Besides being an essential part of our ministry, Itacyara is also very much in demand by other churches. This month she accepted an invitation to help with the Vacation Bible School of one of our sister churches in São Luís. The first VBS, and the Good News Baptist Church ended last week, and it was…
The first I heard of the Netflix documentary The Edge of Democracy (Democracia em Vertigem in Portuguese, trailer here) was when several of my left-leaning Brazilian friends enthusiastically recommended it on social media. As I am always interested in how Brazil is portrayed in the US, my interest was immediately piqued. After watching it, I…
For those who follow our ministry, and who are on Instagram, here is a list of accounts you might want to follow. 1. Our account, of course. We try to keep it updated with snapshots of everyday life here in Brazil. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andrew Comings (@andrewcomings) 2. The…
It was Saturday evening. A large group of well-wishers looked on as the blushing bride walked down a grassy lane, and a nervous groom crooned the words from a popular love song. When bride and groom met at the altar, the turned around and waited as their nine children came up the aisle with their…
The Story Luke Tells: Luke’s Unique Witness to the Gospel by Justo Gonzalez Church historian Justo Gonzalez looks at Luke’s writings. I liked his overall approach and he had some good insights. The author’s soft spot for Liberation Theology is kept to a minimum. Worthwhile if you are studying Luke or Acts. The First American…
Here’s what’s been going on over at our Instagram account for the past couple weeks. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andrew Comings (@andrewcomings) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andrew Comings (@andrewcomings) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andrew Comings (@andrewcomings) View…
A few weeks ago I blogged about the month of May being family month in many Brazilian churches, including ours. This year our ladies society planned several activities in conjunction with this event, the last of which occurred yesterday: a family picnic. While not everybody was able to attend (several of our men have jobs…
Here in Brazil, among evangelical churches, yesterday was “Pastor’s Day” – a Sunday where churches take a moment to honor the men who serve the flock by bringing them the Word week in and week out, “in season and out of season”. We actually celebrated the event twice this year, once on Saturday at an…
In the course of a recent online discussion on the merits of a pluralistic society, particularly where Christianity is concerned, a good friend recommended that I read up on eminent sociologist and theologian Peter Berger (1929-2017). Selecting his last work, The Many Altars of Modernity: Toward a Paradigm for Religion in a Pluralist Age, I…
I am reviving the book reviews I used to do here, with a little change in the format. In stead of occasional “drive-by book reviews”, I’ll be sharing my reading at the end of every month. So to begin, here are some of the books I have read in May. I hope you find this…