Lebanon High School Principal Kevin Lowery reminded those attending the school’s recent graduation ceremony how religious liberty is being threatened. He did so by demonstrating the absurdity of “political correctness” and how activist judges have obliterated the original intent of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. His courageous act garnered national attention, including a three-minute video of his presentation that has gotten more than 117,000 views on YouTube. Predictably, it … [Read more...]
Yeats on Windermere
As you read the report about the redemption of 970 acres of land surrounding Windermere, some will ask themselves, “What are they thinking? Didn’t we lose Windermere on appeal with the state Supremes? Isn’t this finished?” When I first heard of a potential buy-back, I had similar thoughts. However, with a little more time and information, the word that began to stick in my brain was “comprehensive” and more specifically, “think comprehensively.” Whenever we face a difficult situation, … [Read more...]
Plan to make disciples
Editor’s note: The following material was first introduced several years ago in a Discipleship Training Resource entitled, “Becoming a Disciple-making Church” by Steve J. Williams. It has been updated and is used by permission. This is the second of three articles. This article will look at four steps for making disciples: Step 1 – Refine your vision. All great disciple-making begins as a vision in someone’s heart. Every church needs a vision for disciple-making. It needs to be written … [Read more...]
Shall we supersize? Only for more of Him
Many people have held out hope that it would never happen again. Yet here it is: I’ve written another poem. Yes, I do know I’m not a poet. Real poets? They feel compelled to write poetry. Me? I write poetry more out of … rebellion. Real poets write poetry from the heart. I think mine is more from the liver. Maybe pancreas. As if it’s not enough that I’ve ignored the pleas of those who’ve read my poetry before, this particular poem must be read in the voice of a well-schooled Shakespearean … [Read more...]
Can Baptists talk to babies?
Several years ago, Presbyterian pastor and scholar Peter J. Leithart posed a question that could cause problems for Baptists who have young children or grandchildren: Can Baptists talk to babies? According to Leithart, it is logically inconsistent for Baptists to speak to their infants while also denying the validity of infant baptism (aka, paedobaptism). His argument is worth a brief summary and response. Summary “Protestants have always insisted that the sacraments bring no benefit … [Read more...]
How Islam makes and defines peace
In the wake of 9/11 and subsequent acts of terror in the name of Allah, many Muslim leaders labor to buff the tarnished image of the religion Mohammad founded nearly 1,400 years ago. Their key message: Islam is a religion of peace. No doubt many of the world’s Muslims prefer peace to the sword, decrying the acts of Islamist terrorists as perversions of true Islam. And to be fair, Islam is a religion of peace, as long as peace is defined in Muslim terms. A case in point: … [Read more...]
Fixing the SBC
Considering the complex issues swirling around the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), I’m not sure anyone has a definitive word on how to fix what ails us, especially as we rub against a culture increasingly more hostile to the gospel. There is no silver bullet to fix all that plagues our great convention of churches. Truth is, we are broken people, raised by broken parents, living in a broken world, and our only hope is the transformational power of the Lord Jesus to fix our brokenness. … [Read more...]
‘My dad’s the greatest’
Every child wants to be able to boast about his/her dad! Little boys may be heard to say, “My dad can beat up your dad!” The truth is that in our era of time, many dads are absent or confused about the roles they should play. Recently a dad was shown on TV taking his son to a marijuana festival in Colorado. He said he thought it was good for his son to see!?? What makes a great dad? The Bible tells us that the father should be the spiritual head of the home. Research tells us that dads, … [Read more...]
Millennials and evangelism – discipleship using Storying
When I led a Sunday School class for our church’s college students, I was astounded one Sunday when one long-time Christian and faithful attender blurted out, “Just tell us what to believe.” My Baby Boomer generation grew up doubting the Establishment with its political corruption, humiliated tele-evangelists, rampant inflation and unethical business practices. The Baby Boomer mantra was lifted straight from Karl Marx, “Question everything.” This was unique to me. I belonged to a youth … [Read more...]
What’s for dinner? A heavenly casserole?
“Stare into the pantry.” I ought to just go ahead and write that on my to-do list. You’ve probably heard me whine about it before. I hate it when I realize I’ve been standing, staring and pondering for 15 minutes and still have no idea what could possibly come together for a dinner. I recently found myself gawking at the pitiful assortment in there, drumming my fingers on the pantry door, trying to figure out what I could get from half a bag of macaroni, the creams from a box of assorted … [Read more...]
Judicial hubris: Gay divorce in Missouri
Judicial activism is alive and well in Missouri, something that is not in the best interest of the people. It can nullify the votes of citizens and violate the rule of law. In some cases judicial activism can be relative, depending on one’s political perspective, but in other cases it can threaten our freedom and upset the balance of power necessary for a democratic republic’s government to operate as God intends. For the only government that exists is that established by God, for our own … [Read more...]
Interruptions God uses
We’ve all experienced this. We make our plans for the day or week and something comes along that obliterates our carefully constructed agenda. Unless we are the one making the changes, we don’t like having our plans modified. After all, we have places we want to go and things we want to do. Then along comes an interruption. Something explodes our plans and we have significant choices to make. We can become angry, frustrated, bitter and grouchy. Or we can use the interruption as a divine … [Read more...]
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