I am watching world reaction to the tragedy that occurred in Qana, Lebanon, and I am stunned that world opinion continues to make a moral equivalence between the actions of the state of Israel and those of the Hezbollah. I am not speaking as a person who thinks Israel has a divine-right to the land that they occupy. Nevertheless, they are a democracy that is defending itself from the attacks of a vicious terrorist group. How can Israel acquiesce to a cease-fire while Hezbollah continues to fire rockets at their cities?Dan Gillerman, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, summed up the difference between Israel and Hezbollah on “Meet the…
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The U.N. Rebukes U.S. for Its Response to Katrina
I cannot comment yet on this story just released from the Associated Press. This is one of those moments in which I need to just stop, take a deep breath, and count to ten.Here’s the lead from the story: The United States must better protect poor people and African-Americans in natural disasters to avoid problems like those after Hurricane Katrina, a U.N. human rights panel said Friday. The U.N. Human Rights Committee said poor and black Americans were “disadvantaged†after Katrina, and the U.S. should work harder to ensure that their rights “are fully taken into consideration in the reconstruction plans with regard to access to housing, education and health…
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Another Hilarious Video
My good friend Barry Joslin has brought to my attention another parody video. This is from the 2006 Purpose-Driven Worship Conference.I thought this one would be worth passing on to you. Well, actually, I don’t know if it’s worth anything. But I figured if you liked the “Get in Here Ministries†parody, then you might like this one too. Here it is: Smitty – “Filled with the Spirit†After seeing this, I’m sure you will all make sure that your worship leader is at next year’s “Purpose-Driven Worship Conference.†Or maybe not. Source: Simply Youth Ministry
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Praying Beyond the Sick List
Does our corporate prayer get bogged down by praying for the sick? I was helped immensely by an article that I read today that addresses this question. I want to commend the article to you. It’s by a Christian counselor named David Powlison, and the name of the article is “Praying Beyond Health Concerns.â€Powlison argues that our prayers can get bogged down and self-centered if all we do is run through a laundry list of health concerns without also focusing on Kingdom priorities. Powlison argues that we need to pray for the sick, but we need to be doing so much more. Here’s an excerpt: Many pastoral prayers don’t go…
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Victim of Truck-jacking Speaks
A four hour car chase captivated the Dallas/Ft.Worth area on Sunday. Samuel Scott Jones hijacked Christie Bundren’s 18-wheeler, kidnapped her in the process, and forced her at gunpoint to flee from police for four hours under threat of death. It seemed that everyone in the Metroplex was tuned in and praying for the safe release of this poor woman and for a peaceful conclusion to the kidnapping. Thankfully, she was released, and the ordeal did end peacefully.The victim was interviewed this morning on Good Morning America, and you can watch the entire conversation here: “Woman Truckjacked at Gunpoint.â€
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David Dockery Responds to NY Times on Baptist Colleges
Last week, I commented on an article that appeared in the New York Times about the battle that’s going on for Baptist colleges in various states around the country. In a Baptist Press piece today, David Dockery also responds to the New York Times. The integrated vision of faith and learning that Dockery commends is the ideal that we all should be striving for. Therefore, I recommend his article to you: “Christian commitment & intellectual inquiry.â€
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Is Embryonic Stem-Cell Research Murder?
Does the destruction of human embryos amount to murder? White House spokesman Tony Snow put this question on the front burner last week when he described President Bush’s position as follows: “The president believes strongly that for the purpose of research it’s inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder. He’s one of them. The simple answer is he thinks murder’s wrong” (source).
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The New York Times on Southern Baptist Colleges
The New York Times reports today on the struggle between Baptist Colleges and the state Baptist conventions that run them. Many people are aware of the conservative resurgence that began in 1979 in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). That resurgence returned the convention’s institutions and seminaries to conservative evangelical principles.That battle was all but completed in the 1990’s. Now the struggle has moved to the state conventions as various state conventions have tried to return their institutions and colleges to conservative Christian principles. The New York Times covers some recent developments in this ongoing battle for Baptist colleges. Southern Baptist colleges are affiliated with the state conventions, and it does…
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Rob Bell’s Change of Heart on the Women’s Issue
Gender-News.com has a fascinating report on Pastor Rob Bell’s transition from a complentarian position to an egalitarian position. The story is titled “Engaged by the culture: Michigan megachurch goes egalitarian.†The article also narrates the story of Rob Bell’s role in changing his church’s constitution so that women would be permitted to serve as elders.A few things are troubling about this story and are in stark contrast to my previous post about Al Mohler’s change of heart in the other direction.
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Al Mohler’s Change of Heart on the Women’s Issue
It is widely known that Dr. R. Albert Mohler is a staunch proponent of complementarianism. What is not so widely known is that Dr. Mohler was at one time a staunch proponent of egalitarianism.On his “Conventional Thinking†weblog, Dr. Mohler recounts the story of a conversation with Dr. Carl F. H. Henry in the mid-1980’s that provoked his change of heart. Walking across the campus, Dr. Henry simply stopped me in my tracks and asked me how, as one who affirms the inerrancy of the Bible, I could possibly deny the clear teaching of Scripture on this question. I was hurt, embarrassed –and highly motivated to answer his question. I…