Memorial Day Salutations (05/31/04 - 0 Comments)
I am Canadian, and as such have no idea what the proper etiquette is for Memorial Day. To say "happy Memorial Day" seems a touch flippant. So, for all my American friends, enjoy your day away from the grind. What do Americans do on Memorial Day, anyways? Is it just an "excuse" for a day off or do people actually find activities to do that honor the people the day is dedicated to?...
David Cloud's Mailbox (05/31/04 - 1 Comments)
Every now and then David Cloud, a hardcore fundamentalist baptist, publishes some of the emails he has received over the past weeks or months. It always makes for hilarious reading. While I agree with a whole lot of what Cloud has to say, there have been a few times I've gotten close to emailing him myself. His stand on women's clothing is, in a word, ridiculous and he is also an anti-Calvinist. However, I do...
Sunday Ramblings (05/30/04 - 0 Comments)
Welcome to yet another edition of my now-patented Sunday Ramblings. It's a time for me to throw disorganized thoughts together and call it blogging. Today we start at The Journey Church which had its second preview service this morning. As with their first preview which was held last month, I was priveleged to be part of it as once again I ran the sound for them. It was a great little service and their numbers...
How Fruitful Is Too Fruitful? (05/29/04 - 1 Comments)
A few days ago I posted a link to the story about the Duggar Family who is celebrating the arrival of their fifteenth child. Though it did not generate much buzz here, in other places across the Net the story became a hot topic as people debated the appropriateness of having fifteen children. The most common argument against having such a quantity of children is that parents could not possibly properly care for such a...
Looking For A Church Home? (05/28/04 - 2 Comments)
I found the following list on Shane's Site and thought it was really well done. It is a list of questions the author recommends one asks when searching for a new church home. As I read it a lightbulb went on in my mind. Far too often I think we are a bit embarrassed to ask these sorts of questions. Certainly we would ask tougher questions than these if we were going to entrust our...
Big Changes Part 2 (05/27/04 - 0 Comments)
So far so good in regards to the move to the new commenting system. I had a bit of a problem with my archives but managed to fix it. The only real annoyances now are: Old comments will not appear in the new commenting system. So although you'll be able to see older comments on the actual blog pages, they won't show up in the forums. Any new topics will be fine, of course, but...
Big Changes (05/27/04 - 0 Comments)
I made some pretty big changes to the site today. All new topics will now direct you to the forums to do commenting. I think this system will work better in the end. I am a bit worried it will lead to more spamming (just when I had started to get it under control) but I think there are more reasons to do it than not to do it. If you want to reserve a...
R.C. Sproul on Church Growth (05/27/04 - 2 Comments)
I came across a good little article by R.C. Sproul that speaks about the church growth movement. Here are some quotes: The church growth movement has done an outstanding job in capturing the right words. Everybody opposed to churches growing raise your hands. Anybody out there not want to attract unbelievers to the church of Christ? Is anybody seeking ways to grow the church impractically? The way the theory is couched just about guarantees its...
Challies Dot Com Forums? (05/26/04 - 1 Comments)
There is so much discussion happening in various parts of this site now that I keep thinking it might be a good idea to put some forums in place. I know there is a long and arduous way of changing the commenting system so that the forum takes over that role, and think that might be the way to go. So at the end of each post it would say Comments as it does now,...
Plastic Tools (05/26/04 - 3 Comments)
In our home church (ie. Bible study) we have been studying evangelism over the past four weeks. One thing we seem to keep coming back to is the difference between what our work is and what God’s work is. I guess we often get confused between the parts of the process that God holds us responsible for and the parts that we have to just leave in His hands. My son provided me a great...
15 Kids Is A Good Start (05/25/04 - 1 Comments)
There is a great story in the news today about the Duggar family of Fayetteville, Arkansas. They are celebrating the birth of their 15th child. Amazing. Now when you hear there are 15 kids you know they are religious, so you start to ask are they Catholic? Christian? Mormon? I did a bit of research (which involved typing their name into Google) and pulled up a great little article about the family at QuiverFull.com. The...
Where The Discussion's At (05/25/04 - 0 Comments)
There is some fascinating discussion going on in various places around this site at the moment. I am WAY behind in answering comments/questions/emails so am dedicating time to that today. In the meantime, here is where you can find some good discussion. ScottMac (scroll WAY down) posted a critique of the Purpose Driven movement here. What caught my eye was his asseration that the PD movement fails to do the one thing it claims to...
A Day Off (05/24/04 - 0 Comments)
Today Canadians celebrate Victoria Day which commemorates Queen Victoria's birthday. I suspect most Canadians do not know or care what the day commemorates. The traditional way to celebrate the day (or more often the whole weekend) is to head to a cottage or campground and drink oneself into oblivion. For this reason the holiday has become known as "May two four" for most people (since the day of the Queen's birthday is May 24). The...
Christians & Smoking (05/23/04 - 30 Comments)
A short while after our church first began, back when there were only 100 of us or so, a young guy walked up to me after church and asked me, almost in a whisper, "what do you guys believe about smoking? Is it okay to smoke in this church?" I laughed a little, not because it was a stupid question but because the church had people from such a great diversity of backgrounds. We had...
BlogBasics Buttons (05/22/04 - 3 Comments)
Several people asked yesterday for buttons for my new site BlogBasics. I made up a couple of buttons which you can get here. Thanks to all of you who have linked my site on yours. I appreciate it....
Book Review - What You Need To Know About TPotC (05/22/04 - 19 Comments)
While I read hundreds of articles about The Passion of the Christ before and after it was released, What You Need To Know About The Passion of the Christ is the first full-length book I have read on the topic. Ian Brown, author and pastor of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster (Ireland) has written this book to address three serious issues he has with the movie – its making, message and meaning. Drawing from...
Frank Schaeffer? (05/22/04 - 7 Comments)
Until today I had no idea that Francis Schaeffer had a son named Frank. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. What is surprising is that he has forsaken his parents' faith and has converted to Greek Orthodoxy. He has also directed several films, three of which were were rated "R" for their violent content. I guess it shows that even the most Biblically-sound parents can still "lose" their children. On the bright side, he made...
BlogBasics (05/21/04 - 11 Comments)
About a week ago I mentioned on this site that I was working on a second site that was going to be about the basics of blogging. Since that time I have received HEAPS of emails begging me for more details. Actually, I'm making that up. I haven't received any emails about it, but I am sure that you are all as excited about it as I am. Though the site is not quite...
Petra Interview (05/21/04 - 2 Comments)
Michael Janke at CMCentral has just posted an excellent interview he did with Petra during GMA week. At first he speaks just with Bob Hartman but about halfway through John Schlitt comes in and it's just great to read the banter between the two of them. Are they really talking about looking forward to Petra's 40th anniversary!? You can read the interview here....
Ups & Downs of Blogging (05/20/04 - 3 Comments)
I love blogging. It really has changed my life. I have hesitated to say so before now, but believe I have been blogging long enough now to say so with some degree of certainty. It was November 1, 2003 that I decided I would commit to blogging on a daily basis. Since then I have written at least something on this site every day and have often written more than one thing. On occassion I...
More Cliches Than You Can Shake A Stick At (05/20/04 - 1 Comments)
Yesterday I picked up Building 429's "limited edition" EP they released a month or two again. I did so simply because it seems they may become a fairly popular band in the Christian genre and I wanted to hear what they were all about. They have already scored some success on the charts with the song Glory Defined. It's not a very good song. It has a catchy tune, I suppose, but the lyrics are...
Love At First Fight (05/19/04 - 5 Comments)
I allowed myself some time to reminisce this afternoon. I found myself doing nothing important (just driving to my computer supplier) and soon was drifting off into my memories. I began to think about my high school days and one memory in particular brought a smile to my face. I attended Guido de Bres High School from grades 9 to 11. It was a small, Christian school with which I had a real love-hate relationship....
The Spirituality of Everyday Life (05/18/04 - 1 Comments)
I received the following excerpt in a newsletter from Relevant Magazine. Though I often disagree with some of what the folks at that magazine write, I though this quote was quite...well...relevant! I hesitate to post such a lengthy quote here (copyright issues, perhaps) but I could not find a link for this article at their site. To assuage my guilt I have posted a link to the place you can buy the book this quote...
A Cloud of Witnesses (05/18/04 - 6 Comments)
I found an interesting list of quotes from some of the great Reformers and spiritual giants of the past concerning the Roman Catholic Church. I will post them below for your reading [dis]pleasure. As you read, remember that we may have lost site of the meaning of what the word "antichrist" means. We most often think of the prefix "anti-" as meaning "against," but in context of antichrist it actually means "in place of." So...
Book Review - Ashamed of the Gospel (05/17/04 - 4 Comments)
It was just over one hundred years ago that the great preacher Charles Spurgeon began the long battle that would ultimately cost him his life. He saw in the church of that era a trend away from the preaching of the gospel and towards entertainment. The church began to focus on pleasing people rather than preaching the gospel in all its offense and power. The battle Spurgeon waged became known as The Downgrade Controversy. Now,...
Sunday Ramblings (05/16/04 - 1 Comments)
Sometimes I write Sunday reflections. When I got as little sleep as I did last night I'm sure I am capable of doing no more than ramblings. Abby, still recovering from her surgery, had a bit of a rough night last night and kept us awake for quite a while. I'm not sure if it was surgery-related or if she just had a bad night. Generally she is doing well, though, apart from a small...
Working Man Hands (05/15/04 - 2 Comments)
Like most boys my father was my hero when I was a child. You would have had a difficult time convincing me that there was anyone smarter, faster or stronger than my dad. I really did believe it when I told my friends that “my dad can beat up your dad!” And it may well have been true. You see, my father was a landscaper, and for 8 months of the year he spent almost...
New Version of Movabletype (05/14/04 - 0 Comments)
The folks at Movabletype have released the long-awaited version 3.0 of their software. This is the software that runs many of the blogs you and I read on a daily basis (including this one). Among the best features they now offer is TypeKey, a key that will allow people to comment on multiple blogs using the same account. By allowing only people with a TypeKey to comment on a blog you are effectively blocking all...
Prayer Request Update (05/14/04 - 4 Comments)
As expected, Abby came through her surgery just fine. They found that the cyst was about the size of a pingpong ball, though it didn't bounce quite as well (just kidding, of course - I'm sure they didn't try bouncing it). She was in recovery for a couple of hours and was doing so well (no vomiting, no lingering effects from the anesthetic) they said we may as well just bring her home. That was...
A Prayer Request (05/13/04 - 9 Comments)
This is my daughter Abby. She is 18 months old and tomorrow we are taking her to the hospital for surgery. She has a rather large cyst in her bum and though they are quite convinced it is harmless, the doctors would like to take it out. Eventually, they figure, it will get quite uncomfortable for her and may rupture and cause infection. The cyst is just under the skin so will not require any...
Repentance (05/13/04 - 2 Comments)
It seems that the idea of repentance has fallen out of favor in the church today. We love to stress decisions, worship, faith and growth, but seem to leave out one rather critical aspect of the Christian faith. We need not look far to find people who confess Christ, yet continue to live in ways that would call their confession into question. More than simply committing sins, so many are living truly sinful lifestyles. One...
How's That For Relevance? (05/12/04 - 3 Comments)
Christianity Today has an article about Alistair Begg, pastor of Parkside Church in Cleveland. I did not know this until today, but he plays a prominent role in the movie Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius. Apparently he was once speaking with Chuck Colson at a conference and one of the people in the audience was John Shepherd, the movie's producer. He asked Begg to play the role of Bobby Jone's golf instructor, Stewart Maiden. The...
Do You Need A Washing? (05/12/04 - 1 Comments)
A fellow blogger over at Between The Cushions has a great little post called Do You Need A Washing. I used to visit his site every day but as his posting decreased I cut it down to once every week or so. He posted this story a few days ago but I only noticed it now......
Locking Arms (05/12/04 - 1 Comments)
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the nature of men’s relationships with each other. One of the more vivid examples I know of that illustrates the way men interact is found in Bill Perkins’ book When Good Men Are Tempted. I will include an excerpt from the book: In his best-selling book Don’t Stand Too Close To A Naked Man, [Tim] Allen tells about an experience he had while in jail. The...
On Living Room Refrigerators & Other Ramblings (05/11/04 - 2 Comments)
Misc Rambling 1: We have a rather large refrigerator in our living room. It is in the corner between the bookshelf and the couch, right where the rocking chair usually sits. Now you may want to ask “Tell me, Tim, why do you have a fridge in your living room?” I won’t leave you hanging. Like most people we have a fridge in our kitchen but it is not behaving very well these days. It...
Got Creativity? (05/11/04 - 5 Comments)
I am looking for a domain name for another project I am thinking of starting. I am working on a "plausibility study" for a site dedicated to Christian music news and reviews. It would be a project I would take on in addition to this blog (though this site will always be my foremost priority)! So I am looking for a name for the site, and of course a domain name to go along with...
Review - Pivitplex: Under Museum Quality Glass (05/10/04 - 2 Comments)
With so many new artists vying for a place in the Christian industry it is becoming increasingly difficult for new acts to set themselves apart from the crowd. When every week seems to deliver at least one or two new rocks bands it is refreshing to find one that features a truly unique sound. Adding 60’s and 70’s sensibilities to a modern rock sound Pivitplex manages to offer something original to the genre with...
Preaching U2? (05/10/04 - 11 Comments)
This morning I came across a book entitled Get Up Off Your Knees which is subtitled Preaching the U2 Catalog. It is a collection of sermons based on the songs of U2 that was compiled by authors Raewynne J. Whiteley and Beth Maynard. Eugene Peterson wrote the foreward. Here is a description of the book: A thoughtful and provocative collection of sermons by a group of preachers from across the international church spectrum who have...
Teenage Receptionists (05/09/04 - 3 Comments)
I had to go to the doctor today and chose to visit a new little walk-in clinic that recently opened near my house. Because I live in Canada health care is “free” (as free as it can be when we pay some of the highest taxes in the world) and I try to visit the doctor every now and then just so I feel like I am getting my money’s worth. When I walked into...
Review - Third Day: Wire (05/09/04 - 10 Comments)
Seven albums into their careers, the members of Third Day do not have a lot left to prove. They have four gold albums and one platinum and have established themselves as one of Christian music’s premier bands. Perhaps all that was left for them to prove was that they had not forgotten what made them so popular in the first place. Since the release of Offerings: A Worship Album in 2000, Third Day has concentrated...
Top of the Charts - May 8 (05/08/04 - 1 Comments)
Each week I examine the song at the top of the CMCentral charts . Since last week’s song, Dare You To Move by Switchfoot has not budged from the number one spot, this week we will look at the number two song which is More by Matthew West. Take a look at the mountain Stretching a mile high Take a look at the ocean Far as your eye can see And think of Me Take...
Christian MP3 Bonanza (All Legal) (05/07/04 - 3 Comments)
Just for kicks, here are some links to fully legal MP3s. Grassroots Music has a huge selection of legal downloads from some major releases (By The Tree, Tree 63, Derek Webb, Carolyn Arends, etc). Third Day has 3 bootlegs you can download. Jason McGibbon (a good friend of mine) has the song I Am Broken available. Dale Nikkel has five songs. Feel free to leave other recommendations in the comments section....
Um...God...? (05/07/04 - 0 Comments)
This morning in my Bible reading I came across one of my favorite passages in the entire Scripture. It is in Acts 9 and involves just two people – the disciple Ananias and Saul. Saul, notorious for persecuting Christians, has departed Jerusalem after obtaining a letter granting him authority to arrest any Christians he finds in Damascus in order bring them to Jerusalem for trial before the puppet court of the Sanhedrin. But lo and...
Save Don Cherry (05/07/04 - 7 Comments)
If you are Canadian this post should require little explanation. CBC wants to let Don Cherry go after 23 years of commentary as part of Hockey Night in Canada. Needless to say we cannot let this happen. There is petition you can sign here that will be presented to CBC. Go ahead and do the right thing!...
Spam Tool (05/07/04 - 1 Comments)
Last week a reader recommended a spam blocking tool called SpamBayes. I looked it up and since it was a free install I decided I would give it a try. It snaps seamlessly into Outlook and took only seconds to install. Once the program is installed it takes a few days to "train" the program what is spam and what is not. This is as simple as clicking a button each time an email comes...
Most-Played Songs (05/06/04 - 2 Comments)
Several months ago I ripped my entire CD collection to MP3 and the collection totaled something like 5000 songs. Since I work on my computer all day long I listen to a lot of music. Just for fun I ordered my music by play count. So the following is a list of the 10 songs I have listened to the most times in that period. I can't really imagine anyone cares, but here goes: Dale...
Hallmark Christians (Desiring God Chapter 4) (05/06/04 - 0 Comments)
Have you ever stopped to consider what it must be like to work for Hallmark or another of the companies that creates greeting cards? Imagine spending your whole day attempting to come up with wonderful statements of deep feeling – love, remorse, sympathy – yet without feeling any of the emotions. Imagine having to write words that express sympathy, yet not feeling any sympathy yourself. Or imagine having to write words that can express the...
Papal Titles (05/06/04 - 19 Comments)
I stumbled across a site that provided information about the proper way of addressing the pope and thought I would share that. Direct address: Your Holiness, or Holy Father. Written address: His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, or better, The Sovereign Pontiff, His Holiness John Paul II. Formal closing: Kissing the Sacred Foot. Formal introduction: His Holiness, the Pope. I did a bit of research and found out the following titles the pope holds: Roman...
Poor Taste (05/05/04 - 3 Comments)
I usually shy from posting politically-charged topics, but in this case I am willing to make an exception. Now I don't necessarily believe Pat Tillman is the superhero that some are making him out to be (hundreds of other lesser-known Americans have also paid the ultimate price), but regardless of what you think of the conflict in Iraq you have to admire a man who would leave behind a lucrative career in the NFL...
Dalai Lama (05/04/04 - 2 Comments)
This week the Dalai Lama is in Toronto to "speak on the subject of world peace," to pray for and encourage his followers, and to initiate new adherents into the faith known as a Kalachakra ceremony." Now I know almost nothing of this man, but was pretty surprised to see him referred to on the news as "His Holiness." I don't know how many people claim that title, though I think the pope would be...
Appraising Your Treasures (05/04/04 - 1 Comments)
One of my long-time favorite shows on television is The Antiques Roadshow. It is a show that has been a staple on PBS for many years and on British television for longer than that. The show affords people the opportunity to bring their antique possessions, whether furniture, paintings, toys or anything else, and have them appraised by some of the world’s foremost experts in antiquities. Every show the producers single out ten or fifteen items...
Keep The Receipts! (05/03/04 - 2 Comments)
"Make sure you keep the receipts!" Those were the last words I heard from my wife as I left the house on Saturday to go shopping for her birthday. Now isn't that just a vote of confidence! Still, I think I did quite well. She refuses to open her gifts until this evening, so I will know more then... Anyways, have a happy birthday, Aileen. You are a year older than I am now, but...
It's Always Necessary To Use Words (05/03/04 - 22 Comments)
There is a popular quote which is attributed to Francis of Assisi that reads �Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.� These words have inspired many Christians to live lives that glorify God, remembering at all times that our actions are a powerful testimony to the One we claim to serve. The book of James tells us that �faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.� (James 2:17) The...
Michael Tait To Join Forces With Santana (05/02/04 - 9 Comments)
Forefront Records, home of Christian artist Tait, has announced that Michael Tait will be joining forces with legendary guitarist and vocalist Carlos Santana. Tait will be performing vocally for Santana's upcoming European tour. You can ready the full press release here. Does anyone else find this troubling? Santana is currently touring in support of his most recent album which is entitled Shaman. That alone should be a warning. In case you are unfamiliar with that...
Top of the Charts - May 1 (05/01/04 - 1 Comments)
If you have been reading this site for any length of time you will know that I enjoy Christian music. I have listened to Christian music since the early 90’s and have been collecting almost exclusively Christian music since that time. I have had the privilege of meeting many Christian musicians and have been able to see that so many of them are passionate about sharing their faith with other people through their musical talent....
