Articles for tag: Rob Bell

Mel McGowan’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Mel McGowan, president of Visioneering Studios, Irvine, California. ________ Eric O. Jacobsen: He has been one of the best theologians of space and an “interpreter” of our contemporary cities and communities through his advocacy of “New Urbanism,” which describes the maturing of the American suburban dream into a denser, more diverse, polycentric, postmodern reality. Dave Gibbons: David is my Jedi kung

The Brave New World of Church Ministry

By Dick Alexander When I graduated from seminary in the late 1960s, I had answers. Today I have questions. Back then, I thought I knew what a church should look like. There were some variations on a theme, but there was essentially one “model.” But today? Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Everything else is up for grabs. Back in the day, the world was different. When the neighborhood ruffians on our block were playing in the yard and wanted a drink of water, we drank out of a garden hose””none of this sissified bottled water. And there

My Only Hope

By Jim Tune When I read the Gospels, I encounter a Jesus who proclaims peace for the fringe dwellers. Indistinct and frequently offensive, they reached for his cloak, cried out in desperation, or fell forward to make contact with real love. Convention would treat them as nonpersons, insisting they be kept barely visible and hidden behind a veil of shame. But Jesus was unconventional. Life”s losers sense this. They crash the party and find themselves not only accepted, but favored and blessed as well. With Jesus, they get the seats of honor. For someone with as many opportunities as I”ve

What Would Jabez Do?

By Jim Tune   “Let me not live,” quoth he, “After my flame lacks oil, to be the snuff Of younger spirits, whose apprehensive senses All but new things disdain; whose judgments are Mere fathers of their garments; whose constancies Expire before their fashions.” “”William Shakespeare, All”s Well That Ends Well   In business marketing, companies are very interested in reaching the elusive consumer known as the early adopter. I suppose I fit into that category. My guess is a large majority of church planters are early adopters, or perhaps even innovators. It wouldn”t surprise me if someone discovered the

celebrity pastors

The Culture of Celebrity Pastors

What matters more for celebrity pastors: recognition or credibility? Brian Mavis examines the temptation of fame in Christian leadership and shares a personal lesson about choosing community credibility over celebrity status.

Love Wins

Two Books about Hell

LeRoy Lawson considers Rob Bell’s Love Wins alongside Brian Jones’s Hell Is Real, examining their contrasting views of Heaven, Hell, God’s nature, salvation, and the urgency of evangelism.

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