September 2005

I an currently reading “Total Truth” by Nancy Percy, and find it refreshing. In reading Chapter 2 I am challenged to look for how I compartimentalize my faith in to a dualistic framework rather than letting God Truth be total truth. She is trying to show how Christianity functions as a unified, overarching system of truth that applies to social issues, history,politics, anthropology,and all the other subject areas. The Cultural Mandate in Genesis is important to our understanding how we should be engaging our culture in all areas of life and vocation. In other words we need to learn that

Here is good short history of Southern Baptists that I think will be informative to understand. From the Protestant Reformationto the Southern Baptist Convention:What Hath Geneva To Do with Nashville?Thomas K. Ascol see also www.disciplemaking.net

Introduction: The goal of the gospel is not just to get people to heaven but to get them to God. Peole may want to get to heaven but the issue is do they want the God of Heaven and earth? To confuse people Religions must illiminate the testimony of Jesus Christ. How to illiminate the impact of testimony? Attept to Elliminate the Witness – Chapter 7 Attempt to Discredit the Witness – John 8:1-11 Attempt to Throwout Testimony on Technicality – John 8:12-20 Fallen Condition Focus: God has given all men the intellitgence and the moral perception and sensibility to

Chapter 3: Personal Ministry Success vs. God’s SovereigntyAn uneasy Paradox Dr. Samuel Rima opens up this chapter with a recount of his experience of leaving one church in California and going to another church in Midwestern USA. He relates his vision for this new church and his desire to succeed in that vision. He says “I didn’t move my family across the country and leave the denomination which I had been ordained just to survive and maintain the status quo at this new ministry” (46). He left this church after six years in spite of his personal determination. He actually

Click here to buy book Chapter 1: Megachurch ManiaOur obsession with Ministry Success Rethinking the Successful Church by Dr. Samuel Rima is a much need antidote to minister’s obsession with numerical growth. Ministers justify their obsessions as a genuine desire to reach the world for Christ, but what really fuels much of this obsession is actually a desperate desire and need to succeed in one’s chosen field of endeavor. Pastors all have our dark issues that drive them to achieve it is they have determined success to be for them. Success to most local church pastors requires substantial numerical growth

Excellent article why one should believe in an inerrant Bible from a sovereign God: The Importance of Nature of Divine Sovereignty for Our View of Scripture by Dr. Stephen J. Wellum Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Published in the Summer 2000 SBTS Journal of Theology Stephen J. Wellum is Assistant Professor of Christian Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Wellum received his Ph.D. degree in theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and has also taught theology at the Associated Canadian Theological Schools and Northwest Baptist Theological College and Seminary in Canada. He has contributed to several publications and a

John 8:1-11 Intoduction If you believe in plenary verbal inspiration you must deal the textual criticism of this passage.Is this or is this not part of Scripture? Arguments Against: Present mostly in Medevil manuscript and not in early manuscripts? It is placed in different positions in these manuscripts: after John 7:35, or after 7:44, or aftger 7:52, or after 21:25, or after Luke 21:38 The language is more characteristic of Luke. The fact that he went to Mount of Olives is similar to the passion week recored in the Luke. The Phrase Scripe and Pharisees is foreign to the book

In struggling with the inportance of the doctrine of inerancy as claim to by Scriptures, I don’t think that any ministry can make this doctrine optional. A person with some definite knowledge Scripture’s own claim to inerrancy, cannot explicitly reject this doctrine and still be a Christian because then their faith is not in God but in a their own authority. In other words, it is impossible to profess Christ as Lord and liar at the same time, so that an explicit affirmation of Christ as Lord is also an implicit affirmation of biblical inerrancy, and an explicit denial of

It doens’t work for leaders just to say they can sign every page of the bible, the church must be confessional in its stance requiring its leadership to affirm its confession. Here is an helpful blog on this subject The Use of Confessions see also www.disciplemaking.net

Here is a good post showing why the Biblical doctrine of total depravity is important for spiritual health in one’s life. Why Total Depravity is Important see also www.disciplemaking.net