Aug 31, 2010
Community of Neighborly Advocacy Part II: Relational Fornication
Posted by Pastor Todd Murphy in | Comments (3)
In my last episode we had a spirited discussion about the nature of community and true friendship. Moreover, what this post really came down to was love. I thought on the whole that the discussion was productive, and intended to move onto another subject this week. However as providence would have, not so. As much push back as I received, I find myself remaining unrepentant as to my position. (not a spiritual or moral unrepentant, but literally not having a change of mind on the subject). The providence that lead to me returning to the subject matter is nothing less…Read More...
Aug 23, 2010
Community of Neighborly Advocacy: Ruminations Inspired by Jean Alexandre, a Pipe Smoking Aficionado
Posted by Pastor Todd Murphy in | Comments (12)
I was inspired by Jean Alexandre's fine blog post today and wanted to share some thoughts of my own. I have found a common misconception about community in the Church that is essentially this; "Spiritual growth comes from getting into really deep and connected relationships." This is very common relational dysfunction of many house church types. The emphasis is on closeness. However the idea that relational closeness leads to “spiritual maturity" is actually a relational fallacy. In fact, I have surprisingly found that where there is often an overemphasis on "closeness," it may in fact point to relational dysfunctions where…Read More...
Aug 20, 2010
The One Minute Sermon: Does this Really Honor God?
Posted by Pastor Todd Murphy in | Comments (35)
Ok this one is going around on Facebook like mono. In the video below, a young Christian woman comes up with a pithy rhyme about giving your life to God. I think on the one hand it is creative and cute, but I could not help coming away with an uneasy feeling about it. Take a look at it and see what you think. To begin with it is a very distilled, if not the most distilled version of the Gospel I have every seen, and anyone who is following my current preaching series called "Unvangelism," knows that I have…Read More...
Aug 17, 2010
Thoughs on an Article in WSJ called “The Perils of ‘Wannabe Cool’ Christianity
Posted by Pastor Todd Murphy in | Comments (7)
I came across this article in the Wall Street Journal today regarding contemporary Evangelicalism and could not help commenting on it. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111704575355311122648100.html In this article, the author who identifies himself as a "27 year old evangelical" presumes to speak for all Evangelicals his age. He has some very relevant critiques of pop evangelicalism. He particularly points out how many are trying to use "shock" tactics as marketing spin, especially using "sex" as a topic of sermons and books to garner the youthful gaze. I have to say that I agree to one level, but on another, I found that he…Read More...
