By David Jeremiah, Pastor Shadow Mountain El Cajon, California Our victories are gained on our knees. As we turn ourselves, our plans and our problems over to God, He intervenes. When we bow before Him, we’re acknowledging Him as our “Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.” [img_assist|nid=6109|title=David Jeremiah, Pastor Shadow Mountain El Cajon, California|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=83|height=100]Sometimes we make the mistake of not getting on our knees before accepting a job offer, making a purchase, choosing a new church, or making any decision of consequence. People are quietly watching, and they know when we’re living in prayerful obedience or when on the other hand, we act without consulting Him. It’s also obvious to others when our knees draw down blessings from above. In the January/February 2003 issue of Pray! magazine, Elmer Towns said that he and his wife made it through college by faith, praying together and trusting God to meet their needs. Towns earned a dollar an hour driving a school bus, but his income barely met their needs. “One evening,” he wrote, “the only thing in the kitchen cabinet was a can of tuna, so my wife served a tuna casserole. As we clasped hands to thank God for the food, I … [Read more...]
Faced with perplexing and tough conundrum
I need your help. If you can explain the following, please let me know. It really has me stumped. [img_assist|nid=6111|title=Jeff Iorg, President Golden Gate Seminary|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=80|height=100]Recently, I heard a wonderful testimony of a believer who had overcome his struggle with alcohol. He told the story of how he initially got involved with alcohol, how it became more and more of a problem, the high price he paid in lost relationships and health struggles, and the victory he finally won through prayer, counseling, and tough choices. He concluded by declaring he would never touch alcohol again. When he finished, he received a nice ovation – deservedly so. It is always good to hear a touching story of redemption and recovery. Shortly thereafter, I was part of another conversation in which a person told a different story. She reported she had never had a drink of alcohol; having decided at an early age drinking made no sense on any level. She also concluded by declaring she would never touch alcohol. But the response to the second person was quite different than the first. The second person was called a “legalist” who “doesn’t understand the social value” of sharing alcoholic beverages … [Read more...]
What lessons can we learn from Mark Driscoll?
In recent years, Seattle-area pastor Mark Driscoll has come under a great deal of scrutiny for his past use of foul language and a controversial sermon series on sex. [img_assist|nid=6114|title=Page Brooks, Assistant Professor of Theology NOBTS|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=67|height=100]I need not repeat here some of the objectionable phrases and words he has used as they are readily accessible via transcripts on the Internet. Let me say the following at the outset: I believe our speech and behavior should be above reproach. Therefore, I am not defending Discroll’s use of foul language. Several motions were even made at the 2009 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting that revolved around Driscoll’s words and actions. To be fair to Driscoll, he has repented and asked forgiveness for his past cussing. Some of Driscoll’s apologies were actually encouraged by Lifeway Christian Resource’s own Ed Stetzer. Driscoll has apologized for other similar incidents on various occasions. I think the question vexing many evangelical Christians about Mark Driscoll is the paradox we find in people like him: He claims to be “culturally relevant” while at the same time he maintains he is “biblically conservative.” While … [Read more...]
Worship: More than a feeling of awe
By Ed Steele, Associate Professor of Music Leavell College, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary C. S. Lewis spoke how dogs generally won’t look to what you point at with your finger. Instead, they go sniff the finger, missing your intentions. Worship, for many, is like that. They begin to focus on worship itself, rather than the God to whom all worship belongs. [img_assist|nid=5774|title=Ed Steele Professor of Music in Leavell College at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=67|height=100]As I teach and converse with students about worship, one of the most common things I find is the fascination of the “feelings” of worship. There is a sense that if they haven’t felt like they had in the past, then it must not have been real worship. Worship, like love, is reflected more in commitment, than feeling. Like the dog, they keep sniffing the finger, rather than see the point of real focus. If we were to get specific about what some of these “fingers” are, I would start with the following, but would certainly welcome others that fit the illustration: The feeling and emotions of worship. Not that experiencing a specific feeling is wrong, but our emotional state is not the measure … [Read more...]
‘I’m unhappy with our Pastor’
The most common complaint denominational people and guest preachers hear when they call on local churches is, “I’m unhappy with our pastor.” Invariably, it’s some lay leader of the church speaking. [img_assist|nid=6106|title=Joe McKeever Pastor, cartoonist and retired DOM BAGNO|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]Let’s state the obvious here: some pastors we ought to be unhappy with. I’m thinking of one preacher who was known to curse, tell shady stories, gamble, and drink. When he was forced out of the pulpit, no one shed a tear. But what about all those other situations where some church members are unhappy with their preacher? Let’s see if we can do some good on this subject. One: It’s always something. If the pastor is effective at all, someone is always going to be unhappy with him. Mark it down. It’s par for the course. The pastor who takes a stand on issues will find some disagreeing with him. When he preaches on a controversial doctrine or calls for purity in the personal lives of leaders, some will be unhappy. Ninety-percent of a pastor’s headaches in ministry do not come from the unbelieving world but from within the church. Zechariah wrote, “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds?’ … [Read more...]
Learning to live a prayer-filled life
By David Jeremiah, Pastor Shadow Mountain El Cajon, California Our victories are gained on our knees. As we turn ourselves, our plans and our problems over to God, He intervenes. When we bow before Him, we’re acknowledging Him as our “Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.” [img_assist|nid=6109|title=David Jeremiah, Pastor Shadow Mountain El Cajon, California|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=83|height=100]Sometimes we make the mistake of not getting on our knees before accepting a job offer, making a purchase, choosing a new church, or making any decision of consequence. People are quietly watching, and they know when we’re living in prayerful obedience or when on the other hand, we act without consulting Him. It’s also obvious to others when our knees draw down blessings from above. In the January/February 2003 issue of Pray! magazine, Elmer Towns said that he and his wife made it through college by faith, praying together and trusting God to meet their needs. Towns earned a dollar an hour driving a school bus, but his income barely met their needs. One evening,” he wrote, “the only thing in the kitchen cabinet was a can of tuna, so my wife served a tuna casserole. As we clasped hands to thank God for the food, I … [Read more...]
Faced with perplexing and tough conundrum
By Jeff Iorg, President Golden Gate Seminary I need your help. If you can explain the following, please let me know. It really has me stumped. [img_assist|nid=6111|title=Jeff Iorg, President Golden Gate Seminary|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=80|height=100]Recently, I heard a wonderful testimony of a believer who had overcome his struggle with alcohol. He told the story of how he initially got involved with alcohol, how it became more and more of a problem, the high price he paid in lost relationships and health struggles, and the victory he finally won through prayer, counseling, and tough choices. He concluded by declaring he would never touch alcohol again. When he finished, he received a nice ovation – deservedly so. It is always good to hear a touching story of redemption and recovery. Shortly thereafter, I was part of another conversation in which a person told a different story. She reported she had never had a drink of alcohol; having decided at an early age drinking made no sense on any level. She also concluded by declaring she would never touch alcohol. But the response to the second person was quite different than the first. The second person was called a “legalist” who “doesn’t understand … [Read more...]
Faced with perplexing and tough conundrum
By Jeff Iorg, President Golden Gate Seminary I need your help. If you can explain the following, please let me know. It really has me stumped. [img_assist|nid=6111|title=Jeff Iorg, President Golden Gate Seminary|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=80|height=100]Recently, I heard a wonderful testimony of a believer who had overcome his struggle with alcohol. He told the story of how he initially got involved with alcohol, how it became more and more of a problem, the high price he paid in lost relationships and health struggles, and the victory he finally won through prayer, counseling, and tough choices. He concluded by declaring he would never touch alcohol again. When he finished, he received a nice ovation – deservedly so. It is always good to hear a touching story of redemption and recovery. Shortly thereafter, I was part of another conversation in which a person told a different story. She reported she had never had a drink of alcohol; having decided at an early age drinking made no sense on any level. She also concluded by declaring she would never touch alcohol. But the response to the second person was quite different than the first. The second person was called a “legalist” who “doesn’t understand the … [Read more...]
Questions We’ve Pondered
By Bill Warren, Ph.D., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Professor of New Testament and Greek Question: Is it okay for Baptists to pray the Lord’s Prayer, and if so, why don’t we use it more often in our churches? [img_assist|nid=6120|title=Bill Warren NOBTS Professor of New Testament and Greek|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=75|height=100]Bill Warren responds: To begin with a generalization, praying what Jesus taught us is always okay. Christians have treasured this prayer throughout the ages and used it in worship as well as personal devotional lives. This has been the single most commonly used prayer among Christian groups throughout history, so using it in worship and private devotional life is definitely okay. To be sure, in Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus is teaching the disciples how to pray rather than actually voicing a prayer. But very early the church began using this teaching of Jesus as actual prayer, as seen in the Didache, a Christian document from the late first to early second century, which right after giving the text of the Lord’s Prayer states: “Pray like this three times a day” (Didache 8:3). Apparently the Christians addressed in the Didache (mostly Jewish Christians who continued to maintain a … [Read more...]
McCartney to headline football event at Louisiana College
By Al Quartemont, Special to the Message PINEVILLE – LC football coach Dennis Dunn remembers well the first time he met Bill McCartney. The encounter with the man who led Colorado to a National Championship in football in 1990 and would eventually start the Christian ministry, Promise Keepers, came in February 1992, when Dunn and his assistant coaching staff at Evangel High School of Shreveport made a trip to Boulder, Colo. [img_assist|nid=6122|title=Coach Bill McCartney, Founder of Promise Keepers|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=82|height=100]“Coach McCartney took us to his house and said ‘Guys, I want to show you my room,’” Dunn recalled. “So we thought he was taking us to his trophy room. But we walked through that room and went into a small, unassuming room facing the Rocky Mountains. It had a plate glass window and a kneeler in front of that window. He said, ‘Men, this is where I meet Almighty God every morning. God has shown me he’s going to fill Boulder Stadium with 50,000 men who are going to go back to their homes and be the fathers and husbands God has called them to be.’” Six months later, Boulder Stadium was filled with 50,000 men and the Promise Keepers ministry was underway. On Friday, March 5, the … [Read more...]
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