I preached on this text the other evening: Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7 ESV) It’s sad that for many our first response to this text is to be chaffed because Peter refers to the woman as the “weaker vessel”. And in some ways I understand that because guys can be jerks and use texts like this one to promote their insecure theology. Yet if we aren’t careful we’ll neuter the beauty of this text … [Read more...] about One Reason Your Prayers May Be Hindered
The Dangers of Theology
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
Counterfeit Fruits
In many churches I have seen and been a part of, it seems we have a set of fruits that are not spiritual, yet we portray them as such. I will admit that many of these I have struggled with, these false fruits. These fruits are often damaging to our ministry if they are recognized to be false fruits. There are many false fruits that exist in our lives and ministry, I will list a few that come to mind and ones that have left a foot print (or a boot print) in my life (or backside). 1. Leadership. Leadership is a good thing, and there is no shortage of books, classes and resources on … [Read more...] about Counterfeit Fruits
The Sports World Needs PDC (Paintball Discipline Crews)
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)
P4CM – The Exegesis of Jesus
An Iowan’s Lament: Regretting LifeWay’s Changes to World Changers (with Response from LifeWay)
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)
THE GREATEST EVER? (by CB Scott)
Another entry from our newly named Sports Editor. Hey Sports Fans! The Fall Classic is just around the corner of the MLB Baseball Season, yeah boy! I know you all love it because it is a Sports tradition, maybe even the biggest one in all the Sporting World. And that is saying a lot for someone who has seen the ultimate greatness of the FOOTBALL UNIVERSE as I have, being a Sabanite and a member of the SABANATION. With the World Series coming up in mind, my good friend and big time SBC analyst, Scott Gordon, made a statement about the great Mickey Mantle that caused me to ponder something … [Read more...] about THE GREATEST EVER? (by CB Scott)
Hearing God, Part 2
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own; And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known. C. Austin Miles Principle #1. In order to hear God, you must first expect for God to speak to you. God may already be speaking to you. But if you don’t expect Him to speak, it is likely you won’t hear Him. There are some who read the Bible like they were reading a history book, nothing more. And, then they say that it is boring. One of the main ways God speaks to us today is through the Bible. Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is … [Read more...] about Hearing God, Part 2
My Brother, You Are Wrong!
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!
Hearing God, Part 1
What is God’s main purpose for us? To have a relationship of love with Him. Romans 5:11 (NLT). So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. Has anyone ever heard of a meaningful relationship in which both participants don’t communicate with each other? If we are going to have a love relationship with God, that means we must talk with God. But not only talk to God. It would not be a very healthy relationship if one of the participants did all the talking, and the other always listened. In order to have a healthy … [Read more...] about Hearing God, Part 1