The complete journal
57 posts, kept here to read and revisit.
57 posts in the archive
Good morning Kate (and the rest of the world), Today you are ** years old. As we are now six hours ahead of the rest of your friends and family plus I was up late, I am fairly confident that I was the first to express my birthday greetings to you
What is the goal of secularization? What has already happened?
Life is final. There are no do-overs. There are no mulligans. The consequences are real. The stakes are high. When we are young, we don't realize it. Then over the course of our lives, we experience pain and agony. Life becomes real. We make mistakes that cost real money, real
This, I believe, was spoken at the Berlin Congress: Let us never forget that we who stand in the historic stream of Christianity really believe that false doctrine, at those critical points where false doctrine is heresy, is not a small thing. If we do not make clear by word
Brendan Eich, the CEO of Mozilla–the people who develop the web browser Firefox, was forced to step down today. What did he do? Well, he advocated traditional marriage and gave money to organizations that pushed it in recent California referendums. I don't know his background or spiritual beliefs, but
Watch this seven minute video explaining the situation that a Christian florist in Washington has found herself in after refusing to provide flowers to a same-sex "marriage" ceremony. She doesn't not seem to be uncharitable or ungracious–merely principled. I appreciated her attitude and view on the situation.
Letters from ex-evangelical, ex-fundamentalists, ex-whatever-is-traditional are always popular. In light of the changing culture on marriage, a particularly interesting one was posted on The American Conservative last week. The letter writer begins with a fair statement that sets the tone for the rest of the piece: My leaving was much
Churches are communities. At least, they are supposed to be. Every community has a something that ties the members together. In a neighborhood, it is geographical location. Before the internet, that was just about the prerequisite to every community. Relationships could traverse distances through phone calls or letters, but those
Denny Burk made some excellent points about the situation at the Grammys. What I appreciated most about his approach is that he did not just deal with the surface shock value. That's obvious. Burk centers on the one point that Macklemore got right: What struck me about the performance, however,
Earth from Space David Murray writes a short post linking to an incredible video: For me, the high point of the video occurs around 2.55 where Sagan seems to experience and express Psalm 8 humility: “It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is
Jesus maintained the tension of present pain and future glory without falling into our trite sayings (see last post). It is humbling to read how Christ approached life. We all err when it comes to the balance between truth and love. My natural state is to emphasize truth and come
Most of us fall into a routine of using trite sayings to answer difficult situations. They are often true--at least partly so--, but we miss the pathos of life in recycling something we saw in a church bulletin or heard a special speaker say. We should not be afraid to
This is a brilliant piece that recognizes that life is more complicated than we generally think. We make more excuses for sin than we realize. We compartmentalize our failings into an explainable category while we attack others for the morally equivalent failing. Read the whole post here, but I couldn't
Life hurts. Yet we try to deny this fact. Not outright denials, but in hushed undertones. Christian art often is rightly panned for being cloy or trite. It is all too commonly a sickeningly sweet look at life the way it never was. We use cute clichés, or even look
I thought this was good and encouraging. First, I didn't know Jim Elliot had a brother. Second, this is a great look at being consistent and letting God handle the results. I thought the conclusion was great: In the kingdom of God, there is a great need for streaking meteors,
I appreciated seeing two different missionaries write about how they have found people in drastically different cultures to simply be people. Here are two excerpts though both pieces are worth reading. Jake has been in China for over six years and plans on being there a lot longer. He has
This is a good look at a disturbing trend within the broader Christian world. William VanDoodewaard carefully examines the New Testament context as well. Thankfully, unlike many others, he uses good, biblical sense. Here's his conclusion: To reject nudity in art and film is no denial of artistic ability, nor
This is adapted from the ministry information packet we send to churches as we seek support. Since few read this, I wanted to share it on a broader stage. It has been compiled and influenced by numerous men, missionaries, and Bible study. Thank you to all those that have helped
This is adapted from the ministry information packet we send to churches as we seek support. Since few read this, I wanted to share it on a broader stage. We want to have Bible goals, and our goals directly grow out of our philosophy. Here is a summary of our
This is adapted from the ministry information packet we send to churches as we seek support. Since few read this, I wanted to share it on a broader stage. Gospel-centered is a buzzword that many are throwing around. Often it is used to deemphasize doctrinal differences. Sometimes it is used
This is adapted from the ministry information packet we send to churches as we seek support. Since few read this, I wanted to share it on a broader stage. Those two words have been burned into my heart by the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and many of my elders. The
1000 thousand years of mayhem… Via a tweet from @OperationEurope.
Cary Schmidt wrote a wonderful piece about what many younger people have experienced within conservative Christianity: But this young man’s experiences were the polar opposite. In his approximate 30 years of life, he has yet to see a healthy church with biblical balance and a Christ-like Spirit of grace.
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Psalm 127:1 (KJV 1900) How do respond when we discover that the bills are too big, the need is too great, and we have
Where I'm at and where I'm going I've been wanting to write this for a while, but I just haven't. I need to though, so we are all on the same page. I'm Baptist. I'm an independent Baptist.(see #1 below) I'm a classic fundamentalist.(see #2 below) I have
I told you that you should be reading Jake at gospelinchina.com all the time if you are interested in clear, Biblical thinking on missions. Well, here's another great post not so much on missions, but Christian living and worry. Here's how he starts it off: There’s some Bible
David Murray has put together a great list of reasons to study your Old Testament. Often times in our Bible study, we miss the forest for the trees. We focus so much on the immediate context (which as a firm adherent to dispensationalism, I appreciate) that we neglect the overarching
Just one of many interesting/convicting maps Phil Bassham, a friend of mine in Thailand, tweeted a link a few days ago to a fascinating article on the Washington Post. It has 40 maps that "explain the world." While that may be a bit overstated, a crucial part
Gender is becoming the watershed issue of our time. We are bending the very concepts of reality to create a "brave new world." According to the prevailing (and growing) logic, you are a male or female, not because you are physically male or female, but because you self-identify
What a 4.5 hour wait looks like. It's been a few weeks since I have been able to post. We have been on the road for about five weeks covering thousands of miles, but God has been gracious to us. We have seen more accidents on this trip than
America is a country of 300,000,000 people; Slovenia has 2,000,000. I guess I shouldn't be surprised when I see small numbers like in this statistic. Yet, I am. Slovenians adopted 70 children last year, which is a record number since 1994, according to the latest data
Continuing our theme from yesterday, I want to state up front two things. First, I am not perfect in this regard, but I'm working on it. If you here me preach a sermon, and mess it up, call me out! Second, these are things that all people do and do
Lately, I've been thinking about telling the truth in preaching. In some ways, I guess that sounds a bit crazy to most believers. But I am afraid that there are three or four areas that we preachers can slip into and undermine the truth of the Bible and our own
While we were traveling to the Midwest on Friday, I decided to listen to BBC 4 as I can stream it from Birmingham, England straight to my phone. I have found that listening to European radio has helped me begin to notice the ways that Europeans look at the world
This is the rest of list of practical thoughts from yesterday on who to travel and expand your view of the world: Eat everything--or at least a lot. Do they eat much meat? What kind of animals? What parts of the animal? Is the food spicy, savory, or bland? What
If you want to push yourself beyond your boundaries, it won't be easy. If you want to expand your view of the world and you find international travel easy (Canada is an exception!), you're doing it wrong, or you are incredibly gifted. No passport, no problem First, don't think that
Good thoughts from Australia about their first federal cabinet minister to be sworn in using the Qur’an: When Christianity has ruled in government, both Christianity and the government have been distorted. We win people to Christ not by government fiat but by prayerful persuasion to the truth. Later on
Polka in Prešeren Square Kissing the Ground Here's what I seem to hear every time a group returns from a short-term missions trip: "I am so thankful to live in America." "God has really blessed us." "I don't know how I would survive in [insert
A crowded gate in the Vienna airport. There were no where near enough seats. We stood. We get used to what surrounds us. City dwellers accept the din of traffic and the bustle of urban life. Suburbanites thrive with strip malls and shopping centers close at hand. Country folks enjoy
Sunset over the Adriatic Nearly eight years ago I stepped aboard my first international flight. I was excited. I had no idea what to expect. I was convinced of American exceptionalism and the glory of the American South. I was in love with the past--a golden era of American Christianity.
The Slovenia Times is reporting that Slovenia's first real estate tax is on its way to becoming a reality. Exemptions for non-profits, and specifically churches, are not part of the plan. It's not a big deal when God has all the money in the world, but it is still something
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: James 1:19 Some people have a knack for words. Some people have a knack for quick, accurate analysis. I am not sure that most people have both of those traits. I know
"Undercover at Thomas Road: An Interview with Gina Welch" written by Trevis Wax peeks into a crazy situation--a woman fakes being a Christian for two years to get a look into the supposedly crazy world of religious fanatics in America. Oh, and she did all this so she
A French mayor is facing up to five years in prison and fine of up to £63,000 for declining to carry out a same-sex marriage. Jean-Michel Colo, a mayor in South West France, rejected a wedding application from two men and says he stands by his decision. But under
Great advice from Paul Chappell on social media. I love the title of number five. I wish I had come up with the title to point 5. That's just good advice for life. Period. 5. Remember Your Testimony, But Forget Your Image One of the pitfalls of social media is
I don't think that I had ever heard of Daniel Rowlands before, but what a fascinating look into the world of the 1700's. First, I am always amazed how busy and bold some of those guys were. He went anywhere, preaching to anyone. He did it nonstop, all the while
Update (2013-06-25): I failed to mention the two books banned––Ted Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart and Michael and Debi Pearl’s To Train up a Child. The wild part is that these books, as of April 2013, "are now banned from being displayed, printed, imported or exported, advertized
Jake at gospelinchina.com is worth reading all the time. Here in "Is Missional Living the ‘New Legalism’?", he responds to those arguing that Christian commitment need not be so radical: Christians may certainly live in the suburbs, but they may not live suburban lives. Because, like any
Continuing the theme from Wednesday, the Slovenia Times reported Wednesday that: The New York-based NGO dedicated to the expansion of democracy, Freedom House, has ranked Slovenia the best in democracy and freedom among 29 countries in transition from Central Europe to Eurasia. The report gave Slovenia an overall score of
Slovenia took 13th spot among 162 countries on the Global Peace Index unveiled on Wednesday by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an Australian non-profit organisation. Compared to last year, the country lost five spots but still ranks among states with a “very high” level of peace. - Slovenia Times
That's great. But be prepared for hard work! This is a tiny glimpse into the early months of cross cultural ministry.
There is a reason that it has been a few days since my last update. Actually, there are a two. First, it has been very hectic. There has been a lot to do, and we have accomplished our objectives, by and large. That's not the main reason. Really, I am
Why go on a survey trip? There is a lot of work involved in moving to another country. A survey trip is time that allows one to prepare for some of the living and ministry challenges that await life as an expatriate. Google searches only take one so far. For
In recent years it has often been said that Karl Barth changed his views toward the end of his life. If this was so, then all could have been easily cared for by his writing one more book amongst his many books and, while he was yet living, making it
Yesterday: I began reading John Piper's Bloodlines which is now available for free in pdf format. While there are many areas of theology and practice where I would disagree with Pastor Piper, I have been encouraged by the first four chapters. Racism is absolutely and unequivocally incompatible with the Gospel.
<img src="http://dbgi6clnbgca3.cloudfront.net/media/2012/4047982682_daf2b1ae70.jpg" w[> Not the maybe, kinda, sort of, middle school guy hoping the girl he has a crush on will ask him out to the Sadie Hawkins dance (or banquet for us IFBer's) type of hope.
"Always winter, but never Christmas." This was the curse upon Narnia in C.S. Lewis' classic. Good writing is amazing. Lewis instantly transports us to a bleak world, but not just a bleak world–a world without hope. His five simple words capture the timbre of a life
