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(33 posts)Life is unpredictable. You never know what will happen next, but you go through life expecting most things to work out. Usually, they do. You get up in the morning, have your coffee, kiss your wife, go about your daily business, yell at the kids, and go to bed. Life is good; but in the dark recesses of your mind there is a nagging fear. Things like that happen to other people, you tell yourself, not me! But it has happened to you. Now you must face the thing you have feared. Will you have the strength, the courage, and the wisdom to look adversity in the eye and stare it down? More importantly, will I ever stop beating around the bush and get to the point?
Yes, I will. Carla Rolfe has tagged me with a meme. Memes are silly. They are an utter waste of time. Worst of all, I don’t know how meme is pronounced. Is it mēm, as it is spelled, or mĕm? Or is it mēmē? Mĕmé, perhaps? What is the etymology of the word? Is it prudent to take part in an activity that is clouded by so many unanswered questions? Is it morally acceptable?
What of the other participants? Frank Turk was tagged, also. Do I want to risk being drawn into a blogwar over whose seven movies are better? Perhaps I should adopt a no-meme policy like Tim Challies. Who knows, it may be the secret to his success.
I need to take a break to ponder these questions.
O.K., I’m back. After much reflection, and several repetitions of The Prayer of Jabez, I have decided to participate this time. In the future I may go the Challies route. I’m ornerier than Tim, any day. This is for you, Carla, but only because you’re so convivial. But Mark my words, I’ll get you for this – and your little dog, too. So, here we go:
1. Read an entire issue of TMS Journal and understand all of it
2. Watch Return to Me tearlessly
3. Meticulously organize all of my computer cords and cables
4. Clean my office
5. Put on my best suit
6. Close my eyes
7. Stop breathing
Seven things I cannot do:
1. Listen to Christian radio without becoming nauseous
2. Give birth
3. Get the last word with my wife
4. Blow smoke rings
5. Heal the lame
6. Raise the dead
7. Speak in tongues convincingly
Seven things that attract me to my husband:
This is North Dakota, not Massachusetts. I don’t have a husband. I’ll do seven things that attract me to my wife, if that’s alright.
1. Her work ethic
2. Her tolerance of me
3. She can tie a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue
4. Her eyes
5. Her smile
6. Her hands
7. The way she looks in those jeans
Seven things I say most often:
1. The sum of the square of the two sides equals the square of the hypotenuse.
2. Would you like some fresh ground pepper?
3. No, I don’t belong to Mensa.
4. What do you mean, you don’t get it?
5. Yes, I’m married. There, now, don’t cry.
6. Out of pickled herring? How is this possible?
7. Now that you mention it, yes, my wife is a saint. What’s your point?
Seven books (or series) I love:
These are fiction. It’s too hard to choose seven non-fiction books.
1. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
2. James Michener, Poland
3. Herman Melville, Moby Dick
4. Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
5. Stephen King, The Green Mile
6. Tom Clancy, Red Storm Rising
7. Jean Bethell, The Monkey in the Rocket
Seven movies I would watch over and over again:
1. The Princess Bride
2. Bad Medicine
3. The Shootist
4. The Godfather
5. Ben Hur
6. Driving Miss Daisy
7. The Importance of Being Earnest
Seven people I want to join in, too:
Anyone who agrees with #1 under Seven things I cannot do.
We would like to commend Jonathan Moorhead for doing his part for the church growth movement. In one day, without the use of a survey or any gimics, he has increased his contribution to the membership of his church by fifty percent. You can read about his brilliant church growth strategy here.
Second, we want to know who that kid in the picture really is. He is clearly not old enough to be the eminent theologian (almost)Dr. Jonathan Moorhead, or a father of four. We simply do not believe it. We are not that gullible here.
Kudos go to Daniel of Doulogos today, for successfully implementing Church Growth methods. While he has not published his strategy, it is obvious that he has taken the trend of targeting the young demographic to the extreme. Click here to read all about it.
The April issue of The Sacred Sandwich has been published! If you are a Christian with a healthy sense of humor, you love The Sacred Sandwich. If you've never heard of it, well... isn't it damp and cold living under that rock? Chris Carmichael and the League of Tyndale fellows produce the best Christian periodical on the web. In this issue, Maurice & Emmet Peabody, the Twin Theologians, tackle the DaVinci Code. You will be shocked by what they reveal! Be sure to visit their sponsors while you're there.
Chris Carmichael is also the proprietor of ChristianUnplugged, which has mysteriously disappeared, but promises to return.
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| Click image to enlarge. Source: Provocations and Pantings. |
Well, I was wrong. As you can tell by this picture from the Together for the Gospel conference last week, generously provided by Timmy Brister, his hands really do fly. Click on the image to get a better look. He's kind of like that kid in The Inredibles, whatever his name was, only less mischievous.
Congratulations go out today to Tim & Aileen Challies, who have been rewarded with a gift from the Lord. Our prayers are with you, prayers of praise to God for his goodness, as well as prayers of petition for his continued care and blessings.
The official announcement, along with pictures, is here. She's a beautiful baby (yes, she's a girl, but I'm leaving the rest for Tim to tell), and doesn't look Canadian at all!
Why is this blogger smiling? He gets to change diapers and clean up puke, that's why! Stop by Still Reproducing Reforming and congratulate Matt Gumm on the arrival of his new son. While you're there, tell him what kind of Bible the lad needs.
Giddy with joy over having won an award today, I am going to hand out an award of my own. Well, it's not really an award, as there is no title or trophy. Call it a commendation.
This commendation goes to Julie R. Neidlinger for making a point with wit and brevity.
Today when I visited one of my favorite blogs, Howling Coyote, I found sad news. The proprietor, James Spurgeon, is packing his virtual bags and going home to the real world. James has been a busy blogger, blogging at Pyromaniacs, the Texas Baptist Underground (which he closed sometime during the last few days), and at the Howling Coyote, which was my personal favorite. I am assuming his ministry site will remain open. There, you can listen to sermons or buy his book, The Texas Baptist Crucible.
James, may God bless your new ministry endeavors. I will miss reading your sound expositions of Scripture.
Godspeed.
Memes – who started this? Well, I’ve been tagged with one. Normally, I would ignore it, but today I am just tickled pink to be noticed by Eminent Canadian Philosopher and Theologian® Daniel that I simply must comply. So here it is.
1. One book that changed your life (other than the Bible):
The Gospel According to Jesus. As a fire-breathing Arminian, I only let MacArthur get his foot in the door because he challenged “free grace” theology, which I despised then almost as much as I do now. It was all uphill from there.
2. One book you've read more than once:
The Monkey in the Rocket. I still have the hardcover that my mother read to me. It’s a classic, written in the early days of the space program, before we had been to the moon.
3. One book you'd want on a Desert Island:
4. One book that made you laugh:
The Texas Baptist Crucible: Tales from the Temple
5. One book that made you cry (or feel really sad):
The Texas Baptist Crucible: Tales from the Temple
6. One book that you wish had been written:
I Take It All Back by Rick Warren.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
The Prayer of Jabez – I know there are far worse books that have done much more damage. However, in my little world, I have not seen so many people fall so blindly into blatantly unbiblical theology as I have when that waste of paper was published.
8. One Book You're Currently Reading:
I am about to read Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney. I don’t normally read charismatics, but a friend with excellent discernment sent it to me, so I expect it to be good. If not, at least it’s short.
9. One Book you've been meaning to read:
The Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards. I’ve been meaning to read it for a long tome, but it is hard, and I am lazy and dull.
10. Now tag five people:
Everybody! Everyone should do it! Yes! OK, get started!
Well, look here, I’ve even decided to do it twice, once for real, and once as “Joe Spiritual.” Most of you know Joe. Some of you are Joe. Those of you who haven’t met him yet, will. He’s the guy who, when invited to play a game of Bible Trivia, looks grieved, and in a somber voice says, “Is anything in the Bible trivial?” He is not only not of the world, he’s not even in it.
Joe Spiritual version:
1. One book that changed your life (other than the Bible):
Other than the Bible? Brother, I will pray for you. May God show you that only the Bible can really change your life! Cry out to him for spiritual eyes to see, before it’s too late!
2. One book you've read more than once:
The Bible, of course. O, and Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. It changed my life.
3. One book you'd want on a Desert Island:
The Bible – or something by Watchman Nee.
4. One book that made you laugh:
Laugh?
5. One book that made you cry (or feel really sad):
That’s difficult to choose. Most of what I was assigned in high school, I guess. I was always thinking, “What is the eternal value of American history or algebra?” That time could have been spent more wisely, I think.
6. One book that you wish had been written:
I wish there was a book explaining how important it is to be really, really serious all the time. I think people get the wrong idea from all those verses about joy. Real joy is found in solemnity.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Song of Solomon. Was that really necessary? How many times do we need to read “breasts” or “kisses?” And the innuendo! Pomegranates, indeed. Remember how it got to John-boy Walton? I don’t think that’s edifying at all. Also, anything by Charles Swindoll. He smiles too much – obviously does not take his calling seriously.
8. One Book You're Currently Reading:
Since you ask, I’m editing my first book. It’s called True Humility and How I Attained It.
9. One Book you've been meaning to read:
Strong’s Concordance - I’d like to have it memorized before I get stranded on that desert island with my Bible.
10. Now tag five people:
Let’s see… I don’t know five people who are serious enough. OK, how about my pastor and my mom.
What, me, a king? Well, actually, yes. Even before Tim Challies, Pope of Christian Blogdom, crowned me King for a Week, I was predestined to the throne. Consider these facts:
In the French deck of cards, the Kings, Queens, and Jacks have names. The King of Hearts is “Charles,” probably after Charles the Great (Charlemagne), or possibly King Charles VII of France. The King of Diamonds is “César,” probably after Julius Cæsar. The King of Clubs is “Alexandre,” probably after Alexander the Great. The King of Spades, which you see here, is none other than {insert trumpet fanfare here} “David,” most likely after the King of Israel.
You will also notice that the French card has “R” for “Roi” where we are accustomed to seeing “K” for “King.” My middle name is “Leroy,” derived from the French “le roi.” From the day of my birth, I have been David the King.
I am told that “David” means “beloved,” which has nothing to do with any of this. It just adds a bit of warm fuzziness to this otherwise emotionless post.
So, welcome to my kingdom. Wipe your feet on the rug and come on in. We have a couple of small feasts planned for this week, but as usual, the best we have is plundered from neighboring castles. See the sidebar, under On the Web, for the freshest victuals.
Tomorrow, we have a very distinguished guest blogger lined up. See you then, and thanks for visiting.
You might be surprised to learn that the Thirsty Theologian is not opposed to the church growth movement. That is, not if approved methods are used. Today we send congratulations to Paul Lamey, whose church growth technique has apparently been successful. Go on over to Expository Thoughts to greet the new member and offer congratulations.
To commemorate this auspicious occasion, we are adding Expository Thoughts to our blogroll.
While we're at it, we're adding another very fine blog also. Voice of Vision is the work of J.D. Hatfield, who, for some reason, lives in Florida in spite of the fact that he's not a senior citizen.
So go ahead, click those links. Click them! Now!
Matthew Sims, one of the eminent writers at The World from our Window and proprietor of Under Sovereign Grace has offered a collection of John Piper sermons on CD for free. All I have to do is post a link his websites and to my favorite John Piper book
Books
The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
Our Sufficiency in Christ by John MacArthur
Reckless Faith by John MacArthur
Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur
The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts by Isaac Watts
The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
Not a Chance by R.C. Sproul
The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon
The Westminster Pulpit by G. Campbell Morgan
Theologians
Matthew Sims (sucking up can’t hurt)
John MacArthur
R.C. Sproul
John Bunyan
John Calvin
Martin Luther
Isaac Watts
Francis Schaffer
Charles Spurgeon
Michael Beasley
Once again I am reminded of my own mortality. I guess I should have expected it, but when my "King for a Week" status stretched out to a fortnight, I suppose I began to settle into the throne a bit too comfortably. I began wondering what I had done to deserve my removal, but then I remembered that I hadn't done anything to deserve the crown in the first place, so I guess it's all fair. It should remind us all, though, that we can't put our trust in earthly kingdoms.
But seriously, I am thankful for the honor. Readership of this humble blog more than doubled for those two weeks. Maybe some of those readers will stay. Thanks to all of you who flatter me by reading my unoriginal, inconsistant postings. I hope you get something worthwhile out of your time here.
My successor to the throne is New Attitude. Long live the King! For a week or so, anyway.
This Winter seems to be the season of the Biblical expositor. Steve Weaver has recently completed his series on How I Prepare An Expository Sermon, a fellow in a big orange truck going by the name of reglerjoe has written a good, brief summary of reasons for and benefits of expository preaching titled The Joy of Expositional Preaching, and Bret Capranica has begun what appears to be a very promising series on Expository Convictions. Watch for links to this series in the sidebar.
As you may have noticed, Biblical exposition is a passion of mine. I am not gifted as an expositor myself, but I love to encourage faithful preachers and commend their work to others. Their value to the Kingdom of God cannot be overestimated. Praise God for men who are devoted to his Word and study to show themselves approved to God, workmen who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth!
I almost feel silly posting this, since everyone in the world reads challies.com anyway, but for the benefit of those who live under a rock in the wastelands of, say, Montana, Tim Challies is posting an excellent series on discernment. With discernment at an apparent all-time low in the church today [ahem] PDL PrayerOfJabez WildAtHeart [ahem] everyone needs to read this.
A Call To Discernment (Part 1)
A Call To Discernment (Part 2)
As you are likely aware, Tim is presently writing a book on discernment. These posts demonstrate that he is eminently qualified to do so, and I am more anxious than ever to see his book published.
Pastor Steve Weaver, expositor extraordinaire, has, with considerable help from Mrs. Weaver, successfully implemented Thirsty Theologian endorsed church growth methodology. Together thay have added a member to their church who is much cuter, and considerably redder, than Steve. I'll bet she can sing loudly, too. Stop by Pastor Steve Weaver's Blog and offer your congratulations on the arrival of a new young Baptist!
One of my goals for this year is to read not necessarily more, but better material. In keeping with that goal, I began looking for some new weblogs. Mohler, Challies, Pyromaniacs—they’re all OK, I guess, but a little fluffy. A couple of weeks ago, in my search for more depth, I found a blog of real substance: Aaron Job Draws. Now, this is a quality blog, featuring the artwork and storytelling of six-year-old Aaron Job of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Last week, Aaron Job ran a contest, which I won. The challenge was to guess who the well-known pastor pictured here is. Well, obviously, it is a young John MacArthur (note the hairstyle). Others guessed the same, but I was first, so I was the winner. The prize was something I already had, so I requested the artist to draw a picture of what he thought I might look like to post on the Thirsty Theologian. These drawings are the result:
The first is modeled on my avatar (I’m the guy on the right at the top of this blog). The second is what he thinks I really look like. Evidently, he thinks that really isn’t me in the picture. Sad to see such cynicism in one so young, but that’s the world we live in, I guess. Click on either image to view them full-sized.
I should mention that I found Aaron Job Draws via a link from his dad’s blog, iamchief, which is also well worth visiting. Thanks, Aaron Job, for sending me your fine artwork. I expect these to be quite valuable some day.
Look at me, I’m a patron of the arts. How about that.
Why is Scott Aniol grinning so immoderately? Apparently, he has recruited a promising young church musician. Way to go, Scott, start’em young! That way, you don’t have to untrain bad habits learned elsewhere. Don’t worry, his arias (and aromas) will improve in time.
Click on over to Religious Affections to meet the next J. S. Bach!
In case you haven't noticed, I take great delight in seeing families grow, especially Christian families. Consequently, I have been very delighted lately to see new babies popping up on several of the blogs I read. Today, there are two new bloggerettes to rejoice over.
First, let's congratulate Bret Capranica and his wife of The Capranica (get it?) on the arrival of a new little girl whom they will soon adopt. To celebrate, we're adding Bret's SermonAudio page to our links. Bret is an excellent expositor, faithful in rightly dividing the truth. Give him a listen.
Second, Libbie and Mr. Muffin have received a new English muffin. Libbie is already on the blogroll, so I don't know what we can do for her beyond joining in praise to God for his grace through a quite difficult pregnancy. Hope that's enough, Libbie.
Congratulations and God's blessing to both families.
I have just begun listening to Scott Aniol's expositions of the book of Acts. You should, too. Here is a sample to whet your appetite:
The contents of the book of Acts in which all of these events are recorded cover the span of about 30 years, which is roughly one generation. So why only one generation? Certainly other significant events have occurred throughout church history; why did Luke through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit only record the first generation of the Church?It is because the whole story of church history has been told in the record of that first generation. There is nothing else to be told about what the church is supposed to be and to do. All other generations are to be a duplication of the first generation of church history. What did they do? That first generation fulfilled Acts 1.9 — they took the gospel message to the uttermost parts of the earth. Acts 17.6 says that they turned the world upside down! But even though they spread the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth in one generation, with every new generation there will be a new generation of unbelievers who must hear the message of the gospel for themselves.
So this record of the first generation of church history is the standard for this generation. This is what the church is supposed to be!
Read or listen here:
Whose Acts? - Acts 1.1-11
Characteristics of the Founders of the First Church - Acts 1.12-26
The Ascended Christ's First Act: the Birth of the Church - Acts 2.1-21
The First Sermon in Church History: "Salvation is Possible" - Acts 2.14-40
It is my usual practice to quote "dead theologians" on this blog. I hope this post will not make Scott nervous!
I don't actually believe Michael had the baby himself, but I'm not sure since the birth announcement he posted makes no mention whatsoever of his wife. Nice one, Mike. That's the sort of blunder I would make and pay dearly for. Don't be like me!
Congratulations to Mike and Mrs. Beasley on the new addition to your Armoury.
I’m going to kill two birds with one 12-gauge light target load. First, Jen posted a quote from G.K. Chesterton that highlights a sad literary truth: “The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” Hard to believe, isn’t it? Sure, there may be a verse or two on cheese hidden away somewhere in a Shel Silverstein book, but I’m afraid this beautiful gift has been almost entirely, inexplicably, overlooked by the poets. I aim to rectify that.
Second, Brian, the sheepish one, has tagged me with one of those meme things. I reserve the right to arbitrarily choose to participate or not in any meme. Participation in this meme does not obligate me participate in any others. So there. So, here you go: cheese (or cheesy) poetry and 7 things that others may not know about me.
Cheese Couplets
Colby is fine, but what I like better
Is the lovely bouquet of extra-sharp cheddar.
For a good, tasty snack that will never miss,
Try a nice dunkel bier and a platter of Swiss.
My lips smack
When I eat Pepper Jack.
Grab a sheep and pull and squeeze—
That’s what it takes to make Bleu cheese.
Though Muenster cheese may sound quite German,
It’s American, like Munster (Herman).
Feta is a royal treat,
Although it smells a lot like feet.
When cheese smells bad, it means that it’s good—
I’d say that of my verses, if only I could.
7 Things about Me that You Might not Know
- I scored high on my driver’s license and hunter’s safety tests. The rest of my academic record is a wreck. In spite of my lack of formal education, I am a grammar tyrant. If you use the word “like” improperly, I might correct you — even if you’re in the middle of a sermon. I even appreciate it when others correct my grammar, spelling, & punctuation. I also love math. I admire those guys who memorize π to a bunch of decimal places. Off-hand, I can do 3.141592. I’m such a nerd that I actually use all those digits when I do geometry.
- Six of my eight children were born at home. I delivered four of them myself. My wife helped a little. She came in pretty handy.
- I have worked with dairy, swine, and beef. Pigs are smarter than cows. Cows are smarter than sheep. Sheep are smarter than Democrats. Democrats are smarter than straw bales. I have also worked in construction. Straw bales are smarter than drywall hangers.
- I‘ve been busted for drag racing on the highway. When I told my story — “We weren’t racing, I was just passing” — the judge laughed out loud. I was passing. Unfortunately, I was in the right lane.
- I’ve only been kissed by two women other than my wife. The first was my boss’s wife at a New Year’s Eve party. I never saw it coming. The second was a girl in a bar in Glasgow, Montana, who found out it was my birthday. I’m pretty sure she had thrown up recently. My kissing experiences after that have been much better.
- Andrea Bocelli
- My rugged good looks are only rivaled by my poetic skill.
There you go. Am I not a wonder to behold?
. . . but I'm blogspotting this guy because he says I should, and because he apparently considers Chevy aficionados to be "misguided." He obviously has the gift of discernment. Also, because it's the weekend and I've got nothing else anyway. So go visit Chez Kneel. He's presently recycling posts on Leviticus, which is more interesting than you might expect.
8:00 AM (Central time) Tomorrow (Saturday, July 27) is the beginning of some madman's invention: Blogathon. Participating bloggers will post every half hour for twenty-four hours to raise money for the charities they have selected. No sir, I won't be doing that. However, I'd like you to go visit Julie Neidlinger, artist, clever wordsmith, and fellow North Dakotan. Check out her last year's effort here. Julie's selected charity for Blogathon 2007 is Joni and Friends. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of the blogging, but even if you think it's, like, totally lame*, it's still a good cause. Click here for details on how you can contribute.
Update: It begins here.
*It won't be, but you might think so. Of course, you'll be wrong. North Dakotans are notoriously witty. Those of German descent are less witty than those of Norwegian blood (the only two ethnicities legally admitted into the state), but they do alright and make good sausage.
Jonathan Moorhead has tagged me to identify my worst and best post, a post on which I have changed my mind, and my most-commented-on post. So here they are:
Thirsty Theologian Worst post: I wrote a short post quite a while back on limited atonement that I disliked so much that I unpublished it. It was actually not a bad post. It was very Biblical, logical, and made its point quite well. Unfortunately, the point it made so well was not the point it claimed to make concerning the doctrine of limited atonement. In fact, according to its stated purpose, it was quite lame. I might, one day, republish it with a new title and introduction. Then it will be as brilliant as I originally thought it was.
Thirsty Theologian Best post: Saddam and I: Equally Unrighteous. See me in a rare moment of humility.
Thirsty Theologian Changed His Mind Post: None that I can recall. Yes, I am set in my ways. I have changed my mind on a few things since I began blogging, just not anything I’ve spouted off on here. One would be Modalism. I used to believe that Modalists were simply in error, but still genuine believers. I no longer believe that. Sorry, Bishop Jakes. Repent and believe, for the remission of your sins!
Thirsty Theologian Most Comments Post: I don’t know. Probably one in the God Gave C2H6O series. Controversy sells—better than beer.
- “Tagged for humiliation” (Jonathan’s phrase):
- James White (because I would love to know if he’s ever changed his mind)
- Jason Robertson (because he needs another chance to rant about eschatology)
- Tim Challies (because he has never, ever, responded to a tag and I want to see if I can break his iron will)
- Brian Thornton (because he tagged me once, and it’s payback time)
Congratulations to Rey and Mrs. Rey of the Bible Archive, who have "gotten a man from the Lord." It's always a blessing to see a child born into a home where Christ is Lord and the Bible is taught. God bless you and enable you to bring him up "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
I'm taking a break from not blogging today to send congratulations to a couple of bloggers who have been blessed with additions to their families. As you may know, I like babies. I've never had one myself, but my wife has. I would encourage you to have babies too, if your sex and marital status are amenable to it.
Bob Hayton didn't have a baby, but his wife did — about three weeks ago, actually, so these congratulations are belated.
Amy Scott did, also.
Congratulations to you and your families, and may grace be multiplied to you as well.
Today I would like to draw your attention to a couple of items that deserve your attention. (How's that for an opening sentence?) Over to the right of this page you will see a few banner links. Among them is a link to Timmy Brister's Puritan Reading Challenge. This is a great way to introduce yourself to the Puritans. Timmy has arranged an excellent deal with Reformation Heritage Books on the twelve books he'll be covering this year, and he will be posting discussions on each as he goes (The first two are here and here). If you've been intimidated by the Puritans, perhaps thought them over your head, this should be an easy way to get over your fear.
The second link to notice is Coffee Swirls Daily Bible Reading. Doug McHone is blogging through the Bible, and his commentary is always insightful. Here is my suggestion: throw away that flaky devotional magazine you picked up at church and read Doug instead. He'll be posting five days a week, more or less, so click that link every day. You'll be glad you did.
Sheepish Brian has tagged me with one of those meme things. I’m supposed to tell you “seven things about myself that you don’t know about me.” Number one would be that I absolutely cannot resist pointing out the lousy structure of that phrase, except that I think I’ve already mentioned my grammar correction compulsion. I really couldn’t think of anything interesting, so here are seven mundane things you probably don’t know about me.
- I eat Cheetos with a fork.
- I’ve attended Baptist worship services twice in my life. They were two different churches on consecutive Sundays while looking for a new church. I haven’t been in a Baptist church since.
- My favorite chip & dip combination is Pringles Jalapeño with plain sour cream. You can‘t eat Pringles with a fork, or I would.
- I write two or three articles for every original one I actually post. I abandon two or three for every one I finish. Some frequently-posting bloggers affirm my feeling that this is a good thing.
- I don’t shave my legs. I don’t actually understand why anyone does.
- I’ve been to both coasts and two Canadian provinces, but I’ve never been south of Waterloo, Iowa.
- I’m more handsome than I appear.
There you go: seven things you probably didn’t know about me — like you care.
Addendum: It seems I've already done this here.
Frank Turk, who, unlike me, likes to argue and does it rather well, is taking on a defender of the Textus Receptus as the only preserved Word of God at his DebateBlog. I expect it to be an interesting and enlightening exchange on a topic that I have been on both sides of. That is, a topic both sides of which I have been on. No . . . a topic on which I have been on both sides. Curse you, prepositions!
Frank‘s opponent, Kent Brandenburg, will affirm that “The Greek Textus Receptus text of the New Testament is God‘s verbal, plenary preserved Word of God (of the New Testament).” Frank will take the “No, it ain‘t” position. I expect him to win handily.
The debate begins here.
Now that I‘ve plugged the debate, I‘m counting on Frank to not embarrass me by getting his butt* kicked.
*My apologies for the vulgar language. Be assured that this is still not an emergent blog.
Pray for Jonathan Moorhead as he teaches a seminar on Jonathan Edwards at Word of Grace Bible Church in Battle Ground WA today.
This is a Russian-speaking congregation, so he will be working with an interpreter. Pray also that he doesn‘t do this — or maybe that he does. A guy‘s got to have some fun, after all.
Matt Gumm has condescended to enlighten us to how he writes, and has asked us to reciprocate. These are the questions he asks, and, for what they’re worth, my answers:
- What blogging tools do you use?
I type anything of any length in Word, because I’m fussy about stuff like smart quotes, and Word is the most convenient way to get that formatting. If I want to save a document to somewhere other than the blog, I use Google Docs. That way, I can access it from any computer. I don’t use Google Docs to edit html (though that would be very easy and convenient), because it adds a bunch of it’s own code that means nothing to me, and I must micromanage every jot and tittle. Anyway, the special formatting I do is easy enough to type in myself, or add in the blog editor (Movable Type). - How do you post?
After #1 above, I select “Published” and click “Save.” Duh. - How do you get your ideas?
Sporadically. Most of my posts are just bits of “what I’m reading.” Whenever I have an original thought(!), I write about it. Most of these are discarded as lame or useless. Sometimes, like now, I write in reaction to someone else; but I generally avoid doing so. - Who is your target audience?
Me. That is, everything I post is the product of whatever I’ve taken in for my own benefit. I just post whatever is on my mind (see #3), and hope others will be edified thereby. Just lately I’ve begun using the blog as a discipline, à la Challies. I’ve blogged every day since June 1st. Forcing myself to put something out each day requires me to put something in first. - What do you hope to say or accomplish with your blog?
Good question. I’m not really sure why I started blogging. I love to read, and I’m happy to take in all that I can even if I’m the only one who benefits from it; but if I can pass it along to others, that’s even better. If I have one goal, it might be that I’d like to be one small voice, tugging Christians away from all that is new, and back to the ancient truths of the Christian faith. Rather grandiose, I suppose, but I that’s my burden.
