PHOENIX (BP) – Despite being raised in Baptist churches most of my life, the Cooperative Program and North American Mission Board were foreign to me. Before I became a church planter’s wife, I had very little working knowledge of what they are or what purpose they serve. Today, my understanding of the Cooperative Program and North American Mission Board has deepened. I recognize them as a friend and resource, equipped and eager to maximize efforts in aiding church planters and their … [Read more...]
Entertainment Review Silver Dollar City inspires wonder
BRANSON – Very little defines “wonder” better than the look on a 6-year-old’s face. With a fixed gaze and hands cupping her mouth, my daughter watched as a man balanced himself roughly 10 feet above the ground, standing on several stacked platforms that wobbled on top of a hollow cylinder rolling to and fro on a narrow table. After this man accomplished his feat of wonder, my daughter clapped and my 4-year-old son turned to my wife. Astonished, he asked her, “How did he do that?” This … [Read more...]
‘Sowing wild oats’
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” – Galatians 6:7 “If only I hadn’t …”. “I wish I had…”. “Why didn’t someone stop me?” Do any of these sayings sound familiar? Perhaps everyone has regrets. One person told me that while he was in college he was “pretty wild”. “You know,” he said, “not one person in the church ever came to me and said, ‘Son, you hadn’t ought to do that’ “. It was not until he and some friends rolled a car … [Read more...]
Do Baptists spring from Anabaptist seed?
At one Anabaptist museum in Austria, visitors can see the chains with which Anabaptist women were shackled to their homes. Without their husbands’ consent, these women had accepted the Anabaptist message and were baptized. Yet, in these instances, the women were allowed to live, since their husbands needed them to raise their children and tend to their homes. But they would do so in chains. These chains remind us of the intense persecution that the 16th-century Anabaptists suffered. … [Read more...]
Theology shapes view of culture, God
There was a time when the term “theology” related solely to issues within the church. Theology was viewed only as a tool to differentiate between denominations or to resolve internal church struggles. However, limiting theology merely to the realm of church-related or scholarly concerns demonstrates forgetfulness regarding the numerous areas of life affected by biblical theology. Since sound theology helps Christians rightly understand the Word of God, theology should practically … [Read more...]
YOLO? Well, yes and no
Not that I’m big on throwing my time away, because I had plans for accomplishing something great today. But you have to understand, that video said I wouldn’t BELIEVE what happened next. “BELIEVE”—it was in all caps just like that. It’s not like I had a choice anyway, but I could see that this video had a baby in it. And a puppy. Only a monster could just scroll down like it wasn’t a baby and a puppy. There may have been a few other things I squeezed onto the day’s itinerary that didn’t … [Read more...]
Contending for the faith
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of excerpts from the new MBC resource, “The Last Apologist: A Commentary on Jude for Defenders of the Christian Faith,” available at mobaptist.org/apologetics. * * * * Jude writes in verse 3 of his epistle, “I found it necessary to write and exhort you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.” The Holy Spirit has stirred Jude’s heart, causing him to grieve over the manner in which … [Read more...]
Understand the times
At the end of March, I had the honor of preaching at the “Show Me Your Glory” event at the state capitol. The following is a synopsis of my address: For the Christian community, what we believe teaches us that we are to live by faith. Faith that is substantive and based on the truth of God’s word, not the whims of mankind. Such faith can take people through the trials of life. Such faith enables God’s people to embrace the impossible challenges of life, and hope for an incredible work … [Read more...]
The terrorizing torment of child abuse, neglect
From 2012 to 2014, Isidro Cruz-Basurto sodomized and molested a seven-year-old girl. When questioned by authorities, he said he was conducting private medical exams in his bedroom to test if anyone else was abusing the victim. A Jackson County jury rejected his explanation and on April 19 found Cruz-Basurto, 33, of Kansas City guilty of four counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree and two counts of child molestation in the first degree. Cruz-Basurto, who is an illegal alien, faces … [Read more...]
Considering the ‘Benedict Option’
Dreher, Rod. The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. New York: Sentinel, 2017. 262 pages. $25.00. Thirty-six years ago a philosopher named Alisdair MacIntyre declared that Western culture had lost its way, similar to the Roman Empire before its fall, and that those living virtuous lives could no longer participate in this culture. Instead they must form alternative cultures that would allow them to survive this new “dark ages” with integrity and … [Read more...]
‘Truth is immortal’
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 11th column in a year-long series leading up to the 500th anniversary of the 16th-century Reformation on Oct. 31, 2017. * * * * Once called the “Simon Peter” of the early Anabaptist movement, Balthasar Hubmaier fled from the city of Zurich in secrecy and shame in 1526. In that city, where Reformer Ulrich Zwingli’s teachings held sway, Hubmaier faced imprisonment and torture before finally denying his belief that only those who have … [Read more...]
The tool of drool & thirsting well
No kidding, I had this very conversation with my daughter the other day: Kaley: Know what I found just now on Pinterest? Peanut butter cup gooey butter cake. Me: I just gained three pounds hearing you speak those words. Kaley: I just lost three pounds in drool. After I thought about it—well, after I laughed, and then after I thought about it—I decided she might actually have something there. The next diet craze? How about “Slobber Yourself Thin!” I don’t know why that shouldn’t work … [Read more...]
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