Mike McLoughlin's Blog

Last week I was in Ottawa at a course that helped Christian professionals think through ethical challenges faced in medical practice. My last post summarized an approach to maintaining Christian ethical integrity in the face of pressure to conform to societal expectations. To illustrate this challenge I provide an edited transcript of a discussion that took place between an ethics interviewer and a Christian family physician over what to do ... more »

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Tuesday, June 6

How can Christian Professionals Preserve Integrity under pressure to conform to Secular Values?

by Mike McLoughlin on Tue 06 Jun 2006 09:30 AM PDT

Rehabilitating objective moral reality. That’s the goal of a series of lectures my wife and I are attending at Augustine College in Ottawa this week. The series is led by Dr. John Patrick who is one of the founders of the college. My son Sam McLoughlin spent a year studying at Augustine. It had a profound affect on his life.

My initial reaction to the idea of ‘rehabilitating objective moral ... more »

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Monday, June 5

If Mission is What the Local Church is There For, New Life Church Kelowna Serves as a Model

by Mike McLoughlin on Mon 05 Jun 2006 06:15 PM PDT

This is my fifth and final installment (I, II, III, IV) on George Barna’s book Revolution. While there is much in Barna’s book that generates comment, to help sharpen the focus of my discussion let's ask, what is the local church there for?

Barna’s answer defines his measures for local church performance. Local church is there for facilitating the seven spiritual passions of worship, ... more »

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Sunday, June 4

Loving One Another is the Better Measure for Local Church Effectiveness

by Mike McLoughlin on Sun 04 Jun 2006 08:00 AM PDT

I am continuing a series (I, II, III) of posts on Barna’s book Revolution. In this post I look at what is perhaps a false measure of local church effectiveness, that is, conversions, or as Barna frames it, “the typical churched believer will die without leading a single person to a lifesaving knowledge of and relationship with Jesus Christ.” (p. 32)

I heard John MacArthur ... more »

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Saturday, June 3

Christ’s Revolutionary Ideal is Love. Is your Local Church having Problems? Ask How You can be a Part of the Solution Because Love is as Love Does.

by Mike McLoughlin on Sat 03 Jun 2006 09:56 AM PDT

This post continues my series (I, II) on George Barna’s book, Revolution. Barna is predicting, that by the year 2025, only one third of the Christian population will be connected to local congregations, another third will be doing alternatives such as house churches and finally the last third will be worshipping at the altar of the “personal church of the individual.” gleaning their spirituality from media, ... more »