Good Advice; Bad Bible: Rick Warren’s Constant Misuse of Scripture

by | Jan 23, 2006 | Uncategorized

Here is another case study in the constant misuse of the Bible by Rick Warren. It is symptomatic of much of what I find coming out of Saddleback Church and Pastors.com, and thus, the throngs that follow his approach to Scripture. Here, Warren suggests that Jesus’ command to “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest,” is really a suggestion to emotionally, intellectually and psychologically weary church leaders who need to spend more time with Christ. Based on this verse, church leaders (and really any stressed out person), need to focus their energies on what they are gifted to do and not on the thousands of issues that sap time and energy away from those ministries and tasks that we could be most effective in doing. Agreed. The principles are good ones. I concur. We pastors do need to examine our lives, giftedness, experiences and abilities and focus our energies on what is most important and on those things we can best contribute. We do need to spend more time with Christ and not necessarily with more church meetings or longer hours at the office. But is that what Jesus meant in Matthew 11:28? Did he really intend for us to see “rest” as trimming our schedules and priorities. This is the kind of use of the Bible that does not let God speak, but in reality trivializes the Scriptures. Glance through the context of Jesus’ comments in Matthew 11 and you will find him most concerned with salvific issues – eternal rest. Jesus is promising a rest that is accompanied by...

Challies and the Blessings of Blogging

by | Jan 23, 2006 | Uncategorized

Challies, as usual, has some great insight and helpful points about blogging and its connection to spiritual discipline. Though my blogging is sporadic at best, it has helped me to read with the aim of ‘thinking out loud’ about issues in culture, theology and life in general. Blogging has done little to curb my reading of books (the DMin program has helped a tad), but it has broadened my reading of some interesting individuals who find a voice outside the cloistered and often tightly controlled environment of the mega ministries. I certainly appreciate Tim’s excellent example of what good blogging should look like and how it can definitely connect to spiritual growth and...

The Brits Despise Discipline!

by | Jan 22, 2006 | Uncategorized

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Fresh call for child smacking ban Yes, here’s the answer – develop more undisciplined people – that should create a more stable socieity. The move to make spanking illegal is more vocal today than ever and if successful in the UK will no doubt cross the sea in the decades to...

Some Interesting Items of Note This Week

by | Jan 21, 2006 | Uncategorized

This week was a week to catch up on a number of items after not only a week away in Kentucky for class but also a few weeks of being out of pocket due to illness and the holidays. I did have a few opportunities to read some interesting blog articles this week. Here’s a few I enjoyed: Adrian Warnock’s interview with Justin Taylor (John Piper’s editor). Justin’s blog is where I first learned about the blogosphere. Looks like Justin is also headed to Wheaton as an editor at Crossway and the ESV Bible. Mark Dever’s comments on blogging and reading. Mark Driscoll’s new blog. The article on Schuller is an interesting read. Jerry Wragg’s article on the loss of genuine exegesis, not only in our pulpits but our blog commenting. I found this very intersting. I am in the process of asking a number of pastors and expository preachers what they actually do in preparation for preaching. I have found that while many call themselves expositors, exegesis is very limited in weekly work they do. Significant interaction with the biblical languages is extremely limited. This issue will have some to do with my doctoral project, so I’m sure I’ll have a few more things to say about this later. One more thing. Chris Meirose pointed me to a few ways to increase the speed of my Firefox browser. Wow! Thanks Chris, very helpful! The Capranica Villa has dominated most of my time today. While we are in the house, we are slowly unpacking, decorating and getting back to normal. I was able to get much of my study...