Larry Osborne’s advice for innovators and ministry leaders: Larry Osborne is one of the teaching pastors at North Coast Church in southern California. He’s also a well-known serial innovator. In this post he offers ministry leaders and innovators some unlikely advice: “Slow down. You move to fast!” It’s a great post for leaders who oversee ministries that contain lots of smaller ministries. [Shameless plug: Larry's new book, Accidental Pharisees, will be out in two months! Woohoo!]
Sticky Faith at Saddleback: Kurt Johnston leads the Student Ministries Team at Saddleback Church. In this blog he talks about why and how Saddleback is making intentional steps to break down the silos between their youth ministries and adult ministries. It’s a really intriguing post, especially considering that Kurt ministers in such a unique church. What he’s proposing would seem much easier for a smaller church to do, not a big one. What’s extra cool about the post is that he mentions how much he appreciates Sticky Faith and the work of Kara Powell and the others at F.Y.I.
A Better Conversation about Homosexuality: This article from Christianity Today talks about three different authors views on how the church should address the topic of homosexuality. It’s heady-er (is that a word?) than the average CT article, but it’s a good one. Our author, Wesley Hill, is one of the three discussed.
The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach: The Gospel Coalition recently posted a new review of this book. Douglas Sean O’Donnell from New Covenant Church in Naperville, IL is the reviewer. If you’ve not seen this book and you are a preacher you’ve got to go check it out. It’s a ‘have-handy-on-my-shelf’ type of resource created by some of today’s leading preachers.
Why Virginity is not the Gospel by Carolyn Custis James: Carolyn’s article in the Huffington Post discusses the difference between the gospel and the Virginity Movment that recent interviews with Olympian Lolo Jones have brought to light. Carolyn is a thoughtful writer and gifted theologian. The distinctions she highlights here between the gospel and the Virginity Movement are important ones.
