Three Reasons Why the White House Must Refuse to Panic

Interesting stuff over at Blog and Mablog

BOOKS BEING READ AT THE RANDOLPH HOUSE

These have been, or are being, read by J and K Randolph. (my wife is a voracious reader)

THANKS MOM AND DAD

Was surprised that my parents had this at their house and that they had read it.  Just got around to it myself after borrowing from them.  Easy to read.  Easy to sit and read and get hooked!  It is basically his life story as a nephew of Benny Hinn. 

MY BOOK OF THE YEAR

....At least in the theology / Bible category.  This book is not garnering tons of attention; for one thing, it is ten years old now.  It is subtle, and it is dynamite.  O, that every church would embrace this message.  This is no ordinary preaching book.  It is....superb. 

This Blurb Alone is Worth it...

Justin Dillehay   (from TGC)

Leonard Sax, The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-Ups (Basic, 2015). 

Not a distinctly Christian book, but more helpful than most Christian parenting books I’ve read. Don’t throw out the gospel-centered parenting books (unless they’re really just antinomianism applied to parenting), but do read them in tandem with something like this. Sax deals with the kind of basic-level issues that Christian parenting books tend to unwisely assume (like not letting your 8-year-old decide when to eat or where to go to school). I’m afraid a lot of Christian parents my age are trying to digest meat when they haven’t yet learned to drink milk. They’re worried about the intricacies of their toddler’s heart while failing to teach them basic obedience. We need books like this. Sax is what Solomon would sound like if he were writing to parents in the iPhone generation.

MORE BOOKS

Glad I got this one; helpful. 




Read this one with the men at church; glad we did!  Surprisingly good.  Not that I thought it would be bad, it just quietly surprised me with how well done it was; nice work Rick Phillips...and thank you! 

RECENT BOOKS...

This one is good.  Haven't finished it yet.  So far:  8.5 / 10




Another good one...by a great "new" author.   8.9 / 10

I LOVE THIS BOOK...

Thank You, Lord, for Tom Schreiner and for the gift of this book. 

RECENT READS...

1.  Jerry Bridges' autobiography / memoir.  Dad read this one too.  A good, encouraging read. 



2.  A memoir by Robert Caro.  Kristie and I have enjoyed his books on LBJ.  This book (below) is great, especially--I guess--if you already have familiarity with his work.  At one point in the book, he clearly asserts his belief in the existence of facts but not in truth.  Sad. 

MOHLER'S SUMMER READING LIST

https://albertmohler.com/2019/07/08/the-season-of-reading-books-we-want-to-read-summer-books-for-2019

Check it out.  I am interested in the Jenkins book and the Atkinson book.  

SBC '19...OLD FRIENDS!

VIDEO on SBC and RACE, WOMEN, RESOLUTION 9, MANHOOD!

**Crossway Church, my letter to you is in the next blog "down" from this one; it is not this entry.  
  
So, not every part of this video (below) had me "amen-ing" but I guarantee you some of it did.  Wow.  These two men articulate some of the things that I was thinking but couldn't fully give voice to.  So, maybe they're just actually having a big impact on me and creating new thoughts....well, yes, maybe.  But, mainly, I find myself resonating with a lot of what they say. 

- the problem is not "toxic masculinity";  the problem is a lack of biblical masculinity in the church
- we are talking a lot about women in leadership and how they are disenfranchised from serving, etc.  There was NO discussion of the role of motherhood amid these thoughts or of the wife being her husband's helper.  Let's stop talking about silly things like showing your sermon to a team of women before you bring it into the pulpit.  (would Spurgeon have ever even considered such a thing; talk it over with your wife, sure, and then play the man!) 
- President Greear's 3 panel discussions were a bit flawed right out of the gate.  When you get to frame the issues the way you want, people don't always realize what they are listening to and gladly accepting.  Nothing terrible, to be sure....but if you are a bit off, that will surely prove problematic not far down the road.  (when you find yourself way off track)  

Watch the video! (or just listen to the audio).... https://founders.org/interviews/tstt-sbc19-resolution-9-women-in-mission-mature-manhood-critical-race-theory/     SCROLL DOWN FOR THE VIDEO / AUDIO.  BOTH ARE AVAILABLE.

SOME THOUGHTS FOR OUR CHURCH on SBC '19

Church,

I love you guys, and as a messenger on your behalf to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention last week, I thought it would be appropriate to at least share some brief thoughts on the happenings in our larger church family.
That's what we are talking about when we refer to our denomination.  We are a family of churches known as the SBC, and even though the convention is a very big tent with many divergent types of churches, we do (or at least should) hold some very important things in common.  ....things like the "Baptist Faith and Message 2000." 

The BF and M 2000 is our church family/denominational statement of faith.  When we started our church nine years ago by God's grace, we were surprised at just how good this statement is.  We decided to abbreviate it and to tweak it for our own purposes.  So, read it online or read it on our website!  Don't take it for granted.

If I could get right into it (!), one of the "hot-button" issues leading up to this year's annual meeting was the role of women in the local church.  One particular lightning rod of controversy centers around the ministry of Beth Moore, widely known author and speaker....and a Southern Baptist church member.  There's more to it than just Moore, but she has exemplified the most obvious point of controversy.

Recently she appeared to be bragging on social media about preaching the main sermon at her church on Mother's Day.  She also had pretty harsh words for at least one leader in our denomination who dared to say that biblical Baptists should never allow women to preach the Word of God in a mixed setting.  Some in our denomination are maintaining that Yes, we do believe in male-only local church pastors, but yet Beth Moore continues to be given a very prominent platform in our denominational conferences (like ERLC), etc.  Is this the end of the world?  No.  (I can only say so much in this post!)

The major issue garnering attention for this year's convention was the issue of sexual abuse in the local church.  This was due primarily to the fact that last year there was a major article that broke in a major American newspaper.  This article was an expose of sorts about sexual abuse within the SBC.   Think Roman Catholic scandal on a much smaller scale (not at all to minimize the tragedy).  This has been the main focus of denominational leadership ever since this article broke.

Let it be said that one of the tough things with an issue like this is that the SBC only truly exists for 2 days each year...at the annual meeting.  Other than that, there is an "executive committee" that provides leadership to the convention year-round, **but the denomination has no ultimate "say" over any local church.  Each local church is autonomous and governs itself.  The SBC can only recommend and encourage things.  Hey...our members' meetings are the most important "business meetings" going, not first and foremost the SBC!

Concerning abuse in local churches, we are wise to do the things that we have already implemented but also to continually and even immediately educate ourselves, including the countless hours of work that the SBC leadership has put into this issue, under the direction of President J.D. Greear.

That's all for now.  
Let me finally say this:  Our church is not defined by our SBC affiliation in some intrinsic or ultimate way.  If the denomination goes to "pot" as they say, well, no humongous deal for us to sever ties.  And yet, we have always been SBC, and the ideal would be for us to continue to cooperate and for the Lord to help us as a convention of churches to be all the more faithful.  There is real joy in understanding, and living in, the Southern Baptist Convention.  All praise to the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of His church. 

Some Good Books on Leadership

1.  Lillback's new one on "St. Peter" is good; it is perhaps niche, but I do like it.  (I was super excited about it, then I got it, and I am mostly pleased now that I am reading it)

2.  The "Shepherds after my own heart" book in the NSBT series is great for chewing on the Biblical text and the theological implications....this was so good when I read it years ago.

3.  Mohler's book on leadership is probably one of his best books.
4.  Good biographies

Thoughts?

Best in Sports Right Now

The key is Now or Right Now....

Best in Tennis right now:  Joker
Basketball: Khawi Leonard
Golf:  definitely Keopka
Baseball:  Pete Rose

Thoughts??