Gospel.com Blog

Is the Biblical account of Jesus’ life trustworthy? Is the Christian church a sham, based on clever secrets and lies? In less than a month, the Da Vinci Code movie hits theaters across the U.S. It’s already raising plenty of questions about and challenges to the Christian faith. Is your church ready with answers?

EvanTell and Probe Ministries have partnered to to create Redeeming The Da Vinci Code, a DVD teaching kit that aims to equip Christians to respond to the film’s historical and theological challenges. It’s designed to be used in a single seminar or spread over several small-group discussion meetings and is available the Probe.org ministry site.

This is also a good opportunity to point out another Da Vinci Code resource in the Gospelcom Alliance–RBC Ministries’ The Da Vinci Code: Separating Fact from Fiction, a site with plenty of articles and other resources to help you get to the bottom of the Da Vinci challenge.

Between the challenge posed by natural disasters, the ongoing crises of poverty and disease, and the Christian call to evangelize the world, there’s no shortage of organizations today that could use your financial donation. But once you decide to donate, be sure you’re donating wisely!

To help you do that, the Christian Emergency Network has a list of nine things to keep in mind when donating to an organization. It’s a great checklist to follow, whether you’re donating a few bucks to your favorite website or thousands of dollars to a massive organization.

Do you have a passion for youth ministry? In honor of the publication of Mark Yaconelli’s Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Jesus, Youth Specialties is hosting a series of free events and discussion meetings around the US.

Mark Yaconelli is leading a series of evening discussions on the topic of “Contemplative Youth Ministry,” while Stephen Iverson leads one-day “Practicing the Presence” retreats. The events are open to anyone with an interest in youth ministry and evangelism, and involve music, discussion, and plenty of time spent in prayer and contemplation. Stop by the Youth Specialties site to find out which events are happening in your area.

Pastors, are you struggling to get your church’s ministry off the ground? Is your congregation stuck in a rut, with overburdened leaders and an ineffective outreach? The Basics Conference 2006 may be what you need to jump-start both your leadership and your church’s passion for evangelism.

The conference theme this year is “Evangelism In and Through the Local Church” and is hosted by Alistair Begg’s Truth for Life ministry; it’s primarily for “men pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and Christian workers, or those in training for such roles.” It takes place in Cleveland, Ohio from May 15-17, and there’s still a few days left to take advantage of early-bird registration pricing.

What do “Christian ethics” look like? How do we arrive at a Christian ethic for our culture? Regent professor Paul S. Helm looks at this question in The Ethics of Grace in a Broken World, the final lecture in a series of talks on the topic. Helm’s lecture is the current free offering from Regent Audio; stop by to listen to it online.

Are you too busy to spend time in prayer?

This week’s devotional from Sammy Tippit Ministries looks at the problem of “busyness.” Busyness, Tippit says, is one of the great enemies of Christians today; it happens when Christians divert their attention from Christ and focus on the endless routines and tasks of everyday life:

Scores of Christians are defeated – not because they set out on a course of sin, but simply because they scheduled God out of their lives. Consequently, churches are filled with people in the pews that are powerless. They are defeated by a toothless enemy that’s been stripped of all his power and authority over the believer. Yet, this enemy slyly and deceitfully removes the protective armor of God from the follower of Christ, and he finds himself defeated.

Christians can become too busy even with “good” things–things like church involvement, work, and school. Tippit argues that while such things are important, it’s important that we not let them keep us so busy that we neglect prayer and leave ourselves vulnerable to temptation and other spritiual dangers.

The Bible contains many exhortations for parents to raise their children in a godly manner. But what does it mean to “train up a child in the way he should go”? Evangelist Luis Palau writes about the concept of family worship–a lifestyle that incorporates worship into everyday family life, and which focuses on setting a good example for your children by your behavior:

Someone has said, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and walk there every once in a while yourself.” As our children rub shoulders with us around the table and during other times in the day, they are noticing every attitude we convey and every word we say—and carefully imitating us. Can you honestly say to your children, without embarrassment, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”? (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Does your behavior around your family–the way you treat your spouse and children–set a godly example for your children to follow?

Do you know the Easter story? The International Bible Society has gathered the Bible passages relevant to Easter for your convenience. Whether you can recite the Easter story by heart or are completely unfamiliar with it, take a few moments this Easter weekend to read through the most important story of the Christian faith.

Do your church leaders feel more like they’re managing a business than leading a worship community? That’s the question asked in the latest Online Pulpit column:

Is the church primarily a community of believers striving to worship God, glorify Christ and love one another? Or is it primarily an organization that needs management? Few would argue for the second definition. Yet what would a neutral person who sat in on one of our leadership meetings (e.g., deacon board, church council, vestry, coetus or session) observe: ministry or management?

Good advice for ministers and church leadership teams who want to move beyond a “management” style of leadership.

Youth mission trips are a common activity in churches around the country–each year, countless enthusiastic youth groups travel to exotic locations to build churches, share the Gospel, and learn about service. How could such well-intentioned activities be a waste of time?

That’s the question raised by Noel Bacchetti of the Center for Student Missions. In Why Most Mission Trips Are a Waste of Time (And How to Make Sure Yours Isn’t), Noel looks at common features of mission trips that sabotage their effectiveness and hamper their ministry potential. Noel doesn’t suggest that we abandon the idea of mission trips, but that we carefully rethink the way in which we do them, and offers some practical ideas for doing so.

It’s a sobering piece, but well worth reading–especially if your church or youth group has a mission trip planned for this spring or summer!