My friend, David W. Cleland, is now writing at and about The Savannah Project. He has moved a time zone, switched blogging platforms, and even converted blog genres (the third day of my week feels empty without Cat Tuesdays). More than that, he’s committed to planting a church in his hometown, a church he hopes will be rooted in the rich soil of God’s Word.
One’s attitude does not produce discernment, like sadness can’t diagnose disease. On the other hand, the right attitude should be one of the results of discernment, like an accurate diagnosis may cause sorrow. As always, discernment flourishes only when energized by the light of doctrine.
Discernment is not created in God’s people by brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance. It is created by biblical truth and the application of truth by the power of the Holy Spirit to our hearts and minds. When that happens, then the brokenness, humility, reverence, and repentance will have the strong fiber of the full counsel of God in them. They will be profoundly Christian and not merely religious and emotional and psychological.
Quoted from John Piper’s post, Test Revival with Doctrine.
Ryan Hall is eager for the upcoming seminar on Bible study. We should all have this attitude and perspective toward our copies of God’s Word:
I want to become a kid in the candy store when it comes to reading through the pages of Scripture. You can never out-study the truths of the Bible.
According to 50 former pastors, faithful pastoral ministry requires initiative and discipline, with a vivid sense of divine calling, from a constantly refurbished theological commitment, and personal, growing affection for the sheep.
HT: B2W
The Everett Herald featured a great article today about Grant Weinberg as a walking miracle. (The write-up ran on the front page of the printed version). We started following this story the day it happened and praise God again for His goodness.
Here’s a BRIEFING on one-to-one ministry that compliments much of the Biblical Shepherding Bull’s-eye and prepares the way for a Practical Plan of Discipleship. For a taste:
Effective one-to-one Christian ministry is not limited to counseling, nor is it essentially about solving personal or emotional problems. What is it then? It is forming a relationship with another individual for the purpose of mutual growth in Christian understanding, obedience and service of others.
I don’t love the recommended resources near the end but the rest of the article is worth the time to read and implement.
Chuck Weinberg started a new blog to give updates on Grant’s condition and to thank God for His goodness. With his son in the Critical Care Unit hooked to a breathing machine, sitting in the waiting room unsure of what’s next, his first thought for a blog name was How good is God? This wasn’t a question for him of whether or not God is good, but a question of recognizing how good God really is. How good is that perspective?
For another first hand account, read what Micah Lugg learned from sitting at the hospital all day.
A cold “blog booger” on a paper plate collected some sentences from Calvin about God’s being due our adoration, trust, invocation, thanksgiving. I was laid low especially by my need for invocation, “the habit of the mind, whenever necessity presses us, of resorting to His faithfulness and help as our only support.”
This video of The Gospel in 6 Minutes is a terrific asset for both evangelism and edification. I benefited from it so much I added it to the one28 – About page.
The TruThseeker is back at his blog and crunched some numbers on the average life expectancy increase over three millennia. I’m using my extra 2 minutes and 53 seconds today to write this.