A Boomer in the Pew

Tough Questions Christians Face by Ligonier

This sold out conference is occuring at our home church (Scottsdale Bible Church) while my wife and I are in Michigan for a wedding and visiting friends & family.  We are bummed that we are going to miss it.  They are offering a very reasonable "live cast" for $5.

Speakers will include John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, and Ligon Duncan.

Here's a schedule if you want to tune in for a particular session:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Session #1 -- Ligon Duncan
Has Science Disproved the Existence of God?

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Session #2 -- John MacArthur
Why Does God Allow so Much Suffering and Evil?

5:00 - 6:00 p.m. Session #3 -- Questions & Answers

7:45 - 8:45 p.m. Session #4 -- R.C. Sproul
If God is Sovereign, How Can Man be Free?

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Session #5 -- John MacArthur
Is Jesus the Only Way?

10:45 - 11:45 a.m. Session #6 -- Questions & Answers

1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Session #7 -- Ligon Duncan
Should the Church Embrace Postmodernism?

3:45 - 4:30 p.m. Session #8 -- R.C. Sproul
What is the "Gospel"?

Boomer in the Pew @ God Blog Conference

Yesterday was my 52nd birthday.  Here is how I celebrated my birthday. 

This photograph was taken by the Tall Skinny Kiwi, obviously siting behind my wife and me.

My wife made those "Boomer in the Pew" shirts for us before we headed off to the seminar.

I have always been a front row kinda guy.  It looks like this time it may have paid off a bit.  LOL!

Darren Rowse from ProBlogger @ Blog World Expo

We are now back home after attending the Blog World Expo (BWE) and specifically the God Blog Conference which was held within BWE.

Here is a photograph of my beautiful bride with Darren Rowse of Problogger fame.  Darren, as I recall, was involved in starting a church in Australia, and now finds himself as one of the leading bloggers in the world, and a wonderful resource for those who are serious about this "new world" media.

Darren's latest project (b5 Media) has grown to be a  considerable business enterprise with 30 million page views/month.

This morning, my wife and I will be downloading our minds, reviewing materials from the conference, and setting out to get a return for our investment in this conference.

We have a consulting blog about ready to launch and look forward to implementing a few of the skills that we learned from the conference.

We also made a number of new friends from the God Blog Conference that we will be sharing with you, in the coming days, as well.

Well, it's time for breakfast.  I will share more later.

David Well's Surprise 80th Birthday Party

Yesterday we journeyed to Las Vegas for GodBlogCon (God Blog Convention).

Las Vegas is a beautiful 5 hour drive from our home so we decided to take the mountainous drive rather than mess with the airports.  From a practical point of view, we probably get to our hotel quicker driving.

We left a day earlier than necessary for the conference, as we were having a surprise 80th birthday party for my wife's father, David Wells.

Above is my wife Carol (on the left), and her sister Beth sporting their goofy masks with the 80 year old birthday boy in the middle.

In all 16 members of the family made the trek, across the country, to make for a wonderful surprise party for the elder statesman's surprise party.

As you can see, from the group photograph, I use the word "statesman" with a significant amount of tongue and cheek.

Here we have the birthday boy with his two sisters, Dot & Martha.

All in all, we had a wonderful visit with family and now look forward to the upcoming convention.

Tonight we attend an opening reception dinner put on by the Family Research Council.

I will reconnect with you tomorrow to share more of the details of GodBlogCon.  In the meantime, I feel a nap coming on.  The beds here, in the new Trump Las Vegas Hotel are very, very cozy!

Blogger Wes Thorp from "Daily Grit"

Today, I would like to introduce you to my very first blogging friend, Wes Thorp from "Daily Grit".

Wes hails from Lansing, Michigan and we connected as I built my very first blog, The Pacesetter Mortgage Blog (I shut this blog down after I sold the company).  In fact, I hired Wes, as a blog coach, to assist me in getting my blog off the ground.

In no time at all, I had acquired quite a following and found myself being interviewed and/or quoted by U.S. News & World Reports, NPR, and Business Week.  If you Googled "mortgage blog", I came up consistently #2 in the world!  That was fun.

Just so you know, I was as one who cried in the wilderness against all the insanity that was happening in the industry.  It all blew up after we moved to Arizona.

Wes and I have kept touch, through our blogs, over the past few years.  Here is a quick peek at Wes from his "about me" page:

"So what captures the essence of my identity, who I am now, where I've been and where I want to go? 

Here's basic facts:

• I'm married to a recently-retired third grade Lutheran school teacher,
• Proud father of two grown children,
• A member of the first-class of babyboomers,
• A former veteran staff member of the Michigan Legislature,
• A former newspaper reporter,
• A graduate of the Michigan State University School of Journalism,
• A child of a single-mom who was a real survivor and knew how to love unconditionally,
• An owner of two Chevy's both old, a Malibu and a Lumina,
• A former in-prison volunteer under the auspices of Prison Fellowship for almost 20 years,
• A Barry Goldwater conservative who believes that personal freedom is vital,
• A struggling Lutheran who's tired of the lethargy and lukewarmness of the church,
• A son who has memory of meeting his father only once and was instantly disowned,
• A seeker who's looking to nurture his personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

This blog started as a trial run with blogs just about four years ago. There's a lot of stuff on this blog that nobody would be interested in, including me.  However, there might be some stuff that strike a spark.

It's my chronicle of life as I live it, read about it and think about the future."

I count Wes among my good friends.  He is a great guy, has a wonderful family,  and is one who is clearly seeking to deepen his relationship with Christ.  You should also feel sorry for Wes, as winter and cloudy skies are coming soon to Michigan!  LOL!  Love you man!

Dow Jones Down 500 Points! Oh Me... of Little Faith

Would you like to know where Satan has been at attack in my head?  Simply read the headlines in the financial news.

I have been reading, writing, and learning for months that I am a sojourner on this planet, I am a child of God.  The Bible is completely packed with wonderful promises for the elect of God.

I believe them...I really do.

But do I?

Every single day, it seems, some major calamity occurs in the markets and my portfolio is getting whacked in a major way!

I am ashamed to admit that this causes me anxiety.  I am not yet where God would have me be in this regard.  I, evidently, still claim ownership and have not yet completely yielded myself to the sovereignty of God.  The battle of the flesh continues on.

Dear Abba,

Please forgive me and help me in my unbelief.  Protect me from the assaults of the evil one.  Holy Spirit, so fill me that there is no room for the evil one's darts to penetrate.  All of this is nothing, in light of eternity.  I believe that.  But Father, it is hard for me to see from my vantage point.  Let me hang, holy Father, from thy hand and not this silly downward arrow.

Your son, David

What is Freedom in Christ (Part 1)?

"The Emancipation Statue" by Karl Broodhagen.

This is the 10th post in my study of Dr. Sinclair Ferguson's text "Children of the Living God".  Buy this book from Amazon.

Freedom. Slavery. Liberty. Emancipation. Bondage. Chains. Prisoners.

These are words that are spoken of a great deal in Scripture.   

There is perhaps little more, to the natural mind, that provokes such deep emotion as an oppressed man.  Furthermore, great joy is stirred when the oppressed are set free.

When Jesus began his earthly ministry, he proclaimed freedom for the prisoners:

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
   to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
   and recovering of sight to the blind,
    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (Luke 4:18-19)

What do these words mean?  What is this freedom/liberty that Christ speaks of?  Here is Dr. Ferguson from the introduction to this chapter:

"The background to Jesus' proclamation of liberty was the Jewish Year of Jubilee, described in Leviticus 25.  In the Old Testament law, the principle of sabbath was extended beyond one day in seven.  Every seventh year the land was give a sabbath rest when the fields would not be sown nor the vines pruned.  Then, after every seven sabbath years (every fiftieth year), a "Great Sabbath Year" was held, the Year of Jubilee.  In that year, from the Day of Atonement (in the seventh month of the year), there was to be neither sowing nor reaping.  Everyone returned to his own property and slaves were set free.  It was to be a year of liberation.  It was announced by the blowing of the trumpet everywhere throughout the land.

Here, in Luke 4, we have our Lord's sounding of the trumpet to announce the year of God's Jubilee.  He is saying that the Old Testament law was but a pale shadow of what would now take place in the Messianic reign now inaugurated by the presence of the kingdom of God.  The captives were now to be set at liberty through Christ!  Jesus' whole ministry is an exposition of what he understood those words to mean.  The year of the Lord's favour, the 'today' of which Christ spoke, meant freedom from all kinds of bondage.  God wanted his children to be his free sons and daughters."

With that backdrop, let's explore the next chapter of Dr. Ferguson's text entitled Family Freedom...

Blogger Laurie M. from "Beauty from Ashes"

Today, I want to introduce you to Laurie M. who writes the "Beauty from Ashes" blog.

Laurie has easily commanded the top spot as the most prolific commenter on my blog.  Somehow, she found me back when I was wrestling my way through the doctrine of election.

Laurie is a bright and intelligent woman who always has a word of encouragement, sprinkled with her deep desire to reflect Christ, and is willingly open and transparent about her sanctification journey.

Here is a little of the profile gleaned from her blog:

"I'm a married mother with a teenage daughter and son. I live in a hundred year old little frame house with my husband, son, 3 cats inside & one out, a dear little pit bull, a little Schipperke, and thousands of books (a few hundred of which are our own, the rest are inventory). I've been a Christian since October 2004."

That handsome fellow standing next to her, is her husband Paul.  He, by the way, write his own blog, "Dispatches from the Valley of the Shadow of Death".

Laurie has also been an active member of the Christian Classics reading project over at Tim Challies blog.  Currently there are perhaps 100 of us reading Jonathan Edwards' "Religious Affections".

I would encourage you to get to know Laurie M.  She seeks no glory or fame.  She is simply another of heaven's sojourners, here on earth, seeking the glory and beauty of Christ.

Finding God's Holy Hill

Change is afoot in my life.  Recently, I have been, and have learned to be, a student of Christ.

It is now time for me to move.  It is time for me to put my feet to the path and journey forward from my study.

Psalm 43:3-4:

"Send out your light and your truth;
   let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
   and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
   to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
   O God, my God."

Dear Abba,

Send me your light and your truth.  As I journey forth, please let them lead my way.  May I always understand that they ultimately lead me to your holy hill.  May I understand that first there is your alter, but behind that is your holiness!  How can I speak of your holiness, Abba?  My heart longs, deeply longs for the day when my yearnings are completed.  But now, behind the veil, as best I can, I praise you and invite you to search my heart.  I do praise you God, incredibly....my God. 

Here is a wonderful video from John Piper on Psalm 43.

Joy from God's Spirit of Adoption

Joy.  Happiness.  Gladness. Praise. Thankfulness. Gratitude.  Peace.  Security.  Provision. Smiles. 

This is the 9th post in my study of Dr. Sinclair Ferguson's text "Children of the Living God".  Buy this book from Amazon.

If you recall, I parked myself in the Doctrine of Adoption because I saw, in my life, that I needed to let this precious truth become foundational.

This child has not a care in the world.  He is full of joy, he feels safe, probably has a clean diaper, and is likely relishing with his parents in all the attention and completely enjoying their good gift - Chocolate Cake!

I chose this photograph, to represent this post, because that is exactly how I desire to be, when I consider God's gift of adoption to me.

I am now in the 6th chapter of Dr. Ferguson's text where we come upon "The Spirit of Adoption".  Please read on...