I have many Bibles but this is the oldest one - I have it rebound a few years ago - I was in a bad car wreck when I was 8 and in the hospital in traction and a body cast for months - people gave me money & this is what I bought - inside it you will find A sermon Bertha Smith preach at FBC Lindale for a weekend where I grew up where my Dad was pastor - The Man God uses

Suffering for righteousness is never enjoyable but is to embraced for God’s perfecting work and it always leads to deep joy Running from truly hard things winds up costing us so much more in the long run - Suffering in this way was & is normal for Christians then & now

Got a call from a friend of another religion last night asking me what Christianity’s greatest virtue was. Easy answer - love ‘The greatest of these’ - love is everything They challenged me and said no - first you had to know someone to love them, perhaps hospitality or respect - I responded that’s American or Western love but not Christian love

Many people will not like hearing this but pastors are the best hope for our country & have the biggest opportunity to heal our nation & stop the hate but to do so they will have to SPEAK UP - How should a pastor do this? As much as is possible don’t attack the politician attack the idea or the quote. State clearly that it is wrong and why

Today the message that preachers focus on is forgiveness of sins so you can live a moral life & be ready for death - what has this kind of transactional preaching given us? In the New Testament & early church the focus was on a new way to live, the Kingdom has come for ALL humanity & this Gospel spread

My heart is broken over Ukraine 🇺🇦 grateful for Americans response - but please don’t forget those suffering from large militaries & leaders that make their lives difficult #AllOverTheWorld for people in Sudan Yemen Ethiopia Afghanistan Iran Palestine China . . . The list goes on It may be true that there is more peace in the world than ever before but it is also true that there are more people on the globe than ever and they suffer all over the world

Last day to use this Bible & this journal - been a great year - I’ll give the Bible away with my notes, markings, prayers - can’t beat a Ryan Krusac @fountainpenman & @RKSpens on Instagram - orange was my color this year!! First few pages are prayers & art I like printed out & taped in my journal

Ok - YES, I have read it - just finished it & it grieves me . . . Why? Because I have lived through the era she writes about & know much of this to be true from my own personal experience

Young pastor - spend your time praying, serving, loving, engaging with every kind of person there is for the sake of the Gospel - not fighting for power or control or being used in denominational politics - it will the the waste of your life God placed something in you when he called you - you are going to have to listen & think like never before - the world is complex & the church compromised - God will use you powerfully if you listen to HIM!

The biggest danger to a religion is not its heretics but it’s Pharisees. Heretics always self-eliminate. Pharisees go deep & hold on hard

I love the term soft power - it appeals to the heart & mind out of a moral conviction of right & wrong in a shared humanity calling us to our higher selves & noble aspirations The Kingdom of God prevails by soft power

My son for Christmas got me an 1841 track of a church in Newbury, Mass not just condemning slavery but excommunicating pastors & members of other churches who practiced & supported it - how might 1861 been different had they repented? Roger Williams challenged slavery, stealing Indian lands, & promoted religious freedom for all not just Puritans - he lost the argument but his language won in our founding documents that would ultimately undo slavery

I have known ⁦@pastordmack⁩ since we both started seminary together, started our churches together & I love him deeply & support him - but it’s not just him I support but every African American pastor & church in the SBC - U cannot deny what he wrote dwightmckissic.wordpress.com/2020/12/13/fro… I honestly do not know enough about CRT to critique but Res9 makes clear that Scripture trumps it - this it is NOT worth all of this - as the convention started because of slavery we only validate the critique of a watching lost word that we are racist - what does that do to us

I love my country far more than I love a political party - I’m heartbroken seeing our country ripped apart. This is not right nor who we are nor what our ancestors gave their lives for. Guard your tongue carefully - what you post & repost on social media - you don’t want to be a part of ripping our country apart.

Some people think because I’m such good friends with so many non-Xns I will leave my faith or become a universalist - never - Jesus is more precious to me than ever & his message more important Such a strange Christianity in America today - everyone talks about evangelism, witnessing, yet most have few if any non-xn friends

What would an effective missiology for the 21st century look like? Here are a few key elements- - - A missiology developed without the context of the world is DOA & we have never needed a newer missiology more than we need it today - much of what we have is ineffective, outdated and even detrimental to the Great Commission - it takes years to develop systems that become chains

Just to be clear - the Kurds just lost their land where they have lived for hundreds of years - they will now be driven deeper into Syria where the Russians/Iranians now control - they had no voice - pray for them - thousands of them are Jesus loving people & church planters They are in a far more dangerous and precarious situation than they were before they started helping us with ISIS

Why I visit mosque, synagogues, temples, & churches I disagree with & encourage others to as well:

1. Jesus & Paul did their ministry in the public square - they were everywhere people were - their ministry wasn’t cornered off in buildings with believers. 2. Paul went into synagogues after writing the law is no longer necessary to justify XNs. Paul clearly says they have rejected Jesus & the prophets but loves them so much he says he’s willing to go to hell for them.