All-Time Greatest

Well, here's a fun post for you. I've been listening to Sirius Radio as I've been posting, etc. (and yes Philip, I'm a "punkrocker"!), so I've been able to hear some great music. Now since this is my post, I will start with four of my favorite bands and of course those of you who know me, know who #1 is!!!

1. U2
2. Newsboys
3. Depeche Mode
4. Coldplay

Now, add some bands to this list. The band can be any genre, but let's keep all band names clean please!

Is That Your Final Answer?

In case you have not watched the news for the last year, several items of interest have occurred that should show us that we are closer than ever to the Lord's Second Coming (which is true by default...because today is one day closer than yesterday, but you know what I mean!). Anyway, I was thinking about some things and I thought it would be interesting to know where you stood on the rapture, Second Coming, etc. So let me know when you think the Rapture will occur, what you believe about Christ's Second Coming, and how you interpret Revelation. You can add anything else you want to, as long as it pertains to this issue. (Oh, throw some Scripture in there to show why you believe a certain idea...of course, that should go without saying.)

Another Topic To Chew On For Now

Well, I will be back in just a few more days. Until then, here is another topic for you to discuss.

Does the Bible condone drinking or does it condemn drinking? Is it an "all-or-nothing" issue? Is moderate drinking Biblical or a compromise using today's standards?

The Great Baptism Debate

Well, I received an email the other day informing me of a debate over whether or not baptism is necessary for salvation. While I'm sure you know where I stand on that issue (it's not necessary!), there was something funny I found in the email:

"The Bible teaches that a person must be baptized (immersed in water as a believer) to be saved, that is, to become a Christian."

The funny part to me is that in the parenthesis. If someone is immersed in water "as a believer" then wouldn't they already be saved? Remember, the Philippian jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved. Paul answered by saying, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." Therefore, if one is a "true" believer, then the parenthetical phrase above has destroyed the Church of Christ debater. And well it should! To teach that baptism is necessary for salvation IS heresy. To add anything to the Gospel of Jesus Christ takes away from His wondrous work.

You CANNOT work for your salvation, speak your way into salvation (tongues included!), get wet enough for salvation (baptism is obedience not salvation), nor join enough churches to "get saved."

[Surely between this and the King James only debate, I'll have somebody mad at me!]

KJV vs. Others?

It seems as though which version of the Bible a person uses is still a touchy subject among many people. This week at camp, I was privileged to bring the Monday evening message. I decided to use the New American Standard (NASB) so that it would be clear to the children who do not go to church anywhere. Well, a church (which will not be named because we don't need to personalize this...we just need to discuss the issue) left right after I read my text out of the New American Standard. Needless to say, it was somewhat hard to concentrate on my preaching while they were getting up and leaving from the Tabernacle. Anyway, I talked to the pastor afterwards, and he said that he and his church do not use anything except the King James. He also said that it was nothing personal which I believe him to be telling the truth. Also, there was a sponsors meeting where this issue was discussed (the motion was finally tabled). All this information is to show how divisive an issue this still is. What do you think? What version and why? I'm sure we can get some good discussion going on this one!

Back From Camp!

Well, I finally made it! We finished our VBS last week and our camp this week. While my blogging has suffered, I hope you all will continue to check in. Next week I will attend the ABA Messenger Meeting in Tulsa, OK and then take a fews days off. I'll try to check in when I can, however, y'all just keep "arguing" and I'll catch up when I can. Take care!

What A Mix!

Well, since there is not much to be discussed concerning Big 10 football (sorry, Anoetos, but we all know the Big 12 is better!), I decided to use Leland's comments and see what everyone else thought. So here is the first of a few posts that actually came from "y'all"!

Leland asked:
Should people of different races worship together in the same church? Is it wrong for two believers of different ethnicities to marry?

In many places, this is a very divisive issue. What do you think the Word of God says about such a mixing of races?

Believe It Or Not

Well, you probably will believe it, and I'm sure you'll get a laugh out of it too! Saturday night as I sat at my computer finishing the powerpoint for our VBS, my computer started acting weird again. It has been doing this for about a month, but I didn't have the time (or money) to fix it. So, I kept using it. Anyway, as I sat there finishing my work, the monitor started...well, it was doing weird things. Fortunately, I saw what was coming and was able to save all my work on my flash drive (thank goodness I already had it plugged in!). Right after I saved my last file (this work had taken me 7 hours to do, okay...), the monitor exploded. Well, maybe it didn't explode, but it popped and blew smoke everywhere. So, here I am sitting in my family room surrounded by smoke, and then I realize...I need to change the batteries in the smoke alarms (this little incident would have definitely set it off!). Anyway, I had to borrow another computer and finish my work. But as I said, I'm sure you'll find it funny, and I probably would have too if I could have seen the look on my face.

Now I've said all that to explain for my lax blogging. It's hard to see when you don't have a monitor! But thank goodness I kept an old one and am using it for now. Oh I can't wait for the day I get a laptop with internet from Cingular or Alltel! No more dial-up then baby!

Pick 5

Well, I'm probably crazy for doing this, but I would like to know the top 5 topics that you would like to discuss on this blog. While there is no guarantee that we will discuss them, I will do my best to cover most topics, for I'm sure there are many areas of discussion that I have not thought about yet. Besides, this is one way for you to help direct this blog (which I will still control...muahahaha...you know, the evil laugh).

A Thought Provoking Post

My uncle has an interesting post about whether or not pastors, ministers, etc. should receive salaries. He has provided some thoughts and been quite fair in his assessment of the people involved. Whether or not you agree with his final finding, it would benefit you to check it out. Here is his blog: Music & Ministry.