My blog, Consider †his!, much of my Bible study (weak as it may be), speaking out about Christ, my contributions to 2 (hopefully 3) books, plus one of my own, have all been done on Macintosh computers. I do not choose, however, to subject myself to the Christ-limiting (in some cases) selection of iPhone apps, choosing instead a Palm Pre.

Wikipedia's article on Jobs indicated that he had Buddhist monks officiate at his wedding.

Hmmm… Bro. Hank Hillfaraway?

Then again, Hank could be a nickname for Harold, and there was a Harold Hill, who was a Christian author whose popular phrase was "King's Kid." He was a physicist. I once dated someone who knew him personally before he went home. Oh, and he was the one who opened my eyes to the possibility that science and God were not incompatible, and that "this God business" might very well be true after all.

Well, if you're going to go with "Brother" and "Sister," may I highly recommend making "Oh, brother!" a running gag. :D (Personally, I hate those terms in the church, so that's another sacred cow ripe for tipping.)

I like Artie's name suggestions so far. Let's see, they'll need children, so a mixture of off-the-wall Biblical names (like Nimrod) and more "normal" names (Brittany) would be in order. The dog would be Samaritan, or "Sam" for short.

May I also suggest you check out Searching for Grace < ;http://www.searchingforgrace.com>, just so you don't cover the same territory.

It's 6:00. Do you know where *your* Christian friends are?

Seriously, though, although I'm not a fan of the "MF-bomb" in there, I like the helium-filled blow-up dolls idea.

Wow!

Well phrased and well researched, Chad! This is probably the best version of "the discussion of the unreached" that I've ever read. I like, too, how your "Street Apologist" asks for permission for a few minutes of the unbeliever's time.

While I'm not a complete fan of Ray Comfort's methodology (not everybody needs proof that they're bad; some, like me BC, need hope, not a legal lesson), I concur that the discussion needs to lead back to the question, "what about you?" While I won't argue that many bring in the "Timbuktu tribesmen" argument to avoid "getting personal," I also know of some who are honestly curious.

Hope I'm not skating in here too late. At work, so I can't watch the video right now, but I'm consistently impressed with Scott's view of things. While I've been in more "diverse" churches, I still see a need for diversity in a number of areas, not just racial.

But, let's face it, I'm simply trying to make this comment applicable so I can get in on the competition. :)

@joe_sewell

For a time that was one of the ministries my wife and I shared. When we had to change churches, the new pastor already had a pretty good support system. The next forced change put us back in a position where that ministry returned, though my wife and I were sufficiently "damaged" from the previous issues that we had to draw into it slowly.

I've found, too, that, for most ministers, the best way to minister to them is to let them minister to you. Don't resist their help.

Too often we deny the "pedestal" thing, but when we put more respect on a pastor than is truly due them, we may as well put them on a pedestal.

Pastors are human, too. They don't have it all together. They may have more "book learning," and they may have more time to search the Scriptures, and more experience, but that doesn't mean they know it all. The humble pastor will take a question about the message and use it to improve the next presentation. For example, one time a former pastor of mine taught from Galatians, specifically the passage dealing with those who would not inherit the kingdom of God. It included "witchcraft," which in Greek is the word from which we get our word "pharmacy." Since that pastor was a former hospital pharmacist, he knew all too well what mind-altering drugs could do. I asked him later, though, about validly-prescribed anti-depressants, since I was on one (still am, in fact). While he did say that they could still be abused (to which I agreed), he made a note to mention that in the two Sunday morning services to come.

Todd Rhodes recently retweeted a classic of his, dealing with the "feeding frenzy" caused by a scandal in church leadership. http://www.toddrhoades.com/?p=648