Book Review: Slow Kingdom Coming

Screenshot 2016-06-29 at 12.13.49 PMSlow Kingdom Coming: Practices for Doing Justice, Loving Mercy and Walking Humbly in the World by Kent Annan is not a very long book (146 pages including Appendix and Notes) but it offers practical application meant to be used on a daily basis.

We live in a world surrounded by great needs and good causes. There are children starving in other countries, hurricane and earthquake victims right here and home, and homeless people probably nearby no matter where you live. A single person can be overwhelmed and wonder “why even bother?” No one person can do it all and with a little bit of perspective we realize that no one has to. With focus and discipline we can each do our part, realizing that God’s will being done “on earth as it is in heaven” is a slow process that does not bring instant gratification. Continue reading

Happy Monday

Meanwhile, at the Chunnel:
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Hope that’s not too much of a mental hurdle to get over on Monday morning. I’ll drop some clues in the comment section just in case. Continue reading

Happy Monday

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Today is the first day of summer. We’re actually benefiting from a “cold front” that moved through over the weekend here in the deep South; our daytime highs will be in the upper 80’s for the next couple of days vs. the mid 90’s. Still, that  melting fan is pretty funny. Continue reading

My Opinion: SBC and the Confederate Flag

Here is an article from The Christian Index on the Convention’s decision to repudiate the Confederate Flag. The Index also posted an editorial by Gerald Harris and my comments to that link on Facebook got a little lengthy. Nearly blog post in length. So, below is my take on the SBC resolution. By all means you are entitled to your opinion; mine is framed on the notion the Gospel is more dear to the heart of Christians than heritage, history, culture or national identity. The end game of all believers should be unity in Christ.

I have lived in Georgia most of my life (and in Kentucky the other years). I have always been a little leary of flying that flag. I understand my heritage, the nation’s history, and the origin story of the SBC. On this issue I land here: If you want to fly the flag on your front porch or on your personal vehicle, this is still a free country and you have every right. Shame on anyone that would desecrate or remove your flag regardless of ideology. But I think it is entirely fitting for our denomination, all our churches together with one voice, to say “WE no longer fly this flag.”

If I display the Confederate flag in support of history and heritage, it may be misunderstand as racism. Indeed some do fly that flag because they are racist, believing if the South would have won we’d have it made, and signifying certain individuals need to “know their place.” At the risk of being misunderstood, I do not fly that flag. In the shadow of the cross, there are no flags, no nations, no skin colors or any other thing that divides or distinguishes. We are covered by the blood. I am disheartened that some will choose the stars and bars of rebellion (it is the rebel flag we are talking about) rather than unity with fellow brothers and sisters, but such is the world we live in.

Separation of Church, State and Twitter

This is a follow up to a post from June 15, 2010. I am pleased to report that Shimkus is still tweeting Bible verses (https://twitter.com/RepShimkus) and his followers have grown to over 15,000! Below is the original post in it’s entirety. Continue reading

Vengeance is Not Ours

Screenshot 2016-06-15 at 11.06.17 AMOur collective attention has been focused on Orlando since Sunday. Every angle of that story, from terrorism to gun control, has been covered. Stories with that much media attention I usually avoid commenting on completely; everything that can be said pretty much has been (whether it should have been or not).

Omar Matten reported posted “All gays must die” before the shooting starting. While Americans debate whether bakers and florists should be closed down for refusing to serve LGBT customers, homosexuality is still punishable by death in Muslim countries. I don’t want this post to disintegrate into a political discussion, but some Christians have questioned the current administration’s support of gay rights and also tolerance of Islam in light of those two things not necessarily being tolerant of each other. I want to remind all Christian believers that vengeance belongs to God. Continue reading

Happy Monday

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The news coming out of Orlando is pretty bad. The world is filled with evil and there has always been bad news. The Good News of the Gospel is greater. His mercies are new every morning. Happy Monday is about putting our focus in the right place. Now let’s do this. Continue reading