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Image Bearers: Have We Lost the Image of God?

M.R. Conrad ⁃

Read Part 1.

The mirror shattered. When first made, the mirror perfectly reflected its Maker. A clean, clear picture revealed Him. But when the pit of that fruit struck the glass, snaking cracks distorted His image. Blurring obscured what He intended His creation to see. God’s image remained but not as He designed it to be.


Gallup: Americans Back IVF; Divide on Morality of Destroying Embryos

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“82% saying [IVF] is morally acceptable and 10% saying it is morally wrong. However…divided about destroying frozen human embryos created by in-vitro fertilization, with 49% believing it is moral to do so and 43% disagreeing.” - Gallup

Related:


The Reformed Church in America to vote on restructuring

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“In the past five years, the Reformed Church in America…has lost almost half its membership and nearly a quarter of its churches. Some members see in the collapse an opportunity to reinvent the 400-year-old church, founded by Dutch settlers in the mid-1600s.” - RNS


PCA votes to commend letter to Biden calling for ban on sex-change surgeries for kids

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“The Presbyterian Church in America General Assembly has voted to commend a letter calling for public officials to stop mutilating the bodies of youth suffering from gender dysphoria.” - Christian Post

Also at PCA General Assembly: PCA Will Investigate ‘Jesus Calling’ Book - Christianity Today


Supreme Court preserves abortion pill access after tossing challenge

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“The U.S. Supreme Court threw out its biggest abortion-related case since overturning Roe v. Wade two years ago, saying Thursday that doctors opposed to a commonly used abortion pill lacked legal standing.” - Axios

Also: Supreme Court Rules Doctors Don’t Have Standing — Conscience Protections Upheld, Abortion Pill Safety Not Addressed - Daily Citizen


What Does It Mean to Stand with Israel? (Part 4)

Paul J. Scharf ⁃

Read the series.

What does it mean to stand with Israel? My wife Lynnette and I were challenged to think about that question in a completely new way on Friday, June 7, when we heard a firsthand account of the terrorist massacre that Hamas unleashed last October 7.

Presenting were two survivors of Kibbutz Be’eri, an avocado farming community situated roughly two miles from Gaza. It was Hamas’ first target on that horrible morning. For the sake of caution, I will use only the first names of the speakers, Yarden and Mika.

The event, called “Faces of October 7th,” was held at DaySpring Church in Pewaukee, Wis., with roughly 350 people in attendance.


Is It the End of the Line for Mainlines?

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“The liberal Methodists of North America have now virtually guaranteed their denomination’s extinction. Conservative Methodists around the world were and still are the lifeblood of the tradition….In this, they represent the larger trend in Mainline Protestant churches.” - Breakpoint


Comics, Charlie Brown and Our Hunger for Wholesomeness

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“For the last decade, my sons and I have enjoyed following various storylines in Peanuts each day. One of boys describes and reads the dialogue out loud at breakfast. They’re always fun, sometimes whimsical, often hilarious – and always wholesome.” - Daily Citizen


Answering the Best Critic of the NKJV

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“Charles Surrett… has done the most careful work evaluating the New King James. He’s taken the time to sit down and look at the New King James rather than just dismissing it.” - Mark Ward


How Should I Serve My Church after I Stop Being Its Senior Pastor?

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“I’m faced with lots of options: leaving completely, remaining as a staff pastor with a different role, and everything in between. I don’t know what my future will look like, but I do know a few truths that will inform my answer.” - 9 Marks


SBC 'Law Amendment' Fails to Reach 2/3 Vote

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“The Wednesday (June 12) vote, 61.45% in favor and 38.38% against, did not receive the two-thirds tally required during the second day of the two-day annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. A total of 8,284 messengers, or delegates, voted.” - RNS

Also: SBC Will Not Add Language Banning Women Pastors to Constitution - Church Leaders


Four Things I Learned from Dad

Aaron Blumer ⁃

First posted at Sharper Iron on July 24, 2009. Larry Blumer, the “Dad” in this essay, went to be with the Lord August 17, 2011.

An old adage says that when you’re sixteen your dad doesn’t know anything, when you’re twenty-six he’s occasionally sensible, and when you’re thirty-six he’s one of the wisest people you know. I can testify that there is some truth in that observation. Though I still rarely seek my dad’s advice, it’s because—at age forty-three—I have come to realize how much of his advice I’ve already absorbed from growing up around him.

Our Savior bought us with His own blood in order to redeem us and remake us in His image. That transformation is central to His great gospel purpose. In my life, He used my dad to accomplish some important parts of that purpose.

Four values

I don’t think my dad sat down and planned, “I need to teach these four values to my kids.” He did it mostly by just being there and speaking his mind (sometimes with passion!) in the context of a life that made what he meant unmistakably clear.

1. Dependability

Bob Jones Sr. was fond of saying, “The greatest ability is dependability,” but that concept was familiar to me long before I read it in high school. I remember hearing as a kid, “If you say you’re going to do something, you do it. If you say you’re going to be somewhere, you be there,” and other variations on that theme (See Prov. 25:19). Dad wasn’t trying to preach, but his words drove a biblical principle deep into my young mind.


Clint Pressley elected SBC president in Indianapolis

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“North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley was elected SBC president Wednesday (June 12) in an election that began with six candidates and required two run-off ballots.” - Baptist Press


The Pursuit of (Which) Happiness?

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“Admittedly, many Christians will insist joy (deep, serious, lasting) should be sharply distinguished from happiness (light, trivial, fleeting), but this is a relatively recent—and in my view unhelpful—distinction.” - TGC


What did church leadership look like in the first century?

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“The general norm in the first century seems to be that churches were led by multiple elders/overseers/pastors. Some see this plurality as a command. I’m not sure it quite rises to that level.” - DBTS Blog


Pew Research: Most Black Americans Believe Racial Conspiracy Theories About U.S. Institutions

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“for example, 82% of Black adults say they have heard the following racial conspiracy theory…Black people are more likely than White people to be incarcerated because prisons want to make money on the backs of Black people. Many Black adults (74%) say this racial conspiracy theory is true and happening in the U.S. today.” - Pew


SBC Messengers vote to refer sexual abuse reform priorities to SBC Executive Committee

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“On Tuesday afternoon, June 11, messengers to the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis overwhelmingly approved two recommendations brought forward by the SBC Abuse Reform and Implementation Task Force (ARITF).” - Baptist Press


Preparing a Church for Pastoral Transition

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“The life cycle of a church includes a number of memorable milestones. One is pastoral transition. The longer a pastor has provided leadership, the more challenging the transition can be. That’s why it’s important to think carefully about how to navigate such waters.” - 9 Marks


Young Man, Don’t Even Make That First Sports Bet

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“If you’re a man, and especially if you’re a young man, they’re after you. They want you. And they know you’re vulnerable…. I’m going to give you four reasons that betting is not only unwise but also sinful” - Challies


7 Reasons Why Pastors Need Encouragement Today

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“A pastor’s work is never done…. Sermon preparation is difficult work…. Seldom is a pastor not at least ‘on call.’… A word of encouragement is often unexpected and surprising.” - Chuck Lawless


Meet the Man on a Mission to Improve Religion Coverage in America

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“Josh Good hosts big conversations about religion and public life through the Faith Angle Forum” - Deseret News


Tony Evans Steps Away from Ministry, Citing Old Sin

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“The first African American to have both a study Bible and a full Bible commentary bearing his name said he will submit to the ‘biblical standard of repentance and restoration.’” - Christianity Today

Related:

Pastor Tony Evans steps away from Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship leadership ‘due to sin’ - Christian Post Similar at RNS

Pew Research: Religious values and the 2024 election

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“A large majority of voters (71%) believe that religion should be kept separate from government policies; just 28% say government policies should support religious values and beliefs. These views have changed very little in recent years.” - Pew


BJU: Can’t Beat the Real Thing

C. D. Cauthorne Jr. ⁃

A relatively unknown Greenville pastor, Joshua Crockett, recently ascended to what would have been, in the latter half of the twentieth century, one of the most prominent positions in Fundamentalism—the presidency of Bob Jones University. Thankfully, with the exception of a few on the fringes, most seem to be satisfied with his choice, or at least they are willing to give him a chance.

As he begins his presidency, Crockett should ask himself two questions. First, what can I learn from my predecessor? Second, how can I “strengthen the things which remain”?1


Do you believe regeneration precedes faith?

Ed Vasicek ⁃

The “ordo salutis,” the “order of salvation” is part of most theological curriculums. But, apart from accepted systems, what is your viewpoint about the matter?

Feel free to share your thoughts, and how they may have changed over the years.


A Compendium of Articles and Videos Supporting the SBC ‘Law Amendment’ on Women as Pastors

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“The Mike Law Amendment is one of the biggest votes at the SBC convention this year (currently slated for Wednesday morning at 10:05am at the Indiana Convention Center)” - Christ Over All


Intelligent Design Goes Mainstream

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“Meyer has been taking intelligent design discourse mainstream lately. Last year, he appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience to make the case that science can and does point to a Designer. And last month, he got a surprisingly warm reception on Piers Morgan Uncensored” - Breakpoint


Two States Pass Laws Defining ‘Male’ and ‘Female’ and Protecting Women’s Spaces

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“Oklahoma and Louisiana – have enacted laws that recognize the biological differences between men and women, and preserve women’s privacy and sex-segregated spaces.” - Daily Citizen


What Is the Theology of Self-Care?

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“If we’re not careful, we can buy into a kind of modern-day gnostic heresy, where we deny the value of the body and the reality of our need to care for it.” - Christian Leaders