Posts by Timothy Rice

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Announcing my sabbatical

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For many of you, you may not even know what a sabbatical is. Traditionally, it derived from the world of university professors who were granted a period of paid leave for study or travel. ...

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We need to talk about sex

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Over the last few years, we’ve weathered COVID-19, profound social and political tensions, and behind it all, there has been a steady shift in what sexuality even is — let alone what is now considered sexually appropriate....

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Are we involved in anything heroic?

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If you dig at the very essence of what’s regarded as heroic, you will surely see elements of courage, risk, generosity and a willingness to readily sacrifice even one’s own life in the protection or rescue of others. ...

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We live in an overlap of ages

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It works like this: whatever you’re thinking about or arguing about, someone reduces the options to only two. “Either it’s _______ OR it’s ________.” And admittedly, there are many instances where the discussion really can be reduced to only one of two options — like pregnancy, citizenship, or having a pulse. Either you are or are not; you do or do not....

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How do you view words? And how do you use them?

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Jesus said: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37) Chilling and sobering words. So accordingly, how do you view words? And how do you use them?...

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Possibly one of the toughest aspects of credibility today

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What does it mean to live with sexual integrity? THIS calls for real faith. And courage....

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What shapes your perspective? Now? Or Forever?

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In my last few emails, I have been working out ways in which we can establish credibility before a watching world, especially as trusting Jesus and His Word is increasingly viewed with suspicion if not open ridicule. I believe an important distinctive we’re called to is to live out our present while we’re hopefully anchored in eternity....

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How courageous are you?

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If many of our core convictions as Christians are openly questioned, if not ridiculed, how can we establish a credible lifestyle of courage?...

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A credible life of kindness

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I want to continue my discussion of what would capture the attention and respect of a watching world and help them want to hear what we have to say about our beliefs in Jesus. If building relationships is now one of our primary tasks as Christians, how can we back up this work by establishing a credible lifestyle of kindness?...

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A Compelling Lifestyle

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Recently I wrote about how I believe the paradigm for ministry is changing. As Christians are no longer a majority in our culture, we need to work as the early church did when it was a minority....

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How do we get the help we need?

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What is it like to try and find the right person for a job? You can envision talent or competencies combined with passion or experience. But there’s the limiting factor of who you can find. But weigh this scenario with one critical new addition — what if someone commits to helping you not just find but actually cultivate the right person for that need?...

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What's old is new again

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Surely you’ve heard the expression, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” As I continue to think about (what I’ve referred to as) innovation, it’s ironic that the “new ideas” or innovations I’ve alluded to are not new at all in history. They’re just new to our culture or generation....

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A sea change in how ministry gets done

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As I continue to work out the needs for the church to adjust to our contemporary audience, it’s from assessing how our cultural assumptions have changed in the last few decades. We’d be blind to not recognize our profound loss of influence and the resulting challenge that now face us....

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Faithful Innovation, Part 2

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If you read my email last week, this is a sort of part two to a clumsy start. I said that in content, we want to remain faithful, and in strategies, we want to be as creative as we possibly can be as long as we remain true to God’s Word. And don’t forget the Apostle Paul’s courage and creativity described in 1 Corinthians 9 to “become all things to all people, that...

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The tricky question of innovation

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Innovation implies change, and we’re the denomination who’s characterized by faithfulness. For instance, the PCUSA (out of which the PCA formed in 1972-73) changed from our long-held commitments to the Bible. That is a kind of change that is bad....

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What is your climate - your norms vs. your exceptions?

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Likely you’ve seen the recent reports of snow in Los Angeles. There was even a measurable snowfall in Tampa in January of 1977… But a snowy winter is not the climate in L.A. or Tampa. Catch the vital distinction between an event and a climate — the difference between an exception and a norm. I want to ask you to assess your norms, exceptions, climate, and events....

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What do you believe is really happening at church?

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What do you think is really happening at church? What do you believe goes on, not just visibly, but invisibly because of God’s Almighty power and working? Trusting Jesus for His work of redemption in my own heart and in the hearts of others, what would it look like to raise our gaze to look for God to work? Even at church?...

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What do we mean by the Means of Grace?

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What would you do if your favorite teenager grew reluctant to bathe? Can you imagine the dialogue? “I’m fine. I feel fine....

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Culture eats strategy for lunch

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“Culture eats strategy for lunch” — Peter Drucker (1909-2005). As a pioneering management consultant, educator, and author, Drucker was convinced that no matter how great your strategy is, a plan will fail without a company (or organizational) culture that encourages people to implement it....

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I want to invite you to church - in person

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This may seem odd or needless, but I want to invite you to church this Sunday. I believe it’s needful because the practice of attending an in-person worship service is dramatically in decline. After the COVID pandemic, national percentages of church attendance have plunged. ...

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The dominoes of Christmas giving

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I do not know when you’ve seen it, but somewhere you likely have. A line of dominoes stacked on end start to tumble, and one domino hits another, and there’s no going back …...

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What does it mean to be called?

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What does it mean to be called? If your mom or dad called you to dinner when you were a kid, a person called out your name. And (hopefully) you responded. Or with your most recent phone call — likely you have caller ID, and again a person hoped to make contact with you for some reason....

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What do you think of the Church - really?

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First, why does the Church have a surpassing Value? The Church of Jesus is not a thing. The Church is a single term of all of the people Jesus has redeemed, past, present and future, and its value (their value?) is marked by His willingness to shed His blood to rescue each and every one of us. ...

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We have seen this forecast before

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Training to become a pilot (in what seems like another lifetime ago) I was quickly taught that you cannot control what is outside the cockpit. You can only prepare on how you could respond. Metaphorically it has proven to be an outstanding life lesson if you substitute “your heart” for “cockpit.”...

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What have you earned? And what have you been given?

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Many years ago, an older pastor, Dick Kaufmann, spent time with me, helping me grasp Grace. Counterintuitive does not even begin to capture my experience. Many of our natural instincts are put totally out of sorts by the LORD’s ways, especially our motivations for performance and earning. ...

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