Pastors and leaders often face pressure to build their “platform” in order to gain an audience and build influence. This is especially true if you are seeking to publish a book. With all the encouragement to self-promote and brand your identity online, how does this relate to the gospel call of taking up your cross and denying yourself? How do we make much of Christ when it seems so necessary to make much of our work? On Tuesday, April 8th the 2014 Band of Bloggers with gather to fellowship together at Heritage Hall on the campus of Southern Seminary and discuss the important topic of “Platform Building and the Gospel.”…
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Leaving the church means leaving Christ
Donald Miller has written a lengthy follow-up to his original post explaining why he has left the church (to which I responded yesterday). In this second posting, he doubles down on his original position that Christians need not involve themselves in a local church. They can attend if they want, if it helps them. But it is not necessary. It is certainly not a norm that should be imposed on all Christians everywhere. Because Miller’s essay is so long (over 3,000 words!), I will not attempt a point-by-point rebuttal. Nevertheless, a response is in order since he takes issue with my contention that leaving the church is “spiritual suicide.” Under…
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Brief reflections on the creation debate
The creation debate just ended. I do not plan on giving an extended commentary and analysis of this, but here are some of my initial impressions:
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Donald Miller’s prescription for spiritual suicide
I just read a rather stunning admission from Donald Miller. In a short blog post, he says that his learning style is not conducive for learning in traditional worship services. He doesn’t “connect” with God in singing praises or in listening to the preached word. On the contrary, he feels most connected to God when he is working to “build his company.” As a result of all this, he makes this confession: So, do I attend church? Not often, to be honest. Like I said, it’s not how I learn. But I also believe the church is all around us, not to be confined by a specific tribe. I’m fine…
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Forged in Forgiveness: Erik and Matthew’s Story
This is a remarkable story. Erik Fitzgerald was a youth pastor in Georgia when he awoke one day to the terrible news that his wife and son had been killed in a car accident. The video above is the story of what happened after he met the man driving the other car.
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Bill O’Reilly’s interview with President Obama
Bill O’Reilly’s interview with President Obama yesterday is fascinating on a number of levels.
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A conservative who is thankful for Wendy Davis’ candidacy
From the ERLC’s Dan Darling in The Washington Times: I’m a conservative. I’m pro-life. I’m a Southern Baptist. I don’t live in Texas… Still, I’m glad Ms. Davis is running for governor of Texas. Why? Because, thanks to her 11-hour filibuster on the floor of the Texas Senate last year and her subsequent coronation as a left-wing heroine, America is about to have a national conversation about the gruesome, inhumane, un-American procedure she fought so valiantly to keep legal and restriction-free. Read the rest here.
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Ross Douthat on the GOP’s Immigration Delusion
Ross Douthat has a column today on the national debate about immigration reform. As is often the case, he’s exactly right about both the politics and the policy, particularly as it relates to the GOP. He writes: THE debate over immigration reform, rekindled last week by House Republican leaders, bears a superficial resemblance to last fall’s debate over the government shutdown. Again, you have establishment Republicans transparently eager to cut a deal with the White House and a populist wing that doesn’t want to let them do it. Again, you have Republican business groups and donors wringing their hands over the intransigence of the base, while talk-radio hosts and right-wing…
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Speaking of contraception…
It just so happens that Dennis Hollinger has an article in the most recent issue of JETS on the issue of contraception: “The Ethics of Contraception: A Theological Assessment.” Hollinger’s article focuses on the differences between Roman Catholics and Evangelicals on the propriety of modern contraceptive technologies. Evangelicals tend to allow for the use of birth control devices by married couples, so long as those methods are truly contraceptive and are not abortifacient. Roman Catholics, however, oppose all use of contraception—even those methods that are not abortifacient. Hollinger gives a brief but helpful history of why Evangelicals and Roman Catholics have differed on this issue. Hollinger also sets forth a…
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Why Rachel Held Evans is wrong about contraception
Rachel Held Evans has recently written a lengthy blog post expressing her views on the morality of contraception. She basically defends Obamacare’s contraception mandate and complains that evangelicals are mistaken in their views on modern birth control methods and “morning-after” pills. Andrew Walker and I have published a response over at the First Things website, and we argue that her essay is mistaken on a number of levels. For instance, Evans denies that “morning-after” pills have an abortifacient mechanism. Yet somehow she misses that the FDA label on Plan B’s package says otherwise. But you don’t have to believe me. You can read the label for yourself. Notice the second…