Our church is sponsoring a great program to help those in need this Thanksgiving season. For just a $20 donation, Live, Love and Give will provide $40 worth of food items (including rice, pasta, canned goods, etc.) to someone in need.

If you would like to participate, click here to visit the website and make an online donation: Live, Love and Give

Link: Texas Megachurch Offers Christmas Services in 3-D

We have church services in 3-D every Sunday – and you don’t even have to wear special glasses. Most of my life takes place in three dimensions. How about you?

This CartoonChurch.com cartoon by Dave Walker originally appeared in the Church Times.

So, where do you sit in church? Do you sit in the same place each week or do you like to move around?

Related posts:
    • The Sermon Cartoon
    • The Pastor’s Dog
    • The Dullest Blog in the World

Click here for more Cartoon related posts.

Whereas many churches that offer a blended style of worship offer some hymns with the organ and some praise music with the praise band, Coral Ridge went a different route. As the congregation gathered, the orchestra played a worshipful rendition of the hymn, “This Is My Father’s World.” This was followed by a video presentation of the church’s new vision for worship appropriately titled, “One.” Next the majestic organ swelled as we all stood for the opening hymn. But then, surprise, the organ traded off for the drum kit, the orchestra and praise band joined in, and we sang “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” to a truly blended accompaniment of all the instruments together.

The service continued with traditional and contemporary elements blended together. We sang hymns and praise choruses with various instrumentation. During the offering the choir and orchestra presented a stirring rendition of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” Pastor Tullian preached a convicting message on the importance of unity in the church from Ephesians 4:1-6. All things were done to God’s glory with excellence in keeping with Coral Ridge’s philosophy of ministry.

Kudos to the worship planners who pulled all the various elements together and also to the sound engineer who achieved a remarkable audio balance throughout the service. When I am in a church service, I like to be able to hear myself singing as well as the congregation around me. I found that even with all the instruments playing together I was able to distinguish the worship leader’s voice, the choir singing in the background, the orchestra, praise band and organ, as well as hear my own voice, the voices of those around me, and also have a sense of the whole congregation singing. That is no small feat, so thank you to whoever paid such careful attention to the sound.

For Tullian and Coral Ridge, this merging of their two services into one is not a matter of preference or convenience but comes from a theologically-shaped conviction rising out of the gospel. As Tullian shared in a blog post yesterday,

Building the church on stylistic preferences or age appeal (whether old or young) is just as contrary to the reconciling effect of the gospel as building it on class, race, or gender distinctions. In a recent interview J. I. Packer said, “If worship services are so fixed that what’s being offered fits the expectations, the hopes, even the prejudices, of any one of these groups as opposed to the others, I don’t believe the worship style glorifies God.” One of the leading ways the church can testify to God’s unifying power before our segregated world is to establish and maintain congregations and worship services that transcend cultural barriers, including age and musical styles. (Blog post: We Are One)

I am still wrestling with whether a single worship style service is a gospel imperative or simply a gospel conviction for Coral Ridge at this time, but I appreciate the conversation Tullian is opening on this issue, and I trust it will make us all think more deeply about church and worship together. Oh, and did I mention, I had a wonderful time worshiping the Lord with my brothers and sisters in Christ at Coral Ridge Sunday. All glory to God!

So, in the meantime I am trying not to waste my unemployment. This is a time to grow in my faith and dependence on the Lord and an opportunity to give testimony to his faithfulness. I am extra conscious of the fact that I need God’s daily provision, and the prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” has taken on new meaning for me.

The truth is, we are always daily dependent on God. Even when we have steady employment, we need to recognize that God is the one who provides and look to him, not our job, for security. “Everything I have today, I have because of God.” God has been faithful, and he has provided for all our needs.

Of course, I am also working hard at being productive during this time. In between job searches and resumes, I have been able to make good use of these extra hours God has given me each day. I have taught myself some new skills and worked on some larger projects. The end result so far is the birth of a new business and the completion of a book project. I will be sharing about both of these with you in the coming days, so stay tuned. In the meantime, thank you for your prayers for me and my family during this time of transition.

Related posts:
    • Ebook Formatting for the Ipad, Kindle and Nook
    • The Bible Memory Version
    • Church Search
    • Pastoral Profile

I am currently seeking God’s will for his next place of ministry for us as a family. If you know of a church that is looking for a pastor, please pass this information on to them. Thank you! Click here for my Pastoral Profile page.

Related posts:
    • Yes, we are all in Florida now!
    • Update on the Fowler Move
    • Big Change for the Fowler Family
    • Questions and Answers about Our Upcoming Move

At midnight on May 15, an estimated one-fifth to one-quarter of some 1.6 million charities, trade associations and membership groups will lose their tax exemptions, thanks to a provision buried in a 2006 federal bill aimed at pension reform.

“It’s going to be an unholy mess once these organizations realize what’s happened to them,” said Diana Aviv, president of the Independent Sector, a nonprofit trade group.

The federal legislation passed in 2006 required all nonprofits to file tax forms the following year. Previously, only organizations with revenues of $25,000 or more — or the vast majority of nonprofit groups — had to file.

The new law, embedded in the 393 pages of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, also directed the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax exemptions of groups that failed to file for three consecutive years. Three years have passed, and thus the deadline looms.

Wow. This sounds huge. Does anyone know how this affects churches?

Update (4/28/2010): I just got an email from a friend (who is a CPA and church treasurer) informing me that this does not apply to churches. He referred me to the Instructions for Form 990 which states the following:

For annual tax periods beginning after 2006, the law requires most tax-exempt organizations, other than churches, to file an annual Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF with the IRS, or to submit a Form 990-N e-Postcard to the IRS. If an organization fails to file an annual return or notice as required for 3 consecutive years, it will automatically lose its tax-exempt status. (Instructions for Form 990, page 1; under the section What’s New: New Penalty Provisions for Nonfiling)

That’s good news. I’m glad to know this won’t be catching any churches by surprise. Now, hopefully the other nonprofits can catch up on time.

The Barna research … examined whether churchgoing adults perceive Easter weekend to be a good time to invite people to attend worship services with them. While most active churchgoers said they would be open to doing this, a minority said they would be likely to do so. Overall, 31% of active churchgoers said they would definitely invite someone they know who does not usually attend a church to accompany them to a church service on Easter weekend this year.

That’s too bad. According to research by the North American Mission Board, most Americans say they would visit a church if invited by a family member, neighbor or a friend. Easter is a great time to invite someone to attend church with you. So what are you waiting for? Easter is only a few weeks away. Who will you invite this year to hear the good news that Jesus rose from the dead?

Related posts:
    • Church Holiday Two-Timers
    • Most Americans Open to Church Invitations

“Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 5:3-5)

Here Paul sees himself as with the church in spirit even though he is not physically present. However, this would seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Notice also that Paul is joining in spirit with a church that is actually gathering together physically.

The apostle John certainly felt that physical presence with each other was important for true fellowship:

I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 12)

Pastor/author John Stott wrote these rather prophetic words back in 1982:

It is difficult to imagine the world in the year A.D. 2000, by which time versatile micro-processors are likely to be as common as simple calculators are today. We should certaily welcome the fact that the silicon chip will transcend human brain-power, as the machine has transcended human muscle-power. Much less welcome will be the probable reduction of human contact as the new electronic network renders personal relationships ever less necessary. In such a dehumanized society the fellowship of the local church will become increasingly important, whose members meet one another, and talk and listen to one another in person rather than on screen. In this human context of mutual love the speaking and hearing of the Word of God is also likely to become more necessary for the preservation of our humanness, not less.
    — John Stott, I Believe in Preaching, p. 69. (HT: Luke)

Back to the article, here are a couple things that bugged me in it:

“On one site, viewers can click on a tab during worship to accept Christ as their savior.” I don’t know that asking someone simply to raise his or her hand to accept Christ is much better, but I think we are moving in the wrong direction here.

“[One church] buys Google ad words so that a person searching for ‘sex’ or ‘naked ladies’ sees an ad inviting them to a live worship service instead.” I’m all for reaching people for Christ, but I’m not sure how this squares with 2 Corinthians 4:2 (“We have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception”) or 1 Thessalonians 2:3 (“The appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.”) Different contexts, but the principle of no deception still applies.

So, I don’t like the idea of virtual church replacing actual church. And I am a little leery of some of the methods being used. But I don’t want to nitpick either. “The important thing is that … Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” (Philippians 1:18) What do you think about online church?

Further reading:
    • Is Online Church Really Church? (Mark Roberts)
    • Churches Reaching Less Than One Percent of Virtual World (MMI)

What we found is when we aimed simply for community, we got neither community nor mission. But when we aimed for mission, we got mission and community almost every single time.

(Video length: 16:09)

HT: MMI