This is from the Observer on Sunday (a British newspaper)

A wealthy philanthropist known as ‘God’s postman’ died in a car crash just two days after an extraordinary act of charity in which he handed out cheques worth £2m to help people fallen on hard times, staying up until 4am to ensure that no one was left out.

Benzion Dunner, 45, was killed behind the wheel of his £175,000 Bentley Arnage last weekend when it collided with a Toyota Celica on the A338 near Bournemouth, Dorset. The passengers of both cars, including two of Dunner’s nine children, survived with slight injuries.

Two days earlier, hundreds of people had queued through the night outside Dunner’s home in Golders Green, north London, asking for help with their financial troubles. He listened to each in turn before sharing out part of the personal fortune gained from his property business.

Dunner, an Orthodox Jew, gave away the money to mark the religious festival of Purim. His grieving father, Rabbi Aba Dunner, told The Observer: ‘He was singing and dancing with them and made each one feel special. He listened carefully and each one was given help according to their needs. It went on all Thursday night through to Friday morning.’

The act of generosity was an annual event at the home of Dunner, who was known for welcoming in people throughout the year and helping to cover their educational, medical or other essential costs. He was also a school governor and an often discreet benefactor of charities, hospitals and homes for the elderly.

‘He saw himself as God’s postman,’ his father continued. ‘He said to me, “God doesn’t give it to me to put in the bank. He entrusts me to do with it what he would want me to do.” He lived life to the full and described himself as a poor man with money; he wasn’t looking for the bright lights and the trappings of wealth. He was interested in people on the edge of society and bringing them back into the fold. I just hope it’s drawn attention to what’s possible when someone doesn’t keep wealth for themselves.’

Rabbi Dunner, who is executive director of the Conference of European Rabbis, is trying to come to terms with his loss: ‘There’s no comfort at all, just pride in learning about everything he did, some of which I never knew about. I’ve been learning new things from thousands of people coming to the house and pouring out their hearts. If it’s supposed to happen, it’s supposed to happen, if that’s God’s will.’

The tragedy has stunned north London’s Orthodox Jewish community. The funeral last Sunday at the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations’ cemetery in Enfield was attended by more than 3,000 people.

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks described himself as ‘truly heartbroken’ and said: ‘Benzion Dunner was an outstanding exemplar of Jewish values and Jewish responsibility. He was a person of exceptional chesed [kindness], much of whose work was done quietly behind the scenes and was all the more impressive for that.’

Isn’t that how all religious people should act?  Indeed, how all people should act towards one another regardless of faith.

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Lots of you guys told me that the FriendlyChristian layout was confusing and hard to navigate.

You win. We’re back to a simple layout. I hope you enjoy
Check out the new design

Bill

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One complaint that I often hear about Christians is that we are irrational:

• The whole concept of believing in a God who lets bad things happen for a reason
• A guy who dies and comes back to life without any medical treatment
• The entire concept of the Holy Spirit.

It doesn’t make sense all the time. I admit it. And sometimes irrationality can hurt people if given to bad situations.

However, being irrational doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s wrong. For example, the guy who jumped on the track in New York to save a man’s life was being irrational. Half the artists, writers, and such that we admire were “irrational.” People who spend their lives in war-torn countries split up by centuries of hate, administering food and water, are “irrational” since they are more likely to lose their lives.

Martin Luther King Jr. was considered “irrational” for believing that people deserve to be treated equally.

If this is what it means to be irrational, then I’m in.

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I know how busy Bill is with his studies and it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything so I’d thought I’d share this news story from the Guardian newspaper today.  It details a dispute between a Hindu temple and the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) which is a charity in England.

Essentially the RSPCA put down the temple’s sacred cow after it had been injured in order to end it’s suffering.  The temple is suing the charity.

“There are theological and legal aspects to our decision to sue,” Mohandas said. “It is illegal to enter private religious property and the idea of killing a cow, especially a sacred one, is sinful in our religion.”

Do you think that he has a point or not?

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9 times out of 10 (is that a safe estimate?) Christians/churhes make the news for bad reasons. Every now and then Christians manage to make the news for GOOD reasons.

Forest Park Church Carthage campus recently stole the headlines of the Carthage city paper.

“Local church buys fuel for local drivers,” the headline reads.

For a few hours on Saturday, regular unleaded gas sold for $1.99 a gallon at Tiger Alley, a remodeled convenience store at the intersection of Fairview and River Streets thanks to the Forest Park Baptist Church Carthage Campus and its first ever gasoline buy-down.

“I can’t remember the last time gasoline was $1.99,” said Mark Dinwiddie Forest Park Carthage Campus pastor. “When we first decided to do it, the price was $2.79 or $2.80, but even when it went up, our goal was still to buy it down to $1.99, no matter what, just to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Rock on, Pastor Mark!!!

I haven’t reviewed the church’s website, so I have no clue what their beliefs are. Quite honestly, I don’t really care a whole lot if they claim the same “flavor” of Christianity that I do. They put the towel over their arm, fastened their work boots, got down and washed some feet, Christian or non-Christian. Fantastic idea!!

The church had about 25 volunteers at Tiger Alley on Saturday, some were washing windows, some were pumping gas and some were directing traffic.

Read the full article here

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Whenever I stay up late, I hear some infomercial for another Christian worship CD with classics like “I Can Sing Of Your Love Forever”, “Flood” and “Butterfly Kisses” (which I still don’t get how that relates to Jesus, but then again I never have listened to it all the way through). So it got me thinking…

For all the atheists/agnostics/freethinkers, if you could, what songs would you put on your compilation CD?

Be respectful, friends.

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Before I even start, I fully understand that this is one of those “agree to disagree” topics. I accept that truth. However, I am passionate about this stuff and, being my blog, I’m gonna go ahead and jump on my soap box.

Yesterday I briefly mentioned that I feel churches need to have a relevant marketing strategy if they want to be successful and grow. Many of you disagreed. Like a big boy, I stand by my statement.

As I respond, know that I see this as an opportunity to learn from each other and share what we feel might be the better way to do things. There is an unspoken “I feel” that precedes each applicable sentence to follow. We good? Cool.

Jason, a wise Christian, made a few good points yesterday:

1. I think any approach to “church growth” that defins success as the number of people coming to church instead of the number of souls that are being saved, is the wrong approach.
2. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is relevant enough.
3. Truth should always trump entertainment.
4. The world can find the self-help groups, yoga classes, coffee shops, book stores, video game parties, sewing classes, and motorcycle clubs (and the list goes on) outside of the church. So why is the church concentrating so hard to be in the entertainment industry when it should really be concerned with where people are going to spend eternity?

I agree with numbers 1 and 3. I feel differently about 2 and 4.

In order to most effectively reach SOULS, the Gospel of Christ should be presented in a fresh and relevant way. It should meet people where they are, while incorporating modern day mediums,without sacrificing truth for entertainment purposes, just as they did in the New Testament.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is as relevant and alive as ever - I agree. However, the way it’s presented can be dry, lifeless, boring, and quite frankly, DEAD (just like anything else can be made the same)! As I mentioned yesterday, if the presentation of Christ was all that was needed to attract people to church, then every little ‘First Baptist’ church (or whatever you small neighborhood church(es) happen to be called) would be boomin’! We’ve got the best freakin’ story to tell and there are literally THOUSANDS of churches that shut down every month. Why?

“Where do you draw the line?” many Christians, myself included, often ask. Good question! Should we never have translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek? Should the New Testament never have been translated from Greek to English? Should the King James Version bible never have been written. Is a church that uses the NIV too trendy? How about the NLT? GOD FORBID I MENTION THE MESSAGE!

How about with music? In the OT people danced and sang and acted like idiots. Should that never have changed? Traditionalists argue that hymns are the only true way to worship, and that modern worship (Tomlin, Hillsong, etc) isn’t true worship. GOD FORBID I MENTION GUITARS…AND DRUMS…AND LIGHTS.

What about youth services? Are they not essentially church services targeted marketed towards a certain demographic?

I’ve so tired of these arguments. As a member of a megachurch and supporter of many of the “big name” modern day pastors (Stanley, Bell, Noble, Groeschel, Driscoll, Warren, Batterson, Furtick, Surratt, etc), I’ve heard it all. Believe what you want, guys. Go to whatever church you may want. Me, I’m going to the church who casts a vision I 100% support. I’m going to the church that is passionate about telling people about Christ, making the message easy to understand (what a simple message it truly is), and making an impact on this world. Big, small, black, white, who cares. Let’s reach people!

I simply don’t understand how people could want to put a cap on God/the church! Why is it so horrible to find an effective medium to reach people if the message isn’t sacrificed? Shouldn’t Christians be HAPPY when a church is reaching people? Don’t even start with me on the “you’re reaching them with the wrong message” bologna. If the church makes the message of the Gospel clear, then it is the responsibility of each INDIVIDUAL to be involved for the right reasons. You’ll find bad eggs at EVERY church you go to. Some just do a fantastic job hiding the REAL THEM behind a freakin’ fantastic facade. I want a church that tackles REAL stuff and is HONEST about this GARBAGE world of sin that we live in.

I’m passionate about this stuff, guys. I know, freakin’ first hand, what it feels like to be the product of a church that was/is passionate about reaching a young(er) generation. And if anybody dares tell me that I’m saved for the wrong reason, missing the truth, confused, unsure of what I believe in, etc, cuz my church has a band that plays modern worship (AND traditional hymns), my pastor wears jeans (not always), or is considered a MEGACHURCH, well, they can go fly a kite. I’ve seen LIVES CHANGED. I’ve seen RELATIONSHIPS RESTORED, I’ve known people who have died and will spend ETERNITY in Heaven…ALL PRODUCTS OF THE MODERN DAY CHURCH.

• If you like hymns, please, go to a church that plays hymns and get your praise on!
• If you like expository preaching, go get your learn on!
• If you like modern worship, go get you some!
• If you like a applicable, tangible style of preaching, find it and use it!

The message is clear: Christ died for you and me. He is the only way to heaven. Accepting Christ and repenting of your sins doesn’t translate to happy days, winning the lottery, and picnics in the park, it translates to spending eternity with God.

Shout it. Sing it. Dance to it. Play your instrument to it. I don’t freakin’ care.

You’re crazy (I use ‘you’ in a very general way) if you think I’m gonna sit down and be quiet. I want to reach PEOPLE. NUMBERS of people. GENERATIONS of people. Fill up a building! Play hymns, play rock, wooden pews, chairs, beanbags, jeans, suits, young, old, I DON’T CARE! REACH P-E-O-P-L-E!! Find a way, an EFFECTIVE way, to tell the Good News of Christ.

Many traditionalists will hate this blog post. I don’t care. I have one rhetorical question for you, though. How can you justify watching a generation go to Hell, as you so eagerly love to point out, as you sit there and do nothing about it. It’s almost as if you enjoy it! It’s almost a bit Pharisee-ish if you ask me. Just saying…

Will we ever see eye-to-eye, my traditionalist friend? Prob not. We’re on the same team, though, let’s not forget that.

Jason, this is by NO means an attack against you. I have tremendous respect for you and I greatly value your input. You just gave me a great place to start.

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I’m a firm believer that a church needs to employ a relevant, fresh, marketing strategy in order to be successful and grow.

“What, that life-changing message of Jesus isn’t enough to attract people?” the argument goes.

No, it’s not. If it was every ‘First Baptist’ church on your street corner would be filled with passionate Christ followers. Right?

So let’s do something we haven’t done in a long time: I’ll ask the question, you guys go crazy with your responses.

What are some of the best, worst, and most creative church marketing strategies that you’ve seen?

(examples: signs, commercials, buildings, methods of broadcasting, preaching styles, environments, music, etc)

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For financial reasons, right now I’m at a 2 year college earning as many general education credits as I can transfer to a 4 year university. It will soon be time for me to transfer to that university to earn my Bachelor’s degree. I honestly feel like God is calling me to earn my degree from a specific university. It is a nationally recognized Christian school that offers an amazing religion program. In addition, they offer a ‘Christian Leadership minor.’ I have met with the right people, applied, sent in my transcripts, and done all I can currently do in order to start attending as soon as this fall. There’s only one problem.

Tuition is over 9 grand per semester. Ugh…

I currently receive $4,400 per semester from the government through my G.I. Bill, a good 5 grand short of tuition alone. Start figuring in books, lab fees, etc, and the 9 grand quickly increases, yet my $4,400 stays the same. In short, there’s just no way I can afford attending this specific school. I refuse to take out student loans. If God wants me at this school, God will have to move mountains.

Christians love to talk about their “callings.” Frankly, I’m a bit intimidated by that word, as I’m not entirely sure how to determine my specific “calling.” Many pastors tell stories of when/how God called them into ministry. “I was 16 years old and standing in the kitchen when the Lord spoke to me,” or something along those lines is typically how it goes. I, however, have yet to experience that supernatural obviousness. My questionable method of determining my next steps is more like, “I prayed and prayed, didn’t get any sort of clear-cut answer, and eventually just went for it.”

I struggle saying that I’m “called” into ministry. Every time somebody asks me what I plan on doing with my degree I wrestle with God? in coming up with the correct answer. I DO feel called into ministry, but I haven’t had that obvious encounter with God! As a result, I am uncertain and usually sound like many other young college students:

Friend: What do you want to do once you finish school?
Me: Uhhhhhh……DUUUuhuuhhh….hhuuuuuhh??? I DUNNNNNOOOO…

It’s sad. It’s also kinda pathetic.

Last week I had a dream. In my dream I was back in my bedroom of the house where I grew up. Fighting a bad case of restlessness, I was unable to sleep as I pondered what my future may hold (an dead-on representation of many actual nights). Eventually I heard my door squeak open. In walked my dad. In this dream, my dad was megachurch pastor, Andy Stanley. I know, weird.

Dad: Why are you still awake, son?
Me: I don’t know, dad. Just trying to figure out what my future may hold.
Dad: Well, what do you think you’re gonna do with the rest of your life?
Me: I don’t know, dad…I mean, I kinda feel like God has called me into ministry, but I don’t really know if…
Dad: Wait, enough is enough, Bill. I’ve been listening to you beat around the bush for the past [can't remember how long]. Here’s the deal. Either you’ve been called into ministry or you haven’t. Pick one and stick to it. Be a man and have some faith.

So went my dream, and so goes my new direction. Yes, I have been called into ministry. I’m not backing down anymore. If I’m wrong, I’m sure God will redirect me. In the mean time, I’m going for it and giving it all I have!I will continue to pursue this calling (notice the removed quotes). In addition, I will continue to pursue the Christian university. I can’t do either on my own. I’m excited to see God show up.

Truthfully, I’m also nervous. Uncertain futures worry me. Not knowing where I’ll be going to school in the fall drives me nuts. Nearly 10 grand a semester is a lot of money. I have absolutely no clue where all that money might come from. Faithfully, I say that I trust that God will come through. My flesh says quite the opposite, though.

Finally, I want(ed) to offer a bold statement. I once heard a story of this guy telling a violent 3rd world tribe that they could kill him and his team if God didn’t bring a stillborn baby back to life. God brought the baby back to life. Many of my FC readers are atheists. I would love to ask my atheist friends to watch God provide a way for me to pay 10k/semester.

But I won’t. I’m a chicken. And I lack the required faith. Honest enough?

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Really? This is who we’ve become? Wow.

For the life of me…I just can’t seem to figure out why people have such a negative perception of Christianity. I guess I’ll never know…

(via FriendlyAtheist)

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