Tulsa Lectures: First and Third Class, Toward a Spiritual Formation Ministry

Imagine that you’ve been hired as minister of spiritual formation. Or that you’re the deacon charged with spiritual formation. Or that you’re an elder or minister who believes spiritual formation is an essential element of the Christian life.

How do you go about working with God’s Holy Spirit so that Christ is formed within the members of your congregation? Continue reading

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Acts 4:13-37 (the power of the Spirit; predestination; boldness; all things in common)

The power of the Spirit

(Act 4:13-14 ESV)  13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.  14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

It’s an important lesson. The skeptics had centuries of Greek philosophy to back them up. Their power was being eroded by men of little formal education. And yet their good works spoke more loudly than their degrees and philosophy. Continue reading

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Tulsa Lectures: First and Third Class, On Spiritual Formation

A few years ago, I learned a new church term: “spiritual formation.” In fact, for a while, my congregation had a man on staff called “minister of spiritual formation.” It’s all the rage.

The classic text in support of this sort of ministry is —

(Gal 4:19 ESV)  19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!

Hence, “spiritual formation” refers to the formation of Christ within the individual Christian. It’s about personal transformation. Indeed, it’s about helping the Holy Spirit do his work.

Good. Really. I mean it. I just don’t think we have a clue as to how to go about it. Continue reading

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Acts 4:1-12 (the resurrection of the dead; salvation is only in Jesus)

The resurrection of the dead

(Act 4:1-2 ESV)  And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,  2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

The Sadducees were closely tied to the priests and were likely largely Levites. The Romans gave the priests a degree of authority in Jewish affairs, which led to many priests adopting a compromised Judaism — as they were compromised Jews. Continue reading

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Tulsa Lectures: First and Third Class, On Being a Shepherd

So am I opposed to the notion of elders being shepherds?

Well, yes and no.

There is unquestionably a deep need for elders to be more involved in the lives of the members. Whether its counseling, comforting in times of distress, the members need their elders to be there. Well, not exactly. Not really. You see … Continue reading

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Further Regarding the Stones of Kidneys

So the week before last, I was back in the hospital (I got out March 29), again with kidney stones. Two surgeries in three weeks, with the Tulsa Workshop in between. It’s been a challenging three weeks.

I’ve described the first surgery already. Here’s what happened next —

* In the first surgery, they installed a stint, which is a tube inserted within the ureter between the kidney and bladder, designed to help the ureter heal and to allow stones and clots to pass unimpeded during the healing process. Continue reading

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The Virus is Gone!

Theobloggers has scrubbed the software and cleaned out the virus.

I’ve checked the software in IE, Firefox, and Chrome and have no problems here.

If you continue to receive virus or malware warnings when you have One In Jesus open, close all browsers, reboot, and the problem should be gone.

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Tulsa Lectures: First and Third Class, Leading

Leading in this case means —

* Refusing to capitulate to worldly, selfish, entitled demands, even if couched in doctrinal language.

* And yet saying “no” gently and lovingly.

(1Ti 5:1-2 ESV) Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers,  2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

* Allow the older members a dignified way out. Don’t push them into a corner. Anticipate their concerns. Hear them out. Ask them to lay aside their personal preferences for the greater good. Continue reading

Posted in Elders, Leading Change, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Virus Warning! Part 2

I posted a notice saying that the virus was gone, but shortly took the notice down after receiving complaints from readers and then having the warning appear here again.

I get a warning “The application’s digital signature cannot be verified” in IE, Firefox, and Chrome. Once I receive it, I can only get rid of it by rebooting.

If you receive this message, do NOT hit “Run” or “Always trust content from this publisher.”

The good news is that I’ve had this on my computer constantly for the last two hours while I spoke with Norton’s support staff, and they’ve confirmed that there’s no virus or other malware on my computer, other than this javascript, which disappears when I reboot — so long as I keep hitting Cancel. So no real harm done.

I’m continuing to work with Theobloggers to get this resolved and will post the All Clear when the time comes.

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Virus Warning!

There is evidently some malware in the OneInJesus website. If you receive a message asking permission to run a Java plugin, hit Cancel. Don’t let the Javascript run.

I’ll let you know when the bug has been purged.

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