The Rieslands 2 Big Kids And 3 Little Ones

  • Hire Zack
  • Hire Steph
  • Who?
  • Freelance
  • Photography
    • Stephanie Riesland Photography
    • Zack On Instagram
  • Popular Categories
    • Video
    • Family
    • Musings

Posts tagged: christianity

CNN Article On Francis Chan

December 23, 2010, by Zack No comments yet

You’ve seen me write a handful of posts (like this one) about Francis Chan over the past couple of years.

His podcasts and books – Crazy Love in particular – have been a huge blessing to me.

You may or may not know that a few months ago he walked away from his church. No scandal, no controversy or drama – he just abruptly announced that he would be moving on with no specific plans about where.

Now that the dust has settled a bit, he has transplanted his whole family to an ‘undisclosed’ city in Asia, where nobody cares that Crazy Love just hit the NY Times best-seller list, and CNN wrote a pretty interesting article about the whole thing.

The clencher for me:

Before selling his house and packing up his wife and three children, Chan was becoming “Christian famous” in Evangelical circles.

“Even in my own church I heard the words, ‘Francis Chan’ more than I heard the words, ‘Holy Spirit’,” he said.

That was a big part of the reason he walked away at the peak of his professional career.

“I think there has been too much emphasis on me. I want to be used by God, but I think we have this desire to make heroes out of people rather than following God and the Holy Spirit.”

He quotes the apostle Paul, who told his followers “I didn’t die for you.”

Wow.

He may or may not have gone a little overboard, but either way: I think he’s on to something.

Check it out.

This Is Offensive. And True.

December 6, 2010, by Zack No comments yet

Mark Driscoll with six minutes on some fundamentals about Jesus.

The money quotes:

Spirituality without Jesus is Demonology.

You cannot – you WILL NOT – connect to God apart from Jesus.

Your sin NEEDS to be atoned for.

If you disagree with what  Mark says here, then I respect that. I respect you, and love you.

But you really do need to know this:

if what is said here offends you, then Jesus should offend you.

You need to know that.

If you are one of my many friends who thinks “Jesus is cool. To each his own, you know?” then you can’t possibly understand who Jesus is… who He claimed to be and why He said He came.

I beg you to open your Bible and read the Gospel of Mark.

It’ll take you about 30 minutes.

I think you will find that Jesus only offers to be

1) your Savior

or

2) your Judge

That’s it.

He loves you too much to let you marginalize Him.

Think about it.

What Is The Bible Really All About?

September 9, 2010, by Zack 1 comment

In the past few years, my understanding of God and the Bible have changed dramatically.

In this 3-minute video, Tim Keller explains what I have been learning: The Bible isn’t about me. or you. It’s about Jesus.

The whole thing is about Jesus.

It isn’t about what God can do for you.

It isn’t about right and wrong.

It isn’t about good and evil, or a proper understanding of morality.

It isn’t just history.

It’s primarily about Jesus.

The WHOLE thing.

(If your pastor isn’t making the clear, do me a favor and kick him in the but.)

Ever heard of the Tatars?

August 11, 2009, by Zack 1 comment

screenshot_temp1You may have never noticed it before, but on the right sidebar of this blog, there’s an “Un-reached People Group Of The Day” banner…

Read more →

Religion Saves – Review

August 1, 2009, by Zack No comments yet

A few weeks back, I shared my excitement about a new book, Religions Saves, and Nine Other Misconceptions.

I wrote a few posts since then, talking about individual chapters (1 and 2), but today I’m excited to be on the official blog tour. So, here’s my overall review of the book (and please forgive me if any of this seems repetitive to you):

What do birth control, humor, calvinism, grace, sex, faith and works, dating, the emergent church, and the regulative principle have in common?

Well, ask pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church to write a chapter on each topic, put them together, and you’ve got Religion Saves, and Nine Other Misconceptions.

Read more →

123Next ›Last »

You found the blog home of two big kids (the parents) and three little ones.

Feel free to join Kharis and have a look around...

Recent Posts

  • Ben Laughing Zack, May 15, 2013
  • Angry baby - caption pleaseCaption Please Zack, April 29, 2013
  • toddler_interview1Kids Say… Zack, March 28, 2013
  • carson-god-who-is-thereWhat Good Are The Ten Commandments? Zack, January 18, 2013
  • uzbekistan_cotton_child_slaverySpeaking Of Slavery… Zack, January 17, 2013

Recent comments

  • Michael Riesland: I love you for you being you. And you are right. Off to work we...
  • Erica Potter: Love hearing this from an VIP! Its always great to hear a perspective from someone's...
  • Mike: First off Steven Furtick is awesome! Elevation had over 2000 get saved during their Christmas...

Some Random Photos

rieslandfamilyprint-388 rieslandfamilyprint-310 rieslandfamilyprint-109

Zack Has Been Listening To…

Like The Photography You See Here?

Looking for an awesome photographer for hire? Look no further! Visit Steph's website and find out why you should hire her!

Got 30 Seconds To Pray?

Looking For Web Hosting?

Banner
Copyright © 2012 Zack Riesland. All Rights Reserved.