka History as well. The Churches

Funny, how people never get tired of sending forwarded emails of heartwarming stories or controversial articles when you automatically bin them the minute you see these letters: FWD (or is it just... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Authorities in the Central Maluku province in eastern Indonesia have pledged to finish the reconstruction of churches and houses set ablaze during rioting last week in Masohi, the province's capital city.Riots broke out on 9 December after a teacher at an elementary school in Masohi allegedly insulted Islam during an extracurricular tutorial for sixth-graders.Reconstruction work began on Saturday,

Sorry, but this is just one of the best headlines we’ve seen in a long time. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s churches criticized a businessman on Tuesday for selling thousands of Jesus chocolates. Frank Oynhausen set up his “Sweet Lord” chocolate Jesus-making business saying he wanted to restore some traditional religious values to Christmas in Germany. But the German [...]

Postville Churches Ask For Government Bailout To Support Illegal Aliens- Churches Struggling To Sustain From Their Own Funds The Humanitarian Crisis They Helped Create In Postville By Supporting and Creating Sanctuary For Illegal Aliens -Representatives of 20 churches in Postville and Decorah are asking Gov. Chet Culver, U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley, Congressmen Tom Latham and Bruce Br

Cowardly Gay activists are threatening, "protesting", terrorizing and boycotting every soft target imaginable following the passage of California's proposition 8 banning gay marriage: Mormon churches, little old ladies, restaurant owners in safe neighborhoods... etc. They do this because they know if they went to Mosques and Black Churches, they would get the living S*#! kick out of them so they s

America takes religion seriously. Unlike their British counterparts many American churches have been enjoying expanding congregations and, come Sunday, their parking lots fill to capacity. To help with the inevitable congestion at this busy time of the week many churches now use specialist teams, or parking ministries, to help church goers find a parking space and [...]

I do not understand the reasoning behind this at all. Certainly even a few days a week to provide shelter at these area churches is better than no days at all. And if the city officials are proclaiming they can readily meet the capacity to shelter NYC's homeless; why then force five days of shelter operation upon any church? All the more reason to not enforce such a requirement from where I am sta

I love beautiful architecture. And that is probably why I got out of the small I lived in when I was 18. I wanted to be in a big city. I wanted to see things. And of course since I am gay, I just had to get out of that town with one gay bar!But seriously, I love when I travel to see new things; new cultures, new landscapes. To me, that is life is about. New experiences. Seeing as much and doing

This story appeared in my local newspaper, it was about how excited and happy church members are about Barack Obama being elected President:At many SouthCoast churches on the first Sunday after Barack Obama's election as president, Cape Verdean and black parishioners rejoiced in his victory, expressed hope for a new day and prayed for the safety of the nation's first black leader.Following Sunday'

The Mormon Church has instructed its members to donate to proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage in California. Nearly half the money (20 million dollars) came in from Mormon Church members predominantly from Utah. According to IRS Law:"Section 501(c)(3) describes corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific,

What is it about abandoned buildings that’s so alluring? What causes us to be fascinated by the forgotten ruins of structures that once teemed with life? It may have something to do with the original purpose of those buildings. Homes and towns where families once lived are fascinating, but there’s something tragic [...]

Image by hoder via FlickrIn my current voting precinct, I actually vote in a community center. However, I've certainly voted in many a church too. While I was never crazy about being bombarded by Jesus imagery or reminders of the willingness of my neighbors to believe all sorts of silly notions, voting at a church was never a big deal to me. After all, I'm used to seeing Jesus crap all over cars a

Jesus Christ was not God, and Mary was not a virgin, according to a controversial new book written by an Australian Catholic priest. In the booklet, ‘God is Big. Real Big’, which has gone on sale for $20 in several churches, Bathurst priest Peter Dresser argues Jesus could not have been God. “This whole matter regarding Jesus [...]

You would expect Edison, NJ with a population of over 100,000, to have a great number of Bible believing churches. Actually, there are not as many good Edison, NJ churches that one would think., although there are a number of good, evangelical churches in the Edison area. The following is a list of denominational [...]

Seeking a good Woodbridge, NJ church? A town of 100,000, there are a number of decent envangelical Woodbridge churches you may want to check out. Naturally, we would love to have you pop by Oasis Church first, which is only 10 minutes or so from Menlo Park Mall in Woodbridge. For your convenience, we have listed [...]

Looking for a good Bridgewater, NJ church to attend? We have a number of New Jersey Bridgewater churches listed below in our NJ church director, so don’t sweat it.. Of course, if you’re willing to travel 10 minutes or so, we’d love to have you at Oasis Church. If you have a NJ Bridgewater church [...]

Now if you are not laughing by the time you get to the bottom, you have no sense of humor at all! It’s a given that different religions disagree with one another on certain subjects but this is one disagreement that took a most amusing turn. I’ve looked at this a number of times since I [...]

Yes, Oasis-Church-NJ.com is an evangelical church in NJ, and is just one of hundreds New Jersey Evangelical churches. What are evangelical churches? Quite simply, words like “evangelical” or “evangelism” originate from the Greek word, evangelion, which simply means gospel or good news. What Evangelical Churches Believe Evangelical churches like Oasis-Church-NJ teach and b

Pomarico (Greek: Pomerikon) is a small town of 4500 inhabitants in Southern Italy, in the region Basilicata. It is about 30 km far from Matera, the capital of the province to which Pomarico belongs. The town was founded about 850 AD by Greeks. An old castle was built but only few ruins of it remain. The mother church, whose restoration ended in 1994, has a Baroque facade and contains within it pa

On our site we bill ourselves as a non-denominational NJ church in central New Jersey. Yet, there are apparently many folks out there that are a “little” confused as to  what makes up non-denominational church beliefs. Today I spoke with a nice Roman Catholic woman who thought a non-denominational church taught something a akin to [...]

When you have a walk in Krakow you'll notice that here are many churches. On the next photos you can see a few of them. St. Ann's Church, built in the 14th centuryThe Church of St. Peter and Paul, built between 1596-1619 Transfiguration Church, built from 1718 to 1728The St. Andrew Church, built between 1079-1098Church of St. Martin, built between 1637-1640The Dominicans Church, built in the 13th

As you can see above, it is common to find churches, monasteries, fortresses and castles in Russian Mafia Tattoos.  It’s most common to find these tattoos on the chest, back and hand region.  If you look closely you will see seven towers in total on the structure tattooed on the middle of his chest.  Some [...]

I haven’t been lazy I just haven’t had access to the internet the last few days. I arrived in Luleå late Sunday night after a 10 hour drive and has since been working on an excavation, more on that later on. Consequently I will publish three post today of which this is the first. Saturday I [...]

See also: Add link to Regulative principle of worship ← Previous revision Revision as of 16:39, 22 August 2008 Line 167: Line 167: ==See also== ==See also== *[[Restorationism]] *[[Restorationism]]   + *[[Regulative principle of worship]] *[[:Category:Churches of Christ]] *[[:Category:Churches of Christ]]

Meet Anti-Church Mom of the Year: Christy Roper from New Britain, Conn. You see, she has an interesting nightlife. While churchgoers are tucked away in their beds praying to the sweet baby Jesus, Roper is off breaking into their churches stealing from poor and making them poorer. Oh yeah, WITH HER THREE-YEAR OLD SON IN-TOW! I guess with [...]

Thirsty? Looking to find a refreshing Contemporary Christian NJ Church that’s real and relevant for your needs? Whether you’re a single parent, college student or married with kids, we know that finding a good church in New Jersey (NJ) can be as difficult and wearisome a journey as negotiating NJ Route 1, Route 22 [...]

I’m in Pittsburgh! This is where I’m originally from, and although it may have a bad reputation, it’s one of the cleanest, greenest, most fun cities out there. Just check out this great view when exiting the Fort Pitt Tunnels: But while in Pittsburgh, I decided to visit a fantastic church, one that I’d never seen before. St. Nicholas Croatian Catholic Church in Millval

Churches in South Brunswick are popping up all over because this area of NJ is one of the fastest growing. That why if you’re looking to find a good South Brunswick Church you should have no problem. There are several major highways in South Brunswick (NJ State Turnpike, Rt 1, Rt. 130) that make traveling [...]

I think atheists can generally agree that Christian extremism is a problem. The hard part is agreeing on tactics to oppose it. I have a question for the atheist readers today, one I'd like you to think about before responding. As atheists, should we consider picketing the Christian extremist churches in our communities? Let me elaborate a bit before you answer in case this idea strikes you as absu

Looking for some decent Old Bridge Churches? Finding an Old Bridge church is not too difficult because there are many churches in Old Bridge, NJ from which to choose a good church. Located in the cross hairs of Rt 9 and Rt 18, Old Bridge and its subsidiaries like Laurence Harbor is a sprawling complex [...]

Are you looking to find New Brunswick churches to attend? There are a great number of New Brunswick Churches reflecting the history and cultural diversity of the city. Home of Rutgers University, there are a number of great churches in the area of George Street, College Avenue and Easton Avenue that would [...]

You want to find North Brunswick churches? Perhaps you’re a single parent looking for a North Brunswick church for you and the kids, or a young married couple new to the North Brunswick, NJ area? Well the good news is that there are a large number of North Brunswick churches that you may wish [...]

Yes there is something wrong from inside but it is too much from outside. The Ex-Egyptian Christians are crossing all lines. My dear French Friend  Seg witnessed of the Ex-Egyptian Christians protest of Paris last week. Some man approached her along with other people distributing leaflets and saying that Christian girls are raped when ever they go to Churches in Egypt on Sundays !!?? I can

Looking for a good church in East Brunswick, NJ? Fact is there are a number of good East Brunswick churches, or at least churches in the East Brunswick area that you may like better than the OC. That’s cool! So if you’re looking to find a good East Brunswick church in NJ, may we [...]

Both Catholic and many Protestant denominations are facing declining membership. While the Catholics are coping through consolidation, many Protestant churches are continuing with tiny congregations. Evidently, some are able to do so because of their large endowments. But the real good news is that the combination of declining numbers and advancing age of the remaining members is leading to reduce

  Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard are known as ‘nice guys’ but their not being looked on favorably by Rome’s Catholic diocese. The Vatican  has reportedly barred the crew of Hanks’ latest film, Angels & Demons, from filming in any church in Rome . Angels & Demons is the ‘prequel’ to the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code. The [...]

Introduction by Matt Wardman At The Wardman Wire we will be publishing a series of articles about the Von Hugel Institute Centre for the Study of Faith in Society report "Moral, but No Compass". Over the next several weeks, we will be publishing a number of articles - hopefully from a range of viewpoints - aiming to get beyond the initial reactions which many commentators have felt obliged to com

Hundreds of churches located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will display an anti-torture banner during the month of June to voice their opposition to U.S.-sponsored torture, announced a religious group on Thursday. The "Banners Across America" initiative, organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, is taking place in conjunction with other interfaith public wi

Is the modern church today producing carbon copy, standardized Christians or are we, as leaders, helping release God’s unique calling in each believer? As the Church, are we helping build and release others’ dreams or do we focus on our ...

This week’s post on church search tips on how to search for good NJ churches is really an addendum to last week’s find a church guide. Many people are on a church search in NJ for a variety of reasons. Here are the top reasons we feel people are presently searching for a church in [...]

Greetings to the churches of Christ This is an audio presentation we have prepared for the leaders of congregations in order to outline some of the services that are offered through Sermon Select. It includes an excerpt from an edited sermon that was recorded almost 18 years ago, and serves as an extreme example. [...]

A call for America’s churches to step up as witnesses for the truth about the Flight 93 memorial, blogburst, thanks to Error Therapy: SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A call for America’s churches to step up as witnesses for the truth about the Flight 93 memorial", url: "-americas-churches-step-witnesses-truth-flight-93-memorial/" });

Three segments of American society get paid to investigate and report facts: academia, the press, and government. For two and a half years, all three have been spinning desperately to avoid and suppress the facts about Islamic and terrorist memorializing...

Three segments of American society get paid to investigate and report facts: academia, the press, and government. For two and a half years, all three have been spinning desperately to avoid and suppress the facts about Islamic and terrorist memorializing symbolism in the Flight 93 memorial. Luckily there is a fourth segment of society that is [...]

I have been planning to post on this topic for quite some time, but due to the fact that it's just plain depressing, I've been putting it off. Until now. A few news stories that have surfaced over the past couple of weeks will fuel this rant and serve as the stimulus for this long over-due post. Both news stories involve creepy child predators who prey on innocent children. You know, much like the

If clairvoyants must have warning signs, why not faith healers and others places of worship? I am driven to my wits' end by my fellow humans' feeble grasp of principled reasoning. Take this week's announcement of new government proposals. Anyone caught with drawings (or computer-generated images) of child sexual abuse will face up to three years in prison. This will close what ministers are now

June brides making their way into St. Mary's Catholic Church in Seattle or Newport Presbyterian in Bellevue may find themselves walking past a 3-foot by 9-foot banner proclaiming "Torture Is a Moral Issue." Both congregations are affiliated with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, which is calling June Torture Awareness Month. "Torture goes against the most cherished ideals of our c

Pattern Number 38 in our series is extremely rare. I only know of it in one place! Of course, putting a chainlink fence up immediately behind it was such a smart thing to do. It’s located along Eastern Avenue just south of Flamingo. It’s at the Catholic Church School, and it gets 50,000 drive by sightings a [...]

Terrorism: Al-Qaeda halts spread of the church in Arab world, claims leaderDubai, 23 May (AKI) - A senior al-Qaeda leader, Abu Yahya al-Libi, claims that the terror organisation has stopped the expansion of the church in the Arab world. “If it wasn’t for our heroes, today we would have many churches in the Arabian Peninsula, as [...]

Today I read the news (from Islamonline.net) that world famous Islamic scholar Dr Yusuf Qaradawi has issued a fatwa approving building of churches in Muslim countries for the non Muslims living or working in those countries. Hence I just thought of sharing it with you, and pose the question whether it is applicable to the Maldives, officially a 100% Islamic country where it is believed that the

Nigerian muslims, not content to be left out of the rampage often seen in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Gaza, are joining in on the attacks against Christianity. Six churches gutted after recovery of Christians teenagers from Muslim kidnappers. NINGI, Nigeria, May 19 (Compass Direct News) – Islamists under the auspices of a paramilitary force last week destroyed [...]

Mega Churches pander to themselves in ways that promote their own churches instead of the Gospel. Small God-fearing churches serve Christ faithfully and preach the true heart of the Gospel.Podcast version here2 Corinthians 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.One of the biggest mistakes that the American church is making today occurs when preachers preach for their audience and not for the sake of the Gospel. I see too many churches falling into this life-application, life-style series, and life affirming type of preaching. It makes the hearers the center of the preaching, instead of Christ. It makes the congregation the focus of the message, instead of Christ’s ministry. It makes modern Christians the reason for the

With increasing numbers of freethinkers "coming out" and openly identifying themselves as atheists, agnostics, and/or secular humanists, some are suggesting that secular churches may be useful. Of course, atheism is not a religion, and the concept of atheist churches strikes some as a bit silly. Still, I do not think we should hastily dismiss the idea without carefully considering the advantages they might bring. Besides, calling an institution a church does not necessarily mean that it must resemble religious churches.Imagine having an atheist church in your community. What would be the potential benefits? I suggest that they would include at least the following:Increased sense of community, belonging, and social supportIncreased public presence (i.e., atheists would be more visible to bo

With increasing numbers of freethinkers "coming out" and openly identifying themselves as atheists, agnostics, and/or secular humanists, some are suggesting that secular churches may be useful. Of course, atheism is not a religion, and the concept of atheist churches strikes some as a bit silly. Still, I do not think we should hastily dismiss the idea without carefully considering the advantages t

Source: Breibart Realated Post: Chicago Gangs Give City Deadly Weekend..32 Shot, 2 Stabbed, 6 Dead The community of Chicago and the police department are pulling out all the stops to prevent another... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

This morning at the Exponential Conference, I attended a session that focused on multi-ethnic church planting. This is becoming a growing passion for me. I believe that church planting in America must embrace starting multi-ethnic churches.In today's session, George Yancey discussed several approaches to assessing churches and identifying the multiracial potential of your church.Rev. Ed Lee, pastor of Mosaic Community Covenant Church in Missouri City, Texas (mosaicpeople.org), presented a very helpful comparison of a variety of approaches to being a multi-ethnic church. The reality is that not all churches that would identify themselves as "multi-ethnic" will look the same or have the same emphasis, fundamental commitments, or motivations. I would encourage you to spend some time studying

Photos of unique churches from all over the world. Great architecture!

Estados Unidos | 1985 | Death/Thrash MetalPossessed es una banda formada en 1983 en la ciduad de San Francisco, Estados Unidos. Se disolvió diez años después de su creación en 1993, y fue reformada en el año 2007 mantiendo solo un miembro original llamado Jeff Becerra.Aunque tan solo tienen publicados unos pocos trabajos, su legado y su influencia ha sido más que importante para la música pesada, ya que les permitieron a Possessed ser considerada por muchos como la primer banda de Death Metal en la historia, gracias a su sonido que iba más allá de lo realizado hasta entonces (influenciados por bandas como Slayer o Venom).Probablemente, el nombre del género provenga del primer demo publicado por la banda, justamente llamado Death Metal. Pero hay quienes todo esto se lo atribuyen a

Innovation is super fragile. It's very easy to kill. We need a stubborn, rebellious attitude. - Douglas Merrill, CIO, GoogleEvery now and again I pick up a copy of Fast Company magazine. I actually like some of the stuff they publish about up and coming companies especially their creative solutions to problems. The March issue is about innovation. It's interesting. Truly. And it is fun to see what can be translated into church life. Sometimes the ideas simply won't translate. Often corporations are after something that churches are not (financial profit, market share, etc.) and their methods don't wash with the Gospel. But every now and again the general attitudes are helpful. On the cover is this quotation from Douglas Merrill. In some ways he's simply stating what we all already know. Pe

I’ve been emailing with a friend concerning politics and this question came up: “I have never understood why some people want the government to provide services that the Church is supposed to be doing. For example, isn’t is our job as Christians to take care of the poor?” (below is part of my response) “Here’s a story [...]

I have never really studied the warnings given to the seven churches in Revelation in depth. Neither have I held strongly to a view whether these warnings were meant to just be given to the seven churches that were present during that time, or if that they also point to warnings to future churches. Some believe [...]

Religious Orders: link correction ← Older revision Revision as of 22:06, 21 March 2008 Line 114: Line 114: * [ Grey Robed Monks of St. Benedict] An Ecumenical Benedictine Community * [ Grey Robed Monks of St. Benedict] An Ecumenical Benedictine Community * [ Order of Port Royal] Ecumenical Cistercian Congregation * [ Order of Port Royal] Ecumenical Cistercian Congregation - * [ The Order of Sevant Franciscans] Ecumenical community of faith + * [ The Order of Sevant Franciscans]An Ecumenical community of faith * [ Order of the Shepherd's Heart - EFCC] Religious Order in Hollister Missouri, affiliated with the [ Ecumenical Free Catholic Communion] * [ Order of the Shepherd's Heart -

This calls for prayer. A satanic upside-down cross was spray painted on one Church and another was spray painted with words of a blasphemous reference to Christ. According to Gardner Police, the Bethany Baptist Church on Ryan Street, the Holy Spirit Church on Lovewell Street, and the United Methodist Church on Chestnut Street were spray painted with anti-Christian comments.Police are asking that anyone who has information on the acts of vandalism call Lt. Poirier [Gardner Police] at (978) 632-5600, ext. 148, and Templeton and Phillipston police at (978) 939-5638.

As Holy Thursday draws near, Filipinos are planning their annual visita iglesia. I've always been asked what are some of the best heritage churches to visit in, around and close to Metro Manila. Here are my picks:City of Manila - Manila Cathedral, San Agustin, Binondo, Sta. Cruz, Quiapo, San Sebastian, Malate and Sta. AnaMetro Manila - Malabon, Concepcion (Malabon), San Pedro Makati, Guadalupe (Makati), San Francisco del Monte (QC), Pasig, Baclaran (Paranaque) and Las PinasPampanga - Apalit, Bacolor, Betis, San Luis, San Fernando, Lubao, Angeles City, Sta. Rita and MinalinBulacan - Barasoain (Malolos), Malolos, San Rafael, Angat, San Miguel, Calumpit and PulilanLaguna - Pila, Longos (Kalayaan), Paete, Pakil, Mabitac, San Pablo, Nagcarlan and MajayjayRizal - Tanay, Baras, Morong and Boso-Bo

Central Lutheran Church in Portland. Top-30 most interesting, for its architecture, churches. Check out other pictures after the jump !

John Hooper reports for The Guardian that discussions between Saudis and the Vatican have been held that could lead to churches being built in Saudi Arabia. Churches in the Kingdom? I don't think this so. It's true that during the time of the Prophet Muhammad Christians lived in Madinah and Jews lived nearby, but I think it's highly unlikely that today's Saudis – whether conservative, moderate or militant – would stand for a church to be built in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques. To the average Saudi, the Kingdom has become synonymous with Islam and represents all things Islamic. Millions of Muslims throughout the world look to Saudi Arabia for guidance in Islamic matters. There is no room for a church. Although it's difficult for Saudis to argue with the fact that Muslims can practi

My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can. Tax the FUCK out of the churches! Get smart and I’ll fuck you over — sayeth The Lord. The essence of Christianity is told to us in the Garden of [...]

By Robert GillisPublished in the Foxboro Reporter and the Boston City paper 3/2008Years ago, Mom explained that you receive what is known as a plenary indulgence if you visited seven churches on Good Friday. I did find a reference to receiving an indulgence for “Devoutly take part in the adoration of the cross during the solemn liturgy of Good Friday.” And I see that many countries still practice a tradition of visiting seven churches on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday.On several Good Fridays, I did just that, and it felt wonderful.The first year, I spent the entire day at church. I started at Saint Mary’s in Foxboro, where Catholic hymns were playing on a cassette player. Next, I headed to Saint Mary’s in Mansfield. At each church I said the Stations of the Cross, and read

Recently my son, who is a minister with a master in divinity from the South Western Baptist Theological Seminary, in Dallas, Texas was fired from his job. He had put years of service into the biggest First Southern Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas as their video Production Engineer. He was highly praised and [...]

a.k.a Christian Center, De Deur, La Puerta, Potter's House, The Door, Victory ChapelDe Deur established its first South African satellite church in Paarl, in 1996, with the help of Pastor Dawie de Kooker and Pastor Aiden Arendse (formerly of Smirna Faith Mission). This article, therefore, has been long overdue.1. Anton Hein; Christian Fellowship Churches; Apologetics Index.(01/03/2008) Slam The Door; Yahoo Group.(01/03/2008) Steven R. Schoner; Life After Potter's House.(01/03/2008) Rick Ross; Christian Fellowship Churches; The Rick A Ross Institute.(01/03/2008) Chris Hayes; The Door: A Church or a Cult; KPHO TV, Phoenix, Arizona; 23 February 2004.(01/03/2008) Amazon.com Widgets

My son turned 18 last week. I still remember the excitement we felt on the day he was born. And although he arrived about two weeks early—we were as prepared as we could be for his arrival. In preparation, we attended natural child birth classes at the hospital, we took preparation for parenting classes at our church, and we purchased baby furniture and decorated his bedroom. Several of our friends gave us a baby shower and we received wonderful gifts to help welcome our son into our lives and our home. Less than nine months later, we gave birth to Lake Hills Church. I’ve often thought of the many similarities between my son’s birth and development toward maturity—and the birth of Lake Hills and its growth toward maturity. In preparing for the day of Lake Hills’ birth, we atte

Listen to this Radio interview with Nicholas Maguire the Mobile Expert on BBC Radio 4, for their Sunday Morning religious affairs show. Talking about how Bluetooth Marketing from txttouch is being used in Churches as a new form of evangelism.

This is the question I’ve been asking myself since I finished reading Stephen Gray’s Planting Fast-growing Churches last weekend. Based on the research of 52 struggling church plants and 60 fast growing churches, he reveals those factors that differentiate fast-growing, dynamic church plants from slower-growing, struggling church plants. Here are the observations that I found most interesting: Church planters who had strong emotional support, personal investment, and conceptual freedom were more likely to succeed than those who had weaker support, investment, or freedom. (p 9)Church plants who received more funding for longer periods of time were overall less effective than churches that received less funding for shorter periods of time. (p 10)If a church plant doesn’t break 200 in

The Indonesian Catholic bishops have called public attention to rising Islamic pressure against Christian churches, Vatican Radio reports.Bishop Martinus Situmorang of Padang, the president of the country's episcopal conference, is the co-author of a new report on the campaign by Muslim activists to close down Christian churches. The report shows that from 2004 through 2007, 108 churches have been closed because of Islamic pressure.The report notes that Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and challenged the government to honor that promise, protecting the Christian minority from Muslim extremists.Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com

(Meant to post this Sunday, oh well) “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” -1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” -Ephesians 5:1 “You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 1:6 A new reader, Jamie, mentioned teaching non-violence in church and it got me thinking. There is a definite alternative to this idea of placing armed guards in churches, and that is for a church to instead advocate, teach and promote an attitude of non-violence. I believe this is a deeply biblical and deeply spiritual issue and I figured I’d write a devotional thought regarding it. I think there might be varying opinions on what the goal, motive or vision for a church should be, but everyone would have to agree it has something to do with teaching and modeling following Christ (being ‘Christian’).

Not sure if you’ve heard about the shootings in Colorado that happened at a YWAM base and a church, resulting in five deaths including the attacker. I didn’t know anyone involved, but I did attend that very same YWAM base in the fall of 2000, so a number of people have been asking how I’m doing as a result. I’m doing fine. Like I said, I didn’t know anyone involved so it seems as disconnected as any other of these types of shootings that I hear about. At the same time, the fact that it happened within the context of a program I have been a part of has given me a chance to ponder a little deeper about the incident. Two things about it concern me. You can read about the incident on your own, but one thing I want to discuss is how it ended. The gunman shot two people at a large church and then when he walked into the church an armed security guard shot and killed him. I read a few articles discussing church security and it appears a number of large churches d

Buddy Oliver over on Rev22 just posted a pretty neat update on his small church endeavor, “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Exit Doors.” Kinda hits the nail on the head, I think. http://rev22.org/index.php/archives/101

Podcast version here2 Peter 1:8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.There are two things that most pastors fear for the churches that they serve: that the congregations become ineffective and unproductive. Over the last thirteen years, I’ve watched small unproductive and ineffective churches drain the pooled resources of our Presbytery and denomination year after year without any change to their status. And when Presbytery threatens to pull its resources from them, they become church tyrants monstrously opposed to any interference to their non-existent mission to their local communities.Most of the time, these small churches are manipulated by one or two strong families who believe it is their divine right to keep the congregation the way it is. They firmly possess all the power, property, and prestige that the church has, sucking its life away by their refusal

I just finished reading David Wells' essay "The Theologian's craft" in Doing Theology in Today's World. After observing that the church, as well as the academy and the culture, has begun to become disinterested in theological thinking, Wells concludes,Evangelical theology therefore finds itself alienated from the academy with whose Enlightenment assumptions it must be at odds, from the wider culture to whom it is understandably a stranger and an alien, and from the life of the church whose habits of mind and interests now lie substantially elsewhere. It is this third alienation that is most unexpected, most grevious, and most damaging.A church that neither is interested in theology nor has the capacity to think theologically is a church that will be rapidly submerged beneath the waves of modernity. It is a church for whom Christian faith will rapidly lose its point, and this is already well underway within evangelicalism. And a church whose interests are thus adrift is one that no l

Luke 12:31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (NIV) A lot of Americans are buying into what has been coined as “the prosperity gospel.” Its message goes something like this: God will be good to you, if you believe in His promises; God will make you successful, if you ask Him. It ties up the American dream with the Christian faith, and a lot of mega-churches are

Vehige's trip down Memory Lane got me feeling a bit nostalgic myself. And since I'm older than Vehige, when I start down Memory Lane I need to pack a lunch.Anyway, I was prompted by that charming picture of St. Theodore's in Vehige's post to see whether I could find any pictures of my first Catholic parish. I entered the Church while I was in graduate school in Philadelphia. I was baptised and attended Mass at St. James Catholic Church on Chestnut Street (now St. Agatha-St. James, in this era of inner-city parish consolidation). To my pleasant surprise, the old church has undergone a respectful and intelligent restoration and looks positively resplendent. That's it above. And the website offers a very well-done virtual tour.After my conversion, when I would go home to Louisville for the summers, I attended a Dominican church, St. Louis Bertrand. It is there that I still go to Mass with my wife and children when we visit my Kentucky relatives, as we will next month. (Picture on the

It is funny how just last week there was a talk about the topic of wealth as the world defines it. First off, there was the buzz in the office that everyone should go get their Toto tickets because the prize money for the week was S$5 million (US$3.32 million). I did not buy any tickets for the draw because I never had the habit of “buying hope” as I call it. Besides, I have never thought that I’d win one of the prizes — it is not in my personal history to have won anything that involved the ‘luck’ of the draw. Then there was a letter in the Forum page of the national daily, The Straits Times, from a concerned parent about how mega churches adversely affect students, which naturally led to a rather lively debate on whether churches should be as rich as mega churches. Now I don’t have anything against mega churches per se. (more…)

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV) It was Rear Admiral Grace Hopper who coined the phrase “It’s better to ask for forgiveness afterwards than to wait for permission.” She also initiated the term ‘computer bug” after literally finding a bug in one of the Navy’s large computers. Years ago,

Aaron's Beard Psalm 133:2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. Audio version here Every week, I write the prayers for our Sunday worship services. This usually takes place on Monday mornings because I like to have them done before anything else takes place during the week. It’s a good discipline

Welcome to Freedomthirst.com’s first Guest Blog. Our first “guest blogger” is Ben! It has not been edited at all, accept to add a couple of pictures. The thoughts are entirely those of the author, and don’t necessarily reflect the opinion of Freedomthirst.com, and the quote of Ronald Reagan is part of Ben’s [...]

the background: some time at the end of may, beginning of june, i received a email from a bud telling me they heard of a church in the sacramento area that was looking for a pastor - he sent me a email address, but no web link [cornerstone christian church in el dorado hills does not have a website - recently i did find out it was formally "el dorado hills baptist church - in el dorado hills;

A Chicago church has had a woman in sanctuary for over a year.This gives me an idea. Illinois has passed a law that bans smoking in all public places. Maybe some of the states smokers can go into a local church fellowship hall and fire up. If illegal immigrants can, why not?

Iglesia de la MercedCathedral de Santiago*Thank you to Jennifer Victor-Larsen for the last two photographs.

Christianity is the form of religion where people follow Christian denomination. To preach the Christian religion, people use to go for prayers in Christian church. Christian church are the worldwide traditions which represents the Christian faiths, preaches,worship, religion and saying of the god Jesus Christ. Christian church can be seen world wide and finds to [...]

Some churches choosing to ignore immigration laws NC Times (Leave comment at end of article by clicking on link) July 22, 2007 There’s a problem in Fallbrook, and it’s not with the local peaceful protesters. The town’s Catholic church, St. Peter’s, has decided that U.S. immigration laws don’t apply to them. This church operates a formal day labor [...]

Good video outlining the issues. Great if you’re a visual person like me. Video

A post ago I asked the opposite question after listening to a podcast that was a recording of a message Scot McKnight, of the JesusCreed Blog, gave to a group of small group leaders at an Atlanta Mega-Church. Because the podcast wasn’t conversational, and it was more sermon(y) I took Dr. McKnight’s comments about individualism and the house church to be in the same breath. I was incorrect. The gracious Dr. McKnight told me that he had not intended anything negative about house churches and in fact, we may have a new book from him in the future that may or may not include thoughts on house churches. (This would be amazing). So my apologies to Dr. Scot McKnight, and my excitement in hearing about a new offering for his readers. This could be a testiment to the medium of podcasting monologues, sermons, speaches — instead of using the podcast medium for conversational recordings.

 :: CHINA AID ASSOCIATION [CAA], a Chinese persecution watchdog, said Prayer Mountain church buildings in Yongjia county, Wenzhou city of Zhejiang province were about to be knocked down. The three buildings were built about 10 years ago in three different mountains to serve primarily as prayer mountain churches. Believers head to the churches everyday and as many as 800 believers gather at each building once a month. ... MOREPRAYER Let´s pray for the 800 Christians and the CCP authorities acting against the Prayer Mountain people. Rev Bob Fu says, "We urge the Chinese central government to help stop this type of barbaric acts by the local government."Technorati Tags. Prayer Mountain church ::

Periodically I listen to the Emergent Village Podcast. It’s a podcast that tries to compete with The Nick and Josh Podcast, but let’s be honest. . . it falls way short. Though I have much respect for them, and I have some good friends that have appeared on the podcast. Even I was on there back in the day. The latest Emergent Village cast has a message from Scot McKnight. The Tall Skinny Kiwi says using the media of podcasting for recycling messages is sort of uncreative. [He says that podcasting should be used for dialogue and creatively, not just for finding another way to put up your sermon.] All of those scattered thoughts just to say. . . Scot McKnight was giving a message to the Small Group leaders at North Point Community Church, the trendy mega-church of Atlanta. Here’s my beef. Scot says that the problem with our society is that it is becoming more individualistic. (I agree that is a problem). He uses Barna’s number of 20 million people in the world atte

Once again Jay Smooth over at illdoctrine.com speaks on the current ongoings in hip-hop, and this time he addresses the anti-rap billboards in Chicago which demands that you stop listening to trash, and then names a few arbitrary rappers, most of which aren’t even relevant today. If you’ve watched any of his previous work you’ll know that all of his messages are nothing short of brilliant (this included). Check out the video after the jump. (more…) Related PostsThe iphones are here! The iphones are here!The iphone’s guts revealed…The iphone’s newest killer application? YouTube.

Amy Korst has contributed a great opinion piece in The University of Washington's independent student paper, The Daily. Check it out and consider leaving a comment. Even though Seattle is far more progressive when it comes to religion than here in the bible belt, I'm betting that she'll hear from more than a few irate Christians. I want to make sure she hears from the reality-based community too.Tags: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, The Daily, reality-based, opinion, Christian