Archive for November, 2006
In the Midst of the Rancor…
November 30th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Worth Reading
In the midst of the rancor of SBC debate, Bryan Riley brings us back to (what should be our) center. This is a must read post.
Thanksgiving Wrap-Up
November 27th, 2006 | 3 Comments | Posted in » My Life / Family, Pictures
Well, I’m only about four days late on my Thanksgiving post… so I’ll make it brief. If you want to know much of what I’m thankful for, I posted a pretty good list just a little over a week ago, when recapping Toward the Goal’s first anniversary.
What’s missing from that post that I’m REALLY thankful for? My family.
My kids… Jeffrey and Jenna. My wife… Nancy. All of you provide light for my life. You keep me focused on what’s really important. I love all three of you with every bit of my being. I’m so glad we had so much time to spend together this weekend… even if it was just hanging out in the hotel, playing in the park, shopping, or yes… even while on the long road to and from Grandma’s.
And the upcoming addition to my family… my second little princess, whose name I can’t yet share. All I have is a few fuzzy ultrasound pictures yet I love you every bit as much as I love Jeffrey, Jenna, and Nancy. I can’t wait to look into your eyes when you’re born, but for now, I’m more than content to feel you wiggle and kick in your mommy’s belly.
Yes… in just my family, I have much to be thankful for. Couple that with the God who loves me, and all the other blessings He has poured into my life? I’m truly blessed.
(I know… no post about my family is complete without pictures… so here’s one of each of my kids…)
First, Jeffrey at the playground Saturday afternoon…
Here’s Jenna at the playground as well…
Last, but not least… my second little princess (ultrasound picture from doctor’s visit a month or so back)…
Peace Wreath… or Sign of Satan?
November 27th, 2006 | 4 Comments | Posted in » In the News...
I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw this story covered in my local newspaper… so much so that I had to seek it out online and post it for you here.
The basics? A homeowner’s association in Colorado is fining a homeowner $25 a day for their display of a Christmas wreath in the shape of a peace symbol. Other residents in the subdivision disapprove, for reasons as diverse as disagreeing with the perceived protest of the Iraq war… to offense that the symbol is a sign of Satan. Seriously.
Seems to me that the thin air is getting to people out there…
Out of Touch?
November 22nd, 2006 | 9 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, In the News...
Here’s an interesting study from Lifeway, showing that pastors are generally less informed about our culture than laypersons. I’m curious what this really means, and if indeed true, whether this is a large reason our culture as a whole has less and less use for the church.
Here’s the story.
I guess the study begs the question, “Is the church genuinely out of touch with culture, and thus ineffective at reaching it?” (This almost goes hand in hand with the last post on entertainment…)
Any thoughts?
Entertainment… Evil?
November 22nd, 2006 | 5 Comments | Posted in » Quote of the Day
I ran across the following quote on another blog today… thought provoking stuff.
I believe that amusements were created by the devil to take the minds of dying men off of their dying. I believe that entertainment and amusements are the work of the enemy to keep dying men from knowing they’re dying and to keep men who are enemies of God from remembering they are enemies. . . . Fallen human nature plus the work of the devil have given us something to keep us thinking harmless thoughts and pleasant thoughts in order that we might not settle the matter of eternal soul welfare. The man who comes home at night, God in heaven knows, and nobody else does, that just three weeks away is a coronary thrombosis that will drop him on the sidewalk. God knows it and he doesn’t and his family doesn’t. If he knew it, he’d be calling in the preacher and reading his Bible and getting straight with God. And why isn’t he going to call anybody and get right with God? Too many funny things on the radio, too many funny things on T.V., too many Life magazines, too many comic strips, too many things that he can do! Too many bowling clubs, too many theaters, too many night ball-games, too much everything to take his mind off the fact that his troubles are real and that the agitation and disharmony and discord within him are the result of his fall and his sin. . . . Now if that’s radicalism, you can quote me, I don’t care. I believe that.
– A.W. Tozer
What do you think? Is there much truth in this? How should whatever truth this quote embodies be implemented in our lives?
Church Scammed by Katrina “Victims”?
November 22nd, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » In the News...
This is sad. A church in Memphis reached out to some Hurricane Katrina victims by buying them a home, and found their generosity rewarded by the “victims” re-selling the house just a few months later for a profit. Here’s the story.
I know Christians get taken advantage of from time to time when showing Christian love to non-believers through tangible giving… it’s almost something we have to expect to occur. With that in mind, is this church responding appropriately? Should they just let this go, or are they right to be upset to the point of considering legal action?
Whew… Close One!
November 21st, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » In the News...
Whew… that was a close one. Didn’t you hear? According to the California Supreme Court, bloggers are now free to post whatever they want about whomever they want (regardless of the truth of what’s written) without the concern of retaliatory lawsuits. Yep, that’s right… gossip… libel… blatant falsehoods and mischaracterizations… we’re free to do it all! Check out the news story here.
This should come as a huge relief to all of us Baptist bloggers… 