Monthly Archives: December 2008

A too familiar picture

Posted on December 20, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

Have you seen a church that looks like this? Do you notice the imbalance between the left and right sides of the graph? Relative to our community, we’re doing well reaching the older generation. At the same time, we’re doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Local church, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

A Simple funny

Posted on December 17, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

Here’s a humorous statement from Simple Church: Saddleback, led by Rick Warren, was the first church to launch forty-day spiritual growth campaigns. Anyone ever heard of Lent? It may be that Saddleback’s campaigns are more routinized than how many churches … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Single Entry Churches?

Posted on December 16, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

Thom Rainer’s Simple Church is on our district pastor’s reading list. I understand and sympathize with the basic notion of the book. We’re pretty good at doing what we’ve always done. But Are lives being changed? Are people becoming followers … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, church growth, Ministry, Simple Church | 1 Comment

Is Discipline the Answer?

Posted on December 13, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

Discipline is a good Methodist word. Sure, it’s mostly been reduced the name of a book, but we still value the idea. Our Methodist relationship with discipline mirrors what I see in our broader society. We think discipline is good, … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles Taylor, Current events, Discipline, Economics, Spengler, Stoicism, Uncategorized, United Methodism | 2 Comments

Christmas Presents

Posted on December 9, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

In our culture, the one whose birthday it is gets the presents. This is why most kids look forward to their birthday. It’s a big deal. Christmas is Jesus’ birthday. So who gets the presents? When I was a kid, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Consumerism, Spirituality | Leave a comment

Would He Like Me?

Posted on December 4, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

Would Tony Morgan like me?

Posted in Evangelism, Spirituality, Tony Morgan | 1 Comment

What Am I Doing?

Posted on December 2, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

Continuing to learn from Hauerwas and Pinches: One of the difficulties of taking up any significant way of life is that we never entirely understand what we are doing. Commitments are asked of us, but we are in no position … Continue reading →

Posted in Salvation, Spirituality, Stanley Hauerwas | Leave a comment

Happy Christians?

Posted on December 2, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

I’m currently reading Christians Among the Virtues by Stanley Hauerwas & Charles Pinches. They say: “Christians cannot overlook the profound challenge that the gospel is meant to confront, if not destroy: our presumptions about what will make us happy in … Continue reading →

Posted in Aristotle, Happiness, Spirituality, Stanley Hauerwas | 1 Comment