Links & Quotes

link quote

Some good reading from this weekend…

Quebec just legalized euthanasia and requires every doctor to either euthanize legally qualified patients or cooperate in finding a doctor willing to provide a lethal injection. Victoria, Australia has a similar law requiring all doctors’ participation or complicity in abortion. Moreover, the American medical establishment already opposes conscience exemptions for abortion and the dispensing of contraception.” Read more in this scary post: Will Doctors Be Forced To Kill?

More scary medical news: Obamacare Driving Doctors Out Of Business. (So much for the claim “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor”!)

So much for Islam being a “religion of peace”: ISIS Forcing Women To Undergo Genital Mutilation.

How would you like terrorists having a say in your internet activity? That is what will happen if ICANN is removed from US control.

“When we have communion with God in the doctrine we contend for—then shall we be garrisoned by the grace of God against all the assaults of men.” —John Owen

“Doctrinal controversy is both essential and deadly. The attitude toward controversy in various groups of Christians depends largely on which of these two they feel most strongly. Is it essential? Or is it deadly? My plea is that we believe and feel both of these. Controversy is essential where precious truth is rejected or distorted. And controversy is deadly where disputation about truth destroys exultation in truth.” —John Piper

“There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends. But when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nothing, he flies into his Father’s arms, and how blessedly he is clasped there! So that, I say again, happy trouble that drives you to your Father! Blessed storm that wrecks you on the rock of ages!” —Charles Spurgeon

Was Your Church Successful?

These thoughts are especially for my fellow pastors (although I think they pertain to anyone who attended a church service recently).

So… how successful was your church gathering this weekend?

Was it successful because lots of people were there? Or because the pastor preached a good sermon? Or maybe the offering was better than usual? Or because you could feel something special as the worship team sang and played their instruments?

How about these measurements:

“The great business of the church is not our number by addition, but by grace, by growing up in Christ.” (John Owen)

“The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of. Our attention would have been on God.” (C.S. Lewis)

“Revival is the church getting back to ‘normal.’” (A.W. Tozer)

I hope these quotes have you thinking about church “success” as much as they are working on me!

UPDATE: This post was one of the seed thoughts that went into fashioning my book Shepherd Leadership: The Metrics That Really Matter.