The Barnabas Blog

An amazing book that I bought several months ago has been well worth what I paid for it. It is entitled “Meet The Puritans, With a Guide To Modern Reprints” by Joel R. Beeke and Randall J. Pederson. The Puritans, particularly in our day, have gotten quite a bad name for some of their practices in the past. One of the activities that critics of the Puritans like to point out is their involvement in the Salem witch trials and the gross miscarriage of justice that was allowed. Because of that wide-sweeping characterization, much of their writings have been dismissed. In addition to this there are some huge doctrinal differences that permeate some of their writings. However, I have learned a long time ago that you read with a sifter and shake out the bad and keep the good. This book is basically a summary of the work of many of the Puritans. The chapters run from 2 to 10 pages on each Puritan. It starts with a brief biography and then progresses to a description of the...

Yesterday, April 12, 2008, Chad Kirkland and Brendi Mullen were married in Dothan, Alabama. They were married at the Dothan National Golf Club in an outdoor ceremony just along the edges of the course. It rained steadily most of the day until about thirty minutes before the wedding started. You can see some of the photo's on Flickr.com . To get the best effect, click on the tab to "view as a slideshow."

There are times that I really get wrapped up with being important. I mean those times when I am so into the importance thing that the whole world finds it’s orbit around me. I know that you may find that hard to believe. . . . . . . that “importance” could have such a dizzying effect on me but it does. In fact some time ago, I found myself being very important. Our church was hosting a preaching workshop. Rick Wyser was doing his very good seminar “The Six Should-Be’s of Preaching” and I was feeling particular ly important. We had plotted and planned and had all so rts of free books, gadgets, computer programs and all sorts of ot her things to give out to the participants. Somewhere aro und fifty ministers came and we were having a tremendous time. Nothing motivates me like talking about becoming a better preacher, so I was definit ely enjoying the element. We starte d on Friday evening and went long into the night and were to continue the next morning and work ...

I took a phone call about six months ago that really got my attention. On the other end was a pastor who was having to endure some very difficult times. He was a good friend of mine and I know that his motivations are right but his understanding of “success” is all wrong. I tried to carefully and gently share it with him and the graft did not immediately take but in time it will because the pain that he is having to endure will bring clarity to what I told him. As I listened, I discovered that I had heard this conversation countless times in the last 10 years. I noticed that there were some minor variations in the details of the call and that only the geography had changed. The geography was different but the essence of the story was not. I am coming to fear that far too many good men have allowed the American Dream concept of success to totally wreck the biblical prototype of successful ministry. If you are a minister, pastor, assistant pastor, or fill any other role in t...

While the world was mired in World War II in the 1940’s, a series of columns begin to appear in a now defunct newspaper called The Guardian . The author of this series was by C. S. Lewis of whom I read after for a number of years now. C. S. Lewis will force a man to think and even lean to the dastardly proclivity of discernment , which has been labeled as a bad thing lately. We user-friendly, password, “don’t give me a manual” type personas have some disdain for thinking. The sort of check your brains in at the door mentality has led to some grief here and there. When one looks at history, this is not a recent development as one might want or even be inclined to think. The greatest spiritual battlefield is between our ears. It is not Hollywood , the media, the political system, or you-fill-in-the-blank that is the greatest area of spiritual warfare. All of these things have their merit in the spiritual battle but they are nothing more than accomplices to the spiritual...

Over the last several months it has come to my attention that I have neglected one of the early practices of this blog—book reviews. I have been reading but I have failed to continue to write about books that I have gleaned something from. If you are an avid reader, I am certain that at some points that you have talked back to the books that you read. I figure that if I buy a book, it is my property and I can treat it as such. Therefore, if I want to mark it up, write in the margins, or talk to it, I can have such liberties because it is my property. Ever since our little Dave Ramsey journey through Financial Peace University , my book purchases have had to be much more judicious. The bad thing about this is that I have been unable to purchase books at a “beyond my ability to read them rate.” The good thing is that I have picked up some older books that have been in my personal library for quite some time and either I have not finished them or had not read them. ...

A few days ago, I spent some time with a couple of the disasters that are coming from the Emerging Church . I took a little time to point out two of the problems that are very subtly finding their way into our churches. Doctrinal indifference has found its way in to pulpits who are concerned with “ministering” to “felt needs.” This style of preaching caters to the idea that the folks in the pews are stressed out and need to find some “word” of encouragement for “relevant” living. Furthermore they do not need to be exposed to the heaviness of doctrine and other ideas that are present in the Word of God. Doctrine is too deep and unnecessary for we should just “love Jesus”, so they say. But as one looks to the owner’s manual of preaching/pastoral ministry in the pastoral epistles, Paul declared that the very first and primary reason for Scripture was doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16-17). As you read through this passage you also discover that for a righteous man to be thorou...