Yesterday, I listened to a talk from Steve Jobs from 1983. I’d encourage you to at least play it in the background or give it a skim listen at some point: Did I mention that he gave this talk in 1983?!?! In this hour he predicted the world that we live in today. And he did it with passion and confidence. It felt as if Steve Jobs had time travelled to the year 2000 and then went back to 1983 to tell people what he witnessed. Amazing! As I listened to Jobs I couldn’t help but wonder whether or not churches ought to dream like Steve Jobs? Jobs stood before these people and said, … [Read more...] about Should Churches Dream Like Steve Jobs?
Finding the Beauty and Purpose in Ashes
Sometimes things just stink. Have you experienced that? Sometimes things go wrong, fights at home, income drops, kids are wild and your team loses and doesn't make it to the World Series. Sometimes life is just hard and you wonder why. I know I have spent many hours begging God for relief and deliverance. Often, I don't find it and it's for my benefit that I don't find it. I am not always in the situations that I want to be in, but I have found those situations are where I learn the most. It's approaching winter time, and the trees are bare, the grass in brown and what I see out the window … [Read more...] about Finding the Beauty and Purpose in Ashes
Southern Baptist Identity: Southern Baptists in the 21st Century
This article is a reflection on "Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future," edited by David S. Dockery. This post is based on the Introduction, "Southern Baptists in the 21st Century," also by David Dockery. The introduction to this series appeared yesterday. How important is your rear-view mirror? It is an important aid in driving, but you cannot make progress through busy streets if all you do is stare behind you! I've known a few Baptists who are trying to steer toward the future by gazing only in their rear-view mirrors! Every problem we face has … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist Identity: Southern Baptists in the 21st Century
How Did Your Church Handle Halloween?
I carried on with prayer and Bible study, but the children's ministry took the night off. Some of the leaders stayed home and did some evangelistic stuff in neighborhoods. We had our "Fall Festival" last weekend. I was out of town and haven't heard how things went. Sounds like a lot of churches had Halloween parties (though the word never appears - its all Fall Festival or Harvest Night or whatever cover we use). Those draw big numbers but are they evangelistically effective? Let's talk about it … [Read more...] about How Did Your Church Handle Halloween?
Southern Baptist Identity: A Journey in Denominational Self-Discovery
I've always been a cutting-edge kind of guy! It is now 2012 and I am getting ready to review and comment on a book edited by David Dockery and published in 2009. That is an eternity in blog years. But I published a review of this book by Wes Kenney on July 11 and my appetite was whetted to read and respond to what the book teaches. So, I am going to begin a series of chapter-by-chapter analysis of this book. The book has an introduction by Dockery, fourteen chapters and a conclusion by Danny Akin. It has articles by such unknowns as Al Mohler, Paige Patterson, Timothy George, Morris … [Read more...] about Southern Baptist Identity: A Journey in Denominational Self-Discovery
Can We Measure God’s Pleasure? Examining Baptists’ Passion for Numbers
Several years ago, in the "Wild West" days of Baptist blogging, I read a comment made by a prominent blogger, the pastor of a large church, disdaining the viewpoints of several others bloggers who pastored much smaller churches. Because their churches were smaller than his, their opinions evidently carried less weight than his did. It was strange to see those words on the screen, but they represent a prevalent opinion in the Baptist world - that numbers are an obvious measure of God's blessings. We Baptists tend to be a "bigger is better" bunch. Our denomination is dominated by those who have … [Read more...] about Can We Measure God’s Pleasure? Examining Baptists’ Passion for Numbers
Where is Jesus in Judges 19?
I find myself reading through Judges 19 this morning and my heart absolutely breaking. The story is one of the inhospitality and wickedness of the men of Gibeah. Just as in the story of Sodom the men of the city desire to have sexual relations with a male visitor of the city. Instead of allowing them to devour his guest, the Levite, the hospitable sojourner throws out the Levites concubine and “they knew her and abused her all night until the morning”. The story ends with dead concubine grasping at the threshold of her masters door. Actually, though her life ends there her story does … [Read more...] about Where is Jesus in Judges 19?
The Culture of the Moral Negative
America has now become a “Culture of the Moral Negative.” I am not talking about “negativity,” the bogie man of the new age. Actually, I am convinced negativity can be honorable. Of God’s ten laws, eight of them are stated in the negative. “Thou shalt not.” That is an 80% negativity rate - from God. Flawed human beings need limits to inhibit our sinful behavior. But that is another topic. I am talking about the kind of negative we used to get when cameras had something called film inside. On the photographic negative, everything was reversed; dark colors appear as light and light … [Read more...] about The Culture of the Moral Negative
Does It Work?
At various times, when they are not busy pushing one side of a political agenda or another, one of our local TV stations will feature a segment on the news about "Does It Work?" They'll pick an item that is currently popular (read that as "Being featured in infomercials on the competing network") or being talked about on social media and buy one. Then they'll try it out, on camera, and tell you if it works or not. This is not quite the same as the "Will it Blend?" guy, though he's more fun. For us as Southern Baptists, we are going through a portion of our "Does it work?" cycle. Most local … [Read more...] about Does It Work?
Halloween—Should We or Shouldn’t We?
Okay…it’s that time of year again. Pumpkins and skeletons are lining people’s houses. Charlie Brown is receiving rocks while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin. And debates rage—should the kid’s go trick-‘r-treating or do we take them down to the Fall Festival or Harvest Party or just stay at home? I’ll admit—I’ve had my times of being a bit of a brat when it comes to this subject. My last year at seminary, my roommate and I bought Halloween decorations and hung them on the door of our on-campus apartment. I wanted to include the smiling witch’s head but my roommate thought that was … [Read more...] about Halloween—Should We or Shouldn’t We?