I recently posted to an internet discussion group the claim that none of the KJV’s contemporaries or those for many generations afterward had the temerity to affirm that the KJV was a perfect, flawless, unimprovable English Bible version as is claimed by some today. To the contrary, from the beginning, it was recognized as being flawed in numerous details, and certainly was susceptible to correction and improvement to bring it into closer conformity to the Bible text in the original Hebrew and Greek.

“Eighty-four percent of pastors say the local church’s role in community is to ‘tell others about Jesus’” vs. 58% of Christians and 30% of non-Christians. - Barna

“I am finished with Target. I do not care how many other people go to the store, what boycotts are happening… walking down an aisle where a gay-trans agenda is being pushed upon children is abhorrent to me. A company that promotes such an attack on children will never ever get my business again.” - P&D

“This day of teaching and fellowship, Jeremy explains, invites ‘specialized theologians to challenge and deepen the theological wells of pastors and ministry leaders in Wisconsin and northern Illinois” and surrounding areas.’” - GARBC

“Mike Stone is promising to stand up against what he describes as a ‘cancel culture’ within the Southern Baptist Convention if he’s elected SBC president…. Bart Barber says he wants to finish tasks he began after being elected to the post a year ago.” - C.Index

“With this connection, the device — a coin-sized chip called the ‘Link’ — allows for continuous communication and is designed to not only ‘read’ neural activity but ‘write’ signals into the brain.” - CPost

“Whether we’re having conversations about gender with our colleagues or our kids, we need a better answer than anatomical differences and temporary job descriptions.” - TGC

“About three-quarters of U.S. adults (73%) rate spending time with family as one of the most important things to them personally, regardless of how much time they actually devote to it.” - Pew

“Deneen calls for ‘a new elite … dedicated to the promotion and construction of a society that assists ordinary fellow citizens in achieving lives of flourishing.’ The result is a regime that is ‘left-economic and social-conservative.’” - Public Discourse

“Increased potency of marijuana in the global market is a factor, and lawmakers have ‘decreas[ed] the public’s perception of its harm,’ according to the study’s lead author.” - Breakpoint

“ ‘The real problem isn’t people. It’s the reward structure on social platforms’…. the incentives for scientists to publish and for journals to attract readers, jargon and other features of scientific publishing — can also contribute” - Axios

“There are valid and interesting questions about the particularities that give contemporary worship music its resonance—borrowed conventions of secular love songs and pop ballads or associations with the aesthetics of high-energy arena rock concerts” - CToday

“The SBC Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force says it is preparing to launch a ministry database website as ordered by messengers to the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim.” - BPNews

Read the series.

Faith Baptist Bible College
Ankeny, Iowa

More information at https://faith.edu/global-reach-conference/

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

“Such whole-life training, as extended preparation for healthy adulthood, is our calling as Christian parents, training both the outer person and behaviors as well as pressing through to the heart” - Desiring God

“To kick off this partnership, they conducted a survey of 742 Canadian Christians between the ages of 18 and 40 to learn more about what they currently think concerning climate change and how the church is already doing at addressing the issue.” - CToday

Barna study: “While a majority of Americans have a positive view of Jesus, most, including Christians, also have a negative opinion of celebrity Christian culture, celebrity pastors, Evangelicals, megachurches and famous worship bands” - CPost

“the Left has turned to the claim that civil rights law… mandates pro-active government measures to remove social stigma…. blatant effort to gain what social conservatives have complained about for years, the claim of a right not to be offended.” - Juicy Ecumenism

“Under the categories of ‘God and Theological Method’ he addresses issues like these: It is important to believe in something, and it does not matter what…Theology puts God in a box…Doctrine divides while love unites” - Challies

What Is a Church? - 9 Marks

Another Memorial Day is upon us—a wonderful time to remember those who sacrificed to preserve our freedom, and to reflect upon all who have passed a spiritual legacy forward to us and blessed us—even in our own families.

During this patriotic season, it is also important to consider how God uses nations, and to meditate on the place that our nation occupies within the spectrum of Biblical teaching regarding the Lord’s dealings with the people groups of this world.

“According to the Bible, the answer is “Yes.” Now a fair response would be to say, “Ok, how? What does that look like?” The best description I know of in the New Testament comes from Romans 1” - Tim Augustyn

William Thornton reflects on the SBC presidency, the no-women-as-pastors amendment, Saddleback and ARITF - SBC Voices

“…despite rumors of a mass migration, most pastors stayed. In the fall of 2021, the rate of evangelical pastors quitting before retirement was 1.5 percent, up only a little from the 1.3 percent resignation rate in 2015.” - TGC

“Many reasons social media can be harmful to kids are outlined in the report… it may lay addictive pathways in the brain… may introduce easier access to potentially dangerous strangers into kids’ lives.” - CNet

Read the series.

We have previously looked at how Elijah and Elisha set the tone for the relationship of a rabbi to his disciples. We also noted how the miracles Elijah and Elisha performed perhaps set the tone for Jesus’ miracles. In today’s post, we distinguish between the contemporary usage of “discipleship” and actual discipleship as demonstrated in the Gospels.¹

“It is this tendency to adjustment among evangelicals that is responsible for the call to return to a classical theism defined in strongly Thomistic terms. Along with the onset of Enlightenment rationalism, it must be understood if the Trinity Wars are to be understood.” - Word by Word