Gospel Crier

This is a website I have been working on for about three years.  I am thankful that it is up, thankful for all who are involved, and hopeful that it glorifies God.  Please check it out.

Update on Southern

Why get my PhD?  I am often asked that by people.  I was asked that by the committee that interviewed me to get into the program.  I am often asked that by nervous church members that think I am going to fatten my resume and leave into the sunset.  It is true that a guy needs to count the cost before he does this.  It is the most intense academic work ever.  There is never a break…NEVER!  You have to log about two hours a night (on the average I spend anywhere between 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on PhD work).  Your ministry and family patterns have to catch…THEY HAVE TO.  I haven’t gone on a vacation in I don’t how many years.  So why?
        1. Personal edification.
Anything that causes me to grow in Christlikeness is for my good.  If I had not been involved in this PhD process, there would be some material I would never have delved into, and I would have been weaker for it.  I can honestly say with a view toward being like Jesus is great motivation for these studies.
        2. Pastoral fruitfulness.
I will not go into all the reasons (for there are many) but being involved in this intense academic pursuit does refine your abilities and gifts as a pastor particularly in writing which I need much assistance.
        3. Ministry expansion.
Already being involved in this PhD process has “opened doors” for more opportunities to use my gifts both in teaching and in writing.  With that comes more exposure for my ministry at Calvary thus giving me more opportunity to preach to others the gospel.  
In all it has been a great task thus far.  I still wake up and can’t believe that I was chosen to be a part of this pursuit, but I thank God for the opportunity.

Ferdinand In The Tempest

“Our revels now are ended.  These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind.  We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
”Prospero addressing his guest Ferdinand in William Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’.

Second Sunday After Trinity Prayer

Lord, make us to have a perpetual fear and love of your holy name, for you never fail to help and govern those who you bring up in your steadfast love. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen
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Nuts and Bolts

Here are some silly human tricks.
These poor people blow up wrong building.

This lady tows her own car.

You May Be From Kansas

If you have never met any celebrities.  (Bob Dole isn’t a celebrity; he’s your neighbor).

What I am Reading-The Spirit of the Disciplines

Dallas Willard’s background is in philosophy with a bent toward spiritual formation.  He teaches philosophy at University of Southern California.  His books The Divine Conspiracy and Renovation of the Heart have each won Christianity Today’s book of the year.  Willard wrote The Spirit of the Disciplines as follow up to his In Search of Guidance.  Willard has been influenced by a variety of saints from Teresa of Avila to John Wesley.  Willard encourages his students to read Richard Foster among others as a good source on spirituality.
A bulk of The Spirit of the Disciplines is dedicated to a background given to the cause and reasons of pursuing the disciplines, rather than an actual study of the disciplines themselves.  “Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untrained.”  This famous Chesterton quote is the frame for Willard’s book.   Like Foster, Willard does not deal with evangelism, and embraces a much wider expertise in the field of disciplines.  Willard deals explicitly with sexuality as a discipline.  While the first half of the book is helpful in answering causal questions, Willard spends comparatively few sections on the actual disciplines.