Page and Women Pastors

Our SBC president, Dr. Frank Page, has been criticized recently for the stance taken in his Ph.D. dissertation embracing women serving as pastors. His dissertation, written in the 80s at Southwestern Seminary, should not be taken as his position today and certainly reflects the climate at Southwestern and other Baptist seminaries at that time. Most professors would have embraced the idea, and it is not unusual at all for students to see things as their profs. Of course, that is the reason James says teachers receive the more strict judgement. We must be careful. Dr. Page is a firm supporter of the Baptist Faith and Message and should be applauded for changing his mind.

By the way, what has happened to Dr. Page makes me glad that there is nothing controversial about "The Reconstruction and Evaluation of the Johannine Text of John Chrysostom."

Alcohol

Daniel Aiken, president of Southeastern Seminary, has written a timely and personal appeal for alcohol abstinence. You need to read it.

http://www.bpnews.org/bpnews.asp?ID=23576

I would simply add Amen!

FBC Taylors

Today we worshiped at First Baptist Church Taylors. Of course, Dr. Frank Paige, new president of the SBC is pastor there. For those who read the blog regularly, you'll know that pratically every church we've attended this summer has been without a pastor. True to form today, we visited FBC and Dr. Paige was on vacation! So although FBC has a pastor, we didn't hear him.

We did, however, hear a splendid message from Dr. Wilson Nelson [not Willie!]. Dr. Nelson served several years as pastor of FBC Greer [one of the pastorless churches we've attended!] and is now serving at North Greenville University. His message from Jeremiah 1:1-10 was timely and certainly could be applied to all as he dealt with God's plan for our lives. Every individual is precious to God, and He desires each to be saved and to serve Him.

Maybe someday we'll attend a church where its pastor will preach! I'm beginning to doubt it.

Ranger Trade

Altough I'm in SC, Andrew and I are still Ranger fans. I'm excited about the trade today for Carlos Lee. I hate we gave up Kevin Mench, but Cordero has been very inconsistent this year. Time will tell, but the Ranger lineup should become much more potent. I've been complaining all year about losing Alfonso Soriano. This may quiet me; we'll see.

Leon Morris

I read this morning of the death earlier this week of NT scholar Leon Morris. He was and will remain one of my favorites. There is nothing that he has written that is not on target. His The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance is one of the best theologies on the cross you'll ever read. He will likely be best remembered for his work on John's Gospel. I'm sure he's heard a "Well done" from the Lord.

CP Once More

Dr. John Sullivan, Executive Director of the Florida Baptist Convention, comments this week in The Florida Baptist Witness concerning the Cooperative Program. I agree with him that the CP is neither perfect nor foolproof, but it is "the best financial methodology I can find for funding a world mission strategy." He calls the CP a "sacred how" not a "sacred cow." Well said.

http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/6152.article

Middle East

I read an intersting opinion piece yesterday by Suzanne Fields in The Greenville News concerning the Middle East. In essence, she wrote that while many believe that Israel should show restraint in the current conflict, all their enemies understand is power. There is much here that is worth noting, but I'll only mention the following:

"Ariel Sharon, showing restraint, organized the withdrawl from Gaza as a way to achieve peace through strength, a controversial idea but nevertheless credible. You could call it agressive restraint. All that was wrong with it was that it didn't work and was perceived as weakness by the enemies of Israel.
The only thing Israel got was more rockets on its cities, the elevation of Hamas to power and the kidnapping of its soldiers standing duty in Israeli territory."

In an article in last week's Florida Baptist Witness, Jim Sibley, a former Baptist represenative in Israel and currently with Criswell College in Dallas, called on Christians to pray for leaders in the Middle East involved in the conflict so they might find a peaceful solution. He said, however, that groups like Hezbollah, motivated by "Satanic forces" will never live at peace with Israel. He is quoted: "The terrorism of Hezbollah must be answered and it must be crused. We should not be no naive as to think they are seeking peace. They are seeking the destruction of Israel."

Read the entire article at: http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/6166.article.

The Great Math Mystery

I was reading over the weekend one of the great "millennium math problems" has been solved. For six years seven-million dollars in prize money has been unclaimed at the Clay Mathematics Institute in Cambridge, Mass, waiting for someone to solve any of the several problems, the oldest dating back to 1859. It appears, however, that the Poincare conjecture has been proved by a mathematician in Russia. Grigori Perelman's solution has been under scrutiny for four years and appears to hold up.

Now if I could get him to adequately explain the Trinity!

Summer Camps

Al Mohler has an interesting blog this morning about summer camp. It seems fewer kids are going, both to the secular and Christian camps. I hope this downward trend reverses itself. Many a life has been changed at youth camp, including my own children's.

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=724

Confidants

I read an interesting article yesterday which reported that Americans have fewer confidants--people with whom they confide and discuss important matters than they did 20 years ago. 25% of people surveyed in a study published last month in The American Sociological Review said they had no one to talk to about matters that were important to them.

I have said for years that America is a country with a "privacy-fence" mentality. We just don't get involved in the lives of people around us. Are Christian Americans any better? No.

Take a look around you. Are there people who need you, perhaps just to talk? Loneliness is a terrible disease. Christian fellowship could provide an antidote.

On Growing Old

I got this from Ben Witherington's blog, and I thought you might enjoy it.

The following are comments by men and women over 50 on their creeping decrepitude. As my English Prof at Carolina once said--- 'there are days after 40 when you realize your body is your mortal enemy.'The nice thing about growing senility is you can hide your own Easter eggs, and you can also pray the senility prayer---'Lord grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

''My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

''Don't let aging get you down. It's too hard to get up again.

''Don't think of it as hot flashes, think of it as your inner child playing with matches.

''Its scary when your stomnach starts making the same noises as your coffee maker.

''The elderly widow was approached by the undertaker with the question: 'How old was your husband when he died?' She replied 'He was 98, two years older than me.' She then paused and added :' Its hardly worth my going home now is it?

'The elderly gentleman said--- 'I have had bypass surgery, am largely deaf, and have both prostate issues and old age diabetes, and take about 40 different medicines that give me dizzy spells, but thank God I still have my driver's license!'

'These days about half the stuff in my grocery cart says 'For fast relief.'

An elderly widower asked the preacher to arrange to have him be cremated when he died, and have his ashes scattered over Walmart. When the preacher asked why the reply was 'This way I know my offspring will visit me twice a week.'

A news reporter interviewed an 104 year old lady about what was the best thing about being 104. Her reply was 'There's no peer pressure.'

Finally Home!

Well we finally made it back from Texas on Saturday evening. Lesa and I agreed that this was the hardest trip ever. We did 2,000+ miles in four days. We left to close on our house on Wednesday morning, stopping in Vicksburg, MS. We got into Texas on Thursday afternoon, picked up another U-Haul trailer, and headed to the house in Burleson. We packed the trailer on Thursday [by the way, it was 103 degrees in Texas!]. On Friday morning we closed on the house and headed back to SC. I think we stayed in Pearl, MS on Friday night just outside of Jackson. The final leg began early yesterday morning.

We've decided that we might not even want to go to the grocery store for the next six months. Just looking at the van makes us both very ill!

All the business in TX is finished now, I guess. So long Lone Star State. We hardly knew ye.

Visitation

So far we've visited four churches in area, and we've been visited by only two of them. We had a very pleasant visit last night from folks whose church we attended last week. What about the other two churches? Well one of them sent us a letter, telling us that if we wanted a staff member to visit we needed to come again and indicate our desire for a visit on the visitor's card. I guess our visit to them was not indication enough that we were interested. One other church, one of the larger ones in town, has not bothered to contact us at all, although we filled out their visitor's information.

We received further information about the churches that sent visitors, and they're on our "let's go back" list. We would have liked information from the other two, but they've been crossed off that list because they showed no interest in us.

By the way, it is instructive to note that the two churches that sent visitors were also the most "friendly" during our Sunday morning visit. Is there a correlation? I think so. Churches that want people to come back are proactive in greeting new people in worship and are quick to contact them in person during the following week. Churches on the go will grow!

We're taking another step in our church search by going to Sunday School this week. It is there where you usually find out what the church is really all about. We'll keep you posted.

Luke Birth Narrative

As you know, I'm reading through the Greek New Testament in canonical order. I've finished the first two gospels and began Luke this morning. I was struck again, as I read the birth narrative, how simple and beautiful it is. I was stirred again by the words of Gabriel to Mary:

Luke 1:30-33 (HCSB) ³⁰ Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name JESUS. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

I know it's not Christmas yet, but any time of year is right to read about the Incarnation. I praise God the Father today for the coming of His Son!

Passion Narrative in Mark

I noted on David Alan Black's blog the other day his note on the bloodlessness of the Gospel Passion narratives as the reason he didn't care to see Mel Gibson's movie. Of course that film was quite explicit in that area. It happens that I'm reading Mark's account of the crucifixion now in my devotion time, and I must say that I agree with Dr. Black. Mark does not focus on the physical abuse of Jesus. Why? I think perhaps the focus is instead on the obedience of Jesus to face the cross. The key to chapter 14 of Mark, I think, is the Garden scene where Jesus prays and concludes, "Not my will by your will be done." The physical suffering of Jesus is certainly a fact, and "The Passion of the Christ" deals with that in intricate detail. The Gospels, however, have a different focus--Jesus became "obedient unto death, even death on the cross." I too would rather focus on that.

July 4

There is a good commentary on Baptist Press about the faith of the Founding Fathers. Find it at:

http://bpnews.net/bpcolumn.asp?ID=2302

I watched a great move this morning: "The Crossing," dealing with Washington's crossing of the Deleware. If you ever get a chance to see it you should. It was a daring raid that gave Washington a victory he so desperately needed following a string of defeats.

Happy Birthday America!

Our Graduate

I didn't have the opportunity will all the goings on in moving to post a proper picture of our graduate. Andrew will be a freshman at North Greenville University in the fall. He certainly makes his Mom and Dad look good!

House Sale

We are finally selling our house in Texas! The 7 day "out" period was over Thursday, so it looks like the sale will go through. We're supposed to close July 14! One more trip to Texas, but we'll get another good dose of Mexican food, something we're missing here. Thanks for praying about this matter. The Lord's timing is always right!