Though this post may be of interest to some people outside of Dallas, it’s really intended for members of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. It is widely known and reported (see here and here) that Dr. Robert Jeffress will be preaching in view of a call this Sunday morning at First Dallas. The membership of First Dallas will vote whether to call him as pastor after the service.
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To Change It Would Make It Worse
There have been a lot of comments under my post about John Piper’s remarks concerning the collapse of the I-35 bridge. The controversy has centered on how God can be sovereign given that the world is filled with suffering. My best friend of 23 years has written on this topic, and you may want to check it out. It’s a personal reflection on his mother’s death that is worth considering. “To Change It Would Make It Worse” – by Barry Joslin (Baptist Press)Â
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Before and After Pictures of Collapsed Bridge
A friend of mine just sent me a link to some before and after pictures of the collapsed bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The photos go back to 1967 when the bridge was under construction. Here’s the link: “Interstate 35W Bridge Collapse, Minneapolis, Minnesota.” Also, be sure to follow the Desiring God blog’s commentary on the disaster. The newest entries include a video from the scene and a poem by John Piper.
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John Piper on the Calamity in Minneapolis
John Piper has just written on the Desiring God blog about the tragedy in Minneapolis: “Putting My Daughter to Bed Two Hours After the Bridge Collapsed.” He reports: “At about 6 PM tonight the bridge of Interstate 35W over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed. I am writing this about three hours after the bridge fell. The bridge is located within sight of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Most of us who minister at the church cross this bridge several times a week. At this point I don’t know if any staff was on the bridge. Desiring God offices are about a mile from the bridge.” You’ll want to read the rest…
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Tragedy in Minneapolis
About 2,000 feet of a heavily trafficked bridge collapsed in the middle of rush hour today in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As many of you know, John Piper’s Desiring God ministries and Bethlehem Baptist Church are right there in downtown Minneapolis. It turns out that the bridge is only about a mile from the Desiring God office and that folks from Desiring God travel on it often. I just received a note from Abraham Piper, and he says that they are not yet aware of anyone from Desiring God being involved in the tragedy. Jon Bloom has already written about the bridge collapse over at the Desiring God blog and has asked…
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FBC Pell City, Alabama
I have been on vacation for the past week, and this morning I had occasion to visit the First Baptist Church of Pell City, Alabama. I didn’t know anything about the church or the pastor as I walked into the sanctuary for morning worship. So, I was delighted to find how God-honoring it turned out to be. Pastor John Thweatt preached on Galatians 2:20, and the sermon was exceptional. I’m writing about my experience this morning because I think it’s worth noting when you come across something valuable. I have heard many Southern Baptist preachers, and there simply aren’t that many anymore who open up their Bible, explain the meaning…
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America: My Home away from Home
America is my home away from home. I am a sojourner here, just like everyone else, passing through on my way to eternity. “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:14). Nevertheless, I regard it as a smiling Providence to have been born here, and I give thanks today. I have been to Washington, D.C. since my last 4th of July post. One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the Lincoln Memorial. My favorite political speech is inscribed on the wall inside the memorial. The speech is Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.
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Reflections from an SBC Newbie
I have already written about some of the things that transpired at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) last week, but I have not shared my overall impressions of the meeting or my opinion about the most significant thing that happened. First of all, full disclosure: I am a convention newbie. The San Antonio meeting of the SBC was my first time ever to attend the annual gathering. Travelling, lodging, and eating can bust the budget really quick without an expense account. So for me, going to the SBC has always been cost prohibitive. But this year I just decided to go anyway and to try to do so on the…
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Rev. James Lipscomb: I Wish You Could Have Known Him
The persons pictured to the right are me and my college Greek professor, Rev. James W. Lipscomb. The picture was taken by Mrs. Lipscomb as he and I were reading the Greek New Testament together on his back porch in Ruston, Louisiana in 1994. The picture brings back fond memories of a man who had many stories to tell. To give you an idea of the cloth from which Rev. Lipscomb was cut, he was a classmate of Francis Schaeffer in both college and seminary. I just received word yesterday that Rev. Lipscomb passed away (obituary). He was 92 years old. It would be impossible for me to overstate how…
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Eliot
Readers of this blog know that I love the humorous videos produced by the Igniter Media Group (e.g., “Get in Here Ministries” and “Teamwork”). But the material they produce is not all humorous. Some of it is very serious indeed. One of their newest productions is a true story about a little boy named Eliot. I took a special interest in this particular video because my wife and I had followed this boy’s story last fall and had been praying for him and his family. Their testimony paints a vivid picture of the preciousness of every life. This story is so terrible and so good, that I was compelled to…