August 2011
6 posts
Love Not The World →
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m speaking this weekend at the National Preachers & Leaders Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida. It’s a gathering of leaders of Hispanic churches and others…
A time to mourn →
As Ecclesiastes says, There is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” This is a time to mourn. 38 people were killed when a helicopter was downed in…
The Sphinx →
When I was young, I really enjoyed Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories. I still enjoy them, though I look at them differently as an adult. One story that doesn’t get as much attention as…
Best practices in social media →
Thanks to all who’ve responded the last few days. It’s been very helpful. I’ll share some of my views on yesterday’s question about tech savvy vs. people savvy.
I think that you need a…
Social media & missions →
I’ve been asked to give a class on the use of social media in missions. I’ve got lots of ideas, more than I would have time to share in one class period. However, I’m slowly learning that…
Putting Bible books in order →
Is there a Bible out there that attempts to group the books in the order they were written? There would be some guesswork involved, of course, but surely such decisions could be worked…
July 2011
5 posts
Confessions of a Nielsen family →
Our family was chosen recently as a Nielsen family, filling out the diaries about our viewing habits during one week. It’s surprising to me that the system is basically unchanged since my…
Leading God’s people →
On the radio/Internet program I do as part of my work at Herald of Truth, I’ve been going through the book of Numbers. There was a section that stood out to me that I hadn’t thought…
Please God or suffer the consequences →
My wife is coming back today from a mission trip to Costa Rica. Knowing that she’s coming back, I tried to do a bit of straightening up around the house. I’m laundering not only my clothes…
The Fissiparous Church →
I came upon a quote from N.T. Wright that seems to speak to yesterday’s discussion:
It seems to be the case that the more you insist that you are based on the Bible, the more fissiparous…
Checklists, orthodoxy and leaving a church →
There’s a little questionnaire making the rounds of Church of Christ discussion groups on the Internet. I haven’t seen the original source, so I won’t mention who is said to be the author.
June 2011
6 posts
To Cuba and back →
Quick trip this past weekend. Herald of Truth works with a young preacher in Cuba; this man has been invited to speak at several events this fall (Harding Lectureship, ACU Summit, etc.),…
Simply Christian by N.T. Wright →
I’m way behind in my reading, so I haven’t done any book reviews in a while. I have been remiss, however, in not mentioning a book that I used this past semester at ACU: Simply Christian…
Myths America Lives By →
I’m having an internal struggle. Part of me wants to help people see the ugly side of American history, not in an attempt to make people look down on the U.S., but to move them toward a…
Hypotheticals and Hitler →
I’m always intrigued both those who claim to be able to rewrite history, even in hypothetical form. From those who claim that Africa would be a major world power were it not for…
No greater love →
I’ll continue the series on non-participation soon, but I’m not quite ready to do that.
In the meantime, I wanted to share something that has troubled me at times. It came up again this…
Cass Archer →
Last Monday evening, I spoke with my mom and found out that my dad’s already poor health was declining quickly. I threw some clothes in the car and headed over to their house. My dad left…
May 2011
5 posts
Snooze or the Light of Christ →
Writing about wisdom literature reminded me of a study I did a few years ago. Inspired by the hermeneutic used to condemn alcoholic beverages, I undertook a study of an evil that is…
The Bible & War: The Psalms →
I won’t try and look at all of wisdom literature. I think our most pertinent information comes from the book of Psalms. Many, if not most, of the psalms were written by David, so it’s…
The Bible & War: United Israel →
The next stop along our way through the Bible is the united kingdom of Israel. If we’re extremely generous in defining this period (including Samuel and maybe Eli), Israel was truly united…
The Bible & War: The time of the judges →
Continuing our look at what the Bible has to say about war, we come to the time of the judges.
As we mentioned, the Conquest had been incomplete. As horrified as we may be at the…
The Bible & War: The Conquest →
The Conquest of the Promised Land is, for many people, a troubling time in Israel’s history. I’ve talked before about God’s ordering the destruction of the peoples of Canaan; I won’t spend…
April 2011
13 posts
Do more people prefer the KJV? →
OK, I fell for USA Today’s headline. “Bible readers prefer King James version,” it said. And the story itself even said: “82% of those who read the Good Book at least once a month rely…
The Bible & War: What the Law of Moses says →
Now we turn our attention to the Law. To a good Jew, of course, all of what we’ve been discussing so far is part of the Torah, what we call the Law. But I’m speaking specifically of the…
The Bible & War: Battles in the wilderness →
As the book of Exodus begins, the Israelites are in Egypt and quickly become slaves there. As I mentioned yesterday, it’s only logical to suppose that their oppressors disarmed them.
When…
The Bible & War: Living By The Sword in Genesis →
I hadn’t planned on discussing them, but I think it might be worth taking a moment to look at some of the other characters in Genesis. When Isaac gave Esau a “consolation blessing” (after…
Pacifism, not passivism →
Unfortunately, I have no set plan for these posts. I’m afraid it’s going to be laid out a bit “stream of consciousness” style. Maybe later on I can try to present my thoughts in an orderly…
Is pacifism on the rise? →
Is pacifism on the rebound within churches of Christ? It certainly seems so to me. Just as the period between World War I and World War II saw a return to pacifism, so I think cultural…
Casual Friday, NBA Playoffs Edition →
Well, it feels like casual Friday here in The Kitchen, so let’s take a break from the serious stuff. With the playoffs starting this weekend, it’s a good time to talk about the NBA.
Since…
The Decline of Pacifism in Churches of Christ:... →
Yesterday we looked at government censure of the Gospel Advocate during World War I. This was a serious blow to pacifist thinking within churches of Christ. Another setback was the…
The Decline of Pacifism in Churches of Christ →
OK, so I was wrong. Wrong with a capital R. I know that surprises no one, but it’s frustrating to me because I wasn’t wrong so much out of ignorance (like normal), but wrong out of…
Moral legacy of war →
There’s an interesting book that’s being written, called “The Moral Legacy of World War II.” It’s being written by Ted Grimsrud, who teaches theology and peace studies at Eastern Mennonite…
Consistent Life Ethic →
I came across the Consistent Life Ethic a few years ago while doing research for a class I was teaching in the course “Christianity in Culture.” The idea was new to me. I found it to be a…
I can do all things… →
(Hmm… no discussion about citizenship yesterday. Maybe we’ve said all there is to say on the point on this blog, at least for now.) On Facebook yesterday, I had a discussion with Keith…
“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his...”
– Jacob Riis (via Gregg Popovich)
November 2010
2 posts
HopeForLife.org video testimonial: Christian... →
We’ve posted some new videos on our HopeForLife.org website. Over the next few days, I’d like to share some of them with you. The videos were done by Tim Frakes, and I think you’ll find the…
HopeForLife.org video testimonial: Ken Jones →
We’ve posted some new videos on our HopeForLife.org website. Over the next few days, I’d like to share some of them with you. The videos were done by Tim Frakes, and I think you’ll find the…
October 2010
14 posts
HopeForLife.org video testimonial: Britney and... →
We’ve posted some new videos on our HopeForLife.org website. Over the next few days, I’d like to share some of them with you. The videos were done by Tim Frakes, and I think you’ll find the…
HopeForLife.org video testimonial: Micaela... →
We’ve posted some new videos on our HopeForLife.org website. Over the next few days, I’d like to share some of them with you. The videos were done by Tim Frakes, and I think you’ll find the…
Out of the salt shaker →
We’ve been looking this week at the idea of Christians living their Christian lives out among non-believers, rather than focusing merely on what’s done inside the four walls of the church…
Honoring God In Our Jobs →
Yesterday, we talked about our time in the church building not being the totality of our Christian life. So how do we live out our faith outside the assembly?
There are lots ways in which…
Christian life or Christian hobby? →
In our Bible classes at the University church in Abilene, we’re looking at the book of Hebrews. James Thompson, a man who has studied and written about Hebrews about as much as anyone, is…
The Parable of the Life-saving Station →
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was a once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted…
Unity, Not Uniformity →
A while back I wrote about the diversity in the church in the first century. I was reading Acts 21 yesterday and was struck again by this story. There’s an idea out there that the early…
Ticking Time Bomb →
You may remember the old television show M*A*S*H, the show about a group of doctors during the Korean War. One of my favorite episodes involves a bomb that falls into the camp and fails to…
One of God’s servants →
I’m blessed at Herald of Truth to serve with some great men of God. One of those men is Tony Fernández in Matanzas, Cuba. Tony works in local ministry in Cuba, leading a congregation…
Ministers Support Network Retreat →
Carolina and I got to go the Summers Mill Retreat Center for a weekend retreat with the Ministers Support Network. It’s hard to describe the time we shared this past Thursday through…
Bringing The Ark: Consuming Focus →
There’s one more section I want to bring out in this story. After Michal’s criticism of David, David made a very profound response: “David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose…
Bringing The Ark: Consuming Criticism →
We’ve been looking at 2 Samuel 6, when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. We saw the tragedy of Uzzah’s touching the Ark, then looked at David’s acts of praise.
David then…
Bringing the Ark: Consuming Fire →
The story of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem is an interesting one. It’s interesting to see how God works in the life of this man described as being “after God’s own…