Worship and Evangelism: Some much-needed Clarity

Our worship services should make unbelievers [the unchurched, the unbaptized] welcome.  We should not make them comfortable ... welcome but not comfortable.  They shouldn't be able to sit through a service and say, 'This doesn't touch me; I don't mind this.'  They ought to hear the reality of sin; they ought to hear the warnings, but they ought to say, 'If these strong warnings are preached to God's people, how much more me?  Because I'm not one of them!'  And they ought to long for that assurance and the blessings that are given to the people of God.  And they are being taught, as they watch us worship, about God calling us, cleansing us as we confess our sin, and equipping us to live in the world.  They are being taught the gospel through our liturgy.

- John Barach, The Covenant and Evangelism, Auburn Avenue Conference

Sheepskins and Fleeces

What's a Degree Really Worth?
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
by Mary Pilon [abridged]
Monday, February 1, 2010

A college education may not be worth as much as you think.

For years, higher education was touted as a safe path to professional and financial success. Student loans helped parents and students finance degrees, with the implication that in the long run, a graduate would be able to build solid careers that would earn them far more than their high-school educated counterparts.
The nonprofit College Board touted the difference in lifetime earnings at $800,000, a widely circulated figure. Other estimates topped $1 million.But now, as tuition continues to skyrocket and many seeking to change careers are heading back to school, some researchers are questioning the high projections.