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Mike Leake Profile picture
Mike Leake
@mikeleake
In Christ, Husband, Father, Learner, Pastor at Calvary of Neosho; Writer, Author of Torn to Heal: God's Good Purpose in Suffering & The Seeds Project
May 1 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
My feed has been overtaken with this MacArthur clip denying PTSD, etc. Most responses saying how awful it is.

But one thing is missing in most of the conversation…+ Why?

Why is this appealing? Why would people sit under this teaching?

Failing to really answer this is why we have the reemergence of Mark Driscoll. +
Feb 12 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
So, I'm working on a theory...

Why don't men go to church? Most say it's because the church is too feminine. Men want a challenge, danger, adventure, *insert Tim Allen grunt*

But I can't help but notice who is there at the foot of the cross... 1/ When it was perhaps the MOST dangerous and challenging and ruddy to follow Jesus...the proportion of women to men was at least 4 to 1.

Maybe more women are in church because they are stronger than us men...not physically, but in the capacity to hang in there and do hard stuff 2/
Jan 20 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Just so it is clear to the six people or so who will read this, know that I’m just opposed to this garbage as I’ve been, if not more so.

My lacking of speaking much these days has more to do with a) depression b) discouragement—does it really matter what I say? + c) I’m trying to social media less and local and long-term more.

But some thing’s we just can’t be silent on. Yes, people knew. Yes, leaders chose the CR over flesh and blood people. Yes, people are still silent who shouldn’t be.

And yes, I want out. +
Feb 10, 2023 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
This is a good question. I'll share some of my own story to answer this...

About 15 years ago if that GCC story came out, I might have been one of the ones tweeting (did we have Twitter then?) a defense. Why? A 🧵 1) I did not know JMac, but I was in the Reformed circles. My little blog was starting to get some traction in those circles. And I wanted to stay "in". To come against MacArthur would immediately put you on the "out" and mark you as one to avoid. 2/
Dec 7, 2022 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Returned from our Mexico mission trip yesterday at 3AM. So many thoughts...but I want to tell you about the saddest thing I saw, and what it's doing in my own heart. 1/ We saw much poverty. Areas with little to no water. Families devastated and split up because of poverty (some having to flee to the US to find income for their family). People on the streets trying to sell things for only a few pesos. Those battling addictions. 2/
Nov 9, 2022 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
Voting Gen Z (18-29) were born between 1993 and 2004. If memory serves me correct wasn't this when Promise Keepers, Quiver Full of Arrows, etc. was at its height?

"We are going to raise a generation of warriors and take back America..." 1/ But last night Gen Z decisively went blue.

So, what happened?

A few thoughts... 2/
Nov 7, 2022 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
Two statements bold statements that I'll try to back up:

There is a movement within the Reformed movement that has cultish tendencies.

The pushback against these abusive systems also has cultish tendencies baked into them.

1/ Let's begin with a few characteristics of cults.
1. Following a leader w/unquestioning faith and allegiance.

2. A belief that the group exclusively holds the truth

3. Isolation of members

4. Severe penalties for leaving group 2/
Jun 13, 2022 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
"If we give $$$ to help survivors we are creating a hierarchy structure and it will mean the death of the SBC. We don't want CP $$$ going to legal fees and such."

Let's think about this for a moment. A 🧵 First, our heirarchy.

When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans we gave millions to help the victims. Not once did we have a conversation about whether or not this would make us liable or if this was creating a hierarchial structure.

It's okay to help hurting people. 2/
May 12, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
I read somewhere that there are 3 types of advocacy work.
1. Those who, when a dam bursts and a flood overtakes a village, get into the water to save those drowning.

These are those who work directly with the suffering.

1/ 2. Those who educate about not living near the floodplain below the dam. Or what to do when the waters start to rise.

These are those who are educating to prevent suffering.

2/
May 11, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
When my wife and I were newlyweds we lived in an apartment/house that was very close to our neighbors (like reach out the window and touch their house close). 3 houses down was a house filled with 20 something guys....their television choices were...interesting. How do I know? 1/ Because on occasion our TV remote would control their television...and theirs would control ours.

My wife and I prefered to watch old episodes of Dick Van Dyke as we went to bed...they preferred pornography. So... 2/
Apr 11, 2022 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Quick thread on why I have suggested The Message as an option to read when someone overcoming abuse is having a difficult time reading God’s Word. 1/ First, I don’t think the Message deserves the bad press it gets. Yes, it’s a paraphrase. But Eugene Peterson is no slouch when it comes to exegesis. There have been times when I’ve been deep in study of a passage and the I’ll the read The MSG for “feel” of text. It’s good 2/
Oct 28, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
There have been times in my life when I felt absolutely abandoned by Christ. But it was so often in those moments he was doing the greatest work in/for me. It’s this history which keeps me going in darker moments.

But what about people? + There are times when I feel abandoned by people who love me deeply. They aren’t abandoning me, but it feels that way.

This is where it’s complicated though. Jesus’ history is untarnished. He is ALWAYS working for my good. That cannot be said of people… +
Oct 27, 2021 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
I’m thinking about a meeting I attended last night where the speaker spoke of our disunity across the SBC. “We can be united again if we refocus on the gospel and mission,” he said.

I agree…BUT we need to define words. + Do we see “do justice” as the mission that the gospel calls us into? Is the gospel “rescue people from hell” OR Jesus is making all things new (which includes rescuing us from hell)? +
Aug 25, 2021 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
I’ve often heard something akin to this: “preaching is the most important thing that happens on a Sunday morning. That is why the pulpit is guarded, that is why it is central in our architecture, etc.” I’m not convinced of this… + I tend to agree with Dever when he says, “My main role, and the main role of any pastor, is expositional preaching.” I also basically agree w/Dever when he says that the biblical picture is that God’s Word brings life (though I’d add a sentence or two on the Spirit). BUT… +
Aug 23, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Continuing my retelling of the awkwardness that is my life. Today I'll share about my most awkward order at a restaurant.

It was one of those somewhat fancy places. A step or so above an Applebee's....+ I've got my kids with me. I think they were 5 and 2 at the time. And so I'm scouring the kids menu to find something they'll like. My son had a somewhat narrow range of acceptable foods...and my daughter (being 2) probably wasn't ready for their prime rib. +
Jun 3, 2021 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
As more and more of the underbelly of the SBC is exposed I want to share with you a little of my own experience with DARVO. A 🧵 DARVO stands for deny, attack, reverse victim and offender. It’s a common tactic employed by abusers and abusive systems. But it’s also something those of us who grew up in abusive environments likely learner. I did...+
Jun 2, 2021 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Can we connect a few dots here?

The same one behind this “psychological warfare” is wanting to be able to fill the entire convention with his trustees. + And the same EC...filled with some of the same people is also attempting to have the ability to escrow CP funds. +
May 3, 2021 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I have a few thoughts on this. A 🧵... There are multiple factors at play here, so what I’m saying is only part of the picture. First, I believe something that needs said in these conversations is that if a pastor gets out of vocational ministry it doesn’t necessarily mean ceasing to pastor. +
Apr 1, 2021 • 20 tweets • 4 min read
I keep hearing folks ask about the benefits of CRT/I. Here's a lengthy thread, a story, and my understanding of why we are were we are in this conversation.

First the story... + I was in a room with about 8 other pastors sifting through hundreds of sermons, attempting to decide who would be good to speak at an upcoming conference. +
Mar 25, 2021 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
🧵I have a confession to make an apology to @BethMooreLPM This is my story and I’m not intending to imply it’s true of all others. But I bet I’m not alone. 1/ I used to call Beth Moore a false teacher. (Probably 7-10 years ago) I didn’t encourage others to do her Bible studies. In fact I discouraged it. I had NEVER read her stuff.
2/
Mar 23, 2021 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
I’m wondering if my decision to focus on the YRR movement will cause a much larger point to be missed. Just in case…a thread. The YRR movement (Reformed evangelicalism) has fractured into something now unrecognizable. I think a major reason for this can be found in some of Bonhoeffer’s words in Life Together. 2/