Tag: Christian witness

Quote of Note #109: Speaking Truth

~ gachorpenning ~ Leave a comment

Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, NY; photo by GAC "As Christian people, we all believe that our highest loyalty belongs to God and that there belongs to everyone the inalienable dignity of a child of God. In this we all believe. The time has now come for us to stand up and say so when we drink … Continue reading Quote of Note #109: Speaking Truth

Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest

~ gachorpenning ~ 4 Comments

In a recent e-mail to a friend, I described some of the challenges of church ministry in this time of pandemic, political divisiveness, and social unrest.  I told him, “During the past six months, pastoring a church feels like jumping out of an airplane and trying to sew your parachute as you fall.”  That experience … Continue reading Pastor Note #99: Following Jesus in a Time of Pandemic, Poisonous Politics, and Social Unrest

Pastor Note #97: A Christian Rationale for Social Distancing in a Time of Pandemic

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Medical experts widely agree that the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is spread by minute droplets of saliva and mucus that come out of the mouth and nose of someone who is infected by the virus.  Those droplets contain the virus.  The viruses in those droplets find their way into the eyes, nose, or mouth of … Continue reading Pastor Note #97: A Christian Rationale for Social Distancing in a Time of Pandemic

Pastor Note #93: Religious Liberty, Privileged Christianity, and the Art of the Deal

~ gachorpenning ~ 4 Comments

Religious liberty, if it is pure and principled, is a beautiful and precious thing.  It can also become a desperately dangerous concept if allowed to become conditional, qualified, or contingent in any way.  And that’s where this gets very tricky right away.  Everybody who wants to live in a humane and civilized society agrees that … Continue reading Pastor Note #93: Religious Liberty, Privileged Christianity, and the Art of the Deal

Quote of Note #66 — A Pastor’s Vision

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"I’m one hundred times more passionate about creating Christians and churches that will be faithful, biblical, countercultural, and spiritually minded in a socialist America, in a Muslim America, in a communist America, than I am in preventing a Muslim America or a communist America. That puts me in a very different ballpark than many public … Continue reading Quote of Note #66 — A Pastor’s Vision

Quote of Note #60 — The Foolishness of God

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"He [the Spirit of God] will certainly help us to 'communicate' the truth of God to other people, but he becomes our enemy the moment we attempt to modify the wisdom of God to fit the 'cleverness' of the twentieth century.  The stern words of Paul have a peculiar aptness to the modern situation when … Continue reading Quote of Note #60 — The Foolishness of God

Pastor Note #80: Conversation with an Angry World

~ gachorpenning ~ 1 Comment

A few days ago, I received a message on Facebook from an acquaintance of mine.  He had sent the message to a bunch of people.  In my opinion, it was quite a politically inflammatory message.  Accompanying the statement was the challenge, “If you don’t share this message on Facebook, you aren’t a true America.”  This … Continue reading Pastor Note #80: Conversation with an Angry World

Quote of Note #34: Self-Sacrificial Service

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"At the height of the [Roman] persecution, a plague broke out.  Fearing contagion, pagans dumped members of their own families in the street when they got sick.  But Christians, Eusebius said, 'heedless of the danger, took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them. . . drawing on themselves the … Continue reading Quote of Note #34: Self-Sacrificial Service