Dr. Schreiner and I on my graduation day (December 12, 2004) I am so thankful to have had Dr. Tom Schreiner supervising me in my doctoral work. Throughout my time as his student he pushed me to be an exegete first and to let the scriptures alone have their say. He is an expert in his field, a godly man, and a great pastor to his flock. That is why I am happy to direct you to his faculty page on Southern Seminary’s website which lists books, articles, book reviews, and editorials that he has written. Go check out his page, and take advantage of the many contributions this great…
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Please Pat, We Don’t Need Anymore Help! (Part 1)
Pat Robertson may have single-handedly done more to undermine the Intelligent Design (ID) movement than any of its opponents. After Tuesday’s elections, he made the following remarks about a Pennsylvania town that voted their school board out of office for supporting ID:
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Another Abortion Outrage
Today’s Washington Post reports that there is a new prenatal testing procedure that will allow doctors to determine in the first trimester whether a baby has down syndrome. The outrage consists in how this knowledge is routinely used. Screening women before the second trimester allows those who might opt to terminate a pregnancy to make that decision when doctors say an abortion is safer and less traumatic (source). Aborting babies who have defects has become a routine occurrence in our society. Yet it is a practice that almost no one wants to talk about. Ironically, the Washington Post ran one of the most compelling essays against this practice just a…
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Interview for ABC News Dallas
The interview aired last night on the 10 o’clock news (see previous post). I had been wondering how my comments would come across once they were edited to fit into the report. Having seen it, I have to say that it could have been worse. They have me reading the scripture (1 Corinthians 6:9) to the effect that the “unrighteous†will not inherit the kingdom of God. But they didn’t include the part about the Gospel being for all kinds of sinners. Nevertheless, it’s always a good thing to be able to read scripture, so I can’t complain. If you want to watch the video, click here: Watch Video. If…
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Interview for the Gospel
The reporter who conducted the interview was Gary Reaves (pictured right). I got called on today to represent Criswell College in an interview with a local news program (Channel 8, ABC-Dallas) about the upcoming vote on whether to amend the Texas constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. I only had about an hour or so to prepare for the interview. So I began reading stories from several different newspapers and news sources and tried to brush up on the state of the political debate. I read websites sponsored by interest groups for the amendment and others that are against the amendment. I was well-prepared to…
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John Piper Preaching in Dallas . . . Every Weekday!
John Piper John Piper discipled me in my car when I attended Seminary. I used to listen to his sermon tapes as I would commute to and from work and school. Throughout my career in seminary, the Lord used John Piper to shape my thinking about God and the scriptures more than any single teacher that I ever had. I know of no preacher who combines exegetical, theological, and devotional depth like Dr. Piper. That is why I am happy to announce that my favorite preacher and mentor in absentia will be preaching right here in “Big D†every weekday! For those readers who did not know, I now teach…
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Mohler and Patterson To Debate Calvinism at 2006 SBC Pastor’s Conference
Al Mohler (left), Paige Patterson (right) Tom Ascol reports that Al Mohler and Paige Patterson will debate the topic of Calvinism at the 2006 SBC Pastor’s Conference in Greensboro, N.C. this summer. Ascol writes: I am hopeful about this announced event because Drs. Mohler and Patterson are friends. I fully expect that their exchange–regardless of how formal or informal the format–will provide a model for theological dialogue. Our day has all but lost the art (and Christian responsibility) of disagreeing strongly about important matters without writing your opponent out of the kingdom. This is especially true when the subject is Calvinism and it is equally true of those on both…
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Waco pastor killed, electrocuted in baptism accident
By Greg Warner University Baptist Church pastors, (left to right), Kyle Lake, senior pastor; Ben Dudley, community pastor, and David Crowder, music and arts pastor; lead worship. (Photo by Duane A. Laverty/Waco Tribune-Herald) WACO, Texas (ABP) — Kyle Lake, pastor of the innovative University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, was killed by electrocution Oct. 30 while performing a baptism during a worship service. Lake, whose age was not immediately known, had been pastor of the church for more than four years. The congregation, made up mostly of Baylor University students, is best known as the home church of worship leader and songwriter David Crowder. Lake and a baptismal candidate reportedly…
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What’s Wrong with Evangelicalism?
Is there a problem within evangelicalism in American? I had an acute sense of something being very wrong when I watched Tom Brokaw’s special last night on evangelical Christianity in America. “In God They Trust“ was an hour long report on who evangelicals are and their involvement in American culture and politics. Brokaw made a particular church in Colorado the focus of his reporting. New Life Church is a charismatic fellowship in Colorado Springs, and their pastor Ted Haggard is the president of the National Association of Evangelicals. One of Brokaw’s exchanges with Haggard in particular typifies what is wrong with American Evangelicalim today: Brokaw: Most of the churches that…
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A Postmortem on the Miers Nomination
A Triumph of Principle over Politics In church life, it is an accepted axiom that “a mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.†In other words, a lack of spiritual substance in the pew is often a symptom of something that’s wrong in the pulpit. In the same way, conservative critics of Harriet Miers saw a nominee whose conservative bona fides could not be verified by her record. In the last several weeks, her misty record has looked more and more like a fog in the nominee. Just this week Miers’s speeches from the 1990’s have revealed a nominee who sounds more like a libertarian than a…