For 18 days last month, Malcolm Yarnell (from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) and I had the privilege of taking a group of students on a study tour through England and Scotland. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Gainsborough Hall in Lincolnshire, a meeting place built over 500 years ago. During the English Reformation, Protestants who stayed in…
In the January/February 2013 edition of Christianity Today, I read the gripping story of Rosaria Champagne Butterfield’s journey to Christ entitled “My Train Wreck Conversion”. The subtitle further caught my attention: “As a leftist lesbian professor, I despised Christians. Then somehow I became one.” It was a fascinating testimony. The end of the article stated that she had written a…
Balance is a much undervalued word — and yet, balance is fundamental to a life in harmony with God, with others and with our world. In fact, God seems to have created our world and everything in it to function best in balance. A few examples come to mind: sun and rain – all sun and our gardens burn; all…
For many years now Mrs. Cindy Bush, widow of L. Russ Bush, former Academic Dean of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has taught a course in the Biblical Women’s Institute program entitled “The Ministry of Hospitality”. Anyone who knows Cindy even a little will confirm that her cup of gifts overflows with hospitality; and if they spend a little more time…
About 35 years ago I met a young man at a church baseball game who had recently accepted Christ. My girlfriend beside me whispered (don’t you think Ken is kind of cute?). My response was something like, “Yeah, he’s OK”, trying to pretend I had not noticed. Later my father and pastor invited this young man to preach a youth…
Is it possible to determine the economic benefit a church brings to its local community? A recent First Things article reports that researchers led by a University of Pennsylvania professor attempted to make just such an assessment (First Things: April 2011, p. 67). They estimated the economic impact of 12 congregations in the greater Philadelphia area. Some financial benefits could…
Obvious, Elemental, and Necessary. This is how Dale Ahlquist describes G. K. Chesterton’s opinion on the differences between men and women in his book Common Sense 101: Lessons from G. K. Chesterton. He goes on to quote Chesterton as saying that these amazing differences are quite necessary for true romantic love: “The differences between a man and a woman are…
Two weeks ago my wife and only daughter, along with her steady beau, called me to the dining room for a meeting after supper. I had been warned by my wife that this meeting was imminent, but alas, I still found myself unprepared. The talk ensued and I was informed by my daughter’s suitor that he loved my daughter, wished…
This past weekend, Penny and I celebrated Christmas with our children and one year old grandson, Elliott. We spent the day with each other; eating our traditional dishes (sausage balls and sweet rolls are a must on Christmas morning), opening and playing with gifts, watching Christmas movies, and in general having fun together. How blessed we are! How good God…
I know a little about dealing with controversial subjects. My last book, Salvation and Sovereignty, presented an alternative to five-point Calvinism, and my current project (with Mark Rooker) is a book about creation and evolution. Calvinism and creationism—two lightning rod topics if there ever were any! I’ve observed that advocates on either side of these two issues have produced an…