The devastation of abortion is becoming more and more aware in my life. I am looking around and being confronted with the reality of brokenness for these women and children. One of the confronting forces recently was in John Pipers book "Brothers We Are Not Professionals." The book consists of thirty pleas for pastors to stop running our churhes like the world and to start living God-centered, Bible saturated, Christ exalting ministries. In chapter 27, "Blow The Trumpet for the Unborn," Piper lays out the biblical argumentation and logical reasoning against abortions. He also gives four practical applications for pastors to call their people to action. He ends the chapter with this:
"Brothers, may we not dare to believe that by the grace of God and the perseverance of His people in prayer an piety and political action there could emerge in the coming decades a consensus for life and that the twenty-first century could look back on our generation with the same dismay that we look back on the slave laws of this land and the concentration camps of World War II? Nationwide reformation has happened before-with Wilboreforce in England and Lincoln in America. It can happen again. Will you put the trumpet to your lips or be silent?"
I love his passion for truth and the elegant way he is able to communicate it. I was further encouraged by his video "Be Courageous Presidnet Barack Obama." You can watch the video on this site. The link is on the left under the Visum De Glorium label. It is the first video. I would encourage you to listen and act. I plan on blowing the trumpet myself for the unborn. I hope you will join me.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
To Southern We Go!
It has been an interesting last three months for us. Since the end of January, the Lord has laid on my heart a desire to swim in the depths of his knowledge and understanding and better equip myself for ministry. In fulfilling this desire, to some capacity, he is taking us to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. We will leave our home in Bristol, TX on January 9th to begin our journey into the unknown waters of pastoral learning.
A Dream To Be Adequate
This has been a dream of mine for some time. Since I became a Christian some 10 years ago, I have always relished the idea of immersing myself into God’s word. Through a consistent quiet time and home bible studies, my appetite for God’s understanding grew. My pastor preached the word relentlessly feeding my soul glorious truths of God’s character and power. Godly men helped keep the taste of Christ live and vibrant. Before long, I was serving in the church and learning the needs of God people and the inadequate skills I had to help them. Dave helped me a lot in this area. He opened his life to me and allowed me to walk along side of him for a time. His discipleship has been one the driving forces in my walk with Christ. I am forever indebted to him and his family the gift they have given me.
The Church Weighs Heavy On My Mind
Aside from my inadequacies, my burden for the health of the church has increased tremendously. I am overwhelmed at the lackadaisical preaching of God’s word and its effect on the saints. Many pastors have reduced the word of God to a “self-help” buffet of rhetorical hula that magnifies the man in the pulpit and denies God the glory that is due him. So many of God’s people are malnourished and denied even the crumbs of the bread of life. I pray against this and refuse to take part in it. One of the reasons why I chose Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is their insistence on learning Hebrew and Greek and their commitment to teaching pastors to exposit the word of God. I could have stayed in Texas and gone to one of the many seminaries in the area. However, many of them (not all) are not committed to the level of study that is needed to adequately preach the word of God.
More To Come
For the next few entries I will give a short timeline detailing how my wife and I came to the point of leaving for seminary. It has been truly wonderful to watch God move and work in the church and in people outside of the church in displaying His plan for us. This decision has been one of the most remarkable in my life and I have never seen God work in this particular way in my life; and I would like to share it with you.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
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