Dec
22
2009
Worth a Look 12.22.09
What Remains of Eastern Orthodoxy in Turkey
60 Minutes featured a fascinating segment on Eastern Orthodoxy and the remnant of Christians still living in modern day Turkey, often under persecution. If you watch this video, you’ll see beautiful pictures of some of the oldest Christian church buildings still in existence. The video ends with the ecumenical patriarch saying,
“We prefer to stay here, even crucified sometimes. Because in the gospel it is given to us, not only to believe in Christ, but to suffer for Christ. We believe in the resurrection. After the crucifixion, resurrection comes.”
Barna’s End of the Year Statistics
Ed Stetzer summarizes some of George Barna’s “end of the year” statistics:
Increasingly, Americans are more interested in faith and spirituality than in Christianity.
Faith in the American context is now individual and customized. Americans are comfortable with an altered spiritual experience as long as they can participate in the shaping of that faith experience.
Biblical literacy is neither a current reality nor a goal in the U.S.
Effective and periodic measurement of spirituality – conducted personally or through a church – is not common at this time and it is not likely to become common in the near future.
Diving into the New Media
The pastor’s guide to the new media:
It’s a whole new world out there. The truth is, even email and websites are now getting outdated. And no one even thinks about yellow pages ads anymore. The key is to know what your “take” on the Christian message is, and then to broadcast it on all channels. The upside is that most of the New Media world is free.
Another Top Ten Book List
Russell Moore’s top ten books of 2009. Some very interesting picks!
Remember this is a “non-working” list so I’ve not included any explicitly theological or pastoral works here. There are lots of books in those categories that would fit in a top-ten list as well.
Quotes for Christmas
J.C. Ryle on the humble example of the wise men