Category Archives: Uncategorized

Blogging and God’s Blessings


So, what does one have to do with the other? Well, you may have noticed that my post production has significantly decreased over the past few weeks. There’s good news and bad news associated with this trend. The good news is that my attention and energy has been diverted by the Lord’s tremendous blessings in my life. With a family of six members, we had grown exceedingly close – not devotionally, but physically, in our nice, yet modest sized home. Well, out of the blue 2 weekends ago, we received a phone call from a family member cryptically telling us we must look at this house for sale not too far from where we currently live. My wife and I exchanged puzzled glances, asking each other the same question – Why? We aren’t shopping for a new house. Reluctantly, yet somewhat curious we both drove out to the address and were astonished at the beauty of the home. We saw a sign that read ‘Open House – Sunday’. After church the following day we toured the inside of the home and fell in love with it immediately. It has so much more room than our current home. We were surprised at the very reasonable pricing. The square-footage is a major upgrade, but the neighborhood itself is not quite as nice as ours, as my wife duly noted. This probably contributed toward the fair pricing. However, the street itself is very nice and has a lot less traffic than ours. The backyard is smaller, but much better landscaped. (Less mowing, baby!) The home was reasonably priced, yet still beyond our means to purchase. The providence of God however, quickly put us into a position to buy the house. The next day a bid was put in and to make a long story short, the deal will be closed on April 30th!

UN-be-LIEVABLE! Continue reading →

My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace – Part 4


Note: This is a continuation of a series I began in mid-2007. Sorry for the long delay. If you haven’t read any of the posts in the series you can start HERE.

Precisely two-and-a-half years ago, I began embracing the doctrines of Grace (also called 5-point Calvinism). It was a chaotic time, where both the deconstruction of my old theology and the construction of this new theology were taking place simultaneously in my mind and spirit. To complicate matters, an old friend, who had faithfully attended my now defunct weekly bible study for college students, came to my office one day and begged me to start up a new study group. She had come to a difficult point in her life and had a deep hunger for someone to bring her the Word. I had sympathy for her, but didn’t feel I was in any position to teach.

First, I could no longer teach much of what I had in the past. Many of those doctrines, like a house built on shifting sand, laid in a collapsed heap. I was in the process of bulldozing those aberrant beliefs right off my intellectual property. Second, I still did not know enough about Calvinism to be confident enough to teach it. Third, I still had not resolved all the points of Calvinism in my heart and mind yet. I readily accepted the T, the U, and the I but I wasn’t so sure about the L and the P. Odd, I know, if the U then the P should follow, right? I’ve never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer!

Anyway, against my better judgment, I plunged ahead with the study and presented my understanding of sovereign salvation to that small audience. It all worked out for the good, though. The class constantly presented challenges that helped to sharpen me. In the end though, only one person from the group came to believe in the doctrines of Grace. She came to visit me in my office one afternoon last year and I asked her pointedly, “have you become convinced that the doctrines of Grace are true?” My friend gave me an unforgettable reply. In a humble and almost broken-hearted tone, she said, “Yes it has to be true, because I know my own heart.” Continue reading →

PPBC Spring Lineup


Ok, time for a shameless plug. I have organized a sneak preview for the planned Spring season of the Peculiar Pilgrim Broadcasting Company (PPBC). No writer’s strike halting progress here. Writer’s block on the other hand…

I realize my readers have been waiting with breathless anticipation for my prime-time lineup, so without further ado I present the Spring, 2008 schedule.

  • A few Minutes with Brandon Lucas. Inspired by my friend SMOK’s fine works, I too am laboring over a commentary. It will be my first. I decided to start with the brief, (yet theology packed) book of Jude. Expect for my first entry to begin sometime in March.
  • PBS (Pilgrim Bible Studies) Educational Programming. My upcoming series on Big Bad Bible Words will attempt to define intimidating theological words and phrases in layman’s terms
  • Home and Garden. I will also resume my series on Tiptoeing through the TULIP. I will be focusing in on the doctrine of Unconditional Election next.
  • Documentaries. I also have yet to finish my series on My Conversion to the Doctrines of Grace. I have two entries remaining that have been sitting on the shelf for far too long.
  • Drama. There are a couple of fiction stories swimming around in my head, too. Eventually I will pour those imaginings onto paper.
  • Critic’s Corner. I plan to write book reviews over everything I read.
  • Reality programming. I will publish various topical posts based on life experiences and theological perplexities.
  • TBN. When the need arises, you will get cutting PP commentary on the sad state of modern Christianity.
  • Reruns. I will have my usual assortment of great quotes from church history’s great preachers and teachers. I will also publish thought-provoking posts from my fellow bloggers and friends.
  • CNN. Finally, if I am discerning the will of God correctly, I should have breaking news in the next 2 or 3 months.

    Whew! I may have bitten off more than I can chew! These are my PLANS, not my PROMISES. All program lineups are subject to change without notice.

    The Dirty Word of Modern Evangelicalism


    I spent ten years in a church which would easily be classified as a ‘Modern Evangelical Church’. The pastor founded his ministry primarily on the principles of ‘felt needs’ preaching and subjective emotional experiences. In the midst of this environment I realized very quickly that several ‘high brow’ Christian terms were taboo. Among them were words such as tradition, liturgy, hymns, creeds, catechisms, doctrine and theology. The disdain of the last two terms I found especially disturbing.

    A couple of years ago I recall speaking with a long-standing member one evening before service and she asked me what kind of books I enjoy reading. I simply replied, “Theology, mostly.” Her immediate reaction jolted me. Her nose crinkled as if she had just gotten a whiff of a frightened skunk. “That dry and musty stuff? That would put me to sleep” She said with undisguised contempt. She preferred a riveting fiction book (Christian fiction, of course) to mining the depths of the great doctrines of the bible. I have no problem with a good work of fiction, but it struck me as odd that a Christian would much prefer to read a work of fantasy over fact, falsehood over truth. This attitude is prevalent among members of the Evangelical church today. I must admit, I find this paradigm utterly perplexing. I have been in pursuit of a fundamental understanding of theology since the day God saved me from my sins. Admittedly, in the beginning I looked in all the wrong places, but over time the Lord has blessed me richly in attaining at least a rudimentary understanding of biblical and systematic theology. Continue reading →

    A Truly Super Sunday Part 2: The Providence of God


    Note: I realize this post is WAAAAY overdue. The Super Bowl is yesterday’s news, however this post really has nothing to do with the game, so feel free to read on!

    So how I did I celebrate the greatest Super Bowl upset of all-time? I’m glad you asked. The unvarnished truth is, I spent over 3 hours late that night vacationing on a far distant island, reclining in a chair on the roof of a towering Anglican cathedral, reacquainting myself with a long-lost childhood friend…. Continue reading →

    Super Bowl XLII: A Truly Super Sunday


    super-bowl-42-tickets-2008.gifI like football. The pageantry of college football is unparalleled, yet my favorite time of the year is the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl. The tension and the drama of a single-loss elimination, winner-take-all tournament has no peer. This past Sunday I did the small gathering thing with friends, replete with abundant snacks, drinks and the obligatory pizza and wings. We gathered around the tube for the anticipated snooze-worthy blowout by the heavily favored New England Patriots. The New York Giants were almost two touchdown underdogs. I gave them a less than zero chance at the upset. I truly wanted them to win, mostly because I can’t stand the Patriots, but I knew they wouldn’t. So how did I know? Because of a little-known (read: fabricated) universal law. I call it the Law of Inevitability of the NFL Dynasty. This law is built upon the precedence of past dynasties, such as the Packers of the 60’s, the Steelers of the 70’s, the 49ers of the 80’s, the Cowboys of the 90’s and of course the Patriots of the 00’s. The LENFLD states that a team that is considered the dynasty of its era will not under any circumstance lose in a Super Bowl. It has never happened in NFL history and I had no reason to believe the 18-0 record-breaking New England Patriots would be denied their place in history. Continue reading →

    Tim Challies on Bible Translations


    bible-languages-600.jpgTim Challies has written a nice article on the ‘Beauty of a Good Bible Translation’. He articulated his reasons for preferring the English Standard Version (ESV) over several other modern translations. I have to say he has hit the nail on the head with his observations. I completely agree with his sentiments. The ESV is a wonderful literal translation of the scriptures that many believe captures the poetic flow of the original languages. Here is an excerpt:

    Whenever I take the time to read the Bible slowly and meditatively, and this is particularly true of reading the Old Testament, I am struck by the beauty of the language as it is translated in the English Standard Version, my translation of choice. While I do not know how to read Hebrew, I often hear people speak of the poetic nature of the language which leads even the prose to have poetic qualities. It seems to me that the ESV does an admirable job of capturing that. The same cannot be said of all Bible translations. I have come to love the little literary devices, the metaphors and phrases used by the ancient writers and find that they add so much to the reading of the text. Without a translation that accurately rendered these sayings we would lose so much of the flow and meaning of the text.

    There is so much beauty in the prose of the Old Testament and I am thankful to have access to a translation (and to several translations, really) that accurately renders the metaphors and phrases used by the original authors. Let me provide you with a few examples. I am going to use the ESV as my standard essentially-literal translation. I do this not necessary to indicate that it is superior to the others within the category, but simply because it is the translation I use for my devotional and study work.

    Read the entire article HERE.

    Back in the Saddle Again


    Happy New year everyone!

    The holidays are now over. The college bowl season has ended (save one fairly meaningful game), the Christmas lights have come down and the tree has been packed away for another year. Depressing, isn’t it? In one sense, yes, I’m a little bummed out that Christmas has passed. Oh, how I enjoy vicariously living out the beaming joy of my children’s almost unbearable anticipation of gift-exchanging bounty. Especially when video games are involved! Yes, I’m one of those parents who enjoy the children’s presents as much as they do. This year we bought a Nintendo Wii as a family gift, and it has been very well received. It’s quite an impressive little machine with lots of uses, aside from games. I can browse the internet and behold my blog in all its glory on a 32 inch LCD screen! Cool! And I must add, Super Mario Galaxy is the single best video game I have played since the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Just a ton of fun! Christmas is a wonderful time of year.

    I work at a university, therefore I get nearly two weeks off. I have spent that time enjoying my children and catching up on my reading. My favorite memory this year is when I read the story of Christ’s birth to my children as we gathered to celebrate Christmas at my mom’s house. Continue reading →

    The Fall of Man, the Rise of Evil and the Seed of the Woman


    This past weekend our Sunday school class discussed what I believe to be one of the most fundamentally important passages in all the bible. We looked at Genesis chapter 3 where Adam and Eve committed sin and forever altered the course of human history. It is the single most devastating event the world has ever known. It is more cataclysmic than the fall of the Roman Empire, more disastrous than the black plague, more destructive than both World Wars combined, more sorrowful than the Nazi concentration camps. The decision Adam made in allowing the serpent to tempt his wife, the lack of fortitude he exuded when the devil contradicted God’s own word, the complacency he exhibited when Eve took hold of the forbidden fruit and finally the yielding of his will to the desire to taste of it himself trumps every global catastrophe that succeeded it. Why? All the suffering, sorrow and madness the world has experienced over the past 6,000 years finds its root cause in the Garden of Eden. Continue reading →

    Sunday School Escapades


    I’ve decided to break new ground and journal my adventures in Sunday School class. There are several reasons for this. I don’t really have a prime motivation but many small ones. Mainly, I simply wish to chronicle the more interesting and challenging discussions we have over the bible texts we study. I must admit it is a challenge to perhaps be the lone Calvinist in a class full of ‘free-will’ adherents. I anticipate much lively dialog in the coming months if God so emboldens me to speak out.

    I have only been at this church for a short time and the Baptist culture is new to me. Over one year ago I left my old Pentecostal church because it had been consumed with the Church Growth/Purpose-Driven way of doing ministry. In other words, they made the gospel appealing to the flesh and doctrine shallow and essentially unnecessary. The Lord directed my steps and I ended up at my community’s largest Baptist congregation. I started attending Sunday school about 5 months ago. The classes are divided into age groups. I first attended a 30’s group, (a natural selection given that I am in my 30’s). I enjoyed the fellowship with the members, many of whom I had actually gone to high school with. I thought the teacher did a fine job of teaching. However, I didn’t much care for the curriculum. My church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, so we use Lifeway materials for Sunday school lessons. Lifeway publishes a wide variety of material, custom designed for people in different stages of life; children, youth, young adults, old adults and really old adults. The curriculum used in my class (Life Truths) did not impress me much. I felt it was written basically for a fifth-grade audience. I also sensed that the authors wrote the lessons by looking at the bible through the lens of life rather than life through the lens of the bible – a subtle yet important difference. Continue reading →