Archive for July, 2006
Rhetoric and Righteousness
July 20th, 2006 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues
My pastor and close friend, Micah Fries, has an editorial entitled “What has rhetoric to do with righteousness?” published in this week’s edition of the Florida Baptist Witness.
Be sure to check it out… when writing it, Micah definitely brought his A-game! Good stuff!
(Oh, and don’t miss the picture! Who is that guy in the suit and tie?)
UPDATE…
While I’m plugging editorials in the Florida Baptist Witness, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that another friend of mine, Kevin Bussey, was also published. Check out the letters to the editor.
Bush Vetoes Stem Cell Bill
July 19th, 2006 | 2 Comments | Posted in » In the News...
This just in… President Bush has issued the first veto of his presidency, dropping the hammer on a bill that would relax limitations on embryonic stem cell research. Here’s the story from MSNBC.com.
I think I can summarize my thoughts in two words… “PRAISE GOD!”
You knew I couldn’t stop at that, though… 
Personally, I’m most impressed at a few of the things President Bush had to say when discussing his veto. Note that he was surrounded by eighteen “snowflake families” (ones who have had children through embryo adoption) when he made these remarks:
“Each of these children was still adopted while still an embryo and has been blessed with a chance to grow, to grow up in a loving family. These boys and girls are not spare parts.”
“They remind us of what is lost when embryos are destroyed in the name of research. The remind us that we all begin our lives as a small collection of cells. And they remind us that in our zeal for new treatments and cures, America must never abandon our fundamental morals.”
“As science brings us ever closer to unlocking the secrets of human biology, it also offers temptations to manipulate human life and violate human dignity. Our conscience in history as a nation demand that we resist this temptation.”
“America was founded on the principle that we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with the right to life.”
As a father who has seen my children through ultrasound when they were not a whole lot more than a small clump of cells, I cannot help but be elated at the decision of our president to uphold the sanctity of life. We need to encourage stem cell research (without a doubt!)… just not embryonic stem cell research, which necessitates the destruction of innocent human life. Adult stem cell research holds much promise… why not focus our efforts there?
Cool videos… for the 80′s gamer
July 19th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » Just For Fun...
These have got to be two of the coolest videos I’ve seen online recently… stop-motion human space invaders and human pong.
VERY cool stuff… (it must have been very time consuming to make these!)
Interesting Headline…
July 19th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » In the News...
I took this screenshot just a little while ago… I thought the headline was interesting.
I guess Nazareth isn’t in the news too much, but it was interesting to me to see the secular media refer to it as the “hometown of Jesus”.
The Biggest Issue Facing Baptists Today…
July 18th, 2006 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues
… is alcohol consumption?
Well, one would certainly think so if you go by the topics of conversations in the blog world. Now making waves is an exchange of editorials in the Dallas Morning News between Danny Akin and Ben Cole.
You know, it’s just plain sad to me that we’re so consumed by this issue. There are SO many more important things we should be discussing, yet we’re wasting our time and energies bickering and fighting over something we all pretty much agree on (that alcohol is, in general, bad, and that we shouldn’t get drunk)? What about reaching the world for Christ? What about turning around our declining churches? What about doing our part to see revival (both spiritual and cultural) in this nation?
Sorry, but seeing so much time and effort go into such “foolish and stupid arguments” (2 Timothy 2:23) just drives me nuts.
Slacker… me?
July 18th, 2006 | 2 Comments | Posted in » My Life / Family, Prayer Requests
As I glanced at my blog this morning, it dawned on me that it has been almost 10 days since my last post. I feel like such a slacker…
Life has been (and continues to be) very busy. We took a quick vacation to Springfield to see family last week (Wednesday – Saturday), I had a full day of ministry responsibilities on Sunday (Sunday School, worship, Baseball Chapel), a hectic day with work and family yesterday, and not much relief in sight.
So… although I’ve asked all of you before, I feel I should ask again… in your prayers, would you lift up my struggles with family / work / ministry balance? I definitely need God’s direction right now (and probably also some divinely gifted endurance) to make everything work!
Westboro… Again… In My Town.
July 9th, 2006 | 4 Comments | Posted in » In the News...
Ug… Westboro was back in action again yesterday, protesting the funeral of a soldier from my town. And who was in the middle of it all again? Shirley Phelps-Roper… that ever so pleasant woman Kevin Bussey and I interviewed at the Southern Baptist Convention.
Here’s a portion of the article in the St. Joseph News Press that covered the hoopla outside the funeral:
Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of the Rev. Fred Phelps, clad in a red T-shirt with yellow letters stating Godhatesfags.com, said that the church’s mission wasn’t one of hatred but about following God.
“You better be careful when you call the word of God hatred, you’d better be careful about that,†she said. “I wear that as a badge of honor.â€
Anyone want to play spot the hypocrisy?
Not much of a challenge, is it?