God as The Bubble Gum Machine or The Fire Thrower – Tithe Rhetoric

This is the question asked by Steve Addision at his blog. In Australia, according to the article, more than 60% of Adventist and Pentecostal members tithe.

The question the article asks is why do they do it, While those on the mainline have much lower levels of tithe returners?” The writer gives two possibilities…one is that the Pentecostals and Adventists are closer to a movement than an institution.

What Bind Does the Sabbath Get You Out Of?

A while back I wrote a post on “E. J. Waggoner as a Practical Theologian.” In it I quoted Waggoner who stated that “Every doctrine of the Bible is for our practical benefit, and should be studied for that purpose.”

This is a very interesting thought for much of our preaching and thinking. Often we think of “practical” and “doctrinal” as being on two sides with a chasm in between. We cannot go over the chasm. So sometimes we preach “practical” sermons, and sometimes we preach “doctrinal” sermons.

The Hospice Mindset

The church is not a place for the righteous, it is a hospital for sinners.

So goes the popular saying that has taken on almost cliche-like proportions in many of our churches. The idea is that anyone who expects church members to live differently than those who are not members.

Is the Statement Helpful?

The statement is a helpful thing to keep in mind if it reminds us of our own hypocracy or even lack of understanding that the Christian life is one of growth and that we cannot expect new people to be as far