I have been thinking a lot lately about “how do I find God’s will?” This is nothing new, really. However, it has been kicked into high gear over the last year or so as we have been searching and praying for our next place of ministry service.
I am reminded of the story of Moses’ call experience in Exodus 3. He was out on the backside of the desert, simply doing his job (and running from God as well!), and this bush is on fire, but isn’t being consumed. Read more
I am really excited about the Simulcast tonight of Secret Church taught by David Platt. Jenny and I are headed over to the BSU at MSSU to study “The Crucifixion, Salvation, and the Glory of God” tonight. Here is a sneak preview of the topic. The title of the video is “Good Friday,” written and performed by Chris Brooks. Good stuff indeed.
Student Weekend at FBC Oronogo–Saturday Night I preached on the Disciple’s Identity: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” out of Colossians 1:27. The students had been out all day serving at Ronald McDonald House and Watered Gardens; which is really cool to see them getting out into their community to serve. Again, the worship time was really sweet.
I am reminded when I am at these kind of worship experiences of the “soundtrack” of our lives. Read more
I have several friends who live in Birmingham and attend The Church at Brook Hills, where David Platt is the pastor. Dr. Platt is an unbelievable Bible teacher and preacher that is passionate about the Word of God changing hearts all over the world.
One of the really cool ministries that he implemented early on in his tenure as pastor is Secret Church. Read more
With the recent craziness with Rob Bell’s new book “Love Wins,” I have found some fresh perspectives on the future of Christianity. One of those perspectives I really have enjoyed hearing is from Rachel Held Evans. She just recently had a post about her take on the “Future of Evangelicalism.” She is very articulate and I enjoyed her perspective.
Some of my favorite quotes from her post/essay are:
Piper wasn’t simply bidding “farewell” to Rob Bell, he was bidding “farewell” to any of us who agree with Rob Bell, or ask the same questions as Rob Bell, or at the very least wish to stay in fellowship with Rob Bell. It is no longer enough that we too want to love and follow Jesus Christ, or that we too can affirm the creeds of historic Christianity. We’ve also got to ascribe to 16the century doctrines and 16th century interpretations of Scripture…or else be cast out.
But the problem is that after ten years, I’m getting tired of trying to convince fellow Christians that I am, in fact, a Christian, even though I may vote a little differently than they vote, interpret the Bible differently than they interpret it, engage with science a little differently than they engage with it, and understand sovereignty and choice a little differently than they understand those things.
This whole deal with @realrobbell is really intriguing to me on many levels. First of all, I really like Rob Bell’s demeanor and seeming joy in the Lord. He also comes across as very sincere…wanting to help people find Christ. There is a huge part of me though, that wants him to “come clean” about some of these beliefs he is proposing in the book. I really don’t think he will ever do that though…it is just not his style. He is more of a question rather than answer kind of guy.
No matter what you think of him or his theology, the new book has caused quite a stir. I really appreciate this interview of Rob Bell by Martin Bashir. He really holds Bell’s feet to the fire and won’t let him just tell stories to get people sidetracked.
I’m sure you have seen all of the mess with the upcoming book from Rob Bell. An interesting facet of the whole thing is the Twitter handle of this Rob Bell is @realrobbell. John Piper, et. al. bid this Rob Bell (@robbell and web guy in the UK) farewell a couple of weeks ago!
First of all, let’s be nice, right? Second of all, if you are going to bid a man “farewell” from “the faith,” make sure you are talking to the right guy! Unbelievable.
Rachel Held Evans interviewed the web designer Rob Bell last week on her blog. What a picture of how late to the party the church has been in communicating the love and grace of God…WITH GRACE and LOVE!
Some of my favorite quotes are… Read more
I have been watching this controversy over Rob Bell, the preacher and founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church, Nooma guy, and now freshly thrown under the evangelical bus, “heretic” guy. The controversy is that several evangelicals (one began the firestorm and others tweeted the Amen) have come out and called Bell a heretic because of his book that is coming out next Tuesday–next Tuesday no less. In this world of 24/7 news cycle, Twitter, blogs, etc.; we can form our opinion now BEFORE the evidence is fully on the table, I guess! Well, SOME of the evidence was on the table. Read more
I have been watching this controversy over Rob Bell, the preacher and founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church, Nooma guy, and now freshly thrown under the evangelical bus, “heretic” guy. The controversy is that several evangelicals (one began the firestorm and others tweeted the Amen) have come out and called Bell a heretic because of his book that is coming out next Tuesday–next Tuesday no less. In this world of 24/7 news cycle, Twitter, blogs, etc.; we can form our opinion now BEFORE the evidence is fully on the table, I guess! Well, SOME of the evidence was on the table. Read more
I have been watching this controversy over Rob Bell, the preacher and founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church, Nooma guy, and now freshly thrown under the evangelical bus, “heretic” guy. The controversy is that several evangelicals (one began the firestorm and others tweeted the Amen) have come out and called Bell a heretic because of his book that is coming out next Tuesday–next Tuesday no less. In this world of 24/7 news cycle, Twitter, blogs, etc.; we can form our opinion now BEFORE the evidence is fully on the table, I guess! Well, SOME of the evidence was on the table. Read more