Progress

A Perfect Injustice

2010-03-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here is another well-produced video, this time with super photography, on the ministry to street children in Kampala, Uganda that I mentioned last time. Again, the photography by Phillip Glickman is amazing. Watch. Support the ministry of Global Hope Resources.

Vote for Global Hope

2010-03-02T20:35:00.000-05:00

Embedded below is a short video about a ministry of Global Hope Resources, and the work of Abby Tracy in Kampala, Uganda. The piece is a submission by Sophia Ruvolo to YouTube’s Project: Report contest. Just last week, Abby came to our church while in the States to speak at our missions festival, and she also spoke in my LIFE class. Her heart for street children in Kampala is contagious. God

Restoring the Family

2010-02-28T16:58:00.001-05:00

For many who live in our not-my-fault modern world, the concept of brotherly and sisterly confrontation, and eventual church discipline, seems foreign. With Christians who grew up in a church context that did not practice discipline, or for nonbelievers who may stumble upon a web post like this, the idea may sound harsh or unloving. To the contrary, it is a loving and gracious component of what

Succession of Leaders

2010-01-31T23:41:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, the bottom fell out from under the late night TV talk show world. When local NBC affiliates threatened to preempt The Jay Leno Show due to the show’s low ratings damaging their late local newscasts, NBC decided to shift gears. Although in 2004 they had contracted with Conan O’Brien, then host of Late Night, to take the helm of The Tonight Show in 2009, his Tonight ratings

What Jesus Receives (Part 2)

2009-12-31T15:45:00.000-05:00

So how did you do with your gift determinations this Christmas? In the previous post, I mention the ways that we tend, whether intentionally or not, to place value judgments on others as we decide if we will give a gift at all, and if so, how nice of a gift. And, when it comes to Jesus, although He deserves our worship and our very best of everything—like what the lady in Mark’s Gospel, chapter

What Jesus Receives (Part 1)

2009-12-15T13:25:00.000-05:00

Do you place an upper-limit cap on how much you are willing to give certain people this time of year? We just saw a scene from a film where the main joke is that the gift giver at a family gathering doesn’t realize that a gift cap has been set. So he hands out his boxes completely confident that the recipients will enjoy his prized gifts. Even after finding out that a cap was supposed to

Catching Up

2009-12-15T13:05:00.000-05:00

Wow, the illness I mentioned in earlier posts really knocked me out for several days, which put me behind at work, as well as these year-in-review posts. For anyone who read the first few, thank you. I obviously have had to revise my efforts at daily December posts, but there are a few more items from this year that have left a lasting, positive mark that I will share here. I simply wanted to

Year in Review 2009: SimChurch Preview

2009-12-04T23:56:00.001-05:00

Tonight’s post will be extra short, as my sickness recovery took a retreat, and I’m not feeling well at all this evening. My light and temporary illness causes me to think even more about the Chandler family. I’m still praying for Matt Chandler, lead pastor at The Village Church near Dallas, Texas, who underwent surgery today to remove a significant portion of the right frontal lobe of

Year in Review 2009: Tweeting Congressmen

2009-12-03T23:39:00.000-05:00

Since about midnight almost 24 hours ago I have been quite sick. Chills, aches, fever. I missed work and our staff Christmas dinner. No fun. But I’m on the mend. Today, when not sleeping off my illness, I tried to think of the best article from the year. Although I’m in the habit of reading lots of articles, most are from news websites about politics, society, culture. Not usually the kind

Year in Review 2009: Ray’s Pizza

2009-12-02T23:55:00.001-05:00

The Bell #best09 Blog Challenge prompt for the day is to share a good restaurant moment from this year. I had a restaurant moment just today with my friend Matt. Jason’s Deli. Half a Club Royale and a cup of Spicy Seafood Gumbo. It was a good restaurant moment. Come to think of it, any time I get to eat out is a good restaurant moment. But one restaurant event that I thought might be

Year in Review 2009

2009-12-02T23:26:00.001-05:00

Last night I hurriedly completed an entry that probably didn’t make much sense to anyone who loosely follows what I ever-so-loosely write. So let me explain. One of our friends, Jenn, who is now a newlywed Cali gal, tweeted about Gwen Bell and her Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. While I had not heard of Gwen, I thought this looked like an interesting global call to keyboards everywhere. Gwen

Year in Review 2009: Kauai Trip

2009-12-01T23:59:00.001-05:00

Although I have no idea who Gwen Bell is (please, no offense, Gwen) ;), on the tweeted idea of our dear friend Jenn, I am accepting The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. You can watch for #best09. More about that later. I also have no idea how many days in December I will complete this, but since I have exactly five minutes left to complete today’s challenge idea, I need to make a quick entry.

Marriages, and More Marriages

2009-11-16T00:08:00.003-05:00

I have been marrying couples for a few years, and I usually have two or three weddings per year. However, this year I have had the privilege of officiating the marriage ceremony of several couples. It has been such a blessing to partner with these couples in their progress towards marriage. In our premarital sessions, we have the opportunity for honest conversations about the real issues of

Ten Years: From S1 to FLC and Beyond

2009-11-04T23:47:00.000-05:00

In early August, I celebrated 10 years of teaching the same Bible study class at my church. We began together as Singles 1 (S1), but later dropped the S descriptions, and the general plan was to start using teachers’ last names. We decided that choosing a new name would help in building a new class identity, and ended up calling the group the Foundations LIFE Class (FLC), a place where young

Boston Market Closes for Lunch

2009-10-30T14:54:00.001-04:00

I was planning to get lunch today from Boston Market, but was unable to do so, as you can see below. I have to say, this is the most interesting business model for a restaurant I’ve ever seen.

Reaching Eight

2009-09-30T08:10:00.000-04:00

A couple of days before our wedding anniversary at the beginning of this month, my wife and I were blessed to use a gift certificate we had been holding for a nice occasion. An anniversary seemed nice enough to us. We went to an exceptional restaurant where we enjoyed excellent steaks. Our server was a friendly guy who took great care of us. He knew we were there for a special event, and

Dimensions of the Atonement of Christ

2009-08-02T23:58:00.000-04:00

As a follow up to the previous post, and in an effort to again publish some notes from my class, here is a concise list of what happens in Christ’s atonement for us. Although not exhaustive, these items represent the basics of Christian thought on what takes place in the penal substitution view (see previous post) of the atonement of Christ. 1. The need for a sacrifice God cannot simply

Understanding the Atonement

2009-07-28T07:52:00.000-04:00

What follows are some of the views or theories of the atonement that developed over the centuries. The list is not exhaustive. Only the penal substitution view (#6 below) carefully follows the teaching of Scripture. The other theories/views either are or lead to heresy, and have been instrumental in the starting of sects or cults. This information can be found in many good systematic

Advance Conference: Day Two

2009-06-05T23:48:00.003-04:00

The second day of the Advance Conference at the DPAC in Durham was perhaps even more convicting than the first. Ed Stetzer, J.D. Greear, Eric Mason, Mark Driscoll, and John Piper spoke to the nearly full house of pastors, staff members and everyone else who could attend.For now, I simply wanted to note here that the audio versions of some of the sessions are already available at the Desiring God

Advance Conference: Day One

2009-06-04T23:51:00.004-04:00

It's been quite a while since I've had time to write, as I have been transitioning into a new role on staff. Perhaps I'll make time to write more about that in coming days. For now, I merely wanted to mention that today was the first day of the Advance Conference in Durham.Mark Driscoll, Tyler Jones, Bryan Chapell, and Matt Chandler each spoke about what the church is and what must happen if

David Horner: Principles and Lessons Learned

2009-04-08T12:59:00.001-04:00

Last night I attended the SendRDU Church Planting Forum at The Summit Church. As mentioned here previously, my pastor David Horner spoke on the topic of "The Church that Will Outlive You: Planting a Church that Will Last." He started Providence in 1978 and has led the church for over 30 years, so he has the requisite experience to talk to planters about a church's longevity and consistency.

SendRDU Forum with David Horner

2009-04-06T12:56:00.001-04:00

Last minute, but wanted to broadcast this opportunity for tomorrow evening, Tuesday, April 7, for everyone in the Triangle area. David Horner, my pastor (and boss), will be speaking about churches that last at a church planting forum at The Summit Church. From the SendRDU website: Church Planting Forum - April 7th David Horner The Church that Will Outlive You: Planting a Church that

Exponential 09

2009-04-03T12:33:00.000-04:00

Wanted to mention this great opportunity: the upcoming Exponential Conference in Orlando, FL. The conference is also, or perhaps formerly, known as the National New Church Conference. This year, instead of focusing primarily on the science and practice of church planting, the organizers hope to emphasize the art and movement aspect of starting new churches. Click the banner below for more info

Mindful of Heaven

2009-02-21T22:53:00.000-05:00

It seems that, in popular culture, the idea of the "End" or of heaven has always prompted some interesting responses. But Doomsday in 2012? "Fueled by a crop of books, Web sites with countdown clocks, and claims about ancient timekeepers, interest is growing in what some see as the dawn of a new era, and others as an expiration date for Earth: December 21, 2012." After recently seeing the

A New President

2009-01-19T23:58:00.000-05:00

On the eve of the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama, there are a couple of observations that I would like to share. First, although I would much prefer that Obama were far more socially conservative, it is of huge significance that our nation has elected our first African-American president. To have a black American chosen as our chief executive and commander-in-chief makes such