Author: James
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From Your (almost) Pastor
On August 27, 2017, Glynwood Baptist Church (www.glynwoodbc.com) called me to be their lead pastor. This letter is for them (as much of this blog will be in the future) but you’re welcome to read it as well. On behalf of Trish, Caleb, and Josh, let me say THANK YOU for the unbelievable welcome you extended…
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Book Review: Introverts in the Church by Adam S McHugh
Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam S. McHugh My rating: 4 of 5 stars An excellent read for church leaders to consider that evangelism and church leadership are not the exclusive domain of extroverts. It includes helpful ideas for how to structure the programs of our church to…
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Book Review: American Gospel by Jon Meacham
American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meacham My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fair and Balanced (for real, not like Fox News) Meacham is a gifted historian and not a bad lay theologian. Though not writing from an evangelical perspective, he is fair to evangelicals without pandering…
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Bad Move, Devil
Why it was really stupid of Satan to quote Psalm 91 to Jesus.
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Today in Christian History: July 17
On this date in 1674, Isaac Watts was born. Watts changed the way the English church worshiped. Before he came along, Protestant churches in England and Scotland would only sing hymns that were rhymed translations from the book of Psalms. Which isn’t a bad practice, unless, of course, you want to talk about Jesus, the…
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Today In Christian History: July 8
On this date in 1939, after just a month in America where he was to lecture, Dietrich Bonhoeffer went back home to Germany. Writing to Reinhold Niebuhr, he explained his decision: I have made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period of our national history with the Christian people…
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Today in Christian History: June 14
On this date in 1910, the World Missions Conference opened in Edinburgh, Scotland. There were 1200 delegates, primarily from North America and Northern Europe. People were optimistic and hopeful. The 1800’s was a century of great missionary expansion, with the world’s population of Christians expanding from less than 25% to greater than 35% (note: these…
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Today in Christian History: June 10
On this date in 2005, Kenneth Taylor, author of The Living Bible, died at the age of 88. Taylor, the father of ten children, was burdened that his children couldn’t understand the King James Version of the Bible. So he began work on a paraphrase, using the KJV and the American Standard Version as his…
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Today in Christian History: June 9
Two deaths happened on June 9, separated by about 1800 years. One was an emperor; the other a missionary. Both contributed to the spread of Christianity. In AD 68, the Roman emperor Nero cut his own throat at the age of 30. Nero was a notorious persecutor of Christians. According to Tertullian, he was responsible…
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Day 361: Remembering my Aunt Helen: Leave the Pear Alone (1 John 3:2)
Aunt Helen was never happy with this painting. But my mom wisely told her to leave the pear alone.