In the Immortal Words of Charlie Sheen...

Winning.

Living as the Gospel is True

A humbling and challenging word from Pastor David Platt of The Church at Brook Hills.

Do We Really Believe What We're Saying? from The Church at Brook Hills on Vimeo.

(What kind of) Love Wins?

A lot has been made over the last few weeks about the new book from Rob Bell, Love Wins. I'll be the first to say that I haven't read the book, but I've read a number of people who have, and what I hear doesn't really jive with what I see in Scripture, or in honest theological discourse. Maybe I'm way off, but it's worth reading some reviews and, as always, thinking about what you read. One of the biggest issues I hear about this book is that there are bold assertions made as fact, not supported by exegesis, theology or history (here's a discussion of one example). This, I fear, is not a good thing.

In any case, here's a very insightful review from Tim Challies. It's long, but worth reading in it's entireity...

Questions matter. They can help you to grow deeper in your knowledge of the truth and your love for God—especially when you’re dealing with the harder doctrines of the Christian faith. But questions can also be used to obscure the truth. They can be used to lead away just as easily as they can be used to lead toward. Ask Eve.

Enter Rob Bell, a man who has spent much of the last seven years asking questions in his sometimes thought-provoking and often frustrating fashion. And when he’s done asking, no matter what answers he puts forward, it seems we’re only left with more questions. This trend continues in his new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, where Bell poses what might be his most controversial question yet:

Does a loving God really send people to hell for all eternity?

Continue Reading...

Additionally, here's an interview between Bell and MSNBC's Martin Bashir. Now, I'll be the first to concede that Bashir is pretty hard on Bell (perhaps this could be characterized as unfair) but what bothers me more is the logical incoherence in Bell's answers.

Maysville, KY

First, my apologies for slacking off on the blog. I wish I had a good excuse, but I don't. More often than not, I feel like there's not much interesting in my life, or I'm not feeling particularly profound. In any case, there is some news that I am excited to now be able to share with all of you who read the blog. Over the last month, we've taken a few trips to a quiet, beautiful town on the Ohio river.

Maysville is a town of about 9,000, located about an hour north of Lexington. It's definitely smaller than Louisville, but it has a great feel about it; the people are incredibly friendly and the town has all kinds of unique and fascinating characteristics. Kristen and I both fell in love with it the first time we saw it.

The reason we've been in Maysville so much over the last month is because of a little church on KY Route 11. Lewisburg Baptist Church has met in the same spot, in the same building since 1843. The church has a rich and faithful history and is probably one of the most loving and welcoming families either of us has ever met. Our first visit was just that, a visit to spend time in a service and chat with the search committee chair about their opening for a pastor.

But last week, we drove back with a much more focused purpose: I preached in view of a call. We spent a packed day and a half with the search committee, the deacons and a number of the members of the church. Over coffee, sitting at Frisch's and across a committee table, Kristen and I saw over and over the faithfulness of God. We saw it in the members of Lewisburg as they sought not to find the man that they wanted, but the man that God wanted to lead their church. We saw it in their joking and laughter and in their serious concern for the Gospel's forwarding in Mason County. And we saw it in ourselves, as the Lord confirmed over and over again that our waiting for a church had not been a fool's errand, but instead it had been preparation for something incredible.

That was Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th. But we had to wait until this week for the official vote from the congregation on whether to call us. Last night at 8pm, the call that we have been hoping and trusting the Lord for since November of 2009 came. Lewisburg Baptist Church formally called me to be their pastor. We are thrilled at the prospect of what the Lord will do through us as we move into this new stage in our lives. There will certainly be a lot more updates over the next days and weeks, but for now, we ask you to pray. Please pray for all the details (including Kristen finding a good, part-time job) and for all that will go into this transition. And pray for both of us as we step into this awesome responsibility, that we will be faithful to allow his strength to be manifest through us that we and all the people of Lewisburg Baptist Church, might grow in godliness and be agents for the Gospel in Maysville and all of Mason County.

Life and likesuchas...

I haven't posted in a while because I'm going through one of those periods where I feel like there's nothing to post. Inspirational thought has left me for the time being, and there's no real news to report. Right now, it feels like we're somewhere in here:

We're just waiting, waiting, waiting. Something might be coming soon, but for now, we're still just standing in line.

Shut Down all the Garbage Mashers!

You know that scene in Star Wars: A New Hope when Luke and Han Solo have just rescued Princess Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader? In their haste to escape, they find themselves in a giant trash compactor, filled with all manner of filth and some sort of one-eyed, tentacled thing that wants to eat them. Just as Han defeats it with a shot from his blaster, the walls begin to close in.

"SHUT DOWN ALL THE GARBAGE MASHERS ON THE DETENTION LEVEL!" Luke screams to C-3PO and R2-D2. Just as their fate seems sealed, R2 comes through in the clutch and our heroes live to fight the Empire another day.

Someone asked me recently how my life has been going, and I responded that I feel just like Luke Skywalker must have in that moment. The walls seem to be closing in on all fronts, and right now it seems like there is nowhere to go. We were talking the other day about our little boy, now four plus months old; he'll be crawling soon and walking before we know it (he seems to want to now!) and there's no room for it. We can't baby-proof anything...there's nowhere in our apartment for it. We only sleep in bed together one night a week, and when we do have a day together, one of us is exhausted from working the night before.

We could move to a larger apartment, but that would cost more money that we don't have, and would mean that we would have to commit to a year-long lease. One of us could look for a new job, but that would mean new insurance and some of the jobs I have looked at require commitment to hang around, at least for a little while. We've maintained an uncomfortable flexibility for a while now in the hope we would soon be moving, but nothing has yet materialized. Now we're faced with a decision...should we make some commitments (maybe a new job and a new lease) to stay here? Or should we hold tight, hoping that an opportunity with a church comes through soon?

I don't know, but I know that the Lord is faithful, and that at some point, the walls will stop closing in. I just wish I knew when that will be...