Archives for 2013

Alan Cross blogs at Downshore Drift, where this article was originally published. He graciously allowed me to repost this here. In the days after the Sandy Hook Massacre, Gun Control advocates have pushed their agenda to center stage in the national debate. Or, maybe the whole issue about what we do with guns, why we have so many, and whether or not we even should have them took center stage all on its own in the wake of such a horror. The argument goes that since the mass murders that take place on occasion in America almost always involve semi-automatic "assault" rifles with high magazine … [Read more...] about Evangelical Christians and Guns: Are We Doing It Right? (by Alan Cross)

Do you ever read a passage of Scripture and think that Paul (or another biblical author) may have had a prophetic vision of blogging when he wrote it? In reality, the issues that come up in blogging are not new, they are just human foibles in a new format. Social media does not create new problems; it simply reveals old ones in a new way. I was reading a post at Mike Leake's site, Borrowed Light, which had a link to an article at "Gentle Reformation" called, "Short Rules of Blogging." In that post, the author quoted a verse from 2 Timothy 2, and it drove me to get the Bible out and read that … [Read more...] about Paul’s Admonitions to Bloggers (Well, to Timothy)

The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.  -Proverbs 18:17 I’m not an expert counselor.  But I hope I am growing.  Early on in my ministry I dealt almost exclusively with counseling teenagers.  As one in my early twenties and still  with plenty of youthful vigor (or perhaps rebellion) in my heart I listened intently as teenagers would tell me about how much they were victimized by their parents. It is much to my chagrin that I confess that for the first year or two I really thought that these kids had horrible parents that simply did not … [Read more...] about Don’t Proxy Counsel

In my ministry, I have been privileged to serve as Pastor of four wonderful churches--three with parsonages and one without. When living in a parsonage, I sometimes felt the desire for a home to call my very own. Asking others about drapes, carpets and repairs made me feel like I lived in a nice apartment with a friendly landlord, but clearly had no authority to make the place my own because, of course, it wasn't. I was thrilled to finally enter the world of mortgages about twelve years ago. But there is one very significant occasion when living in a parsonage can make a lot of sense, both … [Read more...] about Time to Bring Back the Parsonage?

Pastor Mark Driscoll* tweeted this last week: That he is no fan of bloggers is no secret. He’s been known in the past to be quick to use his sharp wit to lampoon the critical blogger. I realize also that by responding to him I am probably becoming one of those “pontificating” bloggers that he so disdains. Fair enough, but I thought this might serve as a decent opportunity to share the benefit of blogging. On one hand I totally agree with Pastor Mark. Pontificating about what others are doing while doing nothing yourself can be very annoying. There is no doubt that one of the negative … [Read more...] about Blogging Can Be Doing, a Response to @PastorMark

Andy Hynes is the Director of Admissions and Dean of Men at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and a PhD candidate there. Follow him @ABHYNES on Twitter. The battle within me Today’s society is enthralled with self.  We live in an era of persistent narcissism. The constant clamor of people bragging about themselves; engaging in constant self-promotion, seemingly drowns out other voices. However, it may be that there are times when focusing on self is really not a bad thing.  When it comes to how we understand the qualities and characteristics of God, and apply them to our lives, it … [Read more...] about Meeting God and Remaining Unchanged? (by Andy Hynes)

I've been preaching through Acts on Sunday nights and I keep getting more confused as time goes on. You see, I went to seminary and I got me an edumacation and lots o' book-learning. I've been to evangelism conferences and training sessions. And, with all that I have learned about evangelism and cultural engagement, I am left with only one conclusion: Those poor folks in the church in Jerusalem just didn't get it. They did not know the effective evangelism strategies that we have learned today and they didn't know what we now know about engaging our culture in a positive and tolerant way. … [Read more...] about Evidently, the Early Church Didn’t Know How to Do Evangelism!

As one who loves baseball, I absolutely cannot stand this commercial! … [Read more...] about Worst Commercial Ever?

I want to say a public thank you to Mississippi Baptist men and a ministry they have that has blessed me three times over the 22 years I have lived in Iowa. The last two times they did it, I didn't have a forum like this to say thank you, but now I do, so here goes. I know a lot of you young whippersnappers preach in t-shirts and sandals, in your ratty ol' ripped blue jeans. But those of us who, like fine wine (grape juice?) have matured with age still wear our suits and ties when we preach on Sunday morning. And those suits do not come cheap, especially when you pastor some small church in … [Read more...] about Thank You, Mississippi Baptists!