Mike Leake

The results are in. The Southern Baptist Convention has declined once again in membership and baptisms. Even while we gained churches—thanks to our emphasis on church planting—we haven’t seen that result in baptisms or added membership. In response to this news I continue hearing the phrase “revival”. Some are saying that the only thing that will turn the tide is a heaven-sent revival. As a response to these declining numbers, and the maladies of our cultural climate, many are meeting and praying that the Lord would again pour out His Spirit upon our land. I’m all for that. In fact … [Read more...] about Revival and SBC Decline

It’s Friday night. It’s Fall. It’s Football season. You load your family up in the minivan to support the local high-school football team. You scan the bleachers for a space large enough to contain your squirrely children. Up a few rows in the bleachers you find a spot and unpack the house and set up camp with your kiddos. No more than five minutes into the game you begin regretting your choice of seats. Your children and their virgin ears are being treated to a litany of new words. “F” this and “F” that. And the poor ref has already been called things that even you have to look up on … [Read more...] about What Did Jesus Mean When He Told Us Not to Judge?

I’m convinced that some of the worst sermons that I’ve preached were terrible because I became a slave of alliteration. I used alliteration because I wanted people to remember the points of the sermon. But, here is where I went south—in order to make three points that all start with the letter P, I slightly altered the general thrust of the text. They might have remembered the three P’s but sadly the intention of the original author was lost.  The same thing has happened with the acronym TULIP. When someone goes to discuss the doctrines of grace the discussion inevitably centers around the … [Read more...] about Review of PROOF by Timothy Paul Jones and Daniel Montgomery

Awhile back I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a couple of Mormon missionaries. They explained to me the way that Joseph Smith received the Book of Mormon. Here was a bit of my response. “So…let me get this straight. Joseph Smith saw these golden plates. And he was permitted to read them. But nobody else was with him…” They corrected me and informed me that one other fella was with him and saw some of it, but later denied the whole thing. (If I’m getting some of my Mormon history incorrect please forgive me, I’m only going by what these two chaps told me). “Okay then, so … [Read more...] about Is Your Faith Like That of a Mormon?

It’s Wednesday night and for the fourth time this week and Sally finds herself praying all too familiar of words: “Lord, forgive me for my bitterness and the way that I lashed out at my friend.” She’s frustrated that she continues to come back to this same spot. But what more can she expect? She shouldn’t be surprised that she keeps coming back to this spot—should she? Another evening squandered on laziness. What started as a quick game on his PS4 turned into him staying up until 3:00 AM. Jim will be tired for work tomorrow. He’ll be grouchy. He’ll be wide open for depression. Not to … [Read more...] about I’m Shocked!

“It’s time to go to bed, sweetheart,” I say with an optimism that forgets I am raising a sinner. In my mind the little munchkin will say with a refined British accent, “Why, yes, good sir, you are correct. The dawn is upon us and I must head to my quarters.” And with that she’ll march her little tail into bed, close her precious eyes and go to sleep. I’m shocked that my kind request is met with rebellion. “No! I don’t want to go to bed! I want to play with my dolls more!” I change my tone a bit to let this little princess know who bought those little dolls. I’m still calm and kind but at … [Read more...] about Conversation Over

A group of guys are sitting at a table arguing about who won the 1984 World Series MVP. If the year was 1994 then the argument would go on until somebody got home and looked up in their copy of Sports Almanac. Today the argument will last only as long as it takes for someone to grab their iPhone and consult the mighty Google machine. Willie Hernandez. Argument over. You want to know something, then you Google it. It’s your God-given right to have this information and it is at your finger tips. We are an information-saturated culture. I’d almost argue that many of us are addicted to … [Read more...] about A Thirst For Knowledge, A Thirst For Porn

The two cute kids sit on mommy and daddy’s record player and look out the window. The little girl smiles in wonder and raises her little finger up to the heavens. “Oh, look ‘Zay-ah it’s the sun! Isn’t it bootiful?” She then pecks him on the cheek and smiles. She’s so excited to see this beautiful sunset. Her brother…not so much. In fact, he lovingly but confidently proceeds to burst her little bubble. “Uhmmm…that’s not the sun,” he says in his big brother voice, “that’s a reflection of the light into the window”. She argues. He argues. Then he “turns off the sun” and proves his point. … [Read more...] about How Should You Respond When a Fellow Believer is Excited About Untruth?

The flood has subsided and Noah—not to be confused with Russell Crowe—becomes a man of the soil. As part of this he planted a vineyard and one day decided to enjoy the fruits of his labors. He got a bit tipsy and somehow wound up naked in his tent. The details of what happens next are sketchy. And that is actually the point. Moses, our author, does the exact opposite of Noah’s youngest son, Ham. Ham is not ashamed to look upon the nakedness of his father. In fact he goes and gets his two brothers–conceivably to bring them in on this shameful event. Ham exposes Noah. Moses doesn’t give us … [Read more...] about A Generation of Hams

“Lord, we pray that you put a hedge of protection around this family.” I’ve had something similar prayed over me before. And I really appreciate it. But I have a confession to make. The phrase “hedge of protection” makes me laugh. You see, I’m a child of the 80’s and 90’s. When I hear the word hedge I don’t think of a row of thorn bushes–I think of Sonic the Hedgehog. So what I hear when someone prays for a hedge of protection is a group of angry hedgehogs watching out for me like my own personal line of attack dogs. That is one reason, to my knowledge, I’ve never once prayed a hedge of … [Read more...] about Why I Don’t Typically Pray For a Hedge of Protection