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A La Carte (4/19)

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Why You Should Come to Toronto Pastor’s Conference – Paul explains why you should come to Toronto Pastor’s Conference (which just so happens to be sponsored by my church).

Michael Hyatt on the iPad – I’ll have more to say about the iPad in days to come (as I put it through its paces). But I do like what Michael Hyatt says. “Do you want an iPad? Probably. Do you need an iPad? Probably not. The iPhone is sufficient for making calls, checking email, stock quotes, and the weather, or listening to podcasts or audiobooks. In my experience, the iPad doesn’t offer a big enough improvement to warrant the additional investment.”

The Objectification of Jennifer Knapp – I appreciate the warning sounded in this post. “The first step toward a good dialogue is recognizing that there’s a real person, with a real will, a real mind, and real problems at the other end of the line. And in this case, from what I can tell, Jennifer Knapp the real person would rather not be in the thick of things. I simply think respecting that would be a good start to whatever happens next.”

Seven Characteristics of Highly Evangelistic Christians – Thom Rainer shares seven characteristics of Christians who love to evangelize. “The secret is really no secret at all. Ultimately, evangelistic churches see more persons become Christians through the passionate efforts of highly evangelistic Christians. More than any programs. More than any church events. More than anything else, we are the instruments God has chosen to use.”

Seven Sure-Fire Ways to Blow Up a Church – Chuck Lawless: “I served as a church pastor for 14 years, have now served for 12 years as a church consultant and have watched hundreds of students begin their local church ministries during my 14 years as a seminary professor. Based on my observations from these various vantage points, here’s what I would do if I wanted to ‘blow up’ a church.”

Call to the Ministry? – I’m hearing good things about this presentation, though I haven’t had time to watch it myself. It comes from Dr. Tony Curto at the OPC Timothy Conference held on the campus of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Note that it is in seven parts, so you’ll want to go looking for the rest.


  • New and Notable Christian Books for January 2025

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of books in January and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I have…

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    A La Carte (January 30)

    A La Carte: Small injustices / Is it necessary to be a church member? / How to make friends at college / My letter about a transgender teacher / Prayerless theologians / Deepening fellowship / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Throw Out the Buoys

    Throw Out the Buoys!

    When I was young, my family owned a cottage on a lake. From a young age, I loved to head out in our little motorboat so I could explore that lake and the others that were connected to it. I could easily make a day out of slipping into little inlets to see where they…

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    A La Carte (January 29)

    A La Carte: Your phone habits / A guide for single women / JFK, conspiracy theories, and the Deep State / So what if you’re bored? / God’s a writer / Hard relationships / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Happy Lies

    Happy Lies

    I’m quite certain you have heard of the New Age movement. Though its popularity seems to have crested and begun to wane some time ago, it continues to wield a good bit of influence. But I wonder if you’ve heard of another similarly-named but quite different movement called New Thought.

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    A La Carte (January 28)

    A La Carte: Parenting is hard / The wildness of orthodoxy / Rubbing shoulders throughout eternity / Glorifying ourselves / The middle of somewhere / Is Roman Catholic baptism valid? / Excellent Kindle deals / and more.