Mike Leake

I have a really good introduction for this article.  I tell you a really funny story about a toy, gadget, etc. that I really wanted because I knew that it would solve all of my problems.  It was one of those things that I absolutely had to have. In this really good introduction I explain how I worked hard to get this new toy/gadget; either through actually working or “working” the way that jobless kids do--by figuring out how to manufacture the right balance of enough, tears, whining, and solid behavior to merit such an awesome gift. I continue in this super amazing introduction for a … [Read more...] about Is it too small a thing?

Every church should have a small group for parents.  Maybe not to go over the latest Christian parenting book or fad, but simply to encourage one another that you aren’t the worse parent in the world and little Johnny is probably not Satan-incarnate. I read a good amount of Christian parenting books.  I read the ones that tell you “do X so that your kid will be successful”, and I also read the ones that are more geared towards parenting with the gospel as a grid.  Both leave me exhausted—convinced that I am going to mess up my kids. You see, I absolutely love my children and I want give … [Read more...] about Review of “Give Them Grace”

The following is a modernized and de-Britainized version of John Newton’s letter to Mr. B in 1774.  I have tried to keep my changing of the words minimal but I have reformatted some to make it more readable for a blog entry as well. ----------------- My Dearest Sir, I see the necessity of having, if possible, my beliefs upon my fingertips, so that I may apply them as I need them every hour.  Certainly, if my ability matched my desire, I would remove your tumor with a word or a touch; I would instantly take away every pain and inconvenience forever. But you are in the hands of One … [Read more...] about Advice to a Friend with Cancer

C.S. Lewis once quipped: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  (Problem of Pain, 140) I agree with Lewis that this is true most of the time.  But then again, there are times when our suffering causes us to be so broken that we cannot even hear (or respond positively) to the voice of God.  Consider Exodus 6.  God gives a long list of what He is about to do in the lives of the Israelites.  He promises all this: I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians I will deliver … [Read more...] about It Doesn’t Change the Promise

“I can’t stop” The young man in my office was broken by his continuing lapses into the darkness of pornography.  He truly wanted to stop, at least it seemed.  He hated pornography.  But he kept going through seasons of “feast” and famine.  Sometimes he could quit for months at a time.  At other points he was engaging in sexual deviance multiple times per day. Did he have a disease?  Yes, it is quite true that pornography probably had changed his brain structure.  So there really is legitimacy to his saying, “I can’t stop”.  But isn’t the gospel more powerful than brain structure?  And … [Read more...] about Review of “Addiction and Virtue” by Kent Dunnington

Recently, I have been blocking off a little more time to work on a book I hope to write on John Newton.  I believe Newton to be a great model of a pastor-theologian that provides a wonderful pattern of effective soul-care and evangelical Calvinism. One particular area that I feel we “Young, Restless, and Reformed” can learn from Newton is in the way he held his Calvinism, and how he debate it—or rather how he did not debate it. In June of 1772 he published a letter On the Doctrines of Election and Final Perseverance (you can read that here).  Shortly thereafter a Methodist preacher by … [Read more...] about Young, Restless, and Newtonian

I had to do something rather painful last night.  It is something that I am certain that I will have to do again at some point, though I will dread it.  What am I talking about? While doing some Fall cleaning I discovered a dusty old stack of papers that needed to be gone through.  This stack of papers was the happy home of old papers I had written in my freshman year of college.  Yesterday, I had to go through them and read some of them. Ouch. At the time I wrote them they were really good.  They were well written treatises explaining the intricacies of the Christian faith (that I … [Read more...] about Lessons from a Dusty Stack of Papers

(HT: 22 Words) If you have spent any time in college or grad school you know “that guy” from class.  If you don’t know that guy from class there may be a good chance that you are him. I’m pretty sure that this dude is probably a blogger too.  At least he likes to leave comments on those blogs that still draw a good amount of comments.  Homeboy likes to hear himself speak (and he likes to read what he types). “Who has wisdom and understanding among you?” This guy, of course. And he will not stop until everybody knows that he is the one with wisdom and understanding.  If somebody … [Read more...] about Excuse Me, I Need to Let You Know How Awesome I Am

I’ll warn you in advance this will not be a neatly written treatise or anything like that.  I simply want to share something, hopefully briefly, that I believe the Lord is showing me.  So…no catchy introduction. Background: I really love my children.  I am very dedicated to my children.  I want to see them grow into a passionate Jesus-loving, kingdom-building, earth moving man and woman.  I want Isaiah to be a good daddy and great husband.  I want Hannah to be a good mommy and great wife. I’m also a sinner.  I have idols.  I have ridiculous self-righteousness.  Part of the reason I want … [Read more...] about Hey Daddy, Chill Out

“I wish my letters may be a bridle to you and yours a spur to me.” Those words came from the pen of John Newton to a much younger John Ryland, Jr.  Newton was almost 50 when he wrote these words, and Ryland was only around 20.  Ryland was just beginning in the ministry and Newton had been converted and laboring for the Lord for almost as long as Ryland had been alive. It seems to me that Newton’s relationship with Ryland should be one that is emulated all throughout our churches. Those that have been believers for quite some time can and engaged in ministry for a decent season can have … [Read more...] about What To Do With “Young Whippersnappers” and “Old Coots”