Dechurched, Discipleship, Preston Sprinkle, radio show, millennialsPreston SprinklePRESTON SPRINKLE, books, blog, theology in the raw, racial tensions in america, discipleship

I'm Still Alive

Dechurched, Discipleship, Preston Sprinkle, radio show, millennialsPreston SprinklePRESTON SPRINKLE, books, blog, theology in the raw, racial tensions in america, discipleship
I'm Still Alive

That title makes me think of a killer Pearl Jam song from the mid-nineties. Or was it the late nineties? Can’t remember. That era of my life is a blur for various chemical reasons.

Anyway, as you may have noticed (I hope you’ve noticed), my blogs have been few and far between recently. Part of this is because I was out of the country for the month of June, along with other 2-3 day excursions with my friends and family. Most of all, July and August are incredibly busy months for my job as VP of Eternity Bible College, which has left me little time to do anything that’s not related to recruiting students and fundraising. But I wanted you to know:

Oh, I—I’m still alive

Hey, I—Oh, I’m still alive

And I’m going to pick up my blogging rhythm over the next few weeks. In the meantime, here are some other things I’m doing that you might be interested in.

First, I’ve got a new website! It’s the same prestonsprinkle.com but it’s got a whole new look—and a blog. Browse around and see what you think. And let me know what kinks you see. It still needs a bit more fine-tuning.

Second, I’ve still been active on my podcast/radio show “Theology in the Raw.” I’ve been talking about stuff like:

·      Do you have to tithe to the church, or can you just give your tithe to the poor?

·      Are tongues and miraculous gifts for today?

·      Which OT laws should Christians obey? And why (or why not)?

·      And a somewhat sassy episode on how the church spends money. Sorry, but the church keeps giving me much material to work with.

I’m particularly excited about my recent conversation about racial tensions in America with my special guest, Dr. Michael Ross! We talked about the Black Lives Matter movement, whether declaring that “all lives matter” is helpful, what the church should do in light of racial tensions, and what it’s like for a black man to get pulled over by the cops. And much, much more. If you can only listen to one of these podcasts, check out the second one. It's probably the most relevant and engaging. 

Lastly, I have a couple books coming out this Fall: Go: Returning Discipleship to the Frontlines of Faith (Sept 15) and a counterpoints (i.e. 2 Views) which I served as the general editor titled Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church (Nov 15). I’ll be releasing some portions of the Discipleship book very soon. I’m pretty stoked about it. If you’ve heard me talk about church, the dechurched, the Millennial flight, how we “do church,” the church and money, racial segregation in the church, the death of the sermon, empowering the outliers, and why I don’t feel very “churchy,” well—it’s all there in the book. Whenever I talk about this stuff, I usually get a ton of responses from you all, like: “That’s totally me.” Anyway, I think you’ll dig the book.

 

Look forward to more blogs very soon! And thanks for your patience. 

Preston Sprinkle, Reformed, theologyPreston Sprinklearminian, preston sprinkle, reformed, soveriegnty of God, theologyComment

reformed but not Reformed*

I often get asked if I’m “Reformed.” Oftentimes people just assume that I’m “Reformed.” Since I don’t care for labels and resist giving yes or no answers to complex questions, I usually give an answer much longer than the asker cared to receive. Am I “Reformed?” No, but I am “reformed”—lower-case “r.” Here’s why.

Preston Sprinkle, Reformed, theologyPreston Sprinklearminian, preston sprinkle, reformed, soveriegnty of God, theologyComment
reformed but not Reformed*
church, Dechurched, Discipleship, millennials, Preston SprinklePreston Sprinklechurch, discipleship, Millennials, relationshipsComment

What Can We Learn from the Millennials Leaving the Church in Droves? Part 5

Before we dive in, I want to thank you all for offering helpful feedback during this series. Through Tweets and DM’s, comments and texts, emails and phone calls, my thinking has been tremendously shaped by people interacting with my posts.

church, Dechurched, Discipleship, millennials, Preston SprinklePreston Sprinklechurch, discipleship, Millennials, relationshipsComment
What Can We Learn from the Millennials Leaving the Church in Droves? Part 5
New Year resolution, Preston Sprinkle, reading planPreston SprinkleBible in a year, New years resolution, preston sprinkle, reading planComment

This Year’s Gonna be Better

Last year I posted a blog about all of the books I was going to read. Well, I failed. Like, miserably failed. I set out to read through the New Testament four times. I only made it through once before I fell super far behind and couldn’t catch up and pretty much sucked at reading the Bible for my “quiet times” the rest of the year.

New Year resolution, Preston Sprinkle, reading planPreston SprinkleBible in a year, New years resolution, preston sprinkle, reading planComment
This Year’s Gonna be Better
Discipleship, Preston Sprinkle, pastoral ministry, churchPreston Sprinklediscipleship, money, church, missions, simplicityComment

Do We Really Need That Chandelier?

For years, I’ve been troubled by how many churches spend money—God’s money, as we call it. When I’m in church, I often look around at all the sound equipment, chandeliers, carpets, decorations, and everything else that’s “necessary” to pull off a church service week after week. I’m not a troublemaker, so I usually keep my mouth shut. But I’ve often wondered: Is all this stuff necessary for discipleship? Are there other ways that we could spend our money that would more effectively further the kingdom of God? If we pulled way back on our church expenses, would we be able to send more missionaries overseas? Or rescue little girls from sex-trafficking? Or help the poor around us?

Discipleship, Preston Sprinkle, pastoral ministry, churchPreston Sprinklediscipleship, money, church, missions, simplicityComment
Do We Really Need That Chandelier?
church, Dechurched, Discipleship, millennials, Preston SprinklePreston Sprinkleoutliers, discipleship, Go, dechurchedComment

Empower Your Outliers

Every church has outliers—people who don’t quite fit the mold. I’m not talking about unbelievers who try out church for a while but then leave because they don’t actually love Jesus. I’m talking about zealous Christians, passionate believers, people who would much rather feed the poor than listen to yet another sermon.

church, Dechurched, Discipleship, millennials, Preston SprinklePreston Sprinkleoutliers, discipleship, Go, dechurchedComment
Empower Your Outliers