Thursday, December 31, 2009

A Terrific Bible Reading Plan

There are many reading plans for the Bible in a year. I find this one to be one of the best because it touches not only the Old and New Testaments each day but also neatly divides the Psalms and Proverbs into the daily mix.
It is a great way to spend time with God.

in reference to: One Year Bible OnLine (view on Google Sidewiki)

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Discover Rediscovering God in America


Newt and his wife take the reader on a wonderful stroll through our nation's capitol in search of God. Trust me, they find more than you have been taught about the importance of God to our forefathers. God was no passing fancy or the politically correct lip service to sway voters like today's political leaders believe. God was the sovereign rights giver who, in their belief system, was worthy of worship and honor now reflected in the artifacts left behind in our capitol. Newt proves without a shadow of a doubt from the writings, souvenirs, dedication plaques, engravings and even the monuments themselves that our country was not only founded for God's glory but that our leaders actually believed in this fact and lived this fact. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The pictures were beautiful and the book's layout is as nice as the Capitol mall itself. Can't wait for my dad to open his copy for Christmas.

I blog for Thomas Nelson and this book was a free copy. They don't tell me what to say and they certainly doesn't correct my grammer and spelling!

Monday, December 7, 2009

NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible is quality worth reading for the coffee table



NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible is a Bible story book with so much more. 250 favorite Bible stories using the actual Bible text from the New King James version makes this book quite unique. These are not paraphrases or loosely translated retellings of the stories but the Bible divided into stories. With a fabulous old school cover this will look great in the family room or on the coffee table. While I would have liked to see an additional scripture index in the back I like the content, selection of stories and the arrangement. This will work very well for family devotions or anyone on your gift list that you would like to introduce to the bible without overwhelming them. I was a bit curious when I ordered the book if I was going to find value in another bible offering because aren't there enough Bibles of various kinds on the market already? Well, I was pleased with my copy and hope to use it in the mix of our family's story time selections.

I received this book free with the Nelson blogger program. Nelson in no way sways opinions from their bloggers.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The White Horse King



The White Horse King
The Life of Alfred the Great
By Benjamin Merkle

Thank you Benjamin Merkle for opening up the life of a man whom all should get to know, King Alfred the Great. I hardly knew or remembered anything about these early years of England. All I knew was a few convoluted stories about Vikings, Saxons, and Anglos and various invasions. You really did your homework and gave this generation a great read and a great story. I highly recommend King Alfred the Great to you. He was a strong man, king and most importantly Christian. His innovations in warfare, city defenses, national defense, government, education and leadership were second to none and helped shape not only the future of the great British empire but also the world including America. I never knew that King Alfred was the only English ruler ever to be dubbed 'Great'. Find out why in this book. I could not put it down and finished it in just a few days. Students and adults will enjoy the fabulous stories from the late 800s AD. Parents, this would be a terrific story book to read during family reading after the dishes are pushed aside. Filled with incredible detail with very little speculation on the part of Merkle makes this a book worthy to be read at the college level as supplemental material for any British history, world history or even British literature class. Find out why King Alfred should be considered the father of British lit, the British Navy, modern law, education and bible study. Thank you King Alfred and again, thank you Benjamin Merkle. This goes on my read again and read to others shelf.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Animal bracelets or bust!

How does something like this even happen? Kids all around the south at least are wearing these things out! They are rubber bands people! When you are wearing them you can't even tell what they are and when you take them off they don't do anything but sit there. They serve no purpose whatsoever. Why couldn't I have thought of it first? Drat!

in reference to: Animal Bracelets (view on Google Sidewiki)

Monday, November 16, 2009

The amazing Word of God

Hebrews 4:12-16. The Word puts us in a choke hold, flays us open like a coroner and holds a dagger under our chin as we march to the executioner like a convicted Roman criminal.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Nice Bible giveaway for a great cause

Spread the word and use the Word!

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

in reference to: Giveaway - Bible.Logos.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Thanksgiving: Uniquely Christian, made in America

This is on our essential list for the holidays. Turkey, pumpkin, cranberries, gravy, Thanksgiving book. We have read this book for years during the month of November to remember, to reflect, to grow...to be thankful. There is also a very nice place in the back with diary pages to record family thoughts of thankfulness that have become cherished memories as well. Don't go another holiday without adding this book.

in reference to: Thanksgiving, Barbara Rainey, Item - Barnes & Noble (view on Google Sidewiki)

Monday, November 2, 2009

When the lights go down in the city


Following five major world changing super powers by spending time walking the streets of their main cities is a nice way to tour history. I gained many insights into the significant impact each empire had on their own times and subsequent generations. Wilson is a good writer, fine historian and excellent story teller. This is not an in depth history of each culture for 200 pages could never tell an adequate story of one of these cities let alone five. But within these pages the reader enjoys a world tour, a trip through time like a carriage ride in Central Park on a crisp fall evening daring a look at views of history like so many interesting quips from the driver. I came away from the book with not so many, "Oh I never heard that before!" but more reminders of how people, cultures and their main cities shape the world we inhabit and prod us to understand their influence on us.

A few notes of interest about Wilson's views on life will, I hope, encourage you to give this book a try. His view of the first city, Jerusalem was indeed very interesting. During King Solomon's reign he believes that the world was their play ground even over to the American continent in search of riches and trading partners. As I read the book I was once again reminded that ancient man was not as primitive as we always assume because they lacked some novel electronic or motorized gadget. Where they lacked in harnessing electricity they made up for in resourcefulness and industry. He continued to lure me in to his story by adding zingers such as ‘the Helen’ being a unit of feminine beauty and “in the long run, stupidity doesn’t work.”

His final words on liberty make for modern application and will allow this book this same liberty to reach modern minds who may indulge in seeing an aspect of history that may challenge many preconceptions. Jerusalem, the model of spiritual liberty reminds us that the city itself is not necessary for liberty. Athens' intellectual liberty encourages us to continue reaching for reason and logical answers in a day of self truth making. Rome with a reminder of the limitations of liberty is a neon sign of repetitious history does so because we forget that it does. London liberty of words lives on to this day as does its many words even in this book and this blog on this book. Finally New York, the liberty of commerce and trade it is indeed. The freedom to earn money, make a living, and do what we please with the money captures our interest and cautions our liberty in excesses and what we are going to allow to bridle our freedom. Stupidity does indeed wear out its welcome in due time.

"The truth will set you free," Jesus said, and if that is indeed the case, then allow this book the liberty to liberate your view of history. Will this book influence anyone in two generations? Probably not. Will these five cities influence anyone in two generations? Oh most certainly. A taste of liberty has a way of moving us off the porch and into the streets of freedom.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Bible Pure & Simple: The Priority of God’s Word in the Classroom

The focus of any Sunday school class should be the teaching of God’s Word from God’s Word. Kids and teachers bring their bibles to class but sadly they are rarely opened and studied these days. Are you ready for a refreshing perspective and renewed commitment to the only way to know Jesus – know His word?

We are in a silent battle for the priority of the Word of God in all of life as well as the classroom. You may never have thought about this battle but I’m certain you have been the recipient of the wounds and scars from this battle. It may have been your own church, a class in a Christian college, a Sunday school classroom or a sermon, maybe a podcast that left you high and dry because God’s Word was marginalized, minimalized or completely left out of the message. I remember attending a church in Tennessee years ago with my folks and when it was time for the sermon a passage of scripture was read and then a twenty minute rambling message seemingly out of left field with nary a reference to the bible or the passage in ‘focus’ for that morning. Sad? Certainly! Uncommon? Certainly not!

As Christian educators, pastors, teachers and leaders we have dedicated our whole lives to moving the Word of God from the pages of the bible into the hearts of our students. As we all can quote from memory, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Romans 1:16. Our gospel is found in the pages of the bible and so the bible is a top priority in the church. To accomplish this goal every church uses some form of curriculum either purchased, borrowed or self written. The basic idea is that we start with God’s word and through the process of a curriculum attempt to filter, transfer and translate God’s word into student friendly, accessible, effective and enjoyable learning. There are many well established benefits to using curriculum such as increased learning, student retention, teacher ease, consistency, guided application and age appropriate bible coverage to name a few. But, as you can imagine, any man made attempt at presenting God’s word can be fraught with dangers and pitfalls such as: God’s word actually being left out of the lesson or in the very least, marginalized or poorly interpreted leading to incorrect application and thus faulty actions just to name a few.

There is an approach to teaching that can keep our actions and teaching on track. We must begin our journey to Bible centered classrooms by following a correct, biblical view of the bible itself.

Here is where we must pause and ask ourselves some key philosophical questions about our beliefs about the bible. What is your view of the bible as it pertains to education and growth in the Christian life? In other words, what causes spiritual growth and how is this accomplished in our teaching? We have all taught many times but how often have we paused to consider how students will actually learn and apply the lesson? How you answer this question will determine not only your curriculum choices but more importantly your educational or teaching model and techniques.

I believe the proper way to answer this question is to ask God Himself and His answer is found, you guessed it, in His Word. (See, I’ve already revealed to you two key beliefs I have about God’s word: it is the exact words of God and it can be understood because it is clear or has perspicuity.) This means that God’s word is sufficient for our every spiritual need and it is authoritative, it has the answers we need.

For the remainder of our time together I want to focus on exactly what God’s word does for a person and how that should influence the classroom. God actually uses His word, the word of God found in the bible, as a means to accomplish His work in our lives. The Holy Spirit takes the word, the word preached, taught, read and memorized to change us. Look at a few biblical examples: I Peter 1:23 "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” We are saved by the word of God. Paul makes this crystal clear in Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Where is this gospel found, again, it is found in the pages of the Bible. Romans 10:17 “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Where is the gospel? Yes, it’s found in the word of God, the bible. Where does our faith to believe come from? Again, the word of God.

The testimony of the bible about itself convinces us of the primacy of the word in the believer’s life. Now, this conviction needs to trickle down into every classroom and every teaching session in our ministries. Too often the curriculum that we use actually limits the use of or ignores the bible outright. Think through your last teaching time or when you observed one of your teacher’s sessions. What was the actual amount of time the teacher used the bible and the time students actually used their bibles? Not just referred to it or referenced it but actually dug in and used the bible? Also think about the bible story time. Surely this would be the place in every classroom where God’s word is opened up and read, studied and used. Even in the best of written curriculums I have found this time ends up being the teacher reading a paraphrase from the teacher’s guide with no need in opening up an actual bible and reading the word. A few verses may be quoted and then ninety percent of the time is spent talking about other things such as object lessons or illustrations. As memorable as this lesson may be I must ask how effective it was? God has promised to use His Word not crafts, games or illustrations based on His Word. I would dare make the bold statement that the average children’s Sunday school class uses the actual bible for maybe five short minutes or even less out of sixty minutes.

I hope you will find this as shocking and disturbing as I do. We have spent way too may years in training and preparing to be leaders in God’s church to allow this lack of priority of God’s Word in the classroom to continue. Shock is a first good step to recovering the priority of God’s word in the Sunday school and any other teaching we offer in our churches. The bible calls this repentance and it is a good, healthy response to His Word. Next, we need to cultivate a strong faith in the effectiveness of God’s Word. Henrietta Mears, founder of Gospel Light in 1933 and Education Director for Hollywood Presbyterian church from the 1920s till her death in 1963, was fond of reminding her teachers about the truth found in Isaiah 55:10-11. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” She knew the secret to Christian growth was dependent upon God using His own Word to accomplish His own purposes upon the earth. Finally, we need to overhaul every classroom and every lesson, yes, every section of every lesson making sure that the lesson features drive the bible home. No, maybe a better way to say this is that the Bible must drive every feature of the lesson. Make sure every part of every lesson is opening up God’s word in fresh, creative ways so that God the Holy Spirit can bring that message to bear, not returning void.
Do you need to consider a complete curriculum change or overhaul? I have no idea but regardless of what curriculum you use make sure your teachers and students are opening God’s word with more vigor. purpose and frequency. Make sure that you and your leaders are convinced without a shadow of a doubt concerning the sufficiency and usefulness of the Word of God. Reader, there is no other way or means that He has ordained in which we grow towards maturity in our Christian lives. We have such a limited time with our students so let’s make sure we are opening His word so He can change us, save us, give us faith and guide us and our students.

Mark Smith is a Church Field Manager with Gospel Light for the past 12 years. He spent over five years in full time church ministry as a Children’s and Youth Pastor out of Dallas Theological Seminary. He currently lives in Brentwood, TN with Jennifer, his wife of 22 years, and five children ages 17 to 8. Currently he serves his local church as resident comedian and is a volunteer director of TNT Boys for the AWANA ministry.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Good news story in bad world days

This is a very heart warming story of a person who decided to pay attention to someone other than himself. Enjoy.

in reference to: Loving Your Neighbor Xtreme (view on Google Sidewiki)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Tallest of Tales


The mark of any great children's book surely must be the "read it again daddy!" factor. I believe this book has that potential. Now I will be the first to admit that upon the very first read I was left a bit underwhelmed, confused even. I found the font to be confusing and overly complicated, I thought. The artwork is cool but maybe a bit overdone and busy, especially for a smallest of smalls. However, upon further readings I enjoyed the book and was delighted with the ending and the overall story. Lucado creates a wonderful tale bringing in the full range of human behavior: grass is greener on the other side, envy, pride, bitterness, class struggles, depths of despair, heights of success and probably many more nuances that I missed. Where you may miss them in the text you will certainly catch them in the detail and unique perspectives in the artwork. For example, my favorite page of art is the foot page. All you see is a view from the top looking down at Ollie's and Jesus' feet. Its very emotive and really captures the whole message of the book in a single image. Here is where Ollie, who has been looking up his whole life wishing he could look down on others, now looks down in this defining moment of repentance and true humbling. Don't climb up to look down but look down from being knocked down and you will see a Savior who was humiliated in every way beyond our imagination.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Krattenmaker gets it right! Jesus is exclusive!

Tom Krattenmaker clearly understands the implications of John 14:6. Jesus said, "I am THE way, THE truth and THE life. NOONE comes to the Father except through me".

Way to go Christian sports world for taking a stand for the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. It is biblical, it is right and it is exactly what Jesus said. Krattenmaker's article is persecution or at least the beginnings of it. He has seen a true Christianity exposed: Jesus is right and every other religion is fake and every other religious leader is wrong: Fill in the blank on the religion, unless you trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation you are doomed to eternal punishment otherwise known as hell. There is hope, you can be saved by trusting in Jesus alone, exclusively.

in reference to: Column: And I'd like to thank God Almighty - Opinion - USATODAY.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

VBS with the gospel everyday

Jesus and the gospel presented everyday not just on the last day like most if not all other vbs programs.

in reference to: Facebook | Gospel Light VBS (view on Google Sidewiki)

Still one of the best Study Bibles ever published

I have used many different study bibles and have examined still more. The Thompson is still the most practical study bible of them all. If you are in a small group study you will be the first one with cross reference answers over and over again. In reality, this is a true study bible and not a commentary (someone else's study) jammed in to a bible. You will be equipped to study the bible on your own without overbearing biases found in other study bibles. This bible has the horsepower of topic chains, indexes, and a very complete concordance. You will not find a more practical or easy to use bible anywhere on the market today! Own the version that Henrietta Mears owned and used.

in reference to: Kirkbride Bible- Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bibles (view on Google Sidewiki)

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Pint sized pilgrimage into the Guinness family


"So like, what does Guinness do?" she asked. With that innocent question Mansfield ferments a tall pour of a tale about the Guinness family, brand, social responsibility, religion and oh, the beverage.
Effervescence of refreshment, a mug of living history this book is. Did you know that the same yeast strain that fermented the first glass of Guinness has been carefully cultivated and preserved for the glass of modern Guinness? With that same care the Guinness family cultivated a relationship with God, their employees, their country and the world around them. The God behind the brand of Guinness is a refreshing tale of 5 generations of brewers that cared as much about people as they did about beer. Could anyone image from the glass of Guinness, as the last frothy foam is enjoyed from the tilted tankard is a view through a kaleidoscopic porthole into a world of social reformers, Sunday school champions and lover's of righteousness.
What's up with mixing God up with beer? Isn't beer a sin? I mean everyone knows that proponents, purveyors and pursuants of pervasive pleasures (alcohol, liquor, beer and wine makers and sellers) are evil and are only out to make a buck off of the lowly addictions of winos and drunks. Pimps, drug dealers and bartenders are all cut from the same bolt, right? Wrong! The bible is clear in no uncertain terms: Don't get drunk on wine. Another passage states: wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler. So if getting drunk is a sin, therefore it stands to reason that anything that can make you drunk should and must be avoided. The Guinness family begged to differ. Getting drunk is clearly wrong but enjoying a glass or two of alcohol is not. Obesity is a sin too, but little is mentioned in our modern society about banning the consumption of food which is scientifically proven to cause weight gain. Food makes 60% of Americans obese so just ban food! Add the next amendment, burn the crops, kill the cows, chickens and pigs. Tear down the supermarkets! The Guinness family taught us moderation.
Mansfield does a very nice job of filtering out the Guinness clan from the sediments of the historical records. I could not put the book down once I started it. You too will enjoy their story.

Book blogger for Thomas Nelson

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Simply the best Barnes & Noble reviewer

Anyone can read a book and write about it. The key is you have to read the right books and then give the right review!

The right books combined with the right review.

in reference to: Steelsmitty's User Profile - Barnes & Noble (view on Google Sidewiki)

Steel Lore is the best blog ever.

Thoughtful, funny, a loose canon of pure wit.

in reference to: Steel lore (view on Google Sidewiki)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Tom Sawyer is the master marketeer

Tom was being punished and a giant fence needing whitewashed was his task. Could he get any help at all with hiring his fellows? No, the price for this miserable work was too high and he was broke. Solution? Yes! Enjoy this chapter to find the keys to marketing.

in reference to: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (view on Google Sidewiki)

Monday, September 28, 2009

A book well worn and used before you even finish it. Rarely does a book spawn immediate desire for action and produce instant results. This one does.


Rosemond is sarcastic and I love it. Being helped and encouraged in parenting never hurt so good. My copy of this book is already well worn and I've only had it for a few hours. My wife and I loved his syndicated column until the local paper snuffed it out because it didn't fit their liberal, psychobabble agenda. I am so thankful I obtained this book. Still raising five children often puts me at wit's end and Rosemond has been such a breath of fresh air. I love his format with such an easy going writing style that makes you laugh and think at the same time. Parenting books are a dime a dozen and I have read at least ten to twenty in my day. This one goes down in the top three. You'll be hard pressed to read a better written one any time soon. Parenting and politics are two subject that are sure to start an argument at any cocktail party and this one won't disappoint. He is wonderfully irreverent to the established experts on parenting. You won't disagree with too much but if you do I hope its because you recognize that some of his practical tips are not very biblical such as the whole "The doctor is in routine." Essentially its lying to your child that you talked to a doctor who has prescribed such and such treatment for a certain bad behavior. I have no doubt that the trick would work but lets not lie to our children to accomplish a good end result. This tip can easily be tweaked, however, by just stating what you believe to be facts on a certain behavior issue. "Son I believe you are not eating your meal tonight because you might are not getting enough sleep so we will cure that right now by putting you to bed early." In other words, Rosemond suggests that a child suffer agony over his misbehavior which will give him some excellent self motivated reasons for living rightly. If the discerning reader will over look some of the minors and focus on his majors you are in for a feast of usable tips that cut to the chase and expose the heart of a child. I wish he would have used more scripture to back up most of his points which are certainly common sense from good theology. I found the chapter on strategy much more helpful than the practical tips section. His 'leadership parenting' concept was very beneficial and hardly anyone has really addressed this in parenting circles like he does. I highly recommend this book to any parent or grandparent and will hope for a subsequent study guide containing more bible verses to help flesh out his unique parenting viewpoint. Five Stars and I will be using his tips and in fact already put two of his tips to work within hours of reading the book. I think my 17 year old has actually cleaned his room because I offered a 'deal he can't refuse'. Thanks for the tip. The godfather of parenting has written a deal you shouldn't refuse either.

in reference to:

- The Well-Behaved Child Customer Reviews - Barnes & Noble (view on Google Sidewiki)

Become a famous marketing blogger

Here is a publisher that is doing a great job with viral marketing. Don't just give away free copies to folks that will never read the books. I hope other publishers will learn from Thomas Nelson and get books into bloggers hands to get the word out.

in reference to: Book Review Bloggers at Thomas Nelson (view on Google Sidewiki)

Danger: Don't ever stray from the total sufficiency of Scripture

While I don't agree with all this critic's assessments, the fundamental issue with Wilkinson is sloppy hermeneutics and a shift away from the clarity and sufficiency of Scripture. Dobson and other pop culture Christian gurus fall into the same trap.

in reference to: Who is the Dream Giver? (view on Google Sidewiki)

video gospel for kids?

This very interesting Gospel message does a pretty good job actually of explaining our true state before God as sinners. (Could do a better job explaining what being dead in sin is all about.) Also nice was the role Christ plays as the great exchange on the cross: my sins in exchange for His righteousness. Two possible pitfalls of the presentation need to be addressed however: 1. Repentance is described in the sinner's prayer portion which I liked: "I don't want to sin any more.", but repentance and belief need to be fleshed out a bit more and how they are related. Most modern gospel messages don't show the relationship between the two and certainly don't express that these two are also part of God's gracious gift to us. Salvation is a gift but so in the ability to obtain the gift which clearly also comes from God. (Its your kindness that leads us to repentance, Rom. 2:4. Even belief or faith is also given to us by God and not self generated or inherent in us: Heb. 12:1-2. Jesus is the captain, author and perfecter of our faith.)
2. Having a sinner's prayer for kids can lead to false professions of faith that look great on the 'how many conversions this month' report. I certainly think we should lead children in prayer for salvation and do it often. Yes, we are saved at a specific point in time and space when the Holy Spirit applies salvation upon us but with kids,we can manipulate them into a prayer when they are not saved. They respond to "Just as I am", the song and leave "just as they were" the unrepentant, unsaved kid who prayed a prayer but now have a false, 'easy believism' religion that everyone will use to help prop him us during his life. "Of course your saved son, don't you remember when you prayed that prayer in church back when you were 6." I have seen this over and over again and it is shocking, hurtful, unbiblical and not where we want to end. I always pray with kids and my own kids that God would continue to show them these gospel truths and that he would open their heart to respond to the gospel just like Lydia was enabled by God during Paul's message in Acts 16:14.
With some tweaks this can really be a nice tool in the ministry arsenal. Even though I personally am not a huge fan of fake characters teaching real truth which I think sends a mixed message but I can't say that it is sinful for others to do it either. So, keep up the good work of working with kids and sharing the gospel with them.

in reference to: LifeChurch.tv - LifeChurch.tv (view on Google Sidewiki)

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Customized Memory Verses on your computer

For all of us who should have been memorizing the bible all along we now have a great new tool. Verse Minder flat out works! Why? because it jumps out at me while I'm on my computer which these days is 24-7. I personally use the AWANA version because I am an AWANA leader and wanted to memorize along with the kids I work with.
Top new resource.

in reference to: Welcome (view on Google Sidewiki)

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Henrietta Mears: The greatest Christian educator you've never known

Henrietta Mears changed the course of publishing, college ministry, evangelism and Sunday School in more positive ways than anyone else in the last 100 years.
She encouraged Bill Bright, one of her college boys in her college ministry at Hollywood Presbyterian in the 30s through 60s, to start Campus Crusade for Christ.
She encouraged Billy Graham to stay the course in the ministry when we was young and discouraged.
She started Gospel Light Press, now Gospel Light, in 1933 with a vision "To know Christ and to make Him known" through innovative bible based, Christ centered, child centered and age graded Sunday School curriculum and VBS.

Her life will inspire you. Her writings were solidly reformed and biblical. Her love for Christ was unequaled in her day.

Enjoy.

in reference to: Henrietta Mears (HenriettaMears) on Twitter (view on Google Sidewiki)

Humility is a great book in my humble opinion!

A fabulous book that is easy to read, great for small group study and so challenging as to be likened to a small pocket knife of biblical stabbing truth. It will challenge you from cover to cover and make you question your beliefs about who you are and what your purpose is. I judge a book by the shelf life. No pun intended but what I mean is, how many times will I put a book back off the shelf to give me life. This book will be referenced by me for future messages and future thinking on the topic of being a true servant. I think you should read it in my humble opinion.

in reference to: Visual Bookshelf on Facebook | Humility: True Greatness - C. J. Mahaney - Books (view on Google Sidewiki)

Monday, September 21, 2009

We are in a worship war! Called to Worship


Called To Worship
by Vernon M. Whaley
Thomas Nelson 2009

With the basic premise of defining worship using clear biblical evidence Whaley offers a lengthy tome loaded with plenty of historical facts. A better title for the book after taking about three analyzing weeks pouring over the chapters could be: The War For Worship, tracing the history of worship in the bible. Or I might suggest: Worship Wars.

This is a very nice view of the history of the bible, worship style.
I really liked the historical overview of the bible with the emphasis on worship.
Other than a couple of research errors, more like misspoken statements such as pg. 56 where he says, "Now rewind, thousands of decades..." Even if you took the plural here in the most limited sense as two that would add up to 20,000 years. I believe he meant to write, "thousands of years" which would be more in line with the roughly 3,500 years between Martin Luther King Jr's speech and the Egyptian monarchy of Moses day.

What is worship and does the bible offer guidance for the modern worshipper and more importantly the modern worship leader? Yes, and Whaley gives the church a much needed history of worship. Much of today's worship and the ever interesting modern 'worship service' will be better served because of this book. I think the worship wars concept speaks dead on and from a perspective that I've never heard before. Over the course of the ages worship of God really has been under attack from enemies like Satan and enemies within like our wicked hearts. Everyone and everything ends up being worshipped over the course of time instead of the one true and living God. Not only does Whaley draw out an interesting perspective on worship from history but add wonderful principles of worship from those same stories.

Whaley shows the reader that God has worship standards, a worship plan, and has put an innate desire within each of us for worship. We are worshipping creatures and if we are not worshipping the one true God then we fill that void with cheap substitutes and the war for worship is continued.

Some areas of concern: I think the author must mention the use and abuse of alcohol at least in five different places which reveals one of the pet sins of the whole conservative Baptist, Liberty crowd. Yet the sin of overeating is never mentioned which seems in my mind just as big (pun intended) of a problem for mankind than someone who enjoys a glass of red wine with a nice steak and ends up having too much and driving home drunk. In both cases of eating a whole box of Twinkies or consuming a whole six pack of beer the issue is worship and over indulgence of something other than God which is the sin. Also to watch out for early on is a small creeping in of Arminianism. Like most of modern evangelicalism we are plagued with this insidious 'me centered' theology that it just slides in to our common dialog. On page xvii of the introduction we read, "Above all, you will read about God's love for you," Really? God's love for us is above all? I do not think that it is above His glory and His desire to be worshipped by every aspect of His universe. Then on page 215 he does get it right: "Yes, but it all begins with the worship-the right worship-of Yahweh, and that starts with recognizing the glory of God-and giving Him glory." So all is not lost with his theology.

I think the biggest impact this book made of me was filling in some missing elements of my theology of worship. For instance, I never thought about the reading, studying and proclaiming of scripture as worship and yet, there it is, all through the pages of scripture. I will never interact with God's word without worship going through my mind and that is a big plus.

Over all, this is an extremely readable treatment of worship and worthy of being read. I enjoyed the unique perspective of drawing out worship principles from the historic battle for worship found all through the bible. Good job Mr. Whaley. I have already starting changing my thinking about worship because of your book and for that I say thank you.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

VBS: friend or foe!

VBS, Vacation Bible School. What thoughts do these words conjure up in our minds? I guess even a better question we need to ask of VBS is why? Why do we take the time, money and manpower to pull off the biggest children's programming of the year? Evangelism. A good plan coupled with a solid evangelism everyday curriculum is designed to introduce children, teens and adults to the word of God so they can have a relationship with Jesus. The gospel has to be packed into every lesson, every day. I know as well as you that many children may only show up at our churches for this one event and for maybe just a day or two at that. For those naysayer kids who proclaim, "I already know all that Jesus stuff and salvation stuff!" are the kids who don't have a 'heart clue' but only head knowledge. The gospel never gets old for true believers and is fresh and exciting to lost sinners who are being moved by God to repent and believe. (See Acts 16:14 for real proof of this.)

VBS is one of those 'everyone wins' programs. If I only had 10 kids in the church and 5 of them were my own, I would still put on a vbs, invite the community's kids and have a great time. Along with summer camps, VBS is one of those ongoing programs that brings back the fondest memories in us adults. Personally, I don't remember one Sunday school lesson from my youth but I remember camp and vbs and know that Christ was first introduced to me there in the mid 70s.
From my own ministry experience, VBS from Gospel Light has been very good to me and faithfully accomplished the 3 key things I look for in any curriculum: (in this order) 1. The gospel of Christ is clearly proclaimed. 2. The kids through all the elements are driven back to the scriptures as the only way to find Christ and that gospel. 3. Fun theme in all the elements that keep the kids coming back day after day so the first two can be accomplished.
Gospel Light always seems to accomplish that for me.

Ditching a tried and true program for other programming and re-allocating budgets may certainly be what you need to do or are being forced to do but, wow!, giving up a week to spend and be spent on creating incredible gospel memories in kid's lives is totally priceless. Implanted memories that last require two key elements that only camps, retreats and vbs supply: length of time and repetitive imprints. My week long camping adventures on rivers, mountains etc come back to my mind in almost perfect recall as opposed to a little weekend trip or overnighter. Don't give up on VBS unless you can replace it with something equal or greater in total memory recall ability!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Behold: The Magic Bullet Curriculum

"...the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." Romans 4:17b
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." Romans 1:16
"One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message." Acts 16:14

I think we as Christian educators have this crazy idea in the back of our minds that a certain curriculum, just the right set of lessons, will perform miracles. We always hope and pray that our lessons to children will change their lives: fall deeper in love with Jesus, know more about the bible, solidify a biblical worldview, etc.

The bible, however, is clear about how and who does the true changing and educating of all of us. God. God is the supreme actor and we are the receivers. Don't be lured in to thinking that there is a wonder curriculum out there that will change a kid's life. Instead, remember that God uses His word through the power of Holy Spirit to change His children. Look at curriculum as a means, a tool even, in the hands of our powerful God.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

God really exists, no use denying it

I have gotten the biggest kick out of reading all the comments from the 'atheist' God haters that follow Ray Comfort, evangelist and pastor. It is amazing how many people want to argue with him and waste so much time debating a 'lunatic' who believes in myths. Why would anyone waste so much time debating someone who they believe to be 'insane'? It would be like trying to debate someone who didn't believe that Hilter's holocaust was real. There is no sense in debating such a person when all the evidence stands against their position. This person truly is insane and would not be worth even talking to about the subject. And yet, these atheists can not leave him alone. Fascinating really. Why do they do this? Simple really. They know there is a God because it is the very undeniable fingerprints left on their created soul that hound them day and night like Poe's heart under the floorboard. All the arguments, anger and denials can never drown out the constant beating of evidence of their Creator all around them and pulsating through them. Imagine receiving a brand new computer from Bill Gates himself and then spending the rest of your life using the computer to write, post and claim that Gates does not exist! Ha, its sadly crazy and yet this is where the 'atheist' finds himself employed his whole life. It is a frightening place to be in the crosshairs of the wrath of Almighty God. Lord, open their minds to see and give them life that they may believe like you gave to me so long ago.
Mark

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Brave New World is here: Amusing ourselves to sleep

Wow! Are we in big trouble.

Foreword from
Amusing Ourselves to Death
by Neil Postman
We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visited by Orwellian nightmares.

But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another - slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions". In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.

This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right.