daddy4ms

Here is a post from Tullian Tchividjian . He has written a couple of books. One that really challenged my thinking was "Unfashionable". This is from his newest book called, "Surprised by Grace". I hope you are blessed by this post . All of us are worshipers—of something. It’s that simple. We’re created, designed, and wired for worship. Being human is to be a worshiper. It’s one of the biggest distinctives that mark us as human beings in this universe filled with living creatures. The English word worship derives from the idea of “ worthship ,” meaning that we all serve those things to which we attribute ultimate worth. Worship is a posture of the heart. It’s an attitude of loyalty and trust toward something—someone—in your life that you believe makes life worth living. Thus, we all worship something or someone. This is true whether you consider yourself to be religious or not, spiritual or not, Christian or not. Typically, whatever we ...

It is time to share again what books I am reading right now. Why? Because hopefully one of the titles might interest you and you would pick up the book and be challenged. One of things I learned early in seminary was that I needed to be a lifelong learner. What this means is that even though my formal education at Denver Seminary ended, I needed to continue to grow in my knowledge and experience informally. For me, I do this through conferences and observations from others in ministry, but more consistently through reading. Sidenote : I hated reading until I graduated from seminary, but now I love sitting down with a good book to help or challenge me in ministry. Here is what I am reading right now: Home Improvement: Eight Tools for Effective Parenting by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller Spiritual Milestones by Jim & Janet Weidmann & J. Otis & Gail Ledbetter The Blessing by John Trent & Gary Smalley Unfashionable by Tullian Tchividjian The Treasure Princi...

This week, in our pastoral staff meeting, we were discussing the topic of unity introduced by the book, Unfashionable. As I read chapter 9, I was reminded of Jesus' prayer for us as the body of Christ to be unified. What does this exactly look like? Let me share a few quotes from the book that I think explain it well. "In contrast, the highest aim of mission-minded people is not self-protection but self-sacrifice. Mission-minded people exist primarily not for themselves but for others. They're willing to set aside personal preferences in service to those with different preferences. They're willing to be inconvenienced, discomforted, and spent for the well-being of others." "Lacking love for the body (and for any individuals in the body) shows a lack of love for the Head of the body. If we love Christ, we will love one another." "But when reconciliation, peacemaking, and unity are on display inside the church, that becomes a powerful witness to ...

The following is a blog Posted November 30 th , 2009 by Tullian Tchividjian . We, as a pastoral staff, are reading the book right now and discussing it in our staff meeting. I recommend the book as a good read and a challenge to how we do church. Enjoy the post by Tullian and I hope it sparks an interest to live Unfashionable. I wrote the book Unfashionable to make the point that Christians make a difference in this world by being different from this world; they don’t make a difference by being the same. My deep concern (which prompted me to write the book) is that many Christians, specifically in America, seem just as fascinated with success, popularity, power, and prestige as the world around them. Materialism, consumerism, individualism, and narcissism—cultural ideals that are antithetical to the self-sacrificial nature of the gospel—are just as prevalent inside the church as they are outside. The sad fact is that we in the American church are better known for producing self-e...

I just recently finished reading "Unfashionable" by Tullian Tchividjian. This is a good book with the following subtitle, "making a difference in the world by being different." It is all about the church not working so hard to be "cool" and instead be unfashionable. Here is a quote that Tchividjian ends the book with taken from "God in the Wasteland" by David Wells: I want the evangelical church to be the church. I want it to embody a vibrant spirituality. I want the church to be an alternative to post-modern culture, not a mere echo of it. I want a church that is bold to be different and unafraid to be faithful, . . . a church that reflects an integral and undiminshed confidence in the power of God's Word, a church that can find in the midst of our present cultural breakdown the opportunity to be God's people in a world that has abandoned God. To be the church this way, it is also going to have to find in the coming generation, lea...