Um, what’s wrong with this picture?

Ablaze Partners Network is, according to its website, “a ministry of Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church, North Royalton Ohio, in close cooperation with the Mission Services staff of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.” Run by the Rev. David S. Luecke, it has a list of “best practices” resources. There are four listed under “worship.”

I’ll skip the first two (“Worship Diversity Respects Culture” and “Beefy Contemporary Songs”) to point out the next two:

3:16 A six-week Lenten series of on the book of that title by Max Lucado. It contains worship service emphases and songs, preaching notes, family devotions, and small group discussion guide.

Twittering in Church OK
Last year John Voelz, a pastor, was tweeting at a conference outside Nashville about ways to make the church experience more creative — ways to “make it not suck” — when suddenly it hit him: Twitter.

Um. Max Lucado? He may be a great writer but he’s also a promulgator of generic Evangelicalism. Why would his stuff be good for a Lenten series? When I think Lent, I don’t really think of Church of Christ pastors.

And Twittering in church? Don’t get me wrong — I think Twitter is a great social media tool for Christians to use. But the idea that what Ablaze needs to promulgate is a way to avoid focus during worship is just odd. Also, could we avoid using the language referenced above? So unseemly.

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