Author: Gordon Govier

The Touched Twice Clinic, a zero-budget outreach of volunteers from area churches, will return to Madison on Saturday, October 13. A Leadership Team meeting was held at Evangel Life Center last evening to begin planning the clinic. Attending the meeting were a dozen men and women representing seven area churches. Some were veterans of past Touched Twice Clinics and some have not experienced the clinic before.

This week I attended the inaugural one-day conference of the Gospel Coalition. This consortium of more than 50 evangelical pastors have united around a common confessional statement and theological vision of ministry. Organizers hope this short conference, hosted by Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and attended by 500+ pastors and other ministry leaders, will propel a long-term effort to renew and reform evangelical thought and practice.Read more of this story.

Back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, comedian George Carlin did a comedy bit about oxymorons—those amusing pairs of opposite words that seem to cancel each other out. In his usual acidic manner he started with jumbo shrimp and ended with military intelligence. At around the same time, a young man in Southern California named Dan Rupple was working hard to keep the phrase Christian comedian from making Carlin’s list.Read more of this story.

COMMENTARYFor generations, preachers have been asking the same sobering question to provoke people to think about ultimate issues: If you died tonight, do you know where you would spend eternity?The Rev. Rick Kingham has started asking men a different question, knowing that too many of them are living lives defined by solo commutes, office cubicles, fast food, Internet niches, television remotes, eight-foot fences, garage-door openers and gated communities. Here is the question: Do you have any idea who will carry your casket out of the church after your funeral?Many men struggle to answer.Read more of this story.

Amid the rising heat of the latest culture clash, a few people on both sides are finding calmer ways to engage, seeking to build bridges and even learn from one another. Some Christians, concerned that millions of Americans never cross the threshold of a church, want to understand why, as well as learn what it is in evangelistic efforts that turns people off. Some atheists, worried that polls show they are the least accepted social group in the country, want to break down stereotypes and change people’s attitudes.Read more of this story.

Start an imaginary lawn mower and follow it around the room. When the mower runs out of gas, try another laughter exercise. Put a straw in your mouth and smile — it’s especially funny when everyone in the circle does it, too.Read more of this story.

(Ventura, CA) – It is hard to miss Americans’ comfort with and interest in spirituality. Most adults say that their religious faith is very important in their life. Two-thirds of the nation’s adult population firmly embraces the idea that their most important purpose is to love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. However, a deeper look at people’s full array of spiritual beliefs and behavior calls into question the sincerity of their commitment.Read more of this story.

A Dwindling Evangelical Lutheran Church Reaches Out to African AmericansRICHMOND — A woman of quiet faith on most days, Lucille Mills transforms each Sunday into the Rev. CeCee — a foot-stompin’ minister who can match hallelujahs with the best Southern preachers.Like black ministers across Virginia, she aims to tap the energy of her church and direct it toward worship. But she’s an Evangelical Lutheran, and her tiny Chesapeake church is part of an effort to diversify the overwhelmingly white denomination, so closely identified with its German and Scandinavian roots.Read more of this story.

Even though it’s called a prayer breakfast it’s also a sacred assembly to recognize how people are serving God and serving others in the Madison community, said Fred Grossenbach, President of The Jericho Project, as he opened the Wisconsin Prayer Breakfast at the Marriott Madison West this morning. He recognized by name over a dozen ministries* that are impacting the quality of life in Madison.

The evangelical Christian movement, which has been pivotal in reshaping the country’s political landscape since the 1980s, has shifted in potentially momentous ways in recent years, broadening its agenda and exposing new fissures.Read more of this story.