Dave Miller

...You know, those days you can remember where you were and what you were doing. ...Those days that are forever burned in your mind and heart. I was having a pastor's fellowship meeting in my home that was to start around 9 AM (CDT). I was ready and so I thought I'd turn on the TV and watch something until my friends arrived. It must have been 8:03, because just as the TV came on, and as the announcers were talking about the plane that flew into the North Tower, a plane flew into the South Tower and a fireball erupted. There could be no doubt at that moment that America was under attack. … [Read more...] about It Was One of Those Days…

Monday is a bad day for me. I am trying to recover each week from the "Southern Hills Marathon" - my normal Sunday Study/Preaching schedule. I'm no spring chicken anymore and it leaves me exhausted. I usually start my day with a long list of things I want to do, then tend to squander the day reading blog posts and sometimes writing them. That's what I've been doing this morning. Lo and behold, there was some good stuff up there. I would recommend Bart Barber's insightful post asking whether Catholicism is actually a monotheistic religion. Well worth reading. Ed Stetzer (I'm guessing most … [Read more...] about The Dangers of Theology

I get annoyed sometimes watching sports - and not just because my teams usually lose. I get annoyed with fans and with announcers and even with participants. I think I have discovered a solution: the PDC. A Paintball Discipline Crew will attend all American sporting events, armed with paintball guns, to deliver discipline when needed. This is a badly overdue thing. Here are some circumstances when such a crew could be helpful. 1) Every time someone at a golf tournament yells, "Get in the hole" immediately after a shot, the PDC will descend on him and pepper him with 50 to 100 tiny balls … [Read more...] about The Sports World Needs PDC (Paintball Discipline Crews)

        … [Read more...] about P4CM – The Exegesis of Jesus

NOTE: I've been discussing this issue with Marty King of LifeWay over the last couple of days. His response on behalf of LifeWay is attached below. While we are not seeing this the same way, I am appreciative of LifeWay's responsiveness and willingness to talk these things through.  World Changers has been coming to Sioux City, Iowa as long as I have lived here (7 years) and for some time before that. When you minister outside of the established SBC states, in what are now called "new work" states, you come to appreciate ministries like World Changers. Southern Baptists struggle for … [Read more...] about An Iowan’s Lament: Regretting LifeWay’s Changes to World Changers (with Response from LifeWay)

Doctrinal debate is a tricky thing. We are called to walk in unity with one another, to honor one another as brothers in Christ and to edify the Body. But the very act of asserting doctrinal truth demands that one call another wrong. I cannot hold to one truth without denying another. Yet, the common response on blogs to being confronted doctrinally is to yelp like a whipped puppy.  "How could you say that about me?"  "Are you calling me a heretic?"  "How dare you?" Instead of responding with biblical or theological content, the preferred response seems to be to define oneself as a … [Read more...] about My Brother, You Are Wrong!

Short paragraph - a brief summary. Tell us about your sermon today. I'm always interested to hear what other guys are preaching on. … [Read more...] about What’s Your Sermon Today?

When I was a young whippersnapper like many of you here, I disdained some older pastors who stood somewhat aloof from their congregations. I determined to be myself, to be vulnerable, to be "real" with my congregation. I had my closest friends within the congregation. I refused to be called anything but Dave, rejecting any honorific titles. But as time went on, I began to notice something. This may come as a bit of shock to some of you, but I am not perfect. No, really, I'm not kidding. I have flaws. And what I found is that a lot of people in my churches had trouble dealing with seeing … [Read more...] about A Voices Forum: Should a Pastor Have Close Friends in His Church?

It was so predictable. David Rogers posted some comments here from DA Carson about the dangers of angry Christians being involved in politics. Dr. Carson, not a left-winger by any reasonable standard, was simply saying that when we engage in anger on politics, we undermine evangelism - our ultimate goal. Here was Carson's money quote. But at the end of the day, if you can’t do it with compassion, and gently, and leave the doors open for evangelism, boy, you destroy everything. I think one of the devil’s tactics with respect to the church on the Right today is to make them so hate everybody … [Read more...] about Angry or Compromised? Shrill or Silent? Seeking Middle Ground in Christian Social Engagement

I have an ugly secret to admit. I used to be a cessationist. Don't judge me. Back then, many (perhaps most) Baptists were cessationists. I couldn't help it. I was born that way! I was a cessationist because that is what I wanted to be. I found charismatics weird and annoying and I wanted the Bible to prove they were all wet. Plus, the school I attended taught cessationism as settled doctrine.  And that was fine with me.  I accepted cessationism by faith without needing evidence. Then, I began to read and study the Bible and I found out an uncomfortable truth. The Bible does not support … [Read more...] about God Told Me that the Bible Does NOT Teach Cessationism