Hey folks! Welcome to another installment of our Five Question interviews with IMB-type people. I'm sorry for the extended delay, but I've been busy making people angry and burning my bridges and generally making a nuisance of myself. Thankfully, I've gotten a partial lobotomy and have turned over a new leaf long enough to lure in another unsuspecting interview subject. Our guest today is Edneena Goitenflasshen. Mrs. Goitenflasshen has been with the IMB for many years, working in both rural and urban areas. She and her husband, Junger, have raised children and dogs on the field, all of … [Read more...] about Five Questions with….an IMBer of a Certain Age
D. A. Carson on Angry Christians and the Devil’s Tactics
The other day as I was listening online to D. A. Carson lecture on Revelation, I came across a very insightful and relevant snippet and decided to transcribe what he said here. The following quotation comes from Part 18 of Carson's lectures on Revelation, posted at The Gospel Coalition Resource page on June 17, 2005. It is taken from the portion of the audio file that runs from 18:48 to 22:00. You can listen to the entire lecture here. One of the things that troubles me about American society—about North America, and I include Canada in this, and Western European Christian society, to some … [Read more...] about D. A. Carson on Angry Christians and the Devil’s Tactics
Observations and Predictions on The Gospel Project
Something about this being a semi-let's not talk about it topic has me wanting to actually talk about it. Sorry Dave. I pastor a small church that uses books from 3 of Lifeway's curriculum lines, and I have one class swapping "MasterWork" for The Gospel Project. I also have a long-standing rule that I will never be the junior member of a conspiracy, and as such, front man Dave and behind-the-scenes godfathers Don Trevin and Don Stetzer have not approached me to blindly back the TGP materials. My opinions and predictions here are my own, and are meant to illustrate the problem in the SBC as … [Read more...] about Observations and Predictions on The Gospel Project
The Descriptor to End All Descriptors
Although it seems much longer, it has now been nine and a half weeks since Southern Baptists in New Orleans approved the informal descriptor "Great Commission Baptists." At the time, I sat in a well known New Orleans eatery and ordered a "Po Boy at Mothers" while quipping that, because some people did not like this traditional name, we should at least be given the option of referring to the sandwich as a "Rich Girl at Fathers." While the new sandwich descriptor is not catching on, the same can certainly be said for the new SBC moniker. By now, even the least conscientious webmaster has had … [Read more...] about The Descriptor to End All Descriptors
God Told Me that the Bible Does NOT Teach Cessationism
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
12 Can’t-Miss NFL Predictions for 2012
1) A team that everyone is predicting will be bad will surprise veeryone and turn out to be very good. 2) A team that everyone is predicting will be good will fail miserably and everyone will wonder what happened. It will probably be the Cowboys. 3) Football coaches will be interviewed and will always say the word football in front of everything. "We played a great football game today, because we are a great football team. Smith is a great football player who really helps this football team play a great football game." This is likely because of the large number of head injuries … [Read more...] about 12 Can’t-Miss NFL Predictions for 2012
Football is in the Air (by CB “Sabanation” Scott)
Editor: CB Scott needs no introduction. All over the United States young men and small boys are getting ready for the first of the season game of America’s greatest sport, FOOTBALL. Old men are cleaning B-B-Q grills, buying pork ribs, chops, and butts, and all the while checking to make sure their favorite team shirts and jerseys from last season still fit for when they go to the first game of the season so they will look trim and athletic for their tailgate debut. They are also making sure their wives ordered all the right tickets to the right games. No self respecting FOOTBALL fan wants … [Read more...] about Football is in the Air (by CB “Sabanation” Scott)
Preaching the FULL Gospel in a Baptist Church!
I am afraid that sometimes we fail to preach the full story of the gospel. We focus on Christ's death for sin (as we should) but we sometimes neglect the primary emphasis of gospel presentations in the Book of Acts - the victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ and his exaltation as Lord of all! We need to proclaim both the substitutionary death and the glorious resurrection of Christ. Here is a message I preached August 19, 2012 at Southern Hills Baptist Church, if anyone is interested. A couple of things: 1) The video and audio get crossways about halfway through the sermon, so the … [Read more...] about Preaching the FULL Gospel in a Baptist Church!
How to Not Host a Rotting Blog
A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. -Proverbs 14:30 Every morning several blogs, including Borrowed Light, will feature a list of recommended articles from the day before. For a little guy like me making it on one of these lists will mean an instant boost in traffic. I normally get about 400-500 hits per day. Not much, but it’s a steadily increasing number. The few times that I have gotten a link from a certain blogger, whose name rhymes with Clem Tallies, my hit count went up to about 3000 for the day. Not to mention gaining a handful of … [Read more...] about How to Not Host a Rotting Blog
The Goal of a Servant’s Heart
Small wooden houses in the Texas heat. Wild felines under the wooden floors and joists, fighting and mating. Laurel Drive and the canals on the other side of the tracks. The high school, built like a prison and emblazoned with traditional purple and gold. First Baptist Church on Main Street in the days before they built the annex. Service. She was young when it first occurred to her. It wasn’t a call so much as merely a desire. To serve the Lord and His people, wherever they were, just seemed instinctive. It was natural, of course, to someone who cut her teeth on stories of Hudson … [Read more...] about The Goal of a Servant’s Heart