Playing, Sinning, Believing and Being A Pastor

One or two have asked about my internet reading so I have decided to do a regular Friday round-up of some of the articles which I have found interesting / thought-provoking / challenging / amusing during the week. This will probably amount to little more than a bunch of links to the articles, but it might point you in the direction of some stuff you might have otherwise missed.

I may have a few years under my belt as a parent (more than I’d really like to admit) but I seem to need to be reminded regularly of my first duty as a Dad – so I was grateful for A Surprising Side Effect of Playing with Your Kids.

This past Saturday afternoon was a pretty lazy one for our family. That’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned; our children think a bit differently, though. It only took about 7 minutes of me sitting on the couch, drinking an afternoon cup of coffee, for the calls to start.

I’m also only too conscious of how far short I fall of  my own expectations let alone God’s, so How To Be A Good Sinner was helpful.

A good sinner is one who recognizes the enormity of sin

The post is short, but very to the point.

As a bit of a contrast, I found myself musing on What Nonbelievers Believe.

. . . the modern secular movement has become increasingly assertive in emphasizing what ordinary nonbelievers do believe. Typical secular views are rooted not in complex philosophy but common sense . . .

The articles boils the things on which unbelievers agree down to seven things:

  • Everything since the Big Bang can be explained naturally
  • We can only speculate about what “caused” the Big Bang
  • Ethics do not require a God
  • Religion is man-made
  • The God of the Bible is especially implausible
  • The idea of prophecy is even less plausible than a God
  • Only humans can solve human challenges

I don’t have too much trouble with the first three of these – there are some interesting links in the article which are worth exploring – but I was disappointed with the rest. I don’t agree with the statements of course, but even in such a short article I felt the treatment was shallow.

I found my next link interesting for obvious reasons. It has a very provacative title, A Pastor’s Dirty Little Secret!

Peter Drucker, the late leadership guru, said that the four hardest jobs in America (and not necessarily in order, he added) are:

  • The President of the United States
  • A university president
  • A CEO of a hospital and
  • A pastor

Is that true?

Well, this isn’t America but what do you think?

Finally, if being a Pastor is tough, try being Chelsea’s manager. It’s been a case of another week, another manager for Chelsea.  Who would be brave / foolish enough to take up the job now? Who’s in line for Roman Abramovich’s hot-seat?

Maybe it’s time for a career change?