When Men Fail to Lead Churches Become Museums!

9/11 Tribute Song

For a Free-Will Study on Salvation Check This Out!

For Those of You Wanting to Learn Hebrew

At this point in my seminary studies I am beginning to study Hebrew and this video helps to make learning the aleph bet (the first and second letters of the Hebrew alphabet) easier.

Darrin Patrick on Preaching

Darrin Patrick - Gospel-Centered Preaching - Romans 1:14-17 from Southeastern Seminary on Vimeo.

"Contextualization"

What has been on my heart recently is our need as the church to contextualize. Instead of writing something about it, which many better men than me have done, I posted this video by Mark Driscoll (whom many love and others hate). Please watch this and give it some real thought? God Bless.

9/11

With all of the recent controvery surrounding the possible construction of a mosque two blocks from the site of the 9/11 terror attacks I thought it would be good to post my tribute song to the victims of September 11th 2001.

Reading the Bible

In an effort to truly understand the message of the Bible (the Bible is in fact a unified message from God. Old and New Testaments explain His unfolding revelation to man of Himself) I plan to read through the Bible this summer in addition to my summer class and other independent academic pursuits. I will either be using the ESV or NIV this time and then plan to use the second version to do it again in a year or so. Do you have an understanding of the overall message of Scripture? Check out ESV.org or BibleGateway.com for free online audio Bibles to help you read through the Bible.

Book Review: "Planting Missional Churches"

In his book “Planting Missional Churches,” Dr. Ed Stetzer gives church planters a seminal work on church planting in a practical and yet detailed how-to format. There is no wonder why this book has received such high praise from such church planters as Steve Sjorgen, Mark Driscoll, and David Putnam. Stetzer covers material from “The Basics of Church Planting” all the way to “Churches Planting Churches,” which is the reproduction stage, in chapter twenty-eight. He also covers almost everything else in between. The best part is that this book is from a successful church planter, not a theoretician.

“Missional” is the key word in chapter one. In fact, it is the main idea throughout the book. Dr. Stetzer states on page one, “Establishing a missional church means that you plant a church that’s part of the culture you’re seeking to reach.” He further states what is so often overlooked by spectators of church planting, “The goal of church planting is to reach people .” The author points out the clear need for new churches in North America and the fact that those who do this work need not have formal training.

Chapter two discusses the need for “Developing a Missional Mind-set for North America,” as is indicated in the title. Dr. Stetzer points out the need for theologically sound churches, not just a replication of methods that have been successful in church planting in the past. He writes that we do not need new churches because they are trendy but because they are “fresh expressions of the unchanging gospel .” Stetzer further points out that there is a difference between contextualization and compromise and he explains the difference. In fact, he says that new churches are needed because many already-existing congregations are unwilling to contextualize and thus reach people where they are at. New churches are needed to reach people outside of the cultural context of those churches not willing to take the risk of meeting people in a way that engages them.

In chapter three we are shown the “Biblical Basis of Church Planting.” The Book of Acts is set forth as a Biblical pattern for church planting. The Lucan account of the Great Commission is also addressed as a biblical authority for evangelizing unbelievers.

For more, don't be cheap...go buy the book. You won't regret it!

King James Only?

One of the faculty members at my seminary graciously pointed out to me that the translators of the King James Bible were not King James-Only types. He encouraged me to read the preface by the translators to the 1611 KJV Bible.

Two snippets follow for your consideration:
“• 1 Now though the Church were thus furnished with Greek and Latin translations, even before the faith of CHRIST was generally embraced in the Empire: [S.Hieronym. Marcell, Zosim.] (for the learned know that even in S.Hierome's time the Consul of Rome and his wife were both Ethnicks, and about the same time the greatest part of the Senate also) yet for all that the godly-learned were not content to have the Scriptures in the language which themselves understood, Greek and Latin, (as the good lepers [2King.7:9] were not content to fare well themselves, but acquainted their neighbours with the store that God had sent, that they also might provide for themselves) but also for the behoof and edifying of the unlearned which hungered and thirsted after righteousness, and had souls to be saved as well as they, they provided translations into the vulgar for their countrymen, insomuch that most nations under heaven did shortly after their conversion hear CHRIST speaking unto them in their mother tongue, not by the voice of their minister only, but also by the written word translated.”

“• 21 So that to have the Scriptures in the mother tongue is not a quaint conceit lately taken up, either by the Lord Cromwell in England, or by the Lord Radevil [Thuan.] in Polonie, or by the Lord Ungnadius in the Emperor's dominion, but hath been thought upon, and put in practice of old, even from the first times of the conversion of any nation; no doubt because it was esteemed most profitable to cause faith to grow in men's hearts the sooner, and to make them to be able to say with the words of the Psalm, As we have heard, so we have seen. [Ps.48:8]”
(Above from http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/pref1611.htm#s9)

So what we see is that the KJV translators wanted to have a Bible in the common language of the people just as had been done for centuries before them. If THEY wanted the Bible in common English, then we TODAY also ought to have the Bible in COMMON ENGLISH TODAY. It is with this that I recommend to the reader the ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV).

If that doesn’t convince you, notice that the spelling has changed from Elizabethan English to more Modern English. Even your King James Bible has been changed since 1611 (unless you have a reprint which would be very difficult to read).

More info can be found at www.esv.org (where there is also a complete FREE audio Bible).