When you think that having an unbelieving member of the Jesus Seminar (Marcus Borg, not to be confused with the actual Borg) and emergent church clueless wonder (Brian MacLaren) telling you how to re-do “being the Church” is exciting and relevant:

PCUSA News: Eye of the Hurricane

Out with the messy sermons, prayers and songs:

Protestant worship would also benefit from fewer words and more silence, he said, noting that “words are actually the least effective way to open the heart.”

Why use the label “Christian” anymore.  It is so passe:

Christians need to come up with new language to describe themselves, she said. “We simply must have the language that carries the deepest sense of our passion to the world, so those who are busy rejecting us might give us another hearing.”

Ugh.

I found this interesting article on the internet in which Andy Stanley (Charles’ son, who pastors the large Atlanta based North Point Community Church) says that expository (through a book of the Bible) preaching is “cheating”:

Guys that preach verse-by-verse through books of the Bible– that is just cheating. It’s cheating because that would be easy, first of all. That isn’t how you grow people. No one in the Scripture modeled that. There’s not one example of that.

And apparently, speaking to the “felt needs” (Stanley’s words not mine) is where it is at:

My challenge is to read culture and to read an audience and ask: What is the felt need? Or perhaps what is more important, what is an unfelt need they need to feel that I can address? Because if they don’t feel it, then they won’t address it.

Poor me, going verse by verse (or chapter by chapter) through 2 Kings.  I guess the story in 2 Kings 18 wasn’t that helpful to anyone, was it?  Or maybe I should just trust the Lord to use His Word to mold His people into His image.  Yes, I think so.