William Ernest Henley wrote Invictus in 1875. Undoubtably his most famous poem, it is an anthem of defiance. It has returned to prominence with the recent death of Nelson Mandela. Mandela would recite it to fellow inmates during his years of imprisonment, and President Obama recited the poem at Mandela’s memorial service. But Invictus has had a checkered history. When Timothy…
Penny and I have been traveling in Israel this past week with a group led by Danny Akin and Allan Moseley. The trip has been everything we hoped for and then some. There are 36 in our group of which several are Southeastern students; all of whom are a delight to share this experience with. We have travelled the Lebanese…
We often forget to make the distinction between creation and creationism. One is a doctrine while the other is an apologetic approach. On the one hand, creation is a foundational doctrine of the Christian faith. The essential features of the doctrine of creation are unchangeable tenets. The Bible teaches that those features include the truths that God, without compulsion or…
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…
“Our culture simply doesn’t know what to think about death,” begins an engaging read by Rob Moll entitled The Art of Dying: Living Fully Into the Life to Come (IVP Books, 2010). If you think me morbid for my interest in this subject, then this book was written precisely with you in mind! The title caught my attention, but even…
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…