Today in Blogworld 03.19.15

Mike Leake

Name the Schools with the Most NCAA Tournament Appearances

Today is the beginning of the NCAA Tourney. Can you name the schools with the most appearances? I got 34 out of 39 and missed a couple obvious ones

If a “Faithful Jew” Would Agree With My OT Sermon, Have I Failed?

I appreciate Dan’s point here. I think its more semantics but he has an excellent point that needs to be mentioned.

11 Reasons Why We Allow Abusive Leaders To Continue

I’ve often wondered why churches put up with abusive leaders. Here are eleven suggestions.

A Bright Song From A Deep Darkness

This really encouraged my soul.

If you ever wonder what a lemon would do to a golden retriever here is your answer:

How Will Faith Survive?

Mike Leake 2 Comments

For many years, here in America, we have lived in a predominately Christian culture. Most of our neighbors shared our Judeo-Christian worldview. When you told people that you were a minister they responded with respect.

Times have changed. Now when I tell people that I am a pastor they ask why I’ve given my life to promoting fairy tales. The prominent worldview is now a secular naturalism. Our culture is increasingly eschewing our Christian values and instead doing what is right in their own eyes.

As the moral fabric of our nation begins to unravel, many Christians are becoming quite fearful. We wonder what it will mean for the church to be persecuted. It feels as if we are losing the battle for souls.

As a result of this unraveling many fearfully speculate about the type of world our children and grand-children will live in. And we wonder how the Christian faith will survive this latest onslaught. I believe the answer to both of these questions if found in Judges and Ruth.

The Answer in Judges

Judges is a picture of what happens when everyone does what is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). The book of Judges is a downward spiral of increasing debauchery. As the story unfolds the heroes become less heroic and the villains become even worse. It ends with a woman being mercilessly raped, sawed into parts, and FedExed to the entire nation of Israel.

The book of Judges answers the question of what happens when humanity turns away from a God-centered worldview. In as much as we embrace this turn from the Lord we can expect our culture to increasingly reflect the downward spiral of Judges.

But Judges doesn’t answer our other question. How will faith survive in such a climate. For there, I believe, we need to turn to the book of Ruth.

The Answer in Ruth

The story of Ruth is set during the time of the Judges. Hard times have fallen upon Elimelech, Naomi and their sons. They have to move to Moab where things only seem to get worse. Naomi loses her husband and her sons. Eventually she sojourns back to Bethlehem with her widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth.

As the story progresses Naomi’s bitterness is turned into blessing as she holds baby Obed in her arms. Obed was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Yes, it would be through this miraculous story of redemption that King David would be born—and eventually the ultimate Redeemer would be born.

But it tells us more than just how God worked to give us David. It is also a story of how God-centered faith survived during the time of the Judges. I believe Hill and Walton are correct:

The Judges period that provided the setting was notorious for apostasy and covenantal ignorance and offense; faith was at a premium. How did the faith of Israel survive? We suggest that it survived in the families of common folk such as Elimelech and Naomi. The overall picture was grim, but there were faithful individuals. (Hill and Walton, 251)

This provides an answer for our second question. How will a God-centered faith survive when the pervasive worldview is a godless naturalism? It will survive through the families of common folk like Elimelech and Naomi.

While I believe it is a worthwhile effort to fight for cultural change, I don’t believe we should put all of our eggs in the basket—or even a majority of them. The gospel will survive even in the darkest of times and under the most severe opposition. But it likely won’t survive through political leaders, military commanders, or the intellectual giants that the world esteems. It’ll survive through ordinary moms and dads grabbing hold of Jesus and sharing the lowly gospel with their children.

—

Photo source: here

Today in Blogworld 03.18.15

Mike Leake

Top 10 Punctuation Mistakes

I need this. I misuse commas.

4 Tips on Getting Things Done

These tips are from a White-House staffer.

What Is the Best Thing to Do When a Grenade Is Thrown at You

Hopefully you never need to use this…but I found it interesting.

Make a Beeline To This Person at Church

Here is the person at church you need to work hard at pursuing.

I wouldn’t know if these are funny or not…can’t hear any of them. But here are the most jokes told in one minute:

A Tip for Seminary Students

Mike Leake 3 Comments


Disclaimer: This works for me. It might not work for you. If you flunk out of seminary after taking my advice, I’m sorry.

I came to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the fall of 2009. I was excited to be able to learn from some of the world’s greatest professors. I figured I would learn so much and that I would grow in my relationship with the Lord in ways I didn’t imagine. My first semesters didn’t disappoint.

After awhile, though, my soul started to ache a bit. The greatest impact was on my Bible reading. I started reading less devotionally and more as a seminary student. To use the words of Paul Tripp I was becoming more concerned with mastering the text (at least in the eyes of my professors and fellow students) than being mastered by the text.

Then my passion for theology books and studying started to dwindle. That might not seem like a big deal, but it was. We strive to become like what we most admire. Before seminary, when I so passionately devoured theology books it wasn’t for head-knowledge. It was because I loved God and wanted to be more like Him. I wanted to learn how to be a better minister.

Then I started having to read. And having to write papers on the Bible. My heart changed. I became a student of SBTS and no longer a student of the LORD.

So, I started taking fewer classes and threw myself into other stuff and promised myself I’d finish seminary eventually. I took it very slow. Now I’ve amped up my schedule again. I’m working my tail off to graduate as soon as possible.

I’m getting busy with seminary classes again but as of now my heart hasn’t changed with it. One thing is different. And here is my tip:

If you are a seminary student forget that you are a seminary student; Live as though you aren’t.

You still have papers due.

You still have books to read.

You still have quizzes and tests to take.

But by all means don’t let yourself be a student of your school and forsake being a student of the Lord. Always keep it in front of you that the reason you read a book is not because the professor tells you to—it is because you are trying to know the Lord more. You aren’t writing a paper because a professor tells you to—you aren’t writing to please men—you are writing to get out on paper what the Lord is showing you. You are writing to tell of the excellencies of Jesus.

I’ll close with a blunt statement that I believe is true. If you can’t do this…if you become a student of a school more than a student of Jesus…I don’t think you’ll make a good pastor/minister. You’ll get eaten up. If you sacrifice your relationship with Jesus on the altar of a theological education then you’ll do the same thing when the heat of ministry gets turned up.

So make that commitment now. You’ll get an F in Systematic Theology before you let your heart grow numb. The sooner you do this—and the sooner you forget you are in seminary—the more fun you’ll have and the more you’ll actually learn.