Head-dibs

The Terrafugia Transition

Masters degree, Doctor of Ministry and guest students are encouraged to take advantage of what is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to “be at the table” for major thinking and strategizing on world evangelization for the next generation. The course will be led by Dr. William Larkin and Dr. George Murray , site coordinators at Cape Town, and Dr. Roy King , Columbia International University -site coordinator. GLS 5445 (Master's level) and MIS 9445 (Doctoral level) "Major Issues in 21st Century Missions" (3 credit hours): This course is centered on “Cape Town 2010,” the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization held in Cape Town, South Africa, October 16-25, 2010. Through pre-campus and post-campus reading, written papers, and participation in a GlobaLink gathering on the Columbia International University campus, October 22-25, with Internet feeds from Capetown 2010, you will be exposed to six major issues confronting individuals involved in world evangelizati...

Visit the website .

Since one blogger already asked the question, I will merely catalogue a few responses received to the question, “ What is the gospel ?” "The gospel is the good news (not good advice) of the announced end of the age of decay accomplished in the incarnation and crucifixion of Jesus Christ and inaugurated in his resurrection into creation 2.0;" "It meant the announcement of a new King and a new Kingdom;" "The kingdom of God is among you;" "God's grace can prevail over my depravity;" "The good news. The kingdom is here. Is coming. Has arrived;" "The Gospel is John 3:16 followed by carrying out the 2 greatest commandments- Love God, love your neighbor as yourself;" "Son of God comes to earth, saves mankind, sparks religious unrest for next millennium;" "The Gospel is the announcement that, in Jesus, God is setting in motion a revolution to begin to make things as they will one day be;" "I don't know...

"A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult." Proverbs 12:16 Read Scotty's prayer here: A Prayer About Annoyance

There is one scene in Disney’s “A Bug’s Life” (time travel back to 1998) where the Grasshoppers bully the Ants over food and things get a little rough. Most frightening to the Ants is the Grasshopper, Thumper. He a raving mad-bug. His eyes are bloodshot, teeth are jagged, and his wings are torn. He never speaks (except in the outtakes), but grunts and growls, screams and scowls. When the lead Grasshopper (Hopper, wants to flex a little muscle, he snaps his fingers (?) and Thumper goes berserk. This is the picture that comes to mind when I read Matthew 12:14 which says, “But the Pharisees went out and counseled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” Not too far before they began plotting, Jesus healed (among others that day) two blind men (Matthew 9:27-30) and a demonized man who was also dumb (Matthew 9:32) was brought to Him. Now, after they plotted to kill Him, we read that they go out, find a man who is demon-possessed, blind and dumb (Matthew 12:22) and bring him ...

Langston Hughes cried the night he got saved. Actually, Langston Hughes cried because he knew he was not. A small section of his first autobiography, “The Big Sea” (1940) records what happened. He was twelve years old when he attended a revival at his aunt Reed's church. Days beforehand, Hughes' aunt told him about the meetings (especially the one special meeting that would be held just for the children) and what it was like to be saved. “My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on! She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul. I believed her. I had heard a great many old people say the same thing and it seemed to me they ought to know.” The night finally came, and Hughes was escorted to the front row, placed on the mourner's bench “with all the other young sinners, who had not yet been brought to Jesus” and waited “for Jesus to come to me.” T...

"Michael Horton recently participated in a panel discussion on global evangelism at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. It was part of the 12 Cities / 12 Conversations tour sponsored by the Lausanne Movement, and a video of this conversation is now available online . In addition to Horton, other panelists include Skye Jethani, Jim Belcher, Jena Lee Nardella, Miles McPhereson, Soon Chan Rah, and Kay Warren. FYI, the discussion doesn’t get rolling until around 16 minutes into the video (after all the introductory remarks)." Masters degree, Doctor of Ministry and guest students are encouraged to take advantage of what is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to “be at the table” for major thinking and strategizing on world evangelization for the next generation. The course will be led by Dr. William Larkin and Dr. George Murray , site coordinators at Cape Town, and Dr. Roy King , Columbia International University -site coordinator. GLS 5445 (Master's level) and MIS 94...

Walking across The Horseshoe on the campus of the University of South Carolina a couple of years ago, I met a young man just coming out of a building from a class. He had his empty back-pack hanging off one shoulder, while he carried a small stack of books under the other arm. After a few moments of light conversation, I asked if he had a religious background, to which he got rather agitated and replied in a stern negative, adding that the Bible could not be trusted. I inquired how he came to that conclusion, to which he bitterly answered, “Because the Bible was written by men. It’s a waste of time. Only an idiot would believe the Bible.” The implication he was trying to make was crystal clear. What happened next was like one of those movie scenes where everything freezes while a character thinks, dialogues, or moves about for a moment until everything resumes animation once more. I stood there, looked at him, looked at the books under his arm, his empty backpack, again the books un...

Published June 22, 2010 Associated Press "The earliest known icons of the Apostles Peter and Paul have been discovered in a catacomb under an eight-story modern office building in a working-class neighborhood of Rome, Vatican officials said Tuesday. The images, which date from the second half of the 4th century, were discovered on the ceiling of a tomb that also includes the earliest known images of the apostles John and Andrew. They were uncovered using a new laser technique that allowed restorers to burn off centuries of thick white calcium carbonate deposits without damaging the dark colors of the original paintings underneath." The full story here

Since the work of the ministry is the transformation of lives into the image of Christ (the application of good news to people's lives), the apostle Paul was inspired to reveal his motive for writing this letter. Anyone desiring the work of ministry should consider what Paul presents in Romans 1:8-15, as here (among other places) are a list of qualities for spiritual leaders. First, Paul expresses gratitude to God for God's work and gratitude for those to which he ministers (v. 8). Paul is acknowledging that God is doing the work and he is merely the messenger. For years my wife and I have prayed for the congregation God would have for us—little did we know that our congregation was not found within the four walls of a building, but on the streets, in the stores and parks—wherever there are people. God gave us gospel opportunities everywhere, and at first we did not see because our vision was too small-- we were waiting for an address. God showed us we had the whole world. ...

Here is a short video on what happened to an evangelism team that distributed The Gospel of John at a Muslim festival in Dearborn, Michigan, USA.

Part of my daily routine is simple: check the news. I open my browser, select my news source and skim the headlines--I like to be informed by my local news source that I can trust (morning news, "Drive time" news, mid-day news, evening news and late night news). News can be breaking, hard, soft, canned, managed, slanted, spot or straight. News categories include general, national, science/tech, entertainment, environmental, political, religion, digestive, organic, earth-friendly, pregnancy, nutrition, diabetes . . . Our choices are no longer relegated to the newspaper or newsletters because we can get it via tv, internet, cell phone and all variations in between. Remember when we were young and thought "good news/bad news" were our only choices? What if we gave bad news in a good way . . . ? I like to be informed, but then what? I don't know what to do with this information. I really can't do anything about what I read, can I? Neil Postman wrote: "Our p...

"This is as fine a book on prayer that you will ever read, but it is so much more. It is the story of our struggle to actually live like we believe that our Heavenly father really does love us. If we did, nothing could keep us from being committed to the day by day hard work of prayer. Paul exegetes our struggle in a way that is convicting, insight giving and encouraging. This is a book on prayer that actually makes you want to pray!" - Paul David Tripp

Pants on the ground? Underwear that just might save your life . Where are Americans moving? Here is an interactive map ! Here are the real names of 23 fictional characters , like Mr. Clean. So you think you can ush ? Space stuff: The moon sets behind an observatory in Chile . Amateur video of the Jupiter fireball . New Comet visible in early morning sky . The 1MoreTour guys post some pics . banner

From the Publisher's description of this biography of the third pastor of what is now the First Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina: "James Petigru Boyce (1827-1888) devoted his life and resources to the dream of training Southern men form many economic and educational backgrounds for pastoral ministry. 'Boyce lived and breathed theological education,' Thomas Nettles writes. 'His theological conviction and his zeal for the strength and purity of Baptist churches drove him to an unrelenting advocacy of theological education for Baptist preachers. Here is a story of faith triumphing amid struggles and controversies within the Southern Baptist Church. At a time when piety and scholarship were often viewed as antithetical, and no formal confessional statements were required of pastors, Boyce envisioned a confessional seminary that reflected the best of pious scholarship and stood as a bulwark against the slide toward theological diversity. These pages show why ...

APOD asks, " How was the unusual Red Rectangle nebula created ?" The key word here is, "created."

My wife came into the room where I was reading and asked, "did you hear what your son just said to your daughter? He said, 'don't be drinking the hate-eraide!'" I don't know where he gets his material. Really, I don't. The mantra of the day is “don’t be hatin’” and “be informed.” How wonderfully these go together! Perhaps with a tool like the internets we are a bit too over-informed. Actually, that is not quite right because being informed requires a little research (as opposed to sitting in front of the computer like a virtual salmon trying to swim upstream through a tidal wave of disconnected information). What better way to understand than to seriously, intentionally look into a matter. One might say, “be open-minded.” We already considered the Apostle Paul’s visit to Mars Hill in Athens and the conversation that took place over many, many days as recorded in Acts. We can learn that before Paul ever arrived in Athens how Paul set about bringing the ...

"A hiker falls from a Forest Service viewing platform while hiking on Mount Pisgah." Pray for Dr. Layman during his recovery! WMYA MY 40 News :: Top Stories

Abu Lahab, the uncle of Muhammad, as representative of Muhammad’s own father, was expected to look after his nephew as if he was one of his own children; but, Abu Lahab would not accept any of the teachings of Muhammad. Understand that at this time, Muhammad was just starting to preach the message of Islam and many people had not yet believed him to be the Prophet. Abu Lahab’s animosity was seen in how he forbade his own two sons to visit their own father unless they divorced their wives (they were married to two of Muhammad’s daughters). Also, as Muhammad began preaching Islam, Abu Lahab would follow him, throwing stones and warning people not to listen, even calling Muhammad a liar. Abu Lahab’s increasing hostility to Muhammad was considered to be an obstruction to the progress of Islam. The Qur’an records that Allah Himself placed a curse on Abu Lahab (by name!) and his wife because of their opposition to the spread of Islam. Surah 111 of the Qur’an is called “Al-lahab,” which reads...

“ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sunlight on them, nor any heat .” (Revelation 7:16) It had to go and get hot. This last week has been the hottest ever, and there’s not much to do when its hot and humid other than sit around in your bare bones trying to cool off. We’ve been well over 100 degrees the past few days, and that's not considering the heat index. It’s everything we can do to get the house temp down to at least 80 degrees BEFORE 6:00 a.m. in the next morning. Here’s some hot trivia for ya: The highest known temperature in the shade in Britain occurred on July 22, 1868, at Tonbridge in Kent when the heat reached 100.4°F. But the world record is held by Libya where a temperature of 136.4øF was recorded in 1922. According to U. S. Air Force experiments, the highest dry-air temperature that could be endured by naked men was found to be 400°F in 1960. For heavily-clothed men, the highest is 500øF. (Note that steaks require only 325øF). T...

Thanks for passing this along, Francine.

The past couple of months I have been reading and commenting on selections (mostly on Fridays) from this unique and wonderful book . The publisher writes: " A Sacrifice of Praise is a one-volume collection of Christian poetry in English compiled from a spectrum of poets who span twelve centuries. Beginning with Caedmon (ca. 658-680), the poetry comes from the anicent, medieval, Reformation, and modern periods and from Anglican, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox poets, as well as mainline and evangelical traditions. Because poetry is a vehicle of praise and exhortation, of meditation and understanding, these selections include every form and style of reflection and psalm, from private, personal devotion to hymns and epic forms with godly themes. In addition to the poetry, each chapter includes an introduction and time line meant to provide a background against which readers can better understand the intricacies and nuances of the poets and their work. Short biographical int...

Religion that must be seen, not heard . Amish and Muslims exempt from ObamaCare ? What is missing from this picture ? Slideshow of gladiator graves . . . in England! Did you know that Americans prefer funny videos to online news? (" Why no! Tell me about it !") The 1MoreTour team's photo shoot ! Go, team, go!

We've heard most of these, and use many of them frequently; but, see if you are able to identify the literary source where each one came from: A drop in the bucket A fly in the ointment A man after his own heart A multitude of sins A thorn in the flesh All things must pass All things to all men Am I my brother's keeper? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth As old as Methuselah As old as the hills As you sow so shall you reap Ashes to ashes dust to dust At his wits end Baptism of fire Beat swords into ploughshares Bite the dust Blessed are the peacemakers By the skin of your teeth Can a leopard change its spots? Coat of many colors Eat drink and be merry Faith will move mountains Fall from grace Fight the good fight Flesh and blood For everything there is a season Forbidden fruit Forgive them for they know not what they do From strength to strength Give up the ghost Good Samaritan How are the mighty fallen In the beginning was the word It's better to give than to receive L...

I was handing out gospel tracts during a visit to the grocery store (I come close to emptying my pockets sharing the gospel this way. I primarily keep my eye out for bored people who are tagging along while someone else does the shopping—they would do nearly anything to pass the time, so gospel tracts are a great diversion). I rounded the corner and passed by a small elderly African-American woman pushing her basket. I extended a gospel tract to her, “May God bless you as you read this.” She put her hand out to take it, and asked, “What is it?” “It’s a gospel tract,” I replied, then repeated, “May God bless you as you read this.” This dear old lady snapped her hand back like I had slapped it and turned her head as if I’d suddenly gone invisible. “No! I don’t want that from you!” She quickened her pace away from me. My heart broken from her reaction, I was nearly weeping when I spoke a half-hearted “Good evening” to her. I don’t know how to wish someone’s grandmother (or great-grandmoth...

Tertullian (160 - 220 A.D.) wrote the following in his "Apology," addressing the ignorance of the Roman authorities behind the unjust persecution of Christians: " We lay this before you as the first ground on which we urge that your hatred to the name of Christian is unjust. And the very reason which seems to excuse this injustice (I mean ignorance) at once aggravates and convicts it. For what is there more unfair than to hate a thing of which you know nothing, even though it deserve to be hated? Hatred is only merited when it is known to be merited. But without that knowledge, whence is its justice to be vindicated? For that is to be proved, not from the mere fact that an aversion exists, but from acquaintance with the subject. When men, then, give way to a dislike simply because they are entirely ignorant of the nature of the thing disliked, why may it not be precisely the very sort of thing they should not dislike? So we maintain that they are both ignorant while they...

ht: Tony Miano "Herman Cain lead a Q&A session at the Douglas County Tea Party when a young woman asked him about the attack by the Left on our Judeo-Christian heritage in America...He addressed her question, then went to the last question of the night, and the crowd was not expecting what happened next..."

We don’t live in the best of neighborhoods. Most law enforcement officers in our county know our neighbors well, having put most of them in jail or prison from time to time. When we first moved in, we discovered dogs with heavy chains held in the woods behind our house. Drugs are not uncommon with our neighbors, and traffic comes and goes regularly. We were burglarized once, but nobody “knew” anything. For the last three years, we’ve survived all night parties, shootings, domestic violence of various kinds. And this is perhaps the fourth generation, carrying on the patterns of their fathers (if any of the kids know who their fathers are—one lady boasted her many kids with no clue who any of their fathers are) while one dear very old lady, the matriarch of the family, picks up her Bible and goes to church every week. My wife called me at lunch today to tell me that a car wrecked in another neighbor’s yard. If you stand on my porch, looking at the street, our friends described above are ...

Quite unintentionally my readings the past few months have been in more ancient English works and many of those works I have reflected on here. While most have been poetic works from the Renaissance period, one particular historical narrative caught my eye. I will not spend too much time on it, but the overall thrust is quite exhilarating and makes a significant contribution to the ongoing conversation regarding the Biblical worldview. The Venerable Bede (673 – 735) was a Christian monk who earned the posthumous title, “Father of English History.” He was a biblical scholar, translator, and poet who composed (mostly for the purpose of correcting error and debunking myth) the earliest history of England in the five-volumes of the "Ecclesiastical History of the English People." The brief section I would like to highlight here is often referred to as, “ The Conversion of Northumbria ,” or “The Conversion of King Edwin.” England was a missionary frontier after the Roman occupation...