Read This! 06.20.17

Mike Leake

How Your Brain Manages Overload

I found this interesting.

Six Ways Men Can Support Women’s Discipleship

This is helpful, because there is quite a bit of poor discipleship materials out there for women. Lots of legalism. We are called to minister to all the sheep.

Expect More From Young Men

This doesn’t need to just start in their twenties. We need to do this at an early age as well.

Six Stages of a Dying Church

This is sad.

Are Mental Impressions Divine Revelation?

I really do appreciate MacArthur’s views on this. I don’t quite hold the same view on cessationism as he does, but I can appreciate what he is saying here.

Love Is Not Whatever You Want It to Be

Amen!

A Southern Baptist and Gender-Inclusive Translation?

“Not by a longshot,” says Denny Burk.

The Curse of Talent for Young Ministry Leaders

None of us are exceptional…the sooner we learn this lesson the better.

What a sweet adoption story:

Ben Needham Comes Home – An Adoption Story – Stonegate Church Documentary from Mika Mitchell on Vimeo.

The Lure of the Wicked Man Isn’t What You Think It Is

Mike Leake

emma-hall-133518It’s summer time. This means that no matter how hard we try there will inevitably be somewhere in our house a trail of ants. They don’t make it long though. Once we discover their plot to steal all of our candy we put a stop to them. If they make it into the house we put out Terro liquid ant baits. These things work wonderfully. It uses the ants lust for our sugar against them. They think they are bringing back some sweet jollies to their dastardly queen but really they are bringing her a nice little dose of poison.

I’d almost feel bad for them. But it’s either my sugar or theirs. Sorry, ants. You lose.

The way I poison ants (that makes me sound so nefarious) is similar to the way in which the wicked man attempts to draw us into his path. Their path doesn’t look all that perilous. It might even look sugary. The wicked man in Proverbs 2 is more like Jimmy Fallon than Charlie Manson.

The wicked man of Proverbs 2 isn’t the one who people scoff at. His road is long and winding. And it’s difficult to see the end of a twisted road. The wicked man is successful and impressive. He is the guy other guys wants to be and the ladies want to be with. And what he offers is being on the winning side. It’s an especially attractive lure to those who are not naturally valued members of society. He promises that if you follow his path you’ll be led into the promised land.

The Proverbs 2 wicked man is actually an apostate. He has forsaken the path of uprightness. This means he knows the lingo. He knows the way believers think, and so he traps us with our own words. His perverted speech doesn’t mean that he tells dirty jokes. It’s more what Ray Ortlund says, “It includes even good words, but good words being used to turn things upside down…bad men use good words to smuggle in bad realities, and some people are fooled.”

What this person is doing we learn from verse 12 is he rivals the speech of the father. He’s offering a different way, an alternative. And he’s doing it with a smile on his face. From all appearance they look like they are having their cake and eating it too. They are flipping their nose at the Lord and getting away with it. They are exuberant, fun, merry in heart and soul, all the while opposing all that is good. The crooked path seems to be the one that leads to the most joy.

Friends, if we think that the wicked path is one marked by immediate misery then we’ll be lured down the curvy way. Those first few twists and turns are going to be exciting and look exciting. It was temporary pleasures that Moses forsook for the sake of the kingdom. We are all partakers of the happiness cult. Every good and perfect gift does come from God—but the wicked man can make it appear like poison is a good and perfect gift.

If you choose the path that looks the happiest you probably won’t choose the path of the Cross.

Read This 06.15.17

Mike Leake 1 Comment

9 Ways to Raise Up Leaders in Your Church

Dever has modeled this well.

5 Great Reasons to Skip Reading Your Bible This Summer

Here are some great excuses if you want them.

Bring the Books!

I appreciate Jared Wilson’s defense of more ‘gospely’ writing.

Leading Kids Beyond “Praying the Prayer”

Very helpful guide for parents.

Al Mohler’s 2017 Summer Reading List

I look forward to this every year because it always has on it books I’d never know to pick up.

Is Your Pain the Root of Porn Use?

This is a wise corrective.

Defending Substitution

I am happy that this overwhelmingly passed at the SBC Annual Meeting.

Self-Examination Speaks a Thousand Lies

This is an area that I’m reading a good deal about right now. It’s been transformative.

My family can’t stop laughing at this and watching it:

Reflections on #SBCPC17 Part Four

Mike Leake

The last session of the Pastor’s Conference kicked off with Michael Allen expositing Philippians 3:17-21. When I preached through Philippians I broke it up a bit differently. I wasn’t sure how Michael would make a whole sermon out of these texts but he did and did a great job. Michael’s main point was on the glory of followership. I really enjoyed how Michael went through telling us about all of those who had mentored him—all those whom he had followed. It’s a great reminder that there needs to be those we are leading but also those we are following. He also showed how Jesus perfectly modeled not only being a leader but also being a follower—following the Father all the way to the Cross.

Bart Barber preached second on Philippians 4:1-9. Wow. This was one of the most difficult for me to Tweet. Bart kept saying things that would be tweetable but I never quite felt like I was doing it justice. He was calling for a reform to the role of deacons as peacemakers—but he was encouraging everyone to pursing being peacemakers. Bart was humorous and engaging through the whole message and did a great job showing how the text in Philippians 4:1-11 wasn’t about Euodia and Syntche but more about the peacemakers. This was such a timely word for the SBC and for our local churches. It was also a timely message for this pastor.

Shane Hall closed out the evening and the pastor’s conference by finishing the book of Philippians. His exposition of Philippians 4:10-23 was phenomenal though his point was simple—Jesus is all you need. What was most powerful about Shane’s message though is that he embodies the message that he was proclaiming. Shane has had a battle with cancer and was informed in November that his cancer had returned. He noted that nobody wants to go to the school of contentment because it means you get stripped of everything. But Shane is in that school and he is finding that Christ is sufficient. We closed out the SBC Pastor’s Conference by praying for Shane.

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What an historic event. A small church pastor leading the Pastor’s Conference with several other small church pastors. I’m still a bit in awe I think that we were able to pull this off and that I was a very small part of the event. I’m honored that Dave chose me as one of his minions to serve Southern Baptists in this way. I might have a few more reflections, but for now that’s it.