Not long ago, I heard a sermon about the practical application of biblical money teachings. The pastor’s overall message about debt, saving and giving was spot on. But twice, I noticed a common rhetorical tendency that bothers me in church teachings.
When using anecdotes to back his points, this pastor occasionally slipped into giving justification or [...]
While the U.S. was arguing over health care last week Gordon fell out of a tree.
Gordon lives in Chorley Park behind the neighborhood where I live, not far from where he grew up. He stays here winters and migrates up to Oregon for the summer. He survives by trimming trees and working odd jobs.
Gordon is [...]
I’m a sucker for the Olympics. I’m not sure why, but for several weeks every two years my evenings consist of my wife and I sitting on the couch and watching an evening full of events. Like every Olympic year, NBC rolls out a whole shlew of stories featuring athletes and their emotional struggles that [...]
A while back, I read about an interesting experiment on PhilCooke.com.
Worried about the real motivation of TV evangelists, Mary Hutchinson, a veteran in direct mail and fundraising, tested several TV ministries by sending them $20 and a letter asking how to accept Christ.
“After 45 days, I had heard from more than 95% of them,” she [...]
Before one fateful week this fall, I’d never watched a minute of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). All I knew was what I’d read, heard or glimpsed while channel surfing—headlines about mixing money and ministry, a reputation for being cheesy, a talk-show set with golden thrones, and some woman with big pink hair.
I was intrigued [...]