Saturday Smorgasbord (Some things worth tasting this week).

Below are some things I have read this week that caught my eye, my ear, or my heart. Give a click and maybe they will yours also.

1. Kevin Weatherby, my cowboy pastor friend, takes a look at what would happen if the entire church institution became cowboys on a ranch to see how they would handle the day to day operations. “Don’t be fooled into thinking that this was written for someone else. It was written for you–and me.” Read more…
2. Larry Westfall wrote a post called Help Your Pastor Before It’s Too Late. “Being a pastor is one of the most demanding roles on the face of the planet.  I want to encourage you today to support your pastor in any way that you can.  Here are a few suggestions that will tremendously help.” Read the 8 suggestions and the comments
3. C Michael Patton from Parchment and Pen wrote an insightful post on the issue of legalism versus libertanianism. He says, “We need to be sensitive, but not to the point where we are simply fueling others’ faulty understanding and legalism. People will control you to the degree that you let them. If you allow this to go on without discernment, not only will you be immobile, but you will have lost your liberty. Lose liberty, lose the Gospel.” Read Beware of “Professional Weaker Brethren”.
4. JUSTAPEN, Seiji Yamashita, at The Ignition Point gives us a shot in the arm and a kick in the pants with his post, Set Up for Success. “How can we even imagine that we might somehow fall and lose the day when we have been so thoroughly set up for victory?” The post is good. The comments are even better.
5. Anne Jackson‘s second book, Permission to Speak Freely – Essays and Art on Fear, Confession and Grace released this week. Anne decided to share seven essays on seven different blogs. They are candid snap shots of her life as a preacher’s kid. They will touch your heart and bring tears to your eyes. I encourage you to read them all and if they impact you like they did me, you will want to buy the book and read all 22 essays. To read the essays, you can follow the links below:   

Donald Miller (Essay #1 – The First Brick)
Jon Acuff (Essay #2 – The Final Brick)
Carlos Whittaker (Essay #3 – Losing Faith)
Pete Wilson (Essay #4 – Finding Love in All the Wrong Places)
XXXChurch.com (Essay #5 – Shattered Pixels)
Catalyst Conference (Essay #6 – Ghosts of Churches Past)
FlowerDust.net (Essay #7 – Listening)

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.