I had, in the words of one Richard Baxter biographer, a defective and desultory education. I think it was more my fault than any deficiencies in the educational system or my teachers.… Read the rest
Author: <span>Creator</span>
Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro is a book for burnouts. I picked it up back in February of 2013, when I finally realized I was experiencing long-term exhaustion (the formal diagnosis). I was a classic case — I didn’t know I had arrived at burnout, until I was actually coming out of it. A friend pointed me to this text as a classic on the subject, specifically written for Christians.
The book was not overly helpful for me, because I had stumbled into solutions or had recognized and addressed many of the symptoms already. It did help me to make sense of the troubled waters I’d just passed through and gave me a few tips or reminders to get back on course.… Read the rest
Let’s talk about 
I suppose this is exciting news for fans of Marvel Comics… and, the Bible.
From The Guardian, Jackman had this to say about his father, who is a Christian:
“He takes his religion very seriously and would prefer I go to church,” Jackman revealed. “We’ve had discussions about our separate beliefs. I just find the evangelical church too, well, restrictive.
I think the actor may be surprised to learn that many Evangelicals would agree the faith is “too, well, restrictive” and are ditching long-held teachings and practices of both Jesus and His apostles, as well as the prophets.
I think Michael Bird has the right take on this casting decision, as well as the storyline for a future project:
… Read the restPersonally, I’d love to see Jackman do an Apostle Paul/Wolverine re-mix, and pull out the retractable bone claws to emasculate the judaizers in Galatia!
Last year, I joined a group of men reading through the Bible in a year, with the aid of this Biblical theology, The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. It was an incredible experience, hearing the Story of God in a cover-to-cover reading of the Scriptures. So, it was both shocking and delightful to hear Nancy Guthrie express many of the same discoveries our men’s group made, covering essentially the same ground. I highly recommend a good listen to this podcast for anyone, at any stage in your story, following Jesus: WHI-1254 | Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament, Part 1 – Out of the Horse’s Mouth.… Read the rest
Bruce Hindmarsh is the James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver. Perhaps you’ve heard the term Spiritual Disciplines. Bruce is an historian who thinks we’re entering uncharted territory with social media, communication via screens and devices, as well as a shrinking number of people who remember a time without the internet. One of the remedies to this phenomena? Dr. Hindmarsh suggests that God may be calling some Christians to become digital monks. Is it possible that God is calling you to eschew a digital culture, in order to live a life of handmade writing (letters), no internet and, perhaps, only a phone (and, a landline at that)?… Read the rest
An Alabama father of two young girls is now battling a rare, flesh-eating bacteria after skinning his leg at a softball game.
Source: Ala. dad gets flesh-eating bacteria after ball game scrape – NY Daily News… Read the rest
This is a very informative resource for those concerned about the Flesh-eating bacteria.
Necrotizing fasciitis: A severe, progressive skin infection which causes progressive destruction of skin and underlying tissue. It is caused by certain bacteria and has a high mortality rate… Necrotizing fasciitis (occasionally described by the media as “the flesh-eating bacteria”) destroys muscles, fat…
More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Necrotizing fasciitis is available at Necrotizing fasciitis Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatments and Causes – RightDiagnosis.com.… Read the rest
You may have read about Aimee Copeland back in May of 2012, when she contracted Necrotizing Fasciitis (NF) from an injury involving a homemade zip line. She suffered overwhelming sepsis and multiple amputations. Here is a very encouraging and inspiring update: The Evolution of Aimee Copeland | Emory Medicine Magazine | Emory University.
Actually, it’s a fairly detailed story that covers different aspects of her experience, focusing on what it’s like to live a different sort of life, post-NF. There’s a bit of science here, too, which points to the benefits of living in these times, when victims of devastating events can return to a normal life.… Read the rest
I’ve finished reading Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More? Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist
… Read the restMore was born in a rapidly changing society, and her life embodies many of those changes. She was born to laboring class parents but became an early example of social mobility by rising well above her station by the end of her life. But having both lower class origins and upper class attainments gave More an opportunity to effectively reach both rich and poor and in between through her writing and her reform efforts.
When I saw this woman in her Jobst garments and mask, it brought back a flood of memories. Many victims of necrotizing fasciitis are treated in burn units or go through some kind of plastic surgery and reconstruction. For skin grafts, Jobst pressure garments act as a second skin, flattening the scars, aiding the vascular system, and helping the sub derma to recover.
I wore them from the tips of the toes on my left leg, like a bicycle short on my right leg and all the way up to my chest in a “tank top” style suit. I had some serious keloid scarring at the donor sites on my rib cage.… Read the rest
Are you a necrotizing fasciitis survivor? Then you can be a traveling billboard for the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation and support them financially, at the same time. I got my t-shirt last week and it fits just right. Order yours here.… Read the rest
It is an old joke, one that is still told too often. You go up to your pastor and say, “I wish I had your job; you only have to work one hour each week.” It is likely your pastor will laugh or smile at your comment. In reality your pastor is likely hurt by your statement.
Or, put another way: Here’s a good-natured, self-deprecating jab via Dick Lucas:
“The Christian minister: six days invisible and one day incomprehensible.”
Personally? This one hit closest to home:
… Read the restMyth #7: The pastor’s workweek is low stress compared to others. I believe pastors have one of the most difficult and stressful jobs on earth.
Nope, you don’t want to believe everything you read. Christianity in America, particularly the Evangelical stream, is certainly under pressure from all sides. But, is the situation as dire as some like to think? Joe Carter takes on the doomsday crowd , beginning his factcheck on this nugget of conventional wisdom:
… Read the restIn a recent interview in which she announced she had joined the Episcopal Church, Rachel Held Evans said,
“Just about every denomination in the American church— including many evangelical denominations — is seeing a decline in numbers, so if it’s a competition, then we’re all losing, just at different rates.”
Have you ever found yourself suddenly emerging from a blur of flashing lights and activity, slowing down to a crawl like the Millennial Falcon leaving light speed? You take a breath, look around and wonder where all those days went. Jon Bloom has some good news for those of us who feel like we’re rushing at breakneck speed through the mundane: but, first he sets it up like this:
… Read the restLet the unremarkable years of Genesis speak to you. A few days of your life are remarkable, containing events and experiences where you see God’s providence with startling clarity and when your faith and life course are indelibly and memorably shaped.
It’s been said that the Bible is a treasure-trove of stories that translate into great film. Last night, I watched On The Waterfront for the second or third time and finally got it: The film is chock full of Biblical themes and Christ is exalted throughout this wonderful love story!
First, On The Waterfront is a story of young love. That’s what captivated me the first time around. This ironic romance involves a disgraced boxer and union thug, Terry, and Edie, the sister of a man who was murdered for exposing corruption on the waterfront. Edie doesn’t know that Terry was the one who set up her brother, Joey.… Read the rest
Character is king when it comes to church leadership. In fact, the best commentators on 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 will tell you that the qualities enumerated there don’t say as much about “what the elder ((The New Testament uses the terms elder, pastor, overseer or their various other translations, such as shepherd or bishop, interchangeably. This NT vocabulary serves to illustrate or emphasize the character and various functions of the leader(s) in local Christian communities. So, when I speak of elders, pastors or overseers on this blog, I am referring to the same leaders within a church – an elder is a pastor and an overseer.… Read the rest
I know it may sound cynical and even presumptuous to impute motives, but I have to come clean. Any time I see a move towards classical liberal theology, from a more conservative view, I have the same thoughts as Michael Bird does. But, he is able to articulate it in a clearer and more memorable fashion:
… Read the restI think Langford fails to recognize that what drives much of liberal theology is not so much rationality, but culture, the attempt to make Christianity palatable to the reigning cultural zeitgeist. That is why I’ve often thought of liberal theology as theological form of “Stockholm syndrome,” where liberal theologians identify with the values of their cultural captors in order to survive under adversity or strive to impress their contemporaries.
So, The National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation came up with this cool graphic. I like it – I see God as the Superpower behind my survival. But, he’s more than a power, He’s a person and we have seen His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
Anyway, why quibble? Maybe you don’t believe in God. But, those of us who have survived NF are just grateful to be alive and thankful for the caring, skilled hands of the physicians and caregivers who worked so hard to save us. We are also blessed by the support and prayers of family and friends — those other superheroes.… Read the rest
My new and improved edition of Ministering to Problem People in Your Church: What to Do With Well-Intentioned Dragons arrived in the mail last week and a quick perusal shows some needed updates and timely material in the original chapters. It also sports one of the most simple and attractive covers I’ve seen in a while (I’m a minimalist, in the tradition of the Swiss school).
Marshall Shelley has added two new chapters, which reflect our times. First, he grapples with the emergence of the internet and the challenges of social media that didn’t exist when the book was first published back in 1994.… Read the rest
With my first post about Ministering to Problem People in Your Church: What to Do With Well-Intentioned Dragons, I wanted to kick off the series on a positive or constructive tack, rather than just whining or blaming. Every church, going all the way back to Corinth and beyond, has had its share of folks who pass over the threshold of acceptable or normal misbehaving and into those super-descriptive, unflattering Scriptural categories reserved for the worst cases: they are gossips, slanderers, divisive persons, judgmental and evil, wild waves, and blemishes on your love feasts. ((1 Timothy 6:13, Titus 3:9, James 2:4, Jude)) The Lord is not pleased with those who trouble the church. From… Read the rest
They are not merely watching an historical drama, they are witnessing the passing of a world. And that larger story, inadequately portrayed within Downton Abbey, is a story that should not be missed. That story is part of our own story as well. It is the story of the modern age arriving with revolutionary force, and with effects that continue to shape our own world.
Read Al Mohler’s essay at
Downton Abbey — What Are Americans Really Watching? – AlbertMohler.com.… Read the rest
Get More Rings in Your Tree from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.
The Gospel Coalition has a number of good videos and this one is worth watching and not so much because of the people they name, who actually influenced them: when all is said and done they only name a few! Rather, what I found most valuable are the reasons why they urge us to read, watch or listen to a variety of Christian thinkers, leaders, and noteworthy historical figures, after reading our Bibles. The panel is mainly addressing preachers or leaders, but I think their advice is sound for any Jesus follower.… Read the rest
Yeah, I’m really put off, too, when someone says, “you just have to read this.” But, if you’re leading the church in any capacity and especially if you are an idealistic young (or, not so young) church planter or minister, this book is a gem.
I wish someone would have pointed me to it back in 1994, when it was first published. Of course, at that time I probably wouldn’t have thought it that helpful. After all, I had my Bible and the Holy Spirit living inside of me. I was part of a young, growing movement of Christians, multiplying and establishing on-fire churches and ministries.… Read the rest
Let’s start out 2015 on a positive note. Have you ever thought of a New Years Resolution as repentance — turning away from sin or indifference and back around onto a more Gospel oriented course for the future? Scott Thomas thinks so and I’m inclined to agree with him. Perhaps this more manageable, year-end sort of reflection on how our hearts are churning out idols, ((“From this we may gather that man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols…” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion in two volumes, Westminster Press: Philadelphia, 1977, page 108)) may be more effective (and, certainly less painful and hurtful to others) than cruising along until we’ve foundered upon the rocks of sin and self.… Read the rest