I want to take the time to offer a few pieces of rhetorical wisdom for young pastors starting in the pulpit ministry. These stem from some of my research and writing for my dissertation and basic practical thoughts in my analysis of listening to at least two sermons weekly for over 20 years. 🧵 #1, Preaching is an art. It needs to be developed. It is not the mere delivery of materialized research. Preaching entails advancing rhetoric and, therefore, must be continually reforming.

Every preacher should work on his skills. He should not be content in his delivery but constantly work on how better to communicate God's Word Sunday after Sunday.

Men who do not read good fiction will struggle greatly to understand others. They will think mainly propositionally, and treat others in a mechanical fashion, expecting them to engage in a particular way; read them through encyclopedic lenses. Good fictional works allow men to see tenderness as a virtue, the good life to be explored, and relationships to be developed within a paradigm of grace and wonder.

The fruitful aspect of @JohnPiper's piece is that he solidified his viewpoint w/ clarity & precision. Pastor Piper is intensely committed to biblical thinking and while we stand on opposite sides, his capacity to communicate his political ideology is noble. I honor that man! Some general responses: "The sword is not to be the agent of the Christian religion as such — that is, as a religion."
But Rom. 13 sets the purpose of the sword: "All Authorities are established by God." This implies that any means used for justice must serve God's purposes.

On Halloween:
The first case for Halloween is its neighborliness. Halloween is an extension of that festive spirit of communion. We should abide by principles that establish more powerful platforms of community life in the body of Christ. I can already see from afar and up close the parents who wish to preserve decency and order in the home by keeping demons away. There is a kind of consistent curmudgeon who avoids all festivities. Christmas? Boo! Lent? Ascetic!

Some general remarks to seal this head-covering conversation for the day:

a) I am co-writing a brief work on I Cor. 11-14, so this is fresh on my mind. I affirm that 11-14 form a perfect chiasm ordering Paul's understanding of the shape of liturgy. b) The interactions on this issue proved my point that the topic of head-covering is far more heated than many think. In fact, for many, this is a non-negotiable. Whether for purposes of submission or hierarchy, the head-covering has taken on a much more prominent symbolic role.

Ladies, if you believe Paul is making a case for a visible veil in I Corinthians 11, but if your minister does not believe Paul has a physical head covering in mind when he writes to Corinth in that solitary case, then, refrain from using one at all costs. Such practice would convey an enormous amount of contradiction. While you believe such visible veils convey your submission to your husband, you are simultaneously opposing and not submitting to the liturgical leader for whom you will give an account one day (Heb. 13:17).

In the panel discussion: "Protecting Christian Freedom When Everything is Politicized," the fundamental error is one of faulty parallelism. Two Christians who disagree with drinking are not the same as two Christians who have different opinions on the politics of Bernie Sanders. Duncan demurs with pastors who say that you should not vote for certain politicians because that would make pastors "arbiters of Christian liberty." Further, he argues that we should be cautious about over-reaching.

Micah (7:19) refers to God "hurling" all our sins into the depths of the sea. The same language is used in Jonah 2:3 "You 'hurled' me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas." Jonah sank into the depths of the sea weighed down by his own sin. #jonahlectures Jonah uses Genesis imagery. We see this in the use of the uncommon root רדם to describe Jonah’s sleep (Jon. 1.5, 6). From this root, the noun תרדמה is derived, the word used for the divine coma- sleep of Adam when God formed Eve from his rib (Gen. 2.21). #jonahlectures

Her name is Kathryn Kimball Mizelle and she stated unequivocally that the CDC "exceeded its statutory authority and failed to properly justify its decision (Axios)." The Biden administration extended the agency's mask mandate until May 3rd, but this U.S. Judge demurred. (1) The reaction has nothing but scorn and ridicule from the media. She is too young, unqualified, appointed by the wrong people, and she went against the powers that be. In sum, she unmasked the liberals. (2)

"...every creature must be immersed in the stream of religion, and end by lying as a religious offering on the altar of the Almighty." -Abraham Kuyper "...the Calvinist demands that all life be consecrated to His service in strict obedience. A religion confined to the closet, the cell, or the church, therefore Calvin abhors." -Abraham Kuyper, "Lectures on Calvinism"

Two human beings I'd never expect to be in the same room together: @johnmacarthur and @benshapiro. They met in the Ben Shapiro Sunday Special and had a productive conversation about the role of morality in society as well as other interesting topics. For @johnmacarthur, society functions best in a non-magisterial model where church & state are separate and citizens have to submit to governing authorities. He goes so far as to say that Xians are not called to be 'revolutionaries' and calls into question The Revolutionary War.

Early in my pastoral work I often wondered why I was on such spiritual high on Sunday and somewhat depressed on Monday morning. It's possible that the high of Sunday is due to the spiritual component that comes with a high liturgy and the preaching. To this day, when I walk up to the pulpit, my heart still races.