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TumblrI found the video below while looking for something unrelated and Tim Keller does a wonderful job of expressing, in a much better way than I, some of the things I’ve been thinking about recently.
I think this sums it up well: “They do not know how to have a conversation, they just simply heap scorn on the other side. That’s what the new atheists do and that’s what a lot of Christians do as well.”
Filed under: Atheism, Thoughts, youtube | Leave a Comment »
The first week of June my dad, brother, and I headed to Durham, North Carolina for Advance ‘09. Surprisingly we survived the road trip without any major difficulties, although on the way home there were a couple of hours where Brent and I weren’t speaking. Below are some links to the conference audio and some pictures from the event.
Filed under: Life, Travel | 2 Comments »
WordPress has just implemented the ability to add threading to the comments. What this means is that you can either reply to the post or to an individual commenter. This will make it a little easier to keep the flow of individual conversations straight.. It is currently set it up to allow 4 replies to an individual comment. To reply to an individual comment simply click the “reply” link under that comment.
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The following quote is taken from Tim Keller’s new book.
“ This dynamic becomes exceptionally intense when elder brothers pride themselves above all for their right religion. If a group believes God favors them because of their particularly true doctrine, ways of worship, and ethical behavior, their attitude toward those without these things can be hostile. Their self-righteousness hides under the claim that they are only opposing the enemies of God. When you look at the world through those lenses, it becomes easy to justify hate and oppression, all in the name of truth. ”
Filed under: Books, Quotes | Leave a Comment »
This post is a follow up to “Something is wrong with America… It’s you.” The video for the song referenced below can be found here and the lyrics here.
You may be wondering why keep talking about this obscure song at all? I think the issues brought up by this song bring out strong feelings in many of us. 
These issues also seem to present themselves frequently in church.
I want to walk through some of those issues. Not because I hate this song with a passion, although I do, but because I think it provides an entertaining spring board to talk about some bigger issues. I’m going to try and keep this as brief as possible, so I’m not going into every detail of every point. I want you to understand that I’m not doing this to be disagreeable, although I usually am, but to address some issues of the Church’s interaction with America that deeply trouble me. Also, as a “man of God” I’m going to be writing from a Christian perspective, making some basic assumptions about Christianity and the truth of the Bible.
Filed under: Thoughts, youtube | 2 Comments »
Here’s a clip from tomorrow’s D.L. Hughley Breaks the News (Sat. 10pm est). I probably should add that it contains some frank sexual discussion. Thoughts?
If the video gets taken down from YouTube you can find it here.
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The following is a short excerpt from a sermon I preached during a series on the Beatitudes. I’ve shortened the excerpt up a little and changed the illustrations.
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“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:10
Persecution is something that some Christians speak about often and sometimes with a morbid excitement. (For Example: Things are really starting to get bad now…)
Are your really being persecuted?
1. Justice is not persecution.
Being punished for doing wrong does not count as persecution.
Take Kent Hovind, a “creation scientist”, who is now doing ten years in a federal prison for tax related offenses. His strategy for evading his taxes included some of the following.
The response from some Hovind supporters? “We believe Hovind to be completely innocent of the alleged crime of “tax evasion”, and furthermore believe Hovind’s 10 year sentence to be patently unjust and based upon an effort to silence his ministry.”
2. A negative response to bad behavior is not persecution
When someone treats you badly because you are an arrogant jerk – that is not persecution.
As an example, consider the Westboro Baptist Church. When you protest soldiers funerals, with signs saying things like “Thank God for IEDs”, don’t expect a warm reception. You don’t get to play the persecution card just because you’re an obnoxious arrogant fool.
Many Christians, who behave badly, try and justify their behavior by saying, “But I’m just speaking the truth”. I think we need to be aware that it is not just what we say that matters, it is also how we say it.
I have heard Christians, some of them pastors, blame their negative reception on others. They often say something like “these people just can’t handle the truth”. My question, is it the truth the problem, or is it you?
3. Conflict is not persecution.
Persecution has become a very politically charged word. Often to make an impact (or to make themselves feel more “righteous”), some Christians claim persecution where only disagreement or conflict exists. Many times you find a simple disagreement or difficult conflict labeled as persecution among some Christians. It is interesting to me that when these people disagree with others it is always “I’m standing up for the truth”, however, when they are disagreed with it is, suddenly, “persecution”.
Filed under: Sermon Excerpts | 4 Comments »
Here are my Halloween plans. (Hat tip to almighty god)
Filed under: Good vs. Evil, youtube | 1 Comment »
Some of the area churches have a hymn sing on the fifth Sunday. The song below was sung by a lady at the last event. Following the song she received an immediate and enthusiastic standing ovation from everyone in the audience (I was the exception.) Here’s the song:
I don’t know where to begin with this.
• “We want America back, from those who have no self control”
What does that even mean? Does that include the buffet at Golden Corral? I mean, none of you can really lay claim to the petite label. I wonder how they would have viewed Jesus… The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Luke 7:34)
I think the most horrendous part is the speech in the middle; I’ll just mention one of the first points because I can’t sit through this again.
• The condition of our schools
War zones? Really? You don’t see the difference between school sanctioned prayer and individual prayer? Do you even have children? Has anyone in your home school co-op ever seen a public school? 
I’m tired of this “Us versus Them” mentality that so many Christians are sporting these days. People with this mindset are about five minutes away from stockpiling guns and beans and then referring to their places of worship as compounds.
Filed under: Angry, youtube | 44 Comments »
Church signs are a constant source of amusement for me. It seems that many churches believe a cute saying will make their church “culturally relevant”, unfortunately the culture they appeal to is middle aged ladies who already attend church.
Here’s an example from a local church that I’m fairly certain made the baby Jesus cry
• Heavenly Forecast – Jesus will reign
While not great, it’s not as desperate as a church down the road sporting
• Please come back to church
Last week a church in Ohio posted did this. (If you don’t understand, click here) Now this sign debuted to a rough reception and was taken down about 24 hours later.
I think most of the people who saw the sign missed the point. There were those who, ignorant of pop culture, thought that this was a prohibition against kissing girls all together. Others immediately jumped on this as full blown attack against homosexuality, condemning this church and offering ‘open and affirming’ churches as an alternative.
Some Thoughts:
• This sign was not intended to be an in-depth theological treatise
• This sign was not intended to be a angry statement
• This sign was not a sermon
• It is a church sign – intended to draw attention and hopefully cause some discussion, which it accomplished.
While I’m content to keep our service times on our church sign, rather than a pithy statement, I think this pastor gets some points for breaking out of the traditional 1 cross + 3 nails = 4given type church sign and trying to actively engage the culture he lives in.
Filed under: Drama | 10 Comments »
