Regarding teaching Scripture, I once heard a person say, “We need to exegete the culture so we can dialogue with people through the metanarrative of Scripture.”
I agree with what he’s saying, but I don’t think this guy should be the one to say it….
Say What?
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Convert Blog Posts into eBooks
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If you write a blog, you really should consider writing an eBook. Andrew Jones talks about Kindle Singles, and how blog writers should start converting their books into this new format that the traditional publishing industry has generally overlooked.
Also, publishing your blog as an eBook allows book readers to interact with the author, which is something most readers want to do. Do you have a question about something the author said? Go to his blog and ask him! It’s genius. [Read more…]
Writing
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Welcome to Till He Comes, the writing website for Jeremy Myers.
Most of the writing gets done on the Blog, so come on over there and join the conversation.
To make sure you don’t miss a single post, I highly suggest subscribing via email or through a reader. All the information is on the Subscribe Page.
Here are some of the other writing projects for Jeremy Myers:
- A Commentary on the entire Bible. This is a huge project, and will take decades. The commentary is in a forum, so you can interact with Jeremy, providing your own insights to Scripture, or asking questions about something that is unclear.
- Community Blog at GraceGround.com. If you want to blog in a community of other like-minded people, apply to become an author at GraceGround.com. Even if you already have a blog, this is a good place to rehash some of your writing, and interact with others around the country.
- Ebook publishing. Jeremy tries to put out four free ebooks per year for email newsletter subscribers. If you want copies of past books, you can get them on Amazon.com
Jeremy is currently working on a much longer book, called Close Your Church for Good.
My Blog Conversation with God
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I have a love-hate relationship with blogs. I love reading what others are doing, and the insights they have on church and ministry, but at the same time, I sometimes get depressed by what I read. Not because it is bad, but because it is so good. I wish I was the one who had written it. I wish I was the one who had that many followers, or that many comments, or that many re-Tweets.
I get depressed at all the books other bloggers are writing, the conferences they are attending and speaking at, the interviews they are doing, and the opportunities they are getting. It’s most depressing when I read a blog by someone who is doing what I have always dreamt of doing, and they are ten years younger than me. [Read more…]
Keep Your Greek
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I have taken first year Greek three times. I had to retake the class, not because I failed, but because I forgot everything I learned the first time, and the second time, and almost the third time.
The first time I took first-year Greek was at Moody Bible Institute. Then, when I entered the Master of Divinity Program at Denver Seminary, I barely missed the required 70% on the entrance exam, and so had to retake first year Greek again. A few years later, I decided to do a refresher course on Greek, and took first-year Greek from the Grace Evangelical School of Theology. Later, upon entering Dallas Theological Seminary, I studied first-year Greek for six months on my own so I could pass the entrance exam, which I did by the slimmest possible of margins. I needed a 70%, and got a 69.5%, which the professor graciously rounded up to 70%. [Read more…]
Three Tips for Planning Church Programs
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Yesterday, I challenged churches to kill their programs. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have programs. We should…if they are properly planned and executed. Here are a few suggestions for planning new church programs.
1. Train on the Way
All programs must include something beyond just training. It does not appear that Jesus or the early church ever did training just for training. Most of the training was while they were on the way to do something. It was on the job training.
If Jesus taught evangelism training today, it would go like this. He would announce the training in church, in the bulletin, and on the website. Then, on the night of the training, when everyone arrives, He would say, “Ok. We’re all here? Good. There’s a van out back. Let’s all pile in. We’re going to go downtown and hang out with drug addicts. I’ll tell you what you need to know on the way.” I don’t care what program you start, if it does not include actually doing what you are being trained to do, don’t do it. [Read more…]
10 Questions to Determine if your Church is Missional or Traditional
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Many churches claim to be missional, but are really just traditional. There is nothing really wrong with traditional church, but they often lack several missional elements.
To help determine whether your church (or a church you are thinking of joining) is missional or traditional, below are ten diagnostic questions. But be warned: Seeking to become missional may kill your church.
1. What would you do if the church members became convinced that to do a better job at reaching people in the community, they needed to change the name of the church?
2. What would you do if the church members became convinced that to do a better job at reaching people in the community, they needed to sell the church building?
3. What would you do if the church members became convinced that to do a better job of reaching people in the community, the church needed to switch service times from Sunday morning to Tuesday night?
4. After attending meetings and preparing a sermon, the pastor finds that he only has five hours of time left in his work week. Do you think he should spend those hours with people who are already part of the church or with people who are not?
5. Recently, some teenagers have been coming to church who wear all black, and smoke out front before and after the service. What do you think the church elders should do?
6. A single mother comes up to you after church one day for advice. Due to work and her busy schedule, she can only attend one “church function” a week, either the Sunday morning service or her Tuesday night “Life Group.” She confides in you that she actually “gets more out of the Tuesday night group and is developing good relationships there” but would feel guilty “skipping church” on Sunday. What do you tell her?
7. A Hindu attends church one Sunday, and afterward tells you that he doesn’t believe in eternal judgment or that Jesus is the only way to God. What do you tell him?
8. How long have you lived where you live right now? What are the names of your neighbors, and what problems are they facing right now?
9. How are you showing love to others tangibly, and to whom are you showing this love?
10. How much money does the church receive, and where exactly does this money go? Is there a “missions” or “outreach” budget? What percentage of your budget is it? What sorts of things is it spent on?
Can you think of any other diagnostic questions that help determine whether a church is missional or traditional?
Is Acts Prescriptive or Descriptive?
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Guy Muse asks the following about Acts:
Is Acts solely a historical description and non-binding on us today? Or is the record meant as a prescription–a kind of road map Jesus meant we are to follow?
Many take a middle-of-the-road approach. The parts we like we tend to classify as “prescriptive.” For example, we like Acts 1:8 where we Gentiles are included in Jesus’ Great Commission. As Evangelicals we believe we have the responsibility for taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
…To me, that is the problem of the middle-of-the-road Acts position. We tend to pick and choose which parts we like and will try to put into practice. Those practices that aren’t part of our tradition we classify as descriptive narrative–the same way we do with large portions of the Old Testament. [Read more…]
Kill Church Programs
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How can a church become more missional? Can we change the programs, training seminars, and conferences so they are more effective? Can we rework and tweak them? It might be possible, but I doubt it is worth the effort.
Church programs are like Government programs. They can be reworked, but only with lots of time, energy, and money being wasted. Even then, the end result is usually worse than what we started with. Attempting to retool a program is nearly always more damaging to the church and the people in the program than just flat-out cancelling the program. [Read more…]
Five Reasons eBooks are Better than Paper Books
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I love paper books, and don’t think eBooks will ever fully replace paper books, but there are still good reasons for the growing popularity of eBooks. Here are five:
1. eBooks are easy to carry and move.
My wife and I have enough books to fill 25 bookcases. Packing and unpacking my books is one of the most dreaded aspects of moving. But eBooks would make it easy. Also, if spend any time traveling, you can bring multiple eBooks with you in one device, rather than fill your bag with bulky, heavy books.
2. eBooks are searchable.
Have you ever read something important, and a month later when you want to find it, you just cannot remember where you read it? With an eBook, searching for the information is a breeze. Also, if you want to search your library for certain words or ideas, it is easy to do with eBooks. Not so much with paper books. [Read more…]
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