I know this will come across as self-serving since I am a pastor, but this is worth it. Most of you readers are not in the church where I pastor but you are in a church that has a pastor. Let these wise words from Dan Burrell, a former pastor, help you better understand your pastor and how you can better pray for him and his family. You can read the posts here:
I don’t know this girl, but when I watched this video of her baptism, I cried because it reminded me of why I love the Gospel: God saves rebellious sinners!
Just got an iPhone for my birthday and I love it! One of my first actions taken was to set up the ESV Bible on my iPhone. Here are the directions for how to do this, courtesy of our friends at the ESV blog. Thanks!
Add the ESV to Your iPhone Home Screen
The latest version of the iPhone firmware (1.1.3), which came out Tuesday, lets you add the ESV to the home screen of your iPhone for quick access. Here’s how to do it:
Make sure you’re running the latest version of the iPhone firmware. (On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > About. The “Version” should be 1.1.3.) If you’re not running the latest version, sync your iPhone with iTunes (which may also require updating—use Help > Check for Updates) and install the latest version.
Visit www.esv.org/mobile using Safari on your iPhone.
Press the + sign at the bottom of the iPhone screen.
Press the “Add to Home Screen” button.
(Optional.) Change the name from “ESV Bible” if you want.
Press the “Add” button at the top of the screen.
You now have an “ESV Bible” button right on your home screen for easy access to the ESV wherever you are.
This technique will also work with any of the mobile ESV devotions. Just go to the devotion you want and follow steps 3-6 above. You’ll have a button on your home screen that always takes you straight to the current day’s reading.
If you ever want to delete the ESV button on the home screen, just press it and hold it down. The buttons will start wiggling. Press the little “X” in the top left corner of the ESV button, and it will disappear.
Dale Ralph Davis on the structure/big picture of Exodus:
“That is the basic but critical point made in the sequence of Exodus: there is a proper order; law-keeping is not a device for obtaining grace, it is merely a response to grace already given. Get that settled and the whole Bible will make sense.”
The Word Became Fresh: How To Preach From Old Testament Narrative Texts
What if you knew this morning when you woke up that it would be your last day on earth? Would your day look any different? If you’re a pastor, prepare your sermon {if you are still preparing} and preach your sermon this weekend like it’s the last one that you will get to preach to the body you serve…because it just might be.
I’m not a math guy. I hate numbers. But the Buzzard Blog has done some excellent work with numbers. I share Taylor’s entire post here because I want you to read it. But do check the Buzzard’s blog often.
Algebra For Parenting
A guest post by Taylor Buzzard:
This is a mathematics post. The reason for this different approach is my teething four-month-old’s frequent nighttime waking, which leaves me struggling to think clearly enough to form sentences. Math doesn’t require too many sentences, so I think this is a good plan. Let’s get started.
Your children are your dependents for 18 years. Yes, in some cases children try to remain dependents indefinitely. But, our task is to prepare them for life on their own, and 18 years is the amount of time they are our legal dependents, so 18 is the number we will work with.
Our algebra equation for the day is as follows:
x / 18 = y
“x” is your child’s age.
18 is the number of years your child is your dependent.
“y” is the percentage of time that has passed.
My firstborn is a mere 2.25 years old. He’s so young that I catch myself calling him my baby from time to time. Yet, mathematics tells me a sad truth.
2.25 /18 = 0.125
0.125 = 12.5%
12.5% of my time with him as my dependent is GONE. DONE. OVER. When I first did this calculation, I thought I had set up the equation wrong. It couldn’t be true, there had to be a mistake somewhere. I redid the math, I checked the equation, and had to face the dark reality. Over 10% of my time is done. And he’s still in diapers!
Algebra can help with parenting.
If you’ve had a challenging day with a know-it-all teenager, a pre-pubescent tween, a non-stop question asking child, or a shrieking infant, do the math and watch your heart soften. Our time with our children is fleeting. Be intentional. Seize every moment by the horns. And do the math again, every now and then, to remind yourself of how fast their childhood is going to whiz by.
Please, do the math. The math will help you love your children better today. The math will make you take a giant step backwards, away from the difficulties of parenting, to better see the privilege and delight of parenting. Take your child’s age, divide it by 18. Take the resulting number and move the decimal point over 2 places to the right, and that is the percentage of time that has passed. Leave a comment if the result leaves you a bit shocked.
When I grew up and was learning to play the guitar, I was dependent on my immensely better musician friend Chad to teach me some chops {read 80’s metal here}. There was no youtube or anything like it. Learning an instrument is much easier now, with aforementioned website. My 9 year-old visits youtube often to learn new songs on guitar. He’s been playing for about a year and is better than I am. I blame it all on accessibility, but it probably has something to do with what they call talent or gifting.
But Mac has made learning an instrument easy too, but not by some kid on youtube with a videocamera. GarageBand ‘09 brings not only lessons, but even lessons by the musicians you love to your computer and they show you how to play their songs.
Check out this link/videos {isn’t Sting the coolest? Who ages so well like him?}
I’m actually excited about this. They are guaranteeing that the quality will be there in the taste. There are many days when I sit sluggish in the office and I don’t have time to visit our local coffee shop or a Starbucks and I desperately need some java. Now, I can open a drawer and add water!
“Humor in the pulpit can be very dangerous. It’s like a narcotic. Your people will love it (how much more entertaining to hear you riff on something than to teach Leviticus or talk about sin). You’ll love it (less sleeping, more laughing at how hilarious you are!). And the temptation will be for you to give the people more of what they want and less of what they need. I listen to about 10 sermons a week, and some of the guys I listen to are both funny and really good teachers. But here’s what I notice… they have to tell three jokes for every one that really lands. Two out of three just kind of linger there and die. And so the whole sermon feels like it’s being interuppted by second rate comedy. Over time, my fear is that the people will come hungry for your humor and not necessarily for the word of God. They will be dependent on you and your charisma and your sense of humor, and you’ll never be able to plant churches because you can’t find anyone else as funny as you are, and so you’ll have to pipe your sermons into other locations.” Michael Mckinley
“In his opening chapter The Primacy of Preaching from the book Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea For Preaching Dr. Al Mohler wrote, “Evangelical pastors commonly state that biblical preaching is the hallmark of their calling. Nevertheless, a careful observer might come to a very different conclusion. The priority of preaching is simply not evident in far too many churches.
We must affirm with Luther that the preaching of the Word is the first essential mark of the church. Luther believed so strongly in the centrality of preaching that he stated, ‘Now, wherever you hear or see this Word preached, believed, professed, and lived, do no doubt that the true ecclesia sancta catholica (Christian, holy people) must be there….And even were no other sign than this alone, it would still suffice to prove that a Christian, holy people must exist there, for God’s Word cannot be without God’s people and, conversely, God’s people cannot be without God’s Word.’”
Before he died the great Bible expositor James Montgomery Boice wrote, “I do not think it is too much to say that preaching really is an essential means perhaps even the most important means, of grace. If that is the case, then we should be very careful in our Christian lives to expose ourselves to the best teaching and attend the best churches available.” Caleb Kolstad
Today is a sad day as I remember the life and ministry of one of my professors, Dr. Harold Hoehner.
From the Dallas Seminary website:
February 12, 2009
The Lord called home a faithful servant on February 12, 2009. Dr. Harold Hoehner passed away at the age of 74. His legacy and influence on Dallas Theological Seminary will be lasting. Dr. Hoehner was Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies. He carried on a very fruitful and significant career, teaching and providing leadership to the academic work of Dallas Seminary for forty-two years—twenty-seven of those years as Director of Ph.D. Studies and twenty-four as chairman of the New Testament department.
As a department chair, he brought the highest ideals in academic standards to the DTS campus along with compassion and encouragement to his department faculty and their families. Along with others in the department, he crafted a thorough yet learner-friendly model of New Testament Greek exegesis that is widely used today.
As a teacher, he always pushed his students toward excellence, careful study of Scripture, and fair-minded interaction with the wider world of New Testament scholarship. His magnificent commentary on Ephesians—his magnum opus—will continue to instruct and inspire pastors and teachers for many years to come. Because one of his books is entitled Herod Antipas, he became affectionately known to a generation of students as “Herod Hoehner.” He was known for his unwavering love for the style manual by Kate Turabian. With King’s College of Cambridge, England, as his doctoral alma mater, some have said his only educational regret was that he did not attend Texas A&M!
As a person, Harold was a man of integrity, frugality, hard work, strong opinions, and fairness to others coupled with a loyal, collegial spirit, humility, and humor. Though he was not a good actor by his own admission, he took opportunities to participate in Senior Chapel or Missions Conference videos because he knew students would get a laugh seeing him trying to act cool. His loving and exemplary family life with Gini, their four adult children, and eleven grandchildren was a model and blessing to all of us.
In 2006, the New Testament faculty, former students, and fellow scholars published a book on New Testament exegesis as a tribute to Harold as their teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend. The editors concluded the preface with these words: “Most of all Harold has shown us what it means to be a man of God, committed to Christ and His gospel, and reflecting the fruit of the Spirit over a lifetime of faithful service.”
Greg Gilbert has the best blog post on this issue {in response to this post}. I couldn’t have said it better, nor would I want to give you the impression that I could, because I couldn’t. Excellent, Greg!
Here’s what he said:
Seriously, I think the use of coarse, vulgar sexual and scatological language in the pulpit is nothing but a sign of immaturity in a preacher. I know the argument is that it is somehow provocative and attention-getting, but come on—-watch a movie, or just listen to people talk every day. People aren’t provoked or shocked by that kind of language; they hear it all the time. The only thing they’re shocked by—or more likely, just find funny or amusing—is that it’s Supernerd the Preacher trying to be cool by using that kind of language in church.
Yea, you’ll get a rise out of people by doing it—at least a few times—but what a cheap thrill! Once they get used to hearing you talk like their non-Christian coworker, you’ll have to figure out some other way to titillate them. And then what? What’s provocative when provocative becomes boring?
Look, you want to really provoke people?—and I mean deeply, to their core? Tell them they’re “SINNERS,” instead of just broken, dis-integrated people in need of meaning in their lives. Tell them God’s going to rightly DAMN them (there’s a curse word alot of preachers shy away from) for their sins. Then tell them the Son of God died in their place, and that they have to repent and depend on him entirely if they’re not going to go to HELL (there’s another one).
Now that’s provocative. Saying **** in the pulpit is child’s play.
I want to give away an extra copy I have of The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel by Mark Dever & Paul Alexander. Just leave me a comment and I’ll have your email and enter you into the drawing. Please enter by midnight February 14th. I’ll draw a name and announce the winner next week.
UPDATE: Congrats to Heath Taylor! You are the winner of the first {and perhaps only?} Amazing Grey City Blog Free Book Giveaway. Enjoy the book, bro!
I am beginning my year of reading for 2009. This year I am focusing exclusively on Jonathan Edwards. I’ll be consuming as many works by him and about him.
In this book, Dr. Lawson examines the life of Jonathan Edwards through the lens of his infamous 70 Resolutions, which he penned as a teenager {!!} with the hopes of guiding him in every area of his life. This book is an easy read with Edwards’ Puritan English being further explained by Dr. Lawson. I would highly recommend it, as it will challenge you to live more for Christ.
“The ultimate goal of this book is to challenge a new generation of believers to pursue holiness in their daily lives.” Steven Lawson
“We are guilty of arrogance, not merely neglect, when we fail to beg for the Spirit’s help in the study of Scripture. We may even have such arrogance even when we seem to be seeking the Spirit’s aid- I think of those times when in a light-headed tokenism we utter our slap-happy prayer that the Lord would ‘guide and direct us as we study this passage.’ One shudders to think how flippant we are. But how many more times we neglect any overt seeking of the Spirit’s help!…
Deep into our study time the thought occurs to us that we have not looked- nor did we think of looking- to the God who breathed out this Scripture to give us an understanding of the Scripture. He will likely give that understanding through the tools we use, but when we use tools while neglecting Him the tools have become idols…
Yet in our own Scripture work we easily ignore its chief Interpreter. Professionalism rather than piety drives us. We needn’t be surprised at our sterility and poverty if we refuse to be beggars for the Spirit’s help…
We must begin with the Spirit and we must not only begin with him but we must keep returning to him again and again. We always must begin with begging…”
I just finished reading The Expository Genius of John Calvin by Steven Lawson. In this book, Dr. Lawson {Sr. Pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama} focuses on the particulars of Calvin’s preaching: his style, how he prepared sermons, techniques of his exegetical work, interpretation, and application to his congregation. Overall, 32 distinctives of Calvin’s preaching are covered.
For those in pulpit ministry, I highly recommend this book. It is an easy read {142 pages} and very devotional, but challenging!
“The aim of this book is to raise the bar for a new generation of expositors.” Steven J. Lawson
John MacArthur on TBN? Interviewed by Kirk Cameron? You betcha…these are worth watching. Especially video 2 where MacArthur explains the gospel from 2 Corinthians 5….
This is the time of year that people are posting their top 10 books they read for 2008 {Challies, Trevin}. So, I thought I’d post mine, in no order and with no review {sorry, pressed for time and just needed to post on something since I’ve neglected the blog lately for pastoral duties}…
Several bloggers {Z,WT} are doing this today, so I thought I’d follow suit. Go to your iPod or iTunes and hit shuffle and see what songs pop up. I’m listing the first 10. What does this list say about me?
1. Keep the Car Running- The Arcade Fire
2. 14th Street- Rufus Wainright
3. She Lost Feeling in the Ends of Her Fingers- Linford Detweiler
4. Making Plans- Dolly Parton w/ Porter Wagoner
5. Every Dreadlocks- Black Uhuru
6. Elle S’ En Va- Camille
7. Nikita- Elton John
8. Riffs and Variations On a Single Note for Jelly Roll, Earl Hines, Louis- Sufjan Stevens
Chuck Swindoll has posted some excellent thoughts on the importance of family for those in ministry at his blog. I’ve copied them below:
A Pastor’s Relationships—His Family, Part 1
As committed as you are to your church, there are others. You are not indispensable there. God can lead you to another church . . . and some day He will. But you cannot get another family . . . and they cannot get another you.
Your family members are the people who love you and need you the most—I mean that in a healthy way. Your wife and children want to be with you. They want as much time as possible to enjoy you. If you’re an empty nester, even your grown children still need you. So do those grandkids. Mine do too. They don’t want to lose us just because we are engaged in ministry.
If your ministry enlarges and begins to include other orbits (as mine has)—perhaps a radio ministry, a broader speaking ministry, a music ministry, or a publishing ministry—keep in mind that all of those things have voracious appetites. Just as Sunday comes every week (even during holidays) and you have to stand and deliver whether you’re ready or not, so your other commitments can suck the life out of you. Every publisher wants the next book, every blog or podcast audience wants the next post. My wife, Cynthia, reminds me often, “Radio never takes a holiday.” Those trains keep on moving, and they are hard to stop.
Now, I’m not saying don’t ever write, or speak elsewhere, or expand your ministry. I’m saying to think first and evaluate if it’s really God who is leading you. Needs will always outrun your energy. Even Jesus didn’t heal everybody. He purposely limited His ministry (Mark 1:35–38). The Judgment Seat of Christ will be about quality not quantity (1 Corinthians 3:13). Think before you add to your plate.
Mark Driscoll has just released his new online book, Porn-Again Christians: A Frank Discussion On Pornography and Masturbation in it’s entirety {he’s been posting chapters one at time}. If you struggle or minister to those who struggle with sexual sins, lust, masturbation, pornography, etc, etc, then this will prove a good resource for you.
Benji Magness
Husband of one. Father of four. I pastor Country Bible Church in Kaufman, Texas. I attended Dallas Theological Seminary where I earned a masters in theology {Th.M} in Old Testament and Pastoral Ministries.
