My critics might say that the only thing The Master’s Table does anymore is a Happy Monday post once a week. I would argue that a bi-vocational pastor working a Mon – Fri job and preaching twice on Sunday is doing pretty good to get out a weekly post on a regular basis. Every Monday for 200+ weeks in a row? Woo-hoo!
Here’s a puppy. Have a nice day.
So I have never visited Westboro Baptist Church nor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood but have commented on them on their behavior. I have never met Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton, and neither have most people, but that doesn’t stop us from having and expressing very strong viewpoints about not only their politics but also their character, intelligence, ability to serve as president and so forth.
On September 23 and 24 I will be visiting the Creation Museum and Ark Experience. I’m not getting the personal Ken Ham guided tour or anything but will spend several hours at each venue, take lots of pics and of course put up one or more blog posts. I have expressed caution about getting all of our answers from Genesis but I have never suggested there are no answers there.
So the Master’s Table is taking a road trip. I’ll be driving and Van Til will ride shotgun and read the map. Expect a full report when we get back. Happy trails…
Two items have caught my attention in the past couple of days:
1. The State of California has rewritten some language in an education bill that threatened to greatly infringe on religious liberty in that state. Had the bill passed unchanged, the only students that could receive any type of religious education would have been those training for a career in ministry. It would have effectively outlawed Christian colleges and universities, reserving religious studies to seminary students only. More here.
2. Target is about to spend $2 million on individual use bathroom stalls in all of their stores. Many stores already have such facilities, in addition to men’s and women’s restrooms, and soon all loctions will. Target denies the changes have anything to do with the boycotts and petitions generated by their bathroom policy announcement. I saw this headline in the Washington Post of all places.
I know what some of you must be thinking by now: Clark Bunch lauds the praises of every book he reviews. Between pastoring, seminary classes, raising a family and so forth I don’t have a lot of “extra time” for reviewing books. The truth of the matter is that I’m very selective. If the title or short description seems New Agey, short on theology or otherwise flaky, I don’t accept that book for review. With very few exceptions, the books I have chosen to review on The Master’s Table are ones that I expected to get something out of and would have enjoyed anyway. I’m not a professional reviewer and don’t waste my time reading books I don’t like. Continue reading
We mentioned back to school on Monday but that was about it. Apparently we did a whole back to school themed Happy Monday post last year that I totally forgot about. We listed several “special editions” in the #200 post last week and the timing would have been perfect to include this one.
A significant portion of our society falls into the student/teacher/parent population. Below is a special mid-week repeat of Happy Monday: Back to School Edition, originally posted August 10, 2015.
The first day of school doesn’t affect everyone equally. Continue reading
Good morning family, friends, fans and lurkers.
This is Happy Monday post #200! Continue reading
After the 9/11 attacks on New York, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani spoke at a live taping of Saturday Night Live. The show has always been distinctly New York and he spoke very frankly with the cast, audience and show creator Lorne Michaels. He wanted the show the go on and encouraged them to do it. Michaels asked “Can we be funny?” And with a straight face Giuliani wryly replied “Why start now?” Continue reading
Earlier this week, The Christian Index hosted a discussion of sorts about America being a “Christian nation.” Christians who responded were split over whether America used to be a Christian nation and no longer is vs. those who felt America never was a Christian nation to begin with. Very few argued that it still is today.
Meanwhile, California is about to become the first state to do away with religious/ faith-based education at the college level. If passed as is, SB 1146 would limit religious education to seminaries. Church affiliated schools, or colleges and universities that apply Christian principles to all areas of life, would be restricted from doing so with all students except those preparing for vocational ministry.
Please read this article by Ed Stetzer and Marty Duren via Christianity Today. This is one of those issues that could drag on through the court system for years to come, but we currently have an aging Supreme Court that’s already short one member and a presidential election coming up that could dramatically alter its balance of power. Who knows what the long term implications of this state legislation could be?
Slow 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
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.
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