Sports in the Kingdom: Randy Alcorn

Randy Alcorn: Even in this fallen world, sports can bring out some very good things, including teamwork and the development of physical skills in our bodies that God has made. Can people abuse sports? Can they make it all about themselves? Can they become prideful and arrogant? Of course. We’ve all seen athletes who are prideful and arrogant, and it’s terrible. But I also know athletes who are humble and truly Christ-centered. As far as watching sports, do some people turn it into a god? … [Read More...]

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Weekly Meanderings, May 25, 2013

If the earth had a ring like Saturn... The best ice cream parlors in the world -- where there's Blue Bell in Texas and don't forget the piazza parlor in San Gimignano. Mal Green on preserving one's reputation: "The seemingly relentless litany in recent church history of high-profile and no-profile Christian religious leaders being caught in the act of spectacularly transgressing some aspect of their own Judeo-Christian moral code has got me thinking that the Christian obsession (explicit … [Read More...]

CJM, TG4G, TGC and Boz Tchividjian

Kris and I are with Boz Tchividjian, a former prosecutor and one deeply committed to fighting injustices against children, on this one. There is blatant failure here to recognize the complicity of a leader in what transpired under his watch. God have mercy. From Boz Tchividjian: Earlier this week, I read the second amended complaint filed by eleven plaintiffs against SGM, two churches, and a number of individuals, including a man named CJ Mahaney.  I won’t go into the factual details of … [Read More...]

After Jesus, The Best Christian Ever?

Ian Morgan Cron says St Francis. What say you? Who, in your estimation wins the all-time, “most incredible Christian in history” prize? Call me crazy, but I vote for the guy who holds birdbaths up in people’s gardens—St Francis of Assisi. I knew zero about St Francis until I went … [Read More...]

Can Grace be Overdone?

David Ravenhill: How to stay balanced? May I suggest two principles: (1) Let the Bible say what it says and avoid providing your explanatory apparatus. (2) Let the Bible's balance be yours. That is, teach or preach or absorb Gal 1-4 and 5-6, Romans 1-11 and 12-16, Matthew 5-7 and the soteriology … [Read More...]

From the Shepherd’s Nook: John Frye

Pastors Preach, by John Frye My own vision of pastoral ministry in the North American context has been profoundly influenced by the person and writings of Eugene H. Peterson. Consider me a Petersonian in my view of the pastor and his or her place in the local church (see, e.g., Jesus Creed … [Read More...]

Is this Pope a Universalist?

I have to admit, after reading the HuffPo sketch of Pope Francis' recent homily, I thought for sure HuffPo overcooked it, but after reading the Vatican site, I don't know any other way to read this: “Instead,” the Pope continued, “the Lord has created us in His image and likeness, and has … [Read More...]

Seminaries are for Women, too

A recent article in CT by Sharon Hodde Miller calls attention to the gender gap in evangelical seminaries, where the ratio is not as good as one might think. Here is a clip, and I add the numbers: 1. According to the Association of Theological Schools, during the 2012-2013 school year women … [Read More...]

“Infiltrations”

Michael Lind: Where do you see this in the Christian world? in the pastoral world? “Semantic infiltration” is a term coined by the foreign policy expert Fred Ikle and popularized by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Ikle defined it thus: Semantic infiltration means one undermines … [Read More...]

Daniel Dennett’s Unfollowed Rule of Charity

From Daniel Dennett: Dennett couldn't be any more accurate but when it comes to persons of faith he rarely achieves this one. Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticising the views of an opponent? If there are obvious contradictions in the opponent's case, then you should point … [Read More...]

A Question About Evolution – Answers Anyone? (RJS)

Is Christianity like a warm cozy sweater, but one that requires only one dropped stitch to unravel? Paula Kirby has suggested that it is, and that evolution is the stitch that unravels the sweater.  But more of that toward the end of the post. I put up a piece last Thursday looking at a phone … [Read More...]

Speaking of Introverts

Every now and then a book comes along and I say, "Wow, that's a great idea for a book!" Adam McHugh's book, Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture, is that kind of book. We need this book, and every (especially an extroverted) pastor needs to read it. McHugh is a … [Read More...]

Texas Has the Most

Source … [Read More...]

Does Music Help Learning?

From OnlineColleges: … [Read More...]

Myers Briggs Pushback

From Roman Krznaric: I have some bad news for you: Even the most sophisticated tests have considerable flaws. Take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the world's most popular psychometric test, which is based on Jung's theory of personality types. Over two million are administered every year. … [Read More...]

Bring Back Paul!

Various groups have a favorite biblical figure in the back pocket. The Anabaptists of today have Jesus and so do the Protestant mainliners, and then there are the more theological Reformed groups who have Paul in their back pocket. No one seems to care much about Hebrews (I call the author "Hebby" … [Read More...]

They Killed Him, but God Raised Him

The earliest description of the death of Jesus, if one takes the texts at face value and as historical records, which means taking Acts 2 seriously as an interpretation of the death of Jesus 50 days after Easter, sees the death of Jesus as (1) appointed by God and (2) an act of injustice that (3) … [Read More...]