Monthly Archives: September 2010

The challenges of lay theological education

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Ron Amundson

In far too many cases, folks are content with the theological education they received during Sunday school, Bible Camp, confirmation, or at worse, some tv preacher who takes extreme liberties with interpretation, and for some reason doesn’t find a need … Continue reading →

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Congregational Beliefs do Matter

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Ron Amundson

Distinct congregational beliefs do matter, and they do so in a huge way… not as a means of excluding or downplaying anothers beliefs, or worse for trying to convert another Christian/sheep steal, but as guides for mutual edification and mission. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecclesiology | 2 Comments

Hard Decks / Denominations, Do we need them?

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Ron Amundson

A common saying, and in a lot of ways a sad one is… we dont need a denomination, we just need Jesus. The concept of not needing denominations seems laudible, ie ditch the denominational baggage, and just focus on Christ. … Continue reading →

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God Helps those who Help Themselves NOT!

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Ron Amundson

God helps those who help themselves is one of those goofy sayings… besides being counter to scripture, its absolutely hilarious to consider it was coined by a deist. Ie, deists believe God set things in motion, and then leaves things … Continue reading →

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Worship as an Excuse

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Ron Amundson

Travis over at oldworshipnew is onto something big! The emphasis of the individual, and the de-emphesis of the community when it comes to worship. Granted, the proverbial, I can worship God on my boat, or in the woods is clearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecclesiology | 2 Comments

To the North American Church, An 8th letter

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Ron Amundson

You have done much in the last 200 years…. You made Me the center of your communities and your lives. You pulled together, not just in single churches, but multitudes of churches to serve the least of these. You built … Continue reading →

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The Scalability of Empowered Laity

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Ron Amundson

An empowered laity leadership model provides for viral Christianity, because it is inherently scalable. It scales, as each empowered lay person proceeds to empower another lay person. The process then repeats over and over. In contrast a professional clergy model … Continue reading →

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Leaving the 99 Behind

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Ron Amundson

@Tragic_Pizza hit on leaving the 99 behind in his sermon for yesterday… He said if a pastor were to do such, they’d likely get fired. Can you imagine the outrage if a Sunday service was delayed, as pastor got an … Continue reading →

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Apart from the World, Legalism or Love….

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Ron Amundson

There are two ways in which Christians could set themselves apart from the world, love and legalism. Legalism gets most of the press, most legalism, even with good intentions is counterproductive, and in the worlds eyes, legalistic Christians end up … Continue reading →

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Math Models and God

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Ron Amundson

Some folks are all bent out of shape over Stephen Hawkings new book, where in God may not be needed for the creation of the universe… Folks, when things are boiled down to the minimum, physics is math modeling on … Continue reading →

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