Moving..

After 7 months of dormancy, I'm moving over to WordPress. Check out the new Pastoral Ponderings blog.

VBS Revisited

Southern Baptist churches have been doing Vacation Bible School for ages it seems, even before the casserole dish was invented. But how are we doing it? And why? These questions are not always answered in the curriculum packages. Steve Burchett has written maybe the finest article I have seen helping us to do VBS in a more God-glorifying way. Whether you've been a pastor, director, teacher, snacks, music, crafts, or recreation helper (or anyone else I've left out!), this article is well-worth your time:

Vacation Bible School Do's and Don'ts

A Devotional Gem?

As a pastor, you get lots of stuff from people. Articles, letters, books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc. All of it well meaning, but running the gamut between very helpful and not very helpful. Last night in fact, there was a paperback addressed to "pastor" tied to the church door in a plastic bag that is called, "Ten Commandments Twice Removed." I haven't had a chance to crack it open yet- I don't know who gave it to me!

But what I got yesterday morning is something I'm treasuring and recommending from the very outset. It is called, The One-Year Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten. Each day of the year has a short 2 page devotional dealing with an important figure/event that corresponds to that calendar date.

My first reading was today. On May 7, 2000, James Montgomery Boice preached his last sermon at Tenth Presbyeterian Church in Philadelphia. Boice has been an incredible help and encouragement to me with his commentaries on Scripture- particularly, on Acts and Romans. He announced that day that he was rapidly dying of cancer, and framed all of that in regards to God's glory, not whether he would receive a miracle or not.

As I've skimmed around, I've found other notable pastors/leaders are mentioned: Spurgeon, Whitefield, Wesley, David Brainerd, Martin Luther, John Calvin, among many others. I also found an inspiring story of a woman leaving Mormonism during Brigham Young's day.

We as pastors have an obligation to teach our people about church history- I think I have found a tool to encourage that in bite-sized but deeply useful ways. Share this book with your people, and talk about it in your homes!

The Deafness of Man

This story speak for itself.

Pearls before Breakfast

The Bible and Alcohol

A great article explaining in full the Bible's teachings on alcohol and appplication for the church today.

Alcohol and the Bible

Dr. Ken Hemphill on the SBC

More follow-up from the former President of Southwestern Seminary on the baptism statistics- a bit different perspective.

Read it here.

I appreciate his call to Baptists of repentance- he's on target with that. I think we need to see broader application than just the areas Hemphill brings up. I just wish he would touch on the big sacred cows of things such as habitual non-attendance and ways in which the congregation acts as enablers to sins such as those instead of leading toward holiness.

Did we baptize enough folks last year?

Some are aware of former SBC President Bobby Welch's promotion to have the convention baptize 1,000,000 people in one year. The report just came out- it didn't happen- in fact, baptisms went down.

I am concerned that we are missing the point when we reduce baptism down to a statistical goal, and forgetting the means by which it takes place (the call of God, the inward work of the Spirit, the regenerated heart, faith in Christ).

Maybe this is why the doctrine of God's call to salvation has been rejected by so many professing Christians- it gets in the way of our statistical aims!

For some encouraging analysis on this (yes, encouraging), check this out here.