ST. JOHN – For most Americans, the act of running is a necessary evil. We run to keep up with our children, to maintain health, to not be embarrassed in a swimsuit, or to justify our Thanksgiving feasting. Very few of us look forward to the grueling effort of training and perseverance necessary to be successful in a race. And yet as any serious runner will passionately explain, success comes only when motivated and driven by a clear purpose. Recently in the 2019 Boston Marathon, a former … [Read more...]
There is good fear, there is bad fear
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10 NKJV) Watching a group of children playing, one would never suspect that any of them had any fear; yet, many children do have a great many fears. Some of those fears are good since fear actually serves as protection for us. On the other hand, some fears cause harm to children. What are good fears? What are bad fears? What should parents do to guard against the bad and … [Read more...]
A time to celebrate foster families
Each May, National Foster Care Month provides an opportunity for people all across the nation to focus attention on the year-round needs of American children and youth in foster care. On any given day there are more than 400,000 children in foster care nation-wide. If you were able to bring together all these children into one city, this city would be the 43rd or 44th largest in the United States. This city made up of foster children would be bigger than St. Louis! There are more than … [Read more...]
Fellowship of Christian Stewards: models to follow
In 2001, the Missouri Baptist Foundation (MBF) Board of Trustees established the Fellowship of Christian Stewards (FCS) as a way to present examples of Christian stewardship. Individuals may nominate those they believe are models of good Christian stewardship by the use of their talents, time and treasures to the glory of God. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul wrote, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) Fellows are recognized and honored for their modeling of … [Read more...]
Procastinators unite… later
I think I told you I’m a procrastinator, right? The good news is, I’m pretty sure I now have my plan in place for dealing with Y2K. The other day I was pondering my reasons for procrastinating. And by “pondering my reasons,” I actually mean “coming up with my excuses.” How about these: • This may look like procrastination, but I’m actually watching for butterflies. • I wouldn’t be procrastinating if I didn’t have to sort, measure and weigh all these butterflies. • I wouldn’t be … [Read more...]
A few thoughts for such a time as this
Hold the rope steady We learned early in Sunday School the story of Joseph. How the Lord used the teenager with a coat of many colors to move from a broken family, to slavery, to organizing and operating a corrections facility. After a series of events, by the ripe age of 30, Joseph rose in one day to become the second highest-ranked person in the mightiest empire of his day. It truly is an amazing story of how God honors faith, diligence, and discipline. Joseph’s greatest work was … [Read more...]
America’s ‘City on a Hill’ far from Winthrop’s words
April marks the anniversary of John Winthrop’s sermon delivered to his fellow Puritans aboard the Arabella before landing in the New World in 1630. Its most famous line was the modified words of Jesus designed for the occasion: “We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all the people are upon us.” The phrase, “A city upon a hill," comes from the parable of salt and light in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. In Matt. 5:14, Jesus tells His listeners, "You are the light … [Read more...]
That settles it
I like to call them mild sugar cravings. And yet, there I go. Shooting out of the car, across the kitchen, and diving for the pantry. I need chocolate, ya’ll. I’m like a treat-seeking missile. That bag of chocolate chips in there? Target acquired. Locked on. Give me a minute and those things are gone. Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but my mild sugar cravings have been known to choose my Sunday School class for me. Anyone else ranking classes according to donuts? “She’s a good teacher and … [Read more...]
Use finances to advance the gospel across the globe
I have been to a lot of conferences in my time. (I have always liked attending conferences and learning from others. I especially like learning from their mistakes so I can pursue my life goal of constantly making new mistakes, rather than repeating the same ones over and over again). So, in my new role of serving you in the areas of development, management and distribution of financial resources while encouraging generosity, in order to Advance the Gospel, a whole new genre of conferences … [Read more...]
Is God’s Word enough?
Forty years ago, a war raged for the very soul of Southern Baptists. This war was not fought for riches or fame, but instead for the truth once delivered for all the saints – the iner-rancy and sufficiency of Scripture. This doctrinal war is best remembered as the Conservative Resurgence, which resulted in Southern Baptist churches and institutions returning to and treasuring biblical truth. And yet, while many Southern Baptists believe the Bible is without error (inerrancy), many … [Read more...]
As Notre Dame burned, what exactly were we mourning?
I’ve learned a lot from Glenn Sunshine, the longest-serving faculty member of the Colson Fellows Program, and a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University. Glenn not only gets history, he also really gets worldview and, even better, how worldview and history are related. On Monday night, as I was trying to make sense of the tragedy of the burning of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, I learned again from Dr. Sunshine. Part of my sadness was that I’ve never visited this … [Read more...]
Easter calls for extravagant worship
“Less is more . . .” I knew what the pastor meant in his words to me at a conference that I spoke at recently. He was talking about having worship be simpler, more direct. But, as I pointed out to him, he misspoke. A movement in the church is a desire to return it to its primordial mode of Acts 2. The background research is excellent, and I think that its model closely portrays the early Christian church. In view of the Simple Church movement, where does the act of worship fall? Simple? … [Read more...]
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