Tag Archives: Church culture

Salary Caps for Missionaries

In the village in which I live, a Tsonga earning $300 (R3,000) per month would be taking home an enviable paycheck. When I originally set out to raise the funds for my departure, passage, and family back in 2004 I … Continue reading

Posted in Missions | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

“Contemporary Worship at 11!”

When we sing praise to an everlasting God, or sing about a Redeemer who died for us over two millennia ago, but do so employing musical forms that imply that the past is passé, we are communicating a mixed message. … Continue reading

Posted in Orthopathy, Quotes | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Pop Music is Seeping

“[Pop music] has seeped into our sensibilities in such a way that nothing that antedates it really sounds like music to us. … To dismiss the cultural effects of music as insignificant or merely a matter of taste, is like … Continue reading

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Can You Accidentally Break the Third Commandment?

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Recently, David de Bruyn has been insightfully plowing up the ground of the third commandment. But in my context, another question has been raised. I have heard … Continue reading

Posted in Ethical dilemmas, Orthopathy | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Don’t Play with Fire

A respected evangelical scholar addresses the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31. Here is all he wrote on the nature of the torment that unbelievers will experience: “This suffering, however, is probably more mental than physical, since otherwise the … Continue reading

Posted in Hermeneutics, Orthopathy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Should a Pastor Cancel Church Services for a Funeral?

Funerals are common in Africa with an average life expectancy under 50 in most countries. In South Africa, funerals are often held on Saturday or Sunday, and rarely in the middle of the week. Furthermore, it is culturally expected for … Continue reading

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Attractive Leadership

[William Carey] is most remarkable for his humility; he is a very superior man, and appears to know nothing about it. The great man and the little child unite in him, and, as far as I can see, he has … Continue reading

Posted in Orthopathy, Quotes, Unusual character | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Right and Wrong Ways to Respect Your Pastor

While I was speaking to a pastor on the Lord’s Day at the entrance to his church, a teenage girl came out, and bowed before him with her hands lifted up to receive. He obliged her pleading hands by dropping … Continue reading

Posted in Lists, Orthopathy | Tagged , | 1 Comment