September 2006 Archive
DG06 - Session 4 (09/30/06 - 78 Comments)
This afternoon Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle will teach on "The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World." He was introduced by John Piper who said that never before had a speaker gotten him in this much trouble even before he had spoken! Mark took the stage and introduced his speech around the framework of two issues regarding Christology and two issues regarding missiology. Christology Driscoll began by...
DG06 - Session 3 (09/30/06 - 0 Comments)
The morning's second plenary session will feature Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He will speak on "The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World." He will talk about how we do evangelism, how we communicate the gospel, in a postmodern world. It will be, in some ways, more a lecture than a sermon. The postmodern world presents a crisis to us. The Western world is now...
DG06 - Session 2 (09/30/06 - 10 Comments)
My second day in Minneapolis began early. We did not get back to our hotel until 11 PM last night and we were roused at 6 AM to get up and ready in time to get to an early breakfast with Justin Taylor and Roger and Amy of A-Team Blog. I had hoped to meet Roger last year when I was at the Shepherd's Conference, but it did not work out, so it was nice...
DG06 - Session 1 (09/29/06 - 29 Comments)
And here I am, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at my second Desiring God National Conference. This convention center is a great deal busier than it was last year. The room is nearly packed from front to back with the 3,130 people who are supposed to be in attendance. There is a real sense of eagerness and anticipation. Everyone I've spoken to has been excited, waiting eagerly for the sessions to begin. I have already met several...
It's a Long Way To Minnesota (09/29/06 - 11 Comments)
It was just about a year ago that I first liveblogged a conference. I posted the following: By the time you read this I should be well on my way to Minneapolis. It is amazing how three hours worth of flying can consume an entire day. It will take about an hour to get to the airport and of course I have to be at the airport at least two hours in advance so I...
A Senseless Conflict? (Part 2) (09/28/06 - 25 Comments)
A couple of days ago I responded briefly to an article that appeared in Scientific American (link). I did not attempt a thorough defense of creationism that would convince a person who was committed to evolutionism. I sought primarily to show that the argumentation used was, at best, high school level, and that the arguments were easily answered. This article, though, triggered other thoughts and I wanted to discuss something I've written about before: the...
Podcast #1 (Guest: Mark Dever) (09/27/06 - 21 Comments)
I've gone and done it. This is my very first podcast. For those who don't know, a podcast is really just an audio file that can be listened to either through a normal media player or through a kind of subscription. Both options are available to you. If you don't know about podcasting and don't want to, simply follow the instructions below to listen to it the old fashioned way. I was thrilled to have...
A Senseless Conflict? (09/26/06 - 16 Comments)
Scientific American is a popular science magazine with a monthly circulation approaching 700,000. Including foreign language editions, the circulation increases to over 1,000,000. First published in 1845, it is the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. Quite needless to say, it is not a publication that is particularly friendly to creationism. How unfriendly is it? A recent "Skeptic" column lets us know. In the October 2006 edition of Scientific American is a column...
It Is Good To Thirst (09/25/06 - 2 Comments)
Every soul thirsts. It may not be felt every moment, but to some degree every soul thirsts after something it does not have. We are rarely content in our current condition and it seems that this is the way we have been Divinely wired. But while we all thirst, we do not all thirst in the same way. A couple of years ago I read Ten Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health which was written...
The Day of Rest (09/24/06 - 45 Comments)
Today I present a brief reflection on Sunday, providing some historic viewpoints on the Lord's Day as summarized in various creeds and confessions. I do not think my commentary would be helpful or necessary: The London Baptist Confession says: As it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God's appointment, be set apart for the worship of God, so by his Word, in a positive moral, and perpetual commandment,...
What Every Parent Needs to Know About Video Games (09/23/06 - 15 Comments)
I used to be an avid computer gamer. From the time computers became widely available, I was using them to play games. I played them for long enough to know that they don't make them like they used to. Modern-day games have not risen above the standards set by such classics as X-Com, Railroad Tycoon, Civilization, SimCity and so on. When these games were made, computers were primitive enough that a game had to stand...
More Ligonier News (09/22/06 - 6 Comments)
It looks like the whole mess at Ligonier may (thankfully!) be drawing to a close. This afternoon two statements were posted to Ligonier's web site. The first was from Ligonier's Senior Management and the second from CEO Tim Dick. Since I have posted on this matter in the past, I may as well carry on and post what I (optimistically) hope represents the end of the matter. Here is the statement from Senior Management (link):...
Planned Neglect (09/22/06 - 16 Comments)
If you were to do a Google search for the term "planned neglect" you would likely encounter a host of articles dealing with politics. At the forefront you would find articles about New Orleans and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Many locals, dismayed at the way the disaster was handled, charged various levels of government with planned neglect, insisting that the city had not been merely killed but had been murdered. Neglect had led to...
A Statement From Don Kistler (09/21/06 - 21 Comments)
Dr. Don Kistler sent the following document to me this evening and asked if I would publish it on my blog. It deals with the ongoing and increasingly-public allegations made against Ligonier Ministries, many of which involve Dr. Kistler's name. I am glad to publish this exactly as it was provided to me. A Public Statement from Dr. Don Kistler Managing Editor, Soli Deo Gloria Publications A Division of Ligonier Ministries I have been reading...
The Way of the Wild Heart (09/21/06 - 71 Comments)
John Eldredge's Wild at Heart is a runaway bestseller. Though it debuted in 2001, it still remains near the top of the list of Christian bestsellers and has sold over three million copies, no small feat for a title marketed primarily to Christians. Unfortunately, sales figures do not indicate which books are most faithful to Scripture (indeed, one could probably make an argument that sales figures are inversely proportional to theological faithfulness) and a large...
The Wiggles For Seniors? (09/20/06 - 14 Comments)
The Wiggles are big business. The group of four Aussies, who got their start fifteen years ago, are now among the world's most popular children's entertainers. Its four members (Anthony, Greg, Murray and Jeff) and their friends (Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus and Captain Feathersword the friendly pirate) have been entertaining Australian children with their song and dance since 1991. The Sydney-based band is also popular in other English-speaking countries such...
We Know That He Hears Us (09/20/06 - 3 Comments)
Having just read a book about prayer, and having sought recently to increase the presence of prayer in my life, I turned a few days ago to the topic of persistence in prayer. I soon found something I had written about this in the past and thought I would share it with you today, hoping that it will prove beneficial to you as it has to me. It is the Lord's delight to give us...
The Successor® (09/19/06 - 53 Comments)
Gaithersburg, MD - From Sovereign Grace Ministries, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, comes news of an exciting new competition. Throughout the Fall, Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM) will travel the length and width of America, visiting malls and megachurches across the nation seeking The Successor®. The ministry expects more than 10,000 young men to vie for their chance to become The Successor®. Of the thousands of candidates, eighteen will be chosen to travel to Gaithersburg where...
Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference? (09/18/06 - 35 Comments)
I don't envy the man who writes a book on prayer, for I can't think of too many topics that have been written about more extensively than this. There are many spiritual classics dealing with the topic and surely an author must wonder if anything he writes can contribute to the discussion. New to the fray is Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference by Philip Yancey. A guaranteed bestseller, this book, by virtue of the...
Who's Reinforcing Negative Stereotypes? (09/17/06 - 20 Comments)
As I'm sure you've heard by now, many Muslims throughout the world are terribly upset by comments made by the pope during a recent speech. While speaking to a group of university professors in his native Germany, the pope cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's founder, as "evil and inhuman." He has since offered a less-than-complete apology, saying that he is deeply sorry...
King For A Week - WOTM Radio (09/16/06 - 11 Comments)
King for a Week is an honor I bestow on blogs that I feel are making a valuable contribution to my faith and the faith of other believers. Every week (or so) I select a blog, link to it from my site, and add that site's most recent headlines to the sidebar on this site. While this is really not much, I do feel that it allows me to encourage and support other bloggers while...
Friday Miscellania (09/15/06 - 17 Comments)
God, Max & Me - I've felt a little bit brain-dead this week. Grieved by the shallowness of my devotional life and my difficulty in making sufficient time for it, I recently decided to try a whole new approach. I now wake up an hour earlier than I used to but leave my Bible on the shelf. I get up a good long time before the sun comes up and head outdoors with just my...
The Ambiguously Cured Soul (09/14/06 - 19 Comments)
Yesterday my friend Justin Taylor (I think he's everybody's friend, actually. I've been meaning to ask him--is there a Reformed author whose Justin hasn't spoken to just a couple of days ago?), sent me an article entitled "The Ambiguously Cured Soul" that was written by David Powlison and published in the Spring 2001 edition of The Journal of Biblical Counseling. It is a fascinating article and Justin was kind enough to ask if I could...
Suffering & the Sovereignty of God (09/13/06 - 7 Comments)
It was an interesting experience reading Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor), for only a year before its release I had been present at the Desiring God National Conference where the contents of the book were first presented as keynote addresses. With only a couple of exceptions, each chapter of this book is drawn from one of those speeches (those exceptions being Dustin Shramek's chapter and an appendix...
Book Review - 1776 (09/12/06 - 9 Comments)
I have only elementary knowledge of American history. This is shameful, really, as in high school and university I took at least two courses on American history and did quite well in them as memory serves. Still, somehow I have forgotten much that I ought to know. Popular history, books written about periods of the past but written in a narrative fashion rather than as dry history, have proven useful in refreshing my memory. Nathaniel...
Veneration Gap (09/11/06 - 41 Comments)
A week ago Suzanne Sataline published an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Veneration Gap: A Popular Strategy For Church Growth Splits Congregants." The article examines several examples of churches that have experienced great trial and turmoil as a result of attempting to become Purpose Driven. The article does not seem to be an attempt to prove that Purpose Driven principles are inherently evil or that they always cause conflict. Rather, it seems that...
An Upcoming Interview Series (09/10/06 - 91 Comments)
You may recall that last year I did several interviews and posted them to this site. I interviewed, among others, Sam Waldron, Wayne Grudem and Derek Webb. I would like to put together another series of interviews to be posted sometime this fall and winter. I am thinking of turning them into podcasts, posting audio of the interviews this year rather than transcribing them as I have done in the past. I'll decide that later....
The Great Work of the Gospel (09/09/06 - 3 Comments)
On one of John Ensor's web sites, "Heartbeat of Miami," is a most sobering map. Showing the locations of each Miami's abortion facilities in red and ultrasound-equipped pregnancy help centers in blue, the red dots outnumber of the blue by a margin of fifteen to one. As leader of "Heartbeat of Miami," Ensor hopes within the next two years to increase the number of adequately equipped pregnancy help centers to at least 4. From his...
The Overwhelming Problem of God (09/08/06 - 25 Comments)
Bright and early each Friday morning I meet at a local coffee place with a couple of friends. We read a portion of a book during the week and get together once a week to discuss what we've read. Having previously worked our way through Os Guinness' The Call, we have now begun The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. While only a short book, I have little doubt that it will prove to...
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Blog (09/07/06 - 49 Comments)
I try to avoid writing about what feels like gossip. It is far too easy to write about issues that are contentious simply because they attract attention and satisfy some depraved and unsanctified portion of my heart. I know that I used to give in to this desire far more than I do today and I thank God for challenging me on this. Over the past few weeks, several people have asked me about a...
Sick, Strange Comfort (09/06/06 - 12 Comments)
During the past few evenings I've been making my way through Suffering and the Sovereignty of God edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. Based on last year's Desiring God National Conference, the book is set to release around September 19 and I'll have a full review of it before then. When I was at the conference last year, I can't deny that the speech given by Joni Eareckson Tada was not my favorite. Maybe...
Server Upgrade (09/05/06 - 2 Comments)
I am moving the site to a new server this evening. It is entirely possible that things will be a little erratic for the next day or two. Please bear with me. If you have something really important to say via email, but sure to request a reply. If you do not get that reply within a couple of days, send the email again as this may mean that I did not receive it. Thanks...
The Politics of Disaster (09/05/06 - 2 Comments)
Hurricane Katrina was a national disaster that was played out on an international stage. In this age of instant and graphic communication where there is an increasingly thin line between news and entertainment, the whole world watched while the hurricane bore down on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The world watched with sick fascination as pictures of death and devastation flashed across their television screens. Untold millions watched as the New Orleans levies let...
Book Review - An Inconvenient Truth (09/04/06 - 12 Comments)
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding global warming. Some insist that it is a terrifying and imminent concern that portends worldwide disaster. Others scoff at the notion, accusing those who spread such dire predictions of using global warming as part of a larger, sinister agenda. Al Gore considers global warming to be an inconvenient truth and a pending planetary emergency. In his political career he was an advocate of measures to deal with...
Book Review - Going Under (09/03/06 - 10 Comments)
As Baptists go, I consider myself quite charitable when it comes to beliefs on baptism. I suppose this is due to my Presbyterian background and my ongoing struggles with fully committing myself to either infant or believer's baptism. I have studied the arguments made by both camps and see beauty and biblical support in both. Unfortunately, though, they cannot both be true which means that one must be wrong. I have aligned myself with the...
Ligonier Ministries - New Web Site (09/02/06 - 6 Comments)
Today, one one day after Desiring God upgraded their web site, Ligonier Ministries has done the same. What a strange coincidence that both of these projects, a long time in developing, would happen at nearly the same time. You can view the site at ligonier.org. The new site is beautiful. Their designers did an exceptional job crafting a site that looks beautiful and still functions well (though what's with the use of tables instead of...
Desiring God - Site & Conference News (09/01/06 - 3 Comments)
Desiring God has launched their new web site. While the site design has not changed drastically, it is a little bit cleaner and a tad more contemporary. The changes are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and this is often a good thing. But behind the design lurk some great new features. Rather than describe them myself, I will provide the brief summary supplied by the webmaster. We are pleased to announce the new desiringGod.org, which...
Announcement: The Discipline of Discernment (09/01/06 - 40 Comments)
Several months ago I sat with my wife, discussing future goals and plans. I told her something she already knew: that I wanted someday to begin writing books. Writing runs in my blood and there are few things I enjoy more (though reading would have to come close). As evidenced by this blog, I have a great deal to say, even if I do not always say it particularly well. It made sense to me...
