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.

“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:

“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

At TGC…

“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

“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

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.

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

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.

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

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

“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:

“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

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

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.

“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

“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

“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

“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