Jared Wellman

Some years ago I watched a nature series entitled Life that depicted the life of, well, life. One of the episodes included never-before-captured footage of a pack of Komodo dragons hunting a water buffalo. The event was unique because no one thought that a reptile would pursue a mammal, but the food situation was so dire that the Komodo dragons went outside of their normal hunting routines. The hunt started with what seemed like an insignificant bite, but the dragon’s bite was, as the narrator says, “a lethal concoction of bacteria and venom” that eventually took the life of the buffalo. … [Read more...] about Should Christians Give Mark Driscoll the “Middle Finger”?

“Watch the video,” The Five’s Greg Gutfeld tells the American public, in reference to ISIS’ video of the beheading of American journalist James Foley. For Gutfeld, watching the video is a justified act because it can arouse a better understanding of the terror ISIS pledges against our country. I can’t help but wonder, however, as an American with no National Security credentials, if watching a barbarous assassination of an innocuous life is the best way to confirm ISIS’ unbridled terrorism. Isn’t it enough to trust my officials and know that it happened? Or do I really need to watch a … [Read more...] about Should I Watch the James Foley Beheading Video?

In the August 6 edition of the Southern Baptists of Texas' Digital Texan, an article named "52,000 Immigrant Children and the Call to Love Outsiders" appeared (originally published on erlc.com), coauthored by Criswell College's Barry Creamer and Brandon Smith. The article encouraged Christians to sensitively consider that the border crisis is more of a people crisis than a political one. It was a well-thought out article that posed and answered important questions concerning the situation. On the same day, Ann Coulter published a blog on her own website called, "Ebola Doc's Condition … [Read more...] about Are Liberian and Mexican Souls Less Valuable Than American Souls?

Matthew Vines, the self proposed “gay Christian,” in his book, God and the Gay Christian, argues that gay people in committed relationships is not ungodly or unbiblical. This is to say that Vines believes that it’s okay–biblically warranted even–to be homosexual, so long as you are in a monogamous relationship. His book argues this point by unpacking what he believes are the only six passages in the Bible that deal with the issue of homosexuality. One of these passages is the well-known story of Sodom and Gomorrah from Genesis 19, the tale of two cities that were totally obliterated because, … [Read more...] about I’ve Changed My Mind, Sodom is About Inhospitality

I remember watching a documentary some years ago on the life of Paul Wight, a seven foot, four hundred and forty one pound wrestler for the WWE. You might know him better by his stage name, "The Big Show." The documentary detailed how, during his sophomore year in college, Wight was diagnosed with acromegaly, a condition that causes abnormally large growth. In Wight's case, the doctors discovered that he had a tumor on his pituitary gland that produced excess growth hormones, causing him to be much taller, stronger, and just plain bigger than everyone else. (This is not unlike Andre the … [Read more...] about Why Your Vibrant Church Might be a Dying Church

I’ll never forget an experience I once had in one of my pastorates in East Texas, an experience that highlights the illogical atrocity that is liberal thinking. In attempts to raise money for a Christian School associated with the church, one of our members raffled off a cow for butchering. After the raffle was over he took the cow to the butcher, but it was turned away because it was pregnant. To be clear, I get this. Butchering a pregnant cow is weird. Let the cow have the baby, then butcher it. And then butcher the cow’s baby once it grows up. That’s the circle of life. Lion King teaches … [Read more...] about Save the Cheetahs, but Slay the Children

There is a legend in Greek mythology that details the story of a baby on whom a young death was prophesied. This baby's name was Achilles. To thwart this prophecy, Achilles' mother, Thetis, took him to the River Styx, a river that supposedly offered powers of invulnerability. Thetis placed her faith in this river's fabled power, and commenced to dip her son's body into it. Because Achilles was still a baby, however, Thetis had to hold on to him throughout the event, and, as she did, held him by his heel. Therefore every part of Achilles' body was made invulnerable by this magical water, … [Read more...] about What is the Achilles Heel of your Pastoral Ministry?

The following might be a familiar scenario: After noticing a new addition to your Christian friend’s arm, you couldn’t help but ask what inspired him to pay money to a stranger to stain his skin with a tool forged in the pits of Mordor. (Can you tell I hate needles?) The response might have gone something like this, “I got this tattoo to share the gospel with other people that have tattoos.” It’s important to state that not every believer that gets a tattoo does so for this reason, but many do. And some believers do other things in order to “share the gospel,” like attend certain parties, … [Read more...] about I Got this Tattoo to Share the Gospel