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The World Shames the Church Once Again

By Jeremy Myers
3 Comments

The World Shames the Church Once Again

I know that the church is not supposed to follow the world, but sometimes, I think the church could learn a lot from the world.

Take this as an example:

world shames the church

What else could the church do instead of leaving trashy fliers like this on the windshields of other people? How about volunteering to be designated drivers for drunk people? Of course, the Christians who leave these fliers would spend the time telling their drunk passengers how they are going to burn in hell for getting drunk, so that might not work out so well…

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: alcohol, blessing, church, curse, Discipleship, ministry, Theology of the Church, world

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Preachers of LA – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

By Jeremy Myers
37 Comments

Preachers of LA – Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Thanks goes out to Neil Braithwaite for alerting me to this new series coming to television, “The Preachers of LA.”

preachers of LA

Words fail me so you will just have to watch the video…

The fun really starts at about the 1:10 mark…

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: money, pastor, Preaching, Theology of the Church

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Gay Marriage, the Sanctity of Marriage, and the State

By Jeremy Myers
23 Comments

Gay Marriage, the Sanctity of Marriage, and the State

David Dunn recently wrote an incredibly insightful post about gay marriage and how many Christians are calling on the government to help us protect the “sanctity of marriage.” He says in his article that doing is basically making an idol of the state. I couldn’t agree more! Here is an excerpt from the article he wrote:

Gay Marriage

New York’s recent legalization of gay marriage is being hailed by many as a watershed moment in the history of the fight for equal rights for same sex couples. Whatever the long-term consequences of this decision may be, chances are, in the near term, it will be met with increased opposition from Christian conservatives. Their efforts, which reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of marriage, are misguided at best and sinful at worst. There will always be Christians who oppose “homosexuality” on moral grounds, but enlisting the state to protect “the sanctity of marriage” is a mistake. Such efforts demonstrate a fundamental – even idolatrous – misunderstanding of the meaning of “holy matrimony,” effectively denying Christ by vesting the state with divine authority.

California’s infamous Proposition 8 and similar measures sure to make it onto the ballots during next year’s election fall prey to the so-called Constantinian temptation. When Constantine legalized Christianity in the early fourth century, some began to see an almost godlike authority in the state. An increasing number of Christians found it difficult to tell the difference between the things that belong to Caesar and the things that belong to God.

Yet, despite their confusion, those earlier Christians generally knew there was a difference between God and the state, even if they could not always tell where it was. Our sin is worse. Today’s Christian conservatives seem to be worshiping America, or at least a certain idea of it, when they ask the government to protect the “sanctity” of marriage. In doing this, they have vested the state with the power to sanctify.

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, gay marriage, homosexuality, idolatry, sacraments, sanctity of marriage, Theology of the Church

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Church Tribes vs. Jesus’ Tribe

By Jeremy Myers
13 Comments

Church Tribes vs. Jesus’ Tribe

This post about church tribes is written by Sam Riviera, a frequent contributor to this blog.


church tribe Jesus tribe

Yesterday’s post ย introduced to the concept of church tribes. This post looks at the pros and cons of church tribes, and how to be part of Jesus’ Tribe.

Benefits of Belonging to a Church Tribe

There are benefits to belong to a tribe… especially a church tribe.

One of the primary benefits of having a tribe is that it gives us a sense of belonging, a place where we can call home, and feel protected.

We all want safe havens where we are listened to, accepted, and loved. Most of us can handle aggressive, angry, hostile people much better when we know we have a loving, supportive family waiting for us at home, and a loving, supportive group, be it a church or a social club, with whom we will gather to escape a hostile world and support one another.

Together we can accomplish what we could never do alone. We can work on common goals, trade ideas and โ€œhave each others backs.โ€ It’s nice to be part of a group where together we can form a united front that tells people,ย โ€œDonโ€™t mess with us or weโ€™ll stomp on you.โ€

Even if others think us strange, weird, or crazy, thatโ€™s OK. We have each other to tell us that weโ€™re normal and everyone else is crazy.

Disadvantages of Belonging to a Tribe

Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages to belonging to a tribe, and to church tribes in particular.

Most tribes expect those who belong to conform to the rules of the tribe. This is especially true of church tribes. If we want to belong, we must first learn whoโ€™s the chief, who are his right-hand people and what we are expected to do to show proper respect to them. We may be expected to show not only respect, but to give gifts of time, money and other items to the โ€œtribal leadersโ€.

[Read more…]

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: church, guest post, Sam Riviera, Theology of the Church, tribal church, tribalism

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The Tribe and the Church

By Jeremy Myers
5 Comments

The Tribe and the Church

This post is written by Sam Riviera, a frequent contributor to this blog.


the tribe and the churchThe adults of the village filed into the community meeting house and found their usual seating locations, which identified their rank within the tribe. Everyone was dressed in accordance with the customary dress for such occasions.

Music began. The crowd swayed and chanted with the music. Everyone knew the music and the words. Containers of drink were passed from person to person and everyone drank a few sips.

An elder stood and spoke. Everyone respectfully listened. The tribal meeting concluded with more music.

Though this description sounds like something that only happens in a Native American ceremony or in an Indonesian jungle, the description above actually describes what happens in countless churches around the world every Sunday morning.

But is this wrong?

Our Tribal Urge

We all have a tribal urge. A tribe is group where one can belong and others are excluded; the place where one knows their place and exactly what is expected of them.

A tribe consists of people who will be there in oneโ€™s time of need; the people who will not allow one to die alone.

This all sounds fine, but why do we want to belong to a tribe? Are there advantages? Are there disadvantages? Can the tribal urge find fulfillment in Christ? Can it find fulfillment in the church?

Or does the tribal urge conflict with Jesusโ€™ command to love our neighbors as ourselves?

The Russian thinker Peter Kropotkin, in his book Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution suggested that survival is the result of cooperation of people together against the environment. Each person benefits from the things others contribute and share. Can this best be accomplished within the tribe or within society at large?

Do we form tribes for the purpose of surviving in a harsh environment, or as an attempt to group with others similar to ourselves and to exclude all others? Is the tribe an effort to meet our own needs, to the exclusion of the needs of others?

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: church, church service, Discipleship, guest post, Sam Riviera, Theology of the Church, tribal church, tribal urge, tribalism

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