6 destructive Church Trends; Pastor's Wife, Get Real; Beth Moore Simulcast review; Death of PM service; and wearable real-looking wings!

6 Destructive Trends Happening in Your Church by Jared C. Wilson is an excellent article. I love lists, bullet points,and outlines, and this one hits all the points. The article is a synopsis of a longer work,from  Mr Wilson's book--

The Prodigal Church: A Gentle Manifesto against the Status Quo, by Jared C. Wilson. The book blurb reads:

In The Prodigal Church, Jared Wilson challenges church leaders to reconsider their priorities when it comes to how they “do church” and reach people in their communities, arguing that we too often rely on loud music, flashy lights, and skinny jeans to get people in the door. 

Writing with the grace and kindness of a trusted friend, Wilson encourages readers to reexamine the Bible’s teaching, not simply return to a traditional model for tradition’s sake. He then sets forth an alternative to both the attractional and the traditional models: an explicitly biblical approach that is gospel focused, grace based, and fruit oriented.

My favorite one is #4. Closely followed by #5.

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This next article was published today by Baptist Press. It is titled,

FIRST-PERSON: Pastor's wife, be real!

HOBBS, N.M. (BP) -- It is the loudest silence, a moment so brief it is imperceptible to the untrained ear -- that moment between reality and response when faced with the traditional Sunday greeting of "How are you?"
Inside there is a heart crying out to be known. Yet, as we turn up our smiles, we turn down the volume on the voice of truth. I am fine. I am great. My life is in order.
Pastor's wife, we are facing an epidemic in our churches. It is the epidemic of being "fine." Somehow we have bought into the lie that if anyone knew our true humanity and all of its nagging sin nature, we would be ostracized.

I love the church assembly. Some assemblies are more genuine than others, and of course none are perfect. At least if they had been perfect, they shine was off the moment I joined. However, one thing bugs me about church.

As much as we complain that church isn't a show, we put on a show all the time, in pretending we're fine. We're not. How do I know we're not? We're sinners, (Romans 3:10) and we live on a world whose 'god' is currently the author of evil. (2 Cor 4:4) Of course we're not fine. Get real.

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Mrs Sharon Lareau has taken much time, prayer, and study to present to us women a Living Proof Live Simulcast Review, Part One. She extensively compares what Beth Moore was teaching at this latest simulcast, to the Bible. I recommend her presentation to you, urgently.

In a companion essay to her review, Mrs Lareau examines the main idea Beth Moore so fervently delivered in the simulcast, the message that all women are lacking and need to hear, which is that we need a big romance with Jesus. Mrs Lareau looks at this teaching in her essay Romance with Jesus: The Bigger Picture. This is also an excellent essay that I recommend to you. Good gravy, just go to Mrs Lareau's page and bookmark it. You will be glad you did. :)

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Another good one from Reformation 21, The Death of the Evening Service

When I was first asked about my "vision" for the church, I made the point that I'd like to see better attendance at the evening service. From some outside the church I received a few silly suggestions, but I resolved to do two things: 

1. Not coerce or manipulate people to come to the evening service.
2. Let the gospel do its work.

So why is retaining the evening service a good idea?

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Now's your chance to see Alexis Noriega's beautiful pair of human-sized pneumatic articulating feather wings, which she made for Halloween. She will be posting a tutorial soon for people interested in building their own pair. Pretty cool.

Fly Like an Eagle