Benny Hinn Helps the Holy Spirit

In this article from the Rocky Mountain News, fellow pastor and Hinn supporter George McHendry acknowledges not everything Hinn does is miraculous: "When he lines up the wheelchairs and they're all shiny, and now the people can walk - c'mon, Benny. But I think that showmanship is necessary to reach some people for God."

Another great example of just how weak and shallow and impotent and worldly and naive the evangelical world in America has become. HT: Tim Ellsworth.

1 John 2.2

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. Is this verse an effective prooftext against the L in TULIP?

Two Faces of Country Music

I'm not a country music fan, but I enjoy watching country music, as an outsider looking in. On one hand, you have the wholesome, family-friendly side of country music. On the other hand, you have the hard drinking, carousing, sensual side of country music. I witnessed this dichotomy first hand this week while I was eating lunch with my family in an Italian restaurant. Only in the south can you sit in an Italian restaurant and hear a country music station blaring over the speakers. A song came on that talked about a young girl being raised by alcoholic, abusive parents, but ended up having her life redeemed by Christ. The song was unapologetically Christian. This encouraging and touching song was followed by a "let's get drunk and get under the sheets all night long" type of song. The two worldviews presented in these songs were polar opposites.

Hurricane Rita...please hit New Orleans!

This may sound totally heartless...but let's think through this. I think I am being both reasonable and compassionate when I say...

IF, and only IF, Rita is going to make landfall as a full strength hurricane, I hope she hits New Orleans dead on.

If she hits anywhere else on the Gulf Coast, she will potentially cause more death and destruction. If she hits New Orleans dead on, or takes the exact same path as Katrina, she will hit mostly rubble, and the vast majority of the people will already be on safe ground (because they haven't returned), and it won't be difficult to motivate both the residents and the authorities of the region to make sure everyone is out.

The other benefit of this is that it will cause us to further think through this whole "We're going to spend untold billions of dollars to rebuild New Orleans back to her former glory" mindset. Rebuild New Orleans? Why not? To her former glory? Well, I'm not sure glory is the appropriate word, but we must rebuild wisely.

Of course, I'd much rather she just dissipate right out in the Gulf and become another forgotten storm.

Preaching: How Fast through a Bible Book?

As a pastor, I am committed to expository preaching through sections of Scripture. But every time I start a new section or book, I inevitably ask, "How long will this take me?" "At what pace should I go through the book?"

Many of my heroes take a long time going through a Bible book. If I remember correctly John MacArthur took 8 and a half years to get through Matthew, John Piper has been in Romans for over 7 years, Jim Boice's Romans series was published into four large volumes. I recently heard MacArthur say, "Slower is better because deeper is better."

This summer I took our congregation through Romans in 5 weeks. Obviously an overview, it was more section by section than verse by verse. I was very pleased with the outcome. It was helpful for our people to get more of a bird's eye, or macro, view of the book.

Though I used to be impressed with slower, I am currently seeing many advantages in moving faster.

What do you think? Is deeper and slower the way to go, giving your people a very in-depth and comprehensive look? Or is it better to move quickly through a book thereby exposing your people to greater amounts of Scripture?

Governor Swann??

Greg Garber of ESPN.com reports that Lynn Swann will announce his candidacy for Governor of Pennsylvania in early 2006. As a Republican. I wonder where Lynn stands on the issues. He's definitely got name recognition, a positive image, and a million dollar smile. Garber even speculates about a run for the White House in '12. Whooaaa!!! Slow down there Greg! The man has never held public office, has never run for public office, and at this point, may never run for public office. As for leading PN, I'm sure he could do better than Jesse Ventura did with his circus act in MN.

Worth Reading

Being fairly new to the blogging world, I enjoy finding blogs that are worth checking regularly. Phil Johnson's Pyromaniac is one. His two most recent posts are perfect examples of why. Today's post features an email he received from another one of those darwinian geniuses whose brain apparently hasn't evolved to the level of discernment required to attack a Cal professor. Yesterday's post, part of an ongoing series titled "Monday Menagerie", describes his worst and best jobs. The best job is the best part! Go ahead Monday Menagerie on your Monday "to read" list. You won't be disappointed.

Ophelia

Ophelia, we feel ya!

Rain...rain...rain...and more rain...

Enough already!

Ophelia, go back to the middle of the Atlantic so I can finish mowing my yard! Please!

Inside the Mind of a Heretic

How does one become a heretic? Simple, consider your own "wisdom" as greater than God's wisdom. Make it your aim to speak your own mind instead of God's revealed Word.

I was so disgusted to read Tony Campolo's statement about the impotence of God in regard to Hurricane Katrina:

Whenever there is a catastrophe, some religious people inevitably ask, “Why didn’t God do something? Where was God when all those people died?”

Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad answers. One such answer is that somehow all suffering is a part of God’s great plan. In the midst of agonies, someone is likely to quote from the Bible, telling us that if we would just be patient, we eventually would see “all things work together for the good, for those who love God, and are called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28)

Perhaps we would do well to listen to the likes of Rabbi Harold Kushner, who contends that God is not really as powerful as we have claimed. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures does it say that God is omnipotent. Kushner points out that omnipotence is a Greek philosophical concept, but it is not in his Bible.


I'm not sure what Hebrew Bible Kushner is using, but my Hebrew Bible uses the name "Almighty" for God 48 times. My New Testament, which Kushner discounts, uses the word "Almighty" 9 more times. Unless the definition of "almighty" has changed in recent years, it means "to have all might."

To make it even more interesting, the Old Testament (Hebrew) book that the word "Almighty" is used in the most is Job, which is the most relevant book to any event dealing with the suffering of man and the sovereignty of God.

Kushner (and therefore, Campolo) claims that omnipotence is a Greek concept, not a biblical concept. I suggest he go back and read the first two chapters of Genesis before he forever settles on believing in a little god. If God can create everything there is, He's surely big enough to handle it all.

Kushner and his "solution" for the problem for suffering are antithetical to the message of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament. Anyone who takes these two testaments otherwise is not reading them at face value.

Shame on Tony Campolo for trying to make God look good or apologize to unbelievers for the truth. God needs no image makeover. People need to be transformed in order to accept the truth. Shame on him for getting his theology of God from a weak theologian. If he wants to interpret the Bible through the lens of other theologians, he could do much better. He could start with men who take the Bible seriously. There are plenty throughout history that have proven themselves as legitimate mentors (Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Edwards).

It seems that Tony is only a bold, prophetic type when he is making shocking statements to Bible-believing Christians while he poses as one of us. Put him on national TV and he becomes Mr. Appeasement and Mr. Non-Controversial. I'm glad to see the mask is being brought down and we are seeing the true Tony.

May he repent before it's too late. Until then, stop giving that man a pulpit and a microphone, or a pen and a publisher.

HT: Jason Robertson c/o Tim Ellsworth

Franchising Church, pt. 3

I stopped by the public library yesterday to catch up on some reading. I picked up the latest edition of Christianity Today and was surprised to see an article by Bob Smietana titled "High-Tech Circuit Riders: Satellite churches are discovering a new way to grow the body of Christ."

Although I had originally planned on using this third post to describe the advantages of franchising church, I am going to put that off for later. Instead I will use this post to briefly comment on the article in Christianity Today.

Here is a review and preview of the posts in this series on Franchising Church:
Part 1 - Franchising Church - Introduction
Part 2 - The Dangers of Franchising Church
Part 3 - Comments on Christianity Today article
Part 4 - Advantages of Franchising Church
Part 5 - A Suggested Approach to Franchising Church

Now, back to the CT arcticle.

First, this article confirms the trend that of the multi-campus approach. Even the number of 1,000 churches looks to me like a conservative figure. But even if that number is true, it will only increase rapidly as churches embrace this pragmatic approach.

Second, I was heartened to see that Professor Eddie Gibbs of Fuller Seminary expressed some of the same concerns I have stated in my previous posts on this subject. If this phenomena is going to be here permanently, I like his idea of having the "virtual" message supplemented with a commentary by a "live" pastor who is known personally by that particular congregation.

Third, I was disappointed that he didn't really address the whole multi-campus, interstate possibility and, eventual, reality. Perhaps he didn't find much on it or simply hadn't put two and two together.

Finally, I was fascinated by the historical connection sociologist Roger Finke made between this trend and the Methodist circuit riders of yesteryear.

All in all, I was pleased that this issue was further brought into the light by CT and that Smietana presented both the testimonial side and the critical side of the issue.