Skip to content ↓

Friday Ramblings

My day began at 5 A.M. today. I have an early morning flight to Los Angeles that should get me to the smoggy city just in time for lunch at the In and Out burger closest to L.A.X.. I’m already looking forward to it. I’ll be in L.A. until Monday evening so I can bring blog coverage of the Resolved Conference. Some 3,000 college students (and one thirty year old guy) will be gathering to worship God, to ponder Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions (I assume), and to listen to teaching from the likes of Rick Holland, C.J. Mahaney, John MacArthur and John Piper. It promises to be a wonderful event and I am looking forward to it. A conference dealing primarily with that younger age group will be a new experience for me and I anticipate that I’ll enjoy it. I look forward to being encouraged by, and hopefully attempting to encourage, these young Christians.

The conference wraps up just after lunch on the Monday and my flight doesn’t leave until near midnight (As with the Shepherd’s Conference last year, I’ve opted to catch the red-eye flight home.). I am hoping to find something more fun to do that last year when I spent 6 hours in the airport terminal reading. It was edifying but not awfully exciting. I’ll be traveling with someone this year and I’m sure we’ll find something fun to do.

Changing topics, I found this article interesting. I have often pondered the connection between global warming and evolution. This columnist has done the same, but has brought the ideas together enough to actually write about it. Of course I disagree with the kind of evolution he believes in, but it does seem that people who hold to the idea that we are facing an imminent global warming crisis are being somewhat inconsistent with their evolutionary beliefs. I am still searching for a firm position on global warming. So much of the information dealing with the issue is politically charged and politically motivated that I find it very difficult to believe it. So I continue to explore and to find measured, deliberate defenses of both sides. I don’t want hysteria and I don’t want politics. I just want the facts.

I have not had time to put together an A La Carte for today, but did want to add a link to and article written by a friend of mine who pastors a church in a state I’ve never been to. He discusses potential problems in regarding church buildings as casually as many people do today.

And that is it for me. I have a bus/taxi/airport transportation vehicle to catch and a plane to catch after that. Tune in late tonight for the first post from the far corner of the continent. As always, your prayers for traveling mercies and your prayers for the safety and well-being of my family are much appreciated.


  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (August 29)

    A La Carte: How to identify a false teacher / The rise of cultural Christianity / 19 Christian Para Athletes / Turn off social media until the election / Examining our assumptions about disability / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Church Livestream

    Is It Time To Stop Streaming Your Service?

    It always surprises me how quickly an idea can go from introduction to expectation, from mere inquiry to accepted standard. And once an idea has become mainstream in that way, it is difficult to revisit and evaluate it.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (August 28)

    A La Carte: What canoeing can teach us about marriage / What are spiritual gifts and how do I discover mine? / How a troll becomes a troll / The biggest Evangelical divide / When Bible reading doesn’t produce a neat and tidy takeaway / and more.

  • New and Notable

    New and Notable Christian Books for August 2024

    We live at a great time to be readers! Christian publishers labor diligently to provide us with good books on every conceivable topic. Once a month I like to sort through all the new releases and put together a list of some of the new and notables. Here are my picks for August, 2024.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (August 27)

    A La Carte: Keith Green, Bill Hybels, steeples, and bells / Did negligence kill my baby? / Rethinking nostalgic postpartum advice / Yes, all things / We can’t be friends / Kindle deals / and more.

  • Nothing Can Separate Us from God

    This week the blog is sponsored by Zondervan Reflective. This excerpt from The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible: One-Volume Edition explains the original meaning of Paul’s words in Romans 8:31-39 and shows how his message can apply to our lives today. We begin with words from the Apostle Paul: 31 What, then, shall we…