THE DEVIL: You’ve got him all wrong!
The recent scandalous accusations against Bishop Eddie Long have expectedly resulted in the flood of talk and news shows devoted to this issue. This article does not address the Bishop’s issues, but an issue that it reveals in the heart of so-called “American Christianity.” Recently I watched a CNN video interview of one Carlton Pearson. He is an intelligent man, with a winsome demeanor, and obvious compassion for others. He was asked to comment on his “Gospel of inclusion” and the place of gays in the church. I will reserve comment on that for a later time. But, in listening to him articulate his “gospel” I found that his theology is more a figment of his anthropology than in keeping with the divine revelation orthodox Christians affirm. He...
Read MoreThe Office of Deacon: Co-Ed or Not?
A few months back I took a poll via the Twitterverse and Facebook asking whether or not my friends/followers supported the role of women deacons. I asked this question for two reasons: (1) I was working on a sermon on biblical church government, and (2) had recently overheard some pastors in my local Baptist association referring to the concept of deaconesses with no small amount of derision. The responses I received were not wholly unexpected. RESPONSES TO MY UNSCIENTIFIC POLL Several responded in the negative, sadly without giving much biblical support for their position. Meaning, they are against the concept of deaconesses, but didn’t really articulate why. There were a few affirmatives cast. Of the affirmatives there were two primary qualifiers. One...
Read MoreSpiritual Disciplines of a Healthy Church – Meaningful Membership
A healthy church understands the importance of, and practices, meaningful church membership. It is through active, meaningful membership in a local church that Christians live out the commands of Scripture.
Read MoreA Grieving God – Divine Regret
This was an excerpt of the manuscript from a sermon preached on May 17, 2009 at Sardis Baptist Church in Sardis, GA. What does it mean that God regrets? (1 Samuel 15:11, 29, 35) There exists in this text a question that needs to be asked and considered. What does it mean that God regrets or repents? We are told twice in this chapter that God regrets or repents. Then we are told that God does not. The issue is context. The word na?cham has quite a few meanings and its meaning is based on context. The word can mean “to suffer grief”, “to be moved to pity”, “to be sorry”, or “to change one’s mind”. So, first we have a word that has not just one meaning or sense, but that is flavored by the context. We have this...
Read MoreRedemption Through His Blood
I am currently participating in a book study group, going through John Stott’s “The Cross of Christ.” I have found this book nourishing my soul and bringing to my mind vivid images of the work of Christ on the Cross. In Chapter 7 Stott provides four images of salvation: propitiation, redemption, justification and reconciliation. As the Easter season approaches, I have felt drawn to the Cross in a fresh way by focusing on each of these images. This study entails my research on the Redemption image. Redemption re-dem´er, re-demp´shun , pa-rak, “to tear loose,” “to rescue,” , pa-dha-h, ga’al; , agora-zo, referring to purchase, lutrou-mai, from lu-tron, “a ransom”): (International Standard Bible...
Read MoreA Theology of Mission: Begin with the end in mind
I am developing a theology of Missions that I can communicate to my church. My goal is to begin this endeavor by helping them to see God’s vision for eternity, and how what takes place in our time must contribute to that end, or its vanity. So, this first study is intended to present the end-game, so to speak; that we may begin with the end in mind. What John Saw Revelation 21:1-2 NASB (1) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. (2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. The appearance of the heavenly city from God! The description of the city as “a bride adorned” is a...
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