In 2008, the Republican candidate was defeated in a close race. The party was demoralized even before the election. Who has the ability to restore the party? Let's look at some of the potential presidential candidates.
Bob Corker, US Senator, Tennessee
Aside from being a US Senator he was also a former mayor of Chatanooga. Corker was narrowly elected to the senate defeating Harold Ford Jr. He is fairly conservative. He has said he is interested in running. The problem is that he has no name recognition outside of Tennessee. He has a lot of potention but he is still not even a rising star yet. I really don't think Corker is the guy who will rebuild the party.
Joe Scarborough, Former Congressman, Florida
He is a former congressman and now the host of Morning Joe on MSNBC and has his own radio show. Although he is pro-life and conservative on many issues, he has moderated his views so that he won't get fired from a liberal network. He has angered people in the GOP establishment at times. I am intrigued by Scarborough, but not sure I would support him.
Neut Gingrich, Former Speaker of the House, Georgia
He is a jack-of-all-trade, being a politician, professor and history buff. While he was generally liked by conservatives he is divorced and remarried. Many object to his cozy relations with the Clintons. He frequenty visited Hilary when she was in the Senate. He was a guest at the Obama White House. Dick Morris worked both for Gingrich and for Clinton at the same time. He is a bit of a political opportunist. If he were the nominee, I would support him, but it is not my first choice.
Gary Johnson, Former Governor, New Mexico
His views are very similar to Ron Paul. He is a big supporter of legalization fo drugs. He is pro-choice but believes that the abortion issue should be decided by states. I am not ready to support him but would look closely at him were he to run.
Ron Paul, Congressman, Texas
He is a libertarian and has quiter a following with libertarian minded people and independent evengelicals. Pau does not have what it takes to be president. Shoudl he be president? Maybe, but that's not how it works. He does not have the ability to put together a winning coalition.
Mike Huckabee, Former Governor, Arkansas
He was also a Baptist minister. When he ran in 2008, he had the support of many evangelicaqls who felt they did not have a voice with the other candidates. Huckabee was one of the few Republicans who recognized that Bush was unpopular and distanced himself from him. In straw poles, Huckabee had come out on top. It has recently been revealed that the killer in Washington state had been pardoned by Mike Huckabee. This may have killed any chance he has of being president.
Jim Demint, Senator, South Carolina
Hs in the Senate. the leading conservative voices in the Senate. He has been a key opposition leader to many of Obamas p[ropgrams. His views are very saimilar to mine on many issues. I would definietly consider supSOuth DHIM IF HE RUNS>
John Thune, Senator, South Dakota
He shocked everyone when he defeated Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle. Like Demint, he has become a key conservative leader. There are rumours that Thune is the candidate that the Obama administer does not want to run against. The only downside is that he is from a small state. I think he is an impressive candidate.
Sarah Palin, Former Governor, Alaska
When she was picked to be McCain's running mate, no one knew who she was. She quickly won the hearts of many conservatives. Everyone else was very puzzled by her. She was conservative, independent and a little quirky. I really like her at first. I did not like that she decided to speak out on every issue. Many times she spoke out on issues she did not have all the fact on, such as the Miss California incident. I think she should have served out her whole term as governor. I don't think she is ready to be president. I could accept her as a vice-presidential candidate. Michael Savage believes that only a Romney/Palin ticket can beat Obama in 2012.
Mit Romney, Former Governor, Massachusetts
He is a businessman, and was the head of the Utah Olympic Committee. I think Romney may be the best hope for the Republicans in 2012. He is an expert on finances and the economy. Romney won the Michigan primary by running on the economy. Economy is what voters are concerned about. If he can convince voters that he is better for the economy that Obama he has a chance. Conservatives are concerned by the fact he is a Mormon and some believe he is not conservative enough, He was pro-choice and switched to pro-life just before he announced his candidacy. Romney has been around but not annoyingly so. He takes interviews occasionally but does not blitz his presence. I think he has the potential of being the next Ronald Reagan. While I am not totally on the Romney bandwagon, I am close to it.
When Discernment Goes Bad
We live in a time in American Christianity where there are Christian books, music, DVDs, Bible studies, you name it. They are independent, not answering to any church. Many of these are not necessarily doctrinally correct. Using Romans 14 and Matthew 18:1-2, people say we have no right to judge other ministries. A back lash has ensued and ministries committed to discernment have arisen. They seek to expose false doctrine. Many targets for discernment are the word of faith movement, emergent church, seeker sensitive and mega-churches. Several ministries like Jan Merkell's "Understanding the Times" and Todd Freole's "Wretched Radio" seem to major in discernment ministries.
Discernment is designed to call attention to teaching that is not line with orthodox Christianity. The problem is, many times it becomes personal. What appears to be a blatant act of blasphemy may just be a misunderstanding. What began as a well-meaning call to doctrinal purity may turn into character assassinations.
There is a difference between intended heresies and misunderstandings. No Christian has doctrine totally right. We all have our pet issues that, if insulted, we take personay. We must make sure our motives are right. We must correct error in love, not hate. At times Jan Merkell and Todd Freole come off as hateful. Exposing false doctrine should be done out of love for the truth, not to destroy. Too many times, mountains have been made out of molehills.
How do you deal with false doctrine without being hateful? Matthew 18 says that if you are offended with a fellow believer, you go to that person and discuss it with them in private. If he fails to listen to you,. you go back with one or two witnesses. If he still won't listen, then you take it to the church. If he won't listen to the church then he is to be considered an infidel. Because of geographical differences and corporations make it difficult to do this. But that does not give us licence to attack others on a radio program. To many times discernment is an excuse to attack. Some ministries exist with the express purpose of exposing false doctrine. We must not become MacArthyists looking for heretics under every bush.
I write this because I am very disturbed by this trend of discernment to become hateful. We do need to stand for truth, but it must be in a godly way. The Roman orator Cicero said that in time of war the law falls silent. Although Christianity is under attack from all sides, the Bible must not fall silent but influence all we do.
Discernment is designed to call attention to teaching that is not line with orthodox Christianity. The problem is, many times it becomes personal. What appears to be a blatant act of blasphemy may just be a misunderstanding. What began as a well-meaning call to doctrinal purity may turn into character assassinations.
There is a difference between intended heresies and misunderstandings. No Christian has doctrine totally right. We all have our pet issues that, if insulted, we take personay. We must make sure our motives are right. We must correct error in love, not hate. At times Jan Merkell and Todd Freole come off as hateful. Exposing false doctrine should be done out of love for the truth, not to destroy. Too many times, mountains have been made out of molehills.
How do you deal with false doctrine without being hateful? Matthew 18 says that if you are offended with a fellow believer, you go to that person and discuss it with them in private. If he fails to listen to you,. you go back with one or two witnesses. If he still won't listen, then you take it to the church. If he won't listen to the church then he is to be considered an infidel. Because of geographical differences and corporations make it difficult to do this. But that does not give us licence to attack others on a radio program. To many times discernment is an excuse to attack. Some ministries exist with the express purpose of exposing false doctrine. We must not become MacArthyists looking for heretics under every bush.
I write this because I am very disturbed by this trend of discernment to become hateful. We do need to stand for truth, but it must be in a godly way. The Roman orator Cicero said that in time of war the law falls silent. Although Christianity is under attack from all sides, the Bible must not fall silent but influence all we do.
My Writings
There have been questions about whether I actually wrote the post about styles of preaching. One commenter implied that it was really Emily that wrote it and I took the credit. Another person said it was cut and paste and not an original post by me. Let me assure this was to cut and pasted but was my own thoughts. There was some criticism that it could have had more information. Maybe it could have. The purpose of that post was to be a survey of preaching styles not an exposition. The purpose was to expose readers to different styles of preaching.
I am a bad speller, I admit it. I am bad at punctuation and grammar. I have never been diagnosed with any learning disability such as dyslexia, but there is a good chance I may have some sort of learning disability. The teachers at the elementary school I attended wanted me to be tested by the state for learning disabilities. My Dad was a proud man who did not want to accept that his son might have a learning disability and was paranoid of the government. He refused to let me be tested. To combat this problem all of my papers at school and blog posts are typed by Emily. I write out the posts on paper, then dictate it to her. For a while I wrote my own blog posts. My blog is just for fun. I enjoy writing and like to have my thoughts out there. It was originally intended for friends and family. I am glad other people are reading it though, but I do not like that people are reading it to pick my life apart. I do not like these accusations.
I hope what I have said will be taken to heart. I appreciate this opportunity to set the record straight.
I am a bad speller, I admit it. I am bad at punctuation and grammar. I have never been diagnosed with any learning disability such as dyslexia, but there is a good chance I may have some sort of learning disability. The teachers at the elementary school I attended wanted me to be tested by the state for learning disabilities. My Dad was a proud man who did not want to accept that his son might have a learning disability and was paranoid of the government. He refused to let me be tested. To combat this problem all of my papers at school and blog posts are typed by Emily. I write out the posts on paper, then dictate it to her. For a while I wrote my own blog posts. My blog is just for fun. I enjoy writing and like to have my thoughts out there. It was originally intended for friends and family. I am glad other people are reading it though, but I do not like that people are reading it to pick my life apart. I do not like these accusations.
I hope what I have said will be taken to heart. I appreciate this opportunity to set the record straight.
Types of Sermons
There are several types of preaching. Some are more effective than others. We will examine some of these styles.
Expositional
Expository preaching is when you take a book of the Bible and you preach through the book verse by verse. You start at chapter one verse one and go all the way to the end of the book. Proponents of this method say that the Bible is not meant to be preached with random verses but is a complete work. You do not start in the middle of the last book in the Lord of the Ring stories and then jump to chapter one of the first book. While you can take a verse out of context for this method it is harder. Rick Warren does not like this method and says it is only for church people. his is my favorite style of preaching. I think it is very effective. Proponents of this method include: John MacArthur, John Piper and the Calvary Chapel movement.
Exegetical
This is when you preach through two or three verse. It relies heavily on the Greek and Hebrew. it contains a lot of word studies and word definitions. It also includes the cultural analysis of a word used. Unlike expository it is usually stand alone messages, not preaching through a book.
Topical
This is the most popular style of preaching right now. Each message is a stand-alone, one-time event. These messages include a single topic like love. Rick Warren says it is a better method for reaching the unsaved or seekers.
Textual
Textual is when you basically stick to one text. It is usually a standalone message. It's not verse by verse. You might start at verse 6, go back to 3, then jump to 10. It is not as extensive as expository or exegetical and it can be topical.
Narrative
It's not necessarily a preaching style. This method was introduced by New Tribes Mission when witnessing to tribal people. I as been adopted in the US. It has the idea of starting with creation and working your way to Christ. The aim is to hit on the big points. It aims to create a foundation. It is an excellent method for Sunday Schools, Bible studies or midweek service.
Gospel Preaching
All preaching should involve some kind of presentation of the gospel. Some passages are harder than others. The purpose of preaching is to communicate the gospel.
Expositional
Expository preaching is when you take a book of the Bible and you preach through the book verse by verse. You start at chapter one verse one and go all the way to the end of the book. Proponents of this method say that the Bible is not meant to be preached with random verses but is a complete work. You do not start in the middle of the last book in the Lord of the Ring stories and then jump to chapter one of the first book. While you can take a verse out of context for this method it is harder. Rick Warren does not like this method and says it is only for church people. his is my favorite style of preaching. I think it is very effective. Proponents of this method include: John MacArthur, John Piper and the Calvary Chapel movement.
Exegetical
This is when you preach through two or three verse. It relies heavily on the Greek and Hebrew. it contains a lot of word studies and word definitions. It also includes the cultural analysis of a word used. Unlike expository it is usually stand alone messages, not preaching through a book.
Topical
This is the most popular style of preaching right now. Each message is a stand-alone, one-time event. These messages include a single topic like love. Rick Warren says it is a better method for reaching the unsaved or seekers.
Textual
Textual is when you basically stick to one text. It is usually a standalone message. It's not verse by verse. You might start at verse 6, go back to 3, then jump to 10. It is not as extensive as expository or exegetical and it can be topical.
Narrative
It's not necessarily a preaching style. This method was introduced by New Tribes Mission when witnessing to tribal people. I as been adopted in the US. It has the idea of starting with creation and working your way to Christ. The aim is to hit on the big points. It aims to create a foundation. It is an excellent method for Sunday Schools, Bible studies or midweek service.
Gospel Preaching
All preaching should involve some kind of presentation of the gospel. Some passages are harder than others. The purpose of preaching is to communicate the gospel.
YouTube Sensations
YouTube was just named website of the decade. It has changed the way we view media. Some have suggested it will one day replace television. It has also had a profound impact on Christianity. Any time you want you can watch Todd Bentley kick an old lady in the stomach for Jesus or watch Word of faith teacher Robert Tilton preach with fart noises in the background. Seriously there are several Christian teachers who present their messages on YouTube. But YouTube is largely unregulated and anyone can post. This has created a mixed multitude. Let's examine a few of these sensations.
Paul Washer
Paul Washer is a frequent speaker at churches. He is in the reformed tradition and believes in Lordship salvation. He comes off as harsh at times as he rejects easy believism. He rejects conventional wisdom. He hates when people use the verse "I stand at the door and knock" out of context. He once talked about the churches obsession with pop culture which was followed by applause. He responded with "I don't know why you're clapping. I'm talking about you." If you think he is all mean with no compassion he is not. His testimony is full of tears. Before he was saved he lived a life full of sin. When asked why he preaches so forcefully his response is "He saved me." Although he tends to be pretty conservative, he did once speak at a reformed rapper convention.
William Lane Craig
Christan apologist who has debated the Jesus seminar. He is interested in discernment issues. He is opposed to seeker sensitive, word of faith and the emergent church. He has also defended Washer and MacArthur who have been accused of heresy.
Andrew C Bain
He is opposed to Lordship salvation and apparently is opposed to Calvinism. His video's attempt to expose Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon, MacArthur, Piper Washer and others as heretics. His videos tend to be very mean spirited. Many do not take him seriously.
Stephen Andersen
He is pastor of the fundamentalist, KJV only church, Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. He is not connected to Bob Jones or Howles Andersen and is opposed to Bible colleges. He opposes Christian rock, president Obama, contraceptives, Billy Graham, lordship salvation and women in pants. He is known to have bad hermeneutics. He takes verses way out of context. He once used a verse about pissing on the wall to speak of gender rolls. He was recently arrested on trumped up charges. He is aligned with Alex Jones. Many of his views I disagree with but he does say some good things.
The Anti-Paul Movement
YouTube has become the home of a pro-law form of Christianity that merges the Jewish law into New Testament Christianity. They believe that Paul is a false prophet who taught a different gospel than Jesus. They teach that Jesus taught faith plus works. There is not an organized anti-Paul movement, but various people would fall into this camp. To them Pauline epistles are not true scripture. They believe Acts was written by Luke to validate Paul's ministry but do seem to accept the gospel of Luke. They say Paul uses too many personal pronouns and they do not like his disregard to the law.
Conclusion
One must be careful when looking at YouTube. Anyone can post on YouTube. We must be Bereans at all times. We must check what is said with the word of God. Many videos on YouTube can be a blessing but all must be taken with a grain of salt. We must be Bereans with everything we read see and hear.
Paul Washer
Paul Washer is a frequent speaker at churches. He is in the reformed tradition and believes in Lordship salvation. He comes off as harsh at times as he rejects easy believism. He rejects conventional wisdom. He hates when people use the verse "I stand at the door and knock" out of context. He once talked about the churches obsession with pop culture which was followed by applause. He responded with "I don't know why you're clapping. I'm talking about you." If you think he is all mean with no compassion he is not. His testimony is full of tears. Before he was saved he lived a life full of sin. When asked why he preaches so forcefully his response is "He saved me." Although he tends to be pretty conservative, he did once speak at a reformed rapper convention.
William Lane Craig
Christan apologist who has debated the Jesus seminar. He is interested in discernment issues. He is opposed to seeker sensitive, word of faith and the emergent church. He has also defended Washer and MacArthur who have been accused of heresy.
Andrew C Bain
He is opposed to Lordship salvation and apparently is opposed to Calvinism. His video's attempt to expose Jonathan Edwards, Spurgeon, MacArthur, Piper Washer and others as heretics. His videos tend to be very mean spirited. Many do not take him seriously.
Stephen Andersen
He is pastor of the fundamentalist, KJV only church, Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. He is not connected to Bob Jones or Howles Andersen and is opposed to Bible colleges. He opposes Christian rock, president Obama, contraceptives, Billy Graham, lordship salvation and women in pants. He is known to have bad hermeneutics. He takes verses way out of context. He once used a verse about pissing on the wall to speak of gender rolls. He was recently arrested on trumped up charges. He is aligned with Alex Jones. Many of his views I disagree with but he does say some good things.
The Anti-Paul Movement
YouTube has become the home of a pro-law form of Christianity that merges the Jewish law into New Testament Christianity. They believe that Paul is a false prophet who taught a different gospel than Jesus. They teach that Jesus taught faith plus works. There is not an organized anti-Paul movement, but various people would fall into this camp. To them Pauline epistles are not true scripture. They believe Acts was written by Luke to validate Paul's ministry but do seem to accept the gospel of Luke. They say Paul uses too many personal pronouns and they do not like his disregard to the law.
Conclusion
One must be careful when looking at YouTube. Anyone can post on YouTube. We must be Bereans at all times. We must check what is said with the word of God. Many videos on YouTube can be a blessing but all must be taken with a grain of salt. We must be Bereans with everything we read see and hear.
Books I've Read Recently
These are reviews of books I have read this past year.
Vintage Jesus by Mark Driskol
Mark Drisko is the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Community Church in Seattle Washington. This books deals with major issues about Jesus. It is part of a series dealing with issues of Christianity. At times this book is very humorous with several references to pop culture. At times it is pretty standard, but at other times it is fascinating. He as a chapter on how Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. That chapter is simply amazing.
My Rating: 4+
Claiming the Center by Jack Rogers
Jack Rogers is a leading voice in the Presbyterian church. He believes in including everyone in Christianity. He believes we need to accept the views of liberal and fundamentalist as equally valid. He says that those who believe in the Deity of Christ and those who don't are valid Christians. This book does offer good insight into how the religious right developed. His information is sound. It is his conclusions that are wrong. This really explains how we got here religiously.
My Rating: 2+
Wake Up America by Tony Campollo
Written in 1991, Campolo discusses how America and the American church has become very materialistic. He believes we must follow Jesus' words and feed, clothe and love the poor. He believes that the words of Christ supersede the writings of Paul. He suggests that Christ's call to protect the poor may even override Romans 13, which deals with relating to governments. I dislike a lot of it, but some of it I found helpful. One of the most astonishing things is that he opposes text criticism.
My Rating: 2
Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
This book sent shock waves through the evangelical world. Too many Christians professed but did not live like it. The church accepted these professions at face value. MacArthur wrote this book hoping to correct this error. This book talks about how true Christians live a consistent life of obedience to Christ. He tells how Jesus said it would be hard to follow him. He details how the Bible teaches this all through scripture. It is a must read.
My Rating: 5
Absolutely Free by Zane Hodge
This is a book attempting to answer The Gospel According to Jesus. In order to balance my reading, I decided to read a counterpoint to MacArthur's view. Hodges has an easy believism view. He says that just because a person doesn't live a Christian life, that does not mean he is not saved. He says we have no right to doubt any one's profession. He says all you have to do is believe. He separates discipleship from salvation. He even questions whether the verse in Corinthians about examining oneself is even for us today. He quotes hymns as evidence.
My Rating: 2
Missions in the Old Testament by Walter Kaesar
Dr. Kaesar suggests that God's goal for humanity has always been, "I shall be their God and they shall be my people." After the fall, God's goal was to restore that relationship. He says that Israel was to be a priest to bring about that restoration to the planet. He says that even though Israel failed to do that, that does not negate what they were supposed to do. At times he went overboard. But most of what he is saying I believe is valid. It really opened my thinking.
My Rating: 4+
Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
He gives his strategy for church planting. He tells how churches must seek to fulfill all five purposes of the church, which are": worship, service, fellowship, evangelism, and discipleship. He believes we must fulfill felt needs first. He is opposed to verse-by-verse exposition because he says it is only for church people. He believes in verse with verse exposition, aka topical preaching. It does, however have some good insight.
My Rating: 3+
Common Sense by Glenn Beck
The Fox News host has rewritten Thomas Paine's manifesto. He believes there is a plot by politicians of all political parties to divide us. He believes that these people only care about their own power. This book includes Common Sense by Thomas Paine. He comes off as a universalist. It is an interesting book.
My Rating: 4
Vintage Jesus by Mark Driskol
Mark Drisko is the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Community Church in Seattle Washington. This books deals with major issues about Jesus. It is part of a series dealing with issues of Christianity. At times this book is very humorous with several references to pop culture. At times it is pretty standard, but at other times it is fascinating. He as a chapter on how Christ fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. That chapter is simply amazing.
My Rating: 4+
Claiming the Center by Jack Rogers
Jack Rogers is a leading voice in the Presbyterian church. He believes in including everyone in Christianity. He believes we need to accept the views of liberal and fundamentalist as equally valid. He says that those who believe in the Deity of Christ and those who don't are valid Christians. This book does offer good insight into how the religious right developed. His information is sound. It is his conclusions that are wrong. This really explains how we got here religiously.
My Rating: 2+
Wake Up America by Tony Campollo
Written in 1991, Campolo discusses how America and the American church has become very materialistic. He believes we must follow Jesus' words and feed, clothe and love the poor. He believes that the words of Christ supersede the writings of Paul. He suggests that Christ's call to protect the poor may even override Romans 13, which deals with relating to governments. I dislike a lot of it, but some of it I found helpful. One of the most astonishing things is that he opposes text criticism.
My Rating: 2
Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
This book sent shock waves through the evangelical world. Too many Christians professed but did not live like it. The church accepted these professions at face value. MacArthur wrote this book hoping to correct this error. This book talks about how true Christians live a consistent life of obedience to Christ. He tells how Jesus said it would be hard to follow him. He details how the Bible teaches this all through scripture. It is a must read.
My Rating: 5
Absolutely Free by Zane Hodge
This is a book attempting to answer The Gospel According to Jesus. In order to balance my reading, I decided to read a counterpoint to MacArthur's view. Hodges has an easy believism view. He says that just because a person doesn't live a Christian life, that does not mean he is not saved. He says we have no right to doubt any one's profession. He says all you have to do is believe. He separates discipleship from salvation. He even questions whether the verse in Corinthians about examining oneself is even for us today. He quotes hymns as evidence.
My Rating: 2
Missions in the Old Testament by Walter Kaesar
Dr. Kaesar suggests that God's goal for humanity has always been, "I shall be their God and they shall be my people." After the fall, God's goal was to restore that relationship. He says that Israel was to be a priest to bring about that restoration to the planet. He says that even though Israel failed to do that, that does not negate what they were supposed to do. At times he went overboard. But most of what he is saying I believe is valid. It really opened my thinking.
My Rating: 4+
Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
He gives his strategy for church planting. He tells how churches must seek to fulfill all five purposes of the church, which are": worship, service, fellowship, evangelism, and discipleship. He believes we must fulfill felt needs first. He is opposed to verse-by-verse exposition because he says it is only for church people. He believes in verse with verse exposition, aka topical preaching. It does, however have some good insight.
My Rating: 3+
Common Sense by Glenn Beck
The Fox News host has rewritten Thomas Paine's manifesto. He believes there is a plot by politicians of all political parties to divide us. He believes that these people only care about their own power. This book includes Common Sense by Thomas Paine. He comes off as a universalist. It is an interesting book.
My Rating: 4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
