Tuesday High-5 (Jan 13)

Well, it is Tuesday again so time for the High 5, a collection of five articles that caught my eye this week.

Interesting lies from bad church statistics: We have all heard that Christians are just a likely divorce as non-Christians or that adolescence are leaving the church in record high numbers. Turns out, some of these tales are just adventures in misapplication of statistics.

One thing for a missional 2015: As a church community we are trying to grow in being missional (that is, seeing everything we do as part of the mission that God has called His people to). At times that requires a big change in our thinking, at other times, it is changing small things. This article gives the secret for how to revolutionize your missional life this here (spoiler: it is very simple and easy to do)

Common myths about the great commission: Lies we believe about the mission that God has sent us on.

Did pirates really make people walk the plank: Just in case you want to be a buzz kill at our church retreat this weekend (themed "Walk the Plank") here are some "facts" and "history" that ruin a good narrative.

The Strange life of "Lord" Timothy Dexter: We all know eccentric people but Timothy Dexter (18th Century entrepreneur and general bumbling fool) takes the cake. His story starts with him making a fortune following the pseudo-advice of people who wanted to bankrupt him and then gets crazier from there. From the article: "Lord Dexter was one of America’s first famed eccentrics -- yet, in the annals of history, he has been largely forgotten. This is a tragedy. Though he constantly yearned to be accepted, Lord Dexter refused to compromise his strange ways; in doing so, he paved the way for all aspiring American weirdos"

Newsweek Magazine On the Bible

Newsweek Magazine recently wrote a scathing article on how the Bible is continually misrepresented by Christians.  Albert Mohler interacts with the article here.

Tuesday High-5 (Jan. 6, 2015)

Happy 2015 everybody. I'm back from holidays today and happy to share with you the Tuesday Top 5

THE MANY SINS OF NEWSWEEK’S EXPOSÉ ON THE BIBLE: You might have seen Newsweek's article on the Bible (and if you haven't you should read it as many of your friends might have seen it). This article shows why we don't agree.

CAPTURED BY GRACE: From the Billy Graham Evangelistic Associate. A half-hour video from Louis Zamperini about the parts of his life that weren't depicted in the movie Unbroken.

WHEN GOD ANSWERS DECADES OF PRAYER: Fitting article to read as we go into our final Fresh Encounter prayer evening.

14 POP CULTURE EVENTS FROM 2014 YOU ALREADY FORGOT: Humorous reminder of what happened this past year that seemed (to some of us) like a big deal, but we already forgot.

OUR CLOSEST FORGOTTEN MISSION FIELD: As a church we want to have each person involved more in everyday mission. For me personally, I want to do a better job of doing this for and with my family. This is a great post on the importance of family in the mission that God has called us to.