Posts

My Many-Varied Influences

Image
I was thinking recently about different people who have influenced me in different ways over the years.  I don't agree with everything some of these men teach, but I was still influenced by them in ways that have stayed with me even if I no longer listen to some of them.  Al Potter and Bob Sheridan taught me to think pastorally. Al was one of my seminary professors and every time he taught and every time I had a conversation with him, practical shepherding just oozed out of him. Bob was my pastor growing up and I completed did a pastoral internship under him as an upper classman in college.  Neil Nelson and Andrew Smith taught me to think exegetically. These are my two Greek professors from Bible College and Seminary. Taking the original languages and breaking them down part by part opened my eyes up to the world of exegetical theology. John MacArthur taught me to think expositionally. Chapter by chapter, verse by verse, no one does it better than J-Mac. He's not the most polis

The Charismatic's Escape Hatch

Image
The following article was initially drafted shortly after the 2020 election. I don't know why I never published it. I finished editing it and am publishing it now. Prior to the 2020 election, the vast majority of the charismatic "apostles" and/or "prophets" were claiming to have a word from the Lord, and that word was that that President Trump would secure re-election. When that didn't happen (and let's just set aside the all the voting issues for the moment), I thought this could be the perfect opportunity to challenge some of my charismatic friends on the seemingly and glaringly obvious issue that these individuals made very public, very specific prophecies, and it didn't happen. What gives? However, that was when I learned that charismatics have a fail-safe. They have an escape hatch. Every time a prophecy fails, there is an out. I was told that the reason Trump didn't return to the office was because we, as the church, didn't have enough

Escapism: the Eschatological Unforgiveable Sin

Image
This blog post was drafted a couple years ago and never published because the content was revised and presented at the IFCA Convention in Albuquerque, NM. That seminar was recorded and released on the Do Theology Podcast, which you can listen to here and watch here . I recently came across the draft and figured I would go ahead and publish the article. Escapism. Escapist.  I've grown to hate these words. It's a common jab from those of differing viewpoints directed against those who hold to the eschatological position I do: "You guys have embraced an escapist mindset that prevents you from engaging the culture." I'd like this one to be put to bed. What is escapism or an escapist mindset? It is said that an escapist mindset seeks to disconnect from society and culture while waiting, praying, and hoping for the imminent rapture of the church: because the whole world is just going to continue to get worse and worse, and since we are so obviously so close to the rapt

To Live Is Christ

Image
This blog has been neglected for some time. I recently logged in and discovered several drafts that I wrote and never published. Why I never published them I do not know. Below is an article I wrote in August of 2021 while I was preaching through the book of Philippians. I lightly edited it and am publishing it now. Some time ago I preached through the book of Philippians, and it was a tremendous study. We saw the beauty and glory of Christ as he promises to finish the good work He started (1:6); we see him at work, despite our hardships (1:12-18); and we see him as the humble servant highly exalted (2:9-11) the one for whom it is worth suffering the loss of all things that we might know him (3:8). Philippians contains several verses and passages that are beloved by believers are common to commit to memory, and very well worth the effort! As we worked through chapter one, however, we came across a passage that is very well known but I became convinced often receives misplaced emphasis.

On the Tooth Fairy and other Cultural Myths

Image
Note: I drafted this six months ago, but had forgotten about it and never published it. Now that we are into the holiday season once again, the topic has renewed relevance. I was in a situation a while back with my daughter--who had a loose tooth at the time--where she was around other children who informed her that she needed to put the tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy and she would get money from it. My daughter immediately informed her friends that the tooth fairy isn't real. They protested: "Yes she is!" and a few moments later my daughter came up to me saying "Daddy, they think the tooth fairy is real." For many parents who have chosen not to participate in this cultural game, this can be an awkward moment. You've chosen to be honest with your kids and not pretend that Santa, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy, etc. are real. How do you instruct them to engage with other children who think these things are real? To be fully honest, I wasn't

What I've Learned in One Year of Open-Air Preaching

Image
1975 words | 6-8 Min If you're not aware, I'm church planting in Southern Indiana. When we started this work we came in with a strong commitment to evangelism and outreach, which is reflected in our church's purpose statement: " We exist to glorify God by proclaiming Christ that every individual in our reach might hear, believe, and follow Him ." This reflects several passages of Scripture, including the Great Commission , Col 1:28-29 , and  Rom 10:14  "how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"  We had a variety of ways we were pursuing outreach when we first got started back in 2019, but when the whole world got shut down by you-know-what, we had to begin to think differently about how we did outreach. It seemed unwise for us to go knocking on doors, and most people were visibly afraid to have face-to-face conversations.  We had a dilemma: people needed the hope of the Gospel a

Planting a Church...in a PANDEMIC????

Image
  How do you plant a church in a pandemic?  We've been spending the year trying to navigate these interesting waters and answer that very question. With new spikes of COVID in our area that has people more worried than ever, some might even call into question whether this is an activity that should be happening at all. As we seek to continue to get the word out about our Bible Study group we desire to keep everyone healthy and safe, but the things that motivated us to begin this journey pre-covid remain true and are perhaps more pertinent than ever. Here are just a few reasons why this task must move forward: The Gospel must still be proclaimed. In a day when more people may be aware of the fragility of their own life than ever before, we must step forward and boldly proclaim the excellencies of Jesus Christ, the God-Man who took on flesh, lived a life without sin, and yet died the death of the worst of sinners. In His death He endured the wrath of God for our sins, and yet rose