Dear Pastor,
One of the greatest legacies pastors can leave their congregants, especially business leaders, is instruction on how to live and minister as marketplace Christians. My letter is intended to encourage you to better understand and equip workplace leaders to become more effective Kingdom ministers in the field to which God has called us. For most pastors, it is easier to talk about living out faith through volunteerism, community engagement, or financial giving then to talk about a faithful approach to work issues. One quote I read recently is, “My pastor has no idea what I do for a living, and has shown no interest in finding out. He does know a great deal about my family.” So here are seven things you need to know about us and where you can help.
Teach us to depend on...
Lifestyle
Dear Student Pastor/Leader,
1. Give them rich content and fun.
I love a good game. Throw some chocolate syrup and burger in a blender and I’m down. I think making church a fun place to be has much value. However, it shouldn’t be the primary thing a student walks away remembering. What a wonderful opportunity you have to develop teenagers into theologically rich and gospel-centric young people. I can’t tell you the joy I experience when I speak with a freshman in college who had a youth pastor who faithfully taught the truths of the Scriptures to them.
2. Teach them that in Christ they have all things.
So many college students enter school seeking value and worth in frivolous things. They don’t understand that, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to...
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Dr. Frank Page (and Executive Committee of the SBC),
I want to thank you for the excellent leadership you have demonstrated in representing Southern Baptists. Through your intentional efforts and direction, I believe a new tone has been set for meaningful cooperation among all Southern Baptists that speaks well of the love of Christ and for one another. You have modeled this as SBC President and continue to as President/CEO of the Executive Committee.
There were times in the past where I had little desire to hear the reports from the Executive Committee, but I can gladly say that is no longer the case. The work you have done has given me reason to be proud as a Southern Baptist and hopeful for the future (being 34, I hope to be around for a long time!). You said something in your...
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Dear Mr. Lundholm-Eades:
Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the people of the Archdiocese in addressing the problems we face as a local church.
We understand that both the Archbishop and the Task Force want to enable a vibrant Catholic community at the Archdiocesan level. We appreciate this goal since we believe the Church’s mission is to create a diocesan community that manifests God’s love for humanity as embodied in Jesus. So we too want a vibrant local church.
From our point of view, vibrancy in a human community is not possible unless all the relevant questions people want to ask are allowed on the table. The process for the strategic planning, although ostensibly an attempt to listen, is flawed in one essential aspect: it does not allow for the discussion of what the...
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Dear Comrades in Pursuit of the Chief End of Man,
I have rarely (alright, never) been asked to give input regarding the weekly "worship set." However, having witnessed Christian worship in local churches, Christian camps, seminary chapels, and other venues over the past 43 years, I have come to the conclusion that you could use some help.
I know you've heard complaints before about the excessive repetition, lack of depth, and over-realized eschatology that characterizes so many contemporary worship songs. I'm not writing to beat those old drums (though I could play them like Neil Peart). I want to address another topic.
Though I'm not an authority on this topic (no creature is), I do feel I am in a good position to say something about it. From my childhood I have been taught the...
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Madame Mayor,
I am a relative newcomer to the city of Houston. In the 22 months I have lived in Houston, I have been pleasantly surprised. Prior to my arrival, I feared extreme humidity and traffic congestion. Now I find myself an enthusiastic citizen and defender of this wonderfully diverse—and global—city.
Each morning as I travel to my office, I listen to the local NPR affiliate. Your name appears with great regularity. To your credit, it almost always is to highlight yet another step forward for our fair city. I was grateful to hear of your plans for extensive bike lanes throughout Houston; I love the expanded public transportation via light rail, and I am a fan of the connecting bayou parks and trails. I appreciate your efforts to make Houston into an immensely urban and...
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Dear Ms. Davis,
You don't know me, but I know you. So does everyone on the planet right about now, thanks to your clear lack of normal social skills and general decency.
Not to mention the whole "refusing to do your job because it's against your so-called religion" thing. (Luckily, the state saw your ignorance and got someone else to do your job. I bet that stings a little, huh?)
Now, let me start by saying this: while I disagree with your politics and your blatant lack of respect for other people, I am not usually one to judge anyone.
I mean, who among us is perfect? Certainly not me! Heck, I got divorced at the ripe old age of 23 (after a bad decision led to me being married at 21).
Then, I was a single mom for three years, until I met my now - husband, who I've been with...
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Dear Sir,
My name is Jon Panofsky. I’m a law student, a Jew, a grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I have my M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and lest you think I am one of the godless heathens who are so perniciously targeting your client, let me inform you I am a religious school teacher, and have been for most of the past decade.
I saw your recent comments regarding your client being treated like a Jew in Nazi Germany. I want to say that not only are you dead wrong, your comment is beyond offensive.
See, my grandmother, Lotte Panofsky, WAS a Jew in Nazi Germany, and I can promise you, if she were still with us, she would tell you that she wishes she was treated as well as your client has been. I have a few questions to ask you;
Firstly, was your client pulled to the front of...
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Dear mister Rahman,
first of all I want to thank you for the open and honest letter that ended up in my email box last week. I had the opportunity to be one of the first users in the world to own one of the Jawbone UP devices thanks to some of my friends who where in New York the weekend it got launched. When I had a first look at the package when it arrived to me in the Netherlands I was not only impressed by the beautiful packaging (and brilliant small things on there like the flap to measure your arm too see if you have the correct size) but I was also thinking to myself this device is the dawn of the quantified self. A relative cheap device which helps and keeps people motivated to take care of your physical health.
Over the first week of usage I noticed some simple ‘issues...
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Dear HBIC (Head Barb In Charge) and Lambily CEO,
You, Nicki Minaj, and Mariah Carey, are in some real deep girl s*** right now, and it has to stop. I say this as someone who raps “Starships” out loud on the elliptical, doesn’t shut up when other people move away in disgust, AND who’s been told by the owner of an established karaoke bar to never sing “Honey” on his property again. Loyalty isn’t a question here.
Some have speculated that the Nicki and Mariah drama has been manufactured to drive buzz and ratings for “American Idol” (or Nicki’s pending E! reality show, also produced by Ryan Seacrest), but as Joy V. Behar says, “So what? Who cares?” It doesn’t matter what the motivations are — you’re still putting girl s*** out onto the Earth. Cannot. Abide. You are professionals at the...
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