thechurchblog

I’ve had a long reading list sitting on the shelf next to by bed for about two months now. I don’t get too many opportunities to get lost in a good book these days — usually just a few minutes before I fall asleep at night. However, I am slowly making it through my list. The first book I grabbed is Don Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality” (Thomas Nelson). It is the first “Christian” book that I have actually read cover-to-cover in about six years.
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Let me start by giving my apologies to C.S. Lewis and his fabulous essay in “Mere Christianity” (synopsis here) — not to mention Josh MacDowell. These days, spiritually-minded people seem to want to lump Jesus into one of these three categories. Of the three, the Guru crowd is certainly growing by leaps and bounds. . .
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The population of Las Cruces, New Mexico is growing at an average rate of around 16% per year. The population of the established churches in Las Cruces is growing at a rate significantly less than that. Most churches in Las Cruces could grow by 20% without severely affecting their operation — they have ample parking, seating, classrooms, etc. But that only accounts for one or two years’ growth in our community, assuming those churches find a way to bring them in at the same rate as the city. What happens then?
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