12 Monday Apr 2010
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I’m friends with Aaron, who has a wonderful blog of his own. I’d like to share the first piece of correspondence I exchanged with him. The night that he and I began talking, he was tweeting quotes from Bill Maher’s Religulous. I had a total meltdown when he tweeted something to the effect that “doubt is humble.” So this email resulted.
08 Thursday Apr 2010
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I’m just about as insecure as the next guy. I mean, I hold my own in a discussion, I conduct choirs and orchestras with a minimum of challenges, I speak in front of groups about the Bible with no trouble at all, I can even handle a classroom full of junior high kids for 80 minutes at a time.
But I’ve never gotten past the idea I have about my being physically undesirable. It’s terribly difficult to put myself in situations to ask out girls (which I’ve done three times in my life, being shot down very recently without even as much as a second hearing). I just never think any girl alive (or even guy for that matter) would ever want me. I would categorize myself as clumsy and awkward, even though most people would probably label me as confident.
18 Thursday Mar 2010
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The following post is a continuation of Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, which references this news story.
John & Charles Wesley wrote and translated many wonderful hymns.
But their theology stank.
The idea that “Christian perfection” or “the victorious Christian life” or “walking in the Spirit” could actually happen this side of heaven is nothing but garbage. It doesn’t confront the reality that Paul speaks of his life at the time of his writing Romans 7, not in terms of his pre-Christ state. Romans 7, therefore, is the picture of a Christian…not one who “has not yet surrendered his life to Christ.”
16 Tuesday Mar 2010
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The following post is a continuation of Part 1 of this series, which references this news story.
Quoting Lucky Severson:
Pastor Heidi Neumark says that condemnation has led to outright discrimination. She says too many churches have created an environment where it’s okay to bash gays or lesbians or bisexuals or transgenders, known collectively as LGBTs.
In this, I would say that Neumark has a legitimate complaint. The types of jokes I’ve heard at churches, the types of references to gay individuals said with a sneer, even from a pulpit!…these are real things I’ve experienced myself. This doesn’t mean that everyone who makes a joke or a derisive comment is liable to drag a homosexual behind his/her pickup truck. I’m not nearly that paranoid.
13 Saturday Mar 2010
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This news story was brought to my attention by someone who was curious as to my reaction to it, so here are some thoughts regarding it. As always, I welcome comments on my opinions but I ask that anyone who comments to take the time to watch the story and/or read the transcript at the link already referenced so that any discussion can be useful and productive.
12 Friday Mar 2010
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Justin Taylor, over at his Between Two Worlds blog, answers the question, “Are we still responsible for sins for which we may be genetically predisposed?” I think it deserves a careful read.
03 Sunday Jan 2010
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I spent the evening with a dear friend and his boyfriend this evening. I haven’t seen this friend in a very long time and it was wonderful to meet his boyfriend and get caught up on friendship stuff. I have found that it is an excellent idea to let folks whom I love know that I love them unconditionally, whether or not I agree with their decisions, like their sins (because I am aware that I sin…a LOT), or think they could be more moral. What I’m supposed to do is to call them (as myself) to repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ.
26 Saturday Dec 2009
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culture, experience, false teaching, homosexuality, relationships, repentance, Scripture, self-help, theology
One of the guys in my same-sex attraction group sent the following email out to the guys right before Christmas. I finally had a chance to read it and respond, so I thought I’d share that with you, the folks who read my blog.
01 Tuesday Dec 2009
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I was a teacher for a while in public schools. My student teaching experience was in an affluent community comprised of white, Jewish and students of international origin. The kids were all descendants of doctors, lawyers and community pillars of some sort or other. My teaching experience was in a district which was predominantly low-income, one parent (grandparent, that is) families.
27 Tuesday Oct 2009
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Grace to you and peace from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
–Galatians 1:3-5, ESV
Gay and Evangelical 