tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.comments2010-06-08T08:32:12.690-05:00God1sthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802729961364612934noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-74822185136181039962010-06-07T11:57:24.600-05:002010-06-07T11:57:24.600-05:00amen and amen. :)alysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09906423741546205677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-33480957366308783602009-06-11T17:24:29.445-05:002009-06-11T17:24:29.445-05:00I only read the first part but the quote from &quot;scientists&quot; says that they DOUBT the experiments will prove or disprove God&#39;s existence. It&#39;s the author who tries to charge the debate, which is only natural from her position as a journalist.<br /><br />I tend to side with you and the scientists. Love and hunger, among other things, are also chemical processes that can be artificially influenced, but that does not mean they are not real.Jokah Macphersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185675633464395897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-11598887025728767242009-03-31T11:43:00.000-05:002009-03-31T11:43:00.000-05:00Mr. Rogers used to be a military sniper? that's interesting. and kinda scary. he's that freaky kind of "nice guy on the surface, fullblown sniper on the inside..."God1sthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10802729961364612934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-57882619214115321772009-03-31T10:59:00.000-05:002009-03-31T10:59:00.000-05:00don't forget though... Mr. Rogers used to be a military sniper.<BR/>and i've seen some pissed hippies.<BR/>haha- in all seriousness though, great thoughts.<BR/>personally, i'd rather err on the side of thinking of Jesus as not angry enough rather than too angry. i do think it is significant that we have just one example of Jesus getting angry...<BR/>but, we can't forget that one time, so i think your words are a great reminder that injustice and idolatry should anger us.<BR/>peacedgermhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12442830230332876256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-82331955515877693372009-03-29T15:11:00.000-05:002009-03-29T15:11:00.000-05:00always interesting...this idea of a 'roaring lamb.' Jesus never got angry when people hurt him, only when they were hurting other people or inhibiting someone's faith. our Savior truly showed love by fighting against injustice, callousness and greed on behalf of the weak.alysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09906423741546205677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-45438322201548092902009-03-24T08:46:00.000-05:002009-03-24T08:46:00.000-05:00geez. you have weird stuff happen to you- didn't some kids throw something at you once, or am i making that up?<BR/>interesting how similar what they said was (both even using "god$*#$ sidewalk"...dgermhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12442830230332876256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-31410281900012617392009-02-13T19:47:00.000-06:002009-02-13T19:47:00.000-06:00As a follow-up, I ran a comparison of means on the General Social Survey website to determine what the church's gender imbalance was and how it had changed over time. The variable used included all worship services (not necessarily Christian) but given that the majority of Americans at least identify as Christian, I think it will do. Your guess wasn't far off - the ratio is 65/35 as of 2006, but the surprising part is it hasn't really changed since 1972, the earliest data available. There has been an uneven downward trend in religious attendance for both sexes but the difference in mean attendance between them has remained steady.Jokah Macphersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185675633464395897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-44895065176111072962009-02-13T19:42:00.000-06:002009-02-13T19:42:00.000-06:00[Men]...often try to embody those who are stronger, wiser, more athletic, more talented...etc, more to a degree than women do.<BR/><BR/>Men try to embody these characteristics because women are attracted to these characteristics and sex feels really good.<BR/><BR/>Women don't do this so much because men don't particularly care about the resume of womens' achievements as much as they care about waist-to-hip ratio and clear smooth skin. Note how much more time women spend on their appearance than men.<BR/><BR/>"David's love towards the Lord didn't make him...any less macho"<BR/><BR/>It didn't make him more so either. King David was the man because he was a war hero and had a harem of Israel's finest waiting on him. Even when this wasn't enough for him and he sinned, God couldn't stay mad at him because he was such an awesome guy.<BR/><BR/>I agree with you that the church needs to become more masculine if it is to be meaningful to men but I don't see this happening. I hope I'm wrong, though.Jokah Macphersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185675633464395897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-65016028135630566792009-02-04T21:17:00.000-06:002009-02-04T21:17:00.000-06:00His grace is always wonderful even though its sometimes incomprehensible (at least for me). I had a pastor that always said 'for every one look we take at our sin, take 25 looks at the cross.' If we don't focus on the character of Jesus, we tend to get stuck within the maze of our own darkened hearts.alysonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09906423741546205677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-29840478840197436002009-01-29T20:59:00.000-06:002009-01-29T20:59:00.000-06:00A: God doesn't flirt with me shamelessly.Jokah Macphersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185675633464395897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-73279417836824280322008-11-05T10:24:00.000-06:002008-11-05T10:24:00.000-06:00Great thoughts, Hunter. I love the idea of giving to the point that it makes us uncomfortable.<BR/>Something to add to the mix... the early church understood the tithe as a collection to be taken for and given to the poor (and from my understanding, that was often 10%). Then, any needs beyond that were met through additional giving that went above and beyond the tithe set aside for the poor. How very, very different from our current uses of the 'tithe.'dgermhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12442830230332876256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-17326490507458354982008-10-28T18:48:00.000-05:002008-10-28T18:48:00.000-05:00Good, astute thoughts. You probably are aware of this, but I will offer it anyway. One of many wonderful things about being married is that much of the initial awkwardness in brother/sister relationships you mentioned completely goes away. I never have to worry about someone reading into an innocent, kind, 'brotherly' act, and I never am done even considering reading into innocent, kind, 'sisterly' acts. There's freedom in the certainty that relationships with the opposite sex (other than a spouse) are not and never will be anything other than that of brotherly/sisterly love.<BR/>And the truth is, most single Christians are not satisfied with their relationship status. Unless that changes, I think there is always going to be those suspicions, awkward beginnings, etc.<BR/>So I guess I'm just agreeing with you that this is a real, prevalent thing.dgermhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12442830230332876256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-46727510198031788412008-10-24T23:46:00.000-05:002008-10-24T23:46:00.000-05:00I like what you are getting at here, Hunter. A thought that makes this even more complex: while Christ was alive, there was no such thing as 'believers' and 'unbelievers' (as you pointed out was the case with the church). By the time Paul is writing a better case for that distinction can be made, but I think it would be tough to say that Jesus was speaking to Christians (or believers) about dealing with those outside the church because there was no such thing as believers at that time. The way I look at it is that Jesus was instructing the people he was talking to, and certainly we can take instruction from those words.<BR/>I do think you are onto something... I think there are some other passages that more specifically address how we are to treat those in Christ and those not yet in Christ.<BR/>Follow-up question: let's say that significant leaders in whatever denomination or broad group of churches you have in mind approach some significant leaders in the 'health and wealth' church (which probably has traces in various denominations and churches) and are turned away (let's say the 'health and wealth' folks hear out the others but are not convinced that their teaching is unbiblical). what are you suggesting would be a way for the church to figure itself out, and (follow up to the follow up), what exactly does that mean (for the church to figure itself out). just trying to probe deeper into what you are saying.<BR/>good thoughts. thanks as always for your opening yourself up!<BR/>peace.dgermhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12442830230332876256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-55586718661766056912008-10-19T18:52:00.000-05:002008-10-19T18:52:00.000-05:00Hey Hunter- this really resonates with me- I was feeling pretty helpless in terms of not knowing how to serve the new community I'm a part of, and the Lord just allowed me to focus on settling into my new church community first... opportunities have started to come out of the woodwork now that I'm connecting here... God has our back. Thanks for your insight!lauren hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14186313692582010608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-75295597251118327612008-09-01T16:07:00.000-05:002008-09-01T16:07:00.000-05:00Nice Usual Suspects reference- "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."<BR/>Good, challenging thoughts. In your section 'a)', what is it that you are saying could be proven by a statistical study? Correlation, or causation (or being "bone dry faith wise"? Cause it seems like you did provide the study for the correlation facts, and that you are suggesting causation. Is that right? To isolate that factor, it seems like millions of other variables would need to be addressed and discounted. Or am I not following you?dgermhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12442830230332876256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3429513364648471053.post-76178048159263916292008-08-28T16:57:00.000-05:002008-08-28T16:57:00.000-05:00interesting thoughts, hunter.<BR/>my question is this: would Jesus be comfortable being called the leader of an organization? (it's organization part, not the leader part, that i'm not so sure about).<BR/>and i know many people who would argue with your assertion that you could prove that Christ is the most outstanding leader the world has seen.<BR/>and my other question is this: what is the motivation to servant leadership for those who do not know Christ and who operate, especially in the business-world, by very different standards (profit-driven, materialism, market-share, etc.).<BR/>i think it is good to hope for and work toward introducing more people to Christ and His teachings, but for those who are not ready, i don't think we can even assume that the values you are talking about (and the success of leadership) would be judged in the same way.<BR/>i just don't see a business owner who does not know Christ (or more specifically, who does not believe in God) getting enthused about Christ's teachings and style of servant-leadership.<BR/>do you see that differently?<BR/>hmmm, as i am rereading though i am thinking maybe your point is that Jesus' teachings on servant-leadership should be presented as one form of leadership (that we happen to believe is the best one). if that is what you are saying, then disregard most of this post... i agree!dgermhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12442830230332876256noreply@blogger.com