A Litany of Good Articles

I haven't written for too long. Call it writers block. I don't know. I wanted to write today, but what to write? Well, here are four really awesome articles/links that you should check out.

The first is an awesome post by Ray Ortlund, written a bit tongue-in-cheek on "how to wreck your church"

How to wreck your church in three weeks

Week One:  Walk into church today and think about how long you’ve been a member, how much you’ve sacrificed, how under-appreciated you are.  Take note of every way you’re dissatisfied with your church now.  Take note of every person who displeases you.

Meet for coffee this week with another member and “share your heart.”  Discuss how your church is changing, how you are being left out.  Ask your friend who else in the church has “concerns.”  Agree together that you must “pray about it.”

Week Two:  Send an email to a few other “concerned” members.  Inform them that a groundswell of grievance is surfacing in your church.  Problems have gone unaddressed for too long.  Ask them to keep the matter to themselves “for the sake of the body.”

As complaints come in, form them into a petition to demand an accounting from the leaders of the church.  Circulate the petition quietly.  Gathering support will be easy.  Even happy members can be used if you appeal to their sense of fairness – that your side deserves a hearing.  Be sure to proceed in a way that conforms to your church constitution, so that your petition is procedurally correct.

Week Three:  When the growing moral fervor, ill-defined but powerful, reaches critical mass, confront the elders with your demands.  Inform them of all the woundedness in the church, which leaves you with no choice but to put your petition forward.  Inform them that, for the sake of reconciliation, the concerns of the body must be satisfied.

Whatever happens from this point on, you have won.  You have changed the subject in your church from gospel advance to your own grievances.  To some degree, you will get your way.  Your church will need three or four years for recovery.  But at any future time, you can do it all again.  It only takes three weeks.

Just one question.  Even if you are being wronged, “Why not rather suffer wrong?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).

Also, check out a clever, wise response from Dr. Moore (from Southern Seminary) to a young man asking about whether or not to get a Christ-exalting tattoo. Read the whole thing here. Here's a snipet:

One more thing: a tattoo won’t stop you from wrecking your life, no matter what it says. The rebellious heart gets what it wants, and will do what it takes to get there. An immoral man can easily scoff at the tattoo, or even blaspheme as a result of it in the throes of his rebellion. Instead of working to embed the gospel on your skin, embed it on your conscience. Cultivate repentance, confession, and seeking the life of Christ. The answer for you isn’t your own skin ink but Someone Else’s nail scars.

Finally, you must check out JD Greear's response to the following question: "How do you initiate Gospel conversations with people you interact with on a daily basis?" My favorite part is his joking response at the beginning:

I look for subtle metaphors to bring in spiritual things. For example, when I hand a coupon to the lady at the supermarket register, I say, "How much did I save? Speaking of saving, have I mentioned that great eternal coupon offered to each of us?" Or, when buying clothes, I say, "Here are the shirts I choose to buy. I did not, however, choose them from the foundation of the world like I was chosen..." Or, when my barista hands me my cup of hot coffee each morning, I say, "Wow, that's hot. Speaking of hot, how would you like to live in a scalding hot pot of coffee for all eternity?" Etc. People really seem to appreciate how aware I am of metaphors for their salvation.

See the whole (more serious) thing.