Jon Acuff provides a helpful geography lesson on avoiding the big sins in life.  The kinds of sins that are so destructive.  We don’t often camp out in the big sin areas without first camping near them.  Acuff looks at the example of Lot to discover how he wound up in the middle of Sodom.  In contrast, he sheds light on how Joseph avoided the advances of Potiphar’s wife.  This article is well worth your time to read.

Speaking of Potiphar’s wife, Acuff suggests she should be cast on Real Housewives of Egypt.  In an earlier article, he called her the first cougar.  Both are fitting descriptions.

* Forgetting 1 Geography Lesson by Jon Acuff

Each year in June the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) convenes for a meeting of business and inspiration.  The Pastors Conference kicks off the major events with what is usually great preaching on Sunday and Monday.  On Tuesday and Wednesdays the business of the SBC is conducted with some preaching mixed in.  In 2010 the meetings were held in Orlando.  Like thousands of others, I watched the sessions on-line for free.  I was even able to use Twitter to interact with others around the country.  (See The Good, The Bad, The Ugly & The Funny at SBC Pastors Conference via Stream and Twitter.)

micahfries – don’t know what’s crazier – that we can’t get copies of SBC sermons online for free or that the place to purchase them is known as SBCtapes?

Southern Baptists often discuss whether our organizations are stuck in the 1950′s.  Fries’ tweet does seem to suggest that we have made it out of the 50′s…but only to the 70′s.  SBC Tapes???  The name of the distribution company conjures up turning over cassette tape to hear the remainder of its contents.

To their credit SBC Tapes does provide the sermons in CD audio and DVD video formats.  So, even though it makes me chuckle I could live with this.  What does trouble me is that the pricing and other constraints make it appear that the content of these sermons is a closely guarded secret.  We can’t possibly want people to hear again what was preached or have anybody accessing them without paying a stiff price.  Consider these things that I learned from the website distributing the sermons:

1.  To listen again to Matt Chandler’s sermon, I would have to pay $9 for a CD or $17 for a DVD.  That’s for 1 sermon.  Through such modern contraptions like internet websites or iTunes, I can listen to hundreds of Chandler’s other sermons for free.

2.  To get the package of all 14 Pastors Conference CDs, I would have to pay $106.  The DVDs – $210.  Seriously, I’m not making this up.

3.  Shipping adds another $2 per CD/DVD (max $10).

4.  The website indicates that this is a private ministry.  Ministry???  It does indicate that over 50% of the money for Pastors Conference sermons goes back to the Pastors Conference.  No such statement exists for the SBC session.

5.  Anybody interested in hearing the Executive Committee report again?  I seriously doubt it, but if you did you could get part 1 for the $9 or $17.  Part 2 would cost you the same.  If I was truly sadistic and wanted to watch again both parts of this report, it would cost me $38.  Yes, $38.

6.  Once you order an item, it takes 3-4 weeks to get your order to you.  Are they being shipped from China on a boat?  As somebody who does business on line, a CD can be shipped for less than $2 and arrive in 3-4 days.

6.  The SBC consists of several million members with about 20,000 actually attending the sessions.  Shouldn’t we try to make these sessions as available to our members as possible?  Who is actually buying these?

7.  Once you do buy a CD, you still are limited in its use.  Read this notice from the website:

Please help us protect this revenue stream by not duplicating or uploading any of these messages without SBC Tapes written consent.  The Pastors’ Conference thanks you for your honesty and support.

Notice that the sermons of these preachers is now a “revenue stream.”  Notice also the switch in nouns in these two sentences.  In the first sentence, the revenue stream is controlled by SBC Tapes.  In the second sentence it is The Pastors’ Conference that thanks you for your honesty and support.

For those of you with influence in the SBC, this system needs to be thrown in the garbage heap right away.  As Fries suggests in his tweet, make them available on-line and without cost.  This can be done without incurring any additional charges.  No objection to this should exist unless the goal is “revenue streams” rather than ministry.

According to the Journal of Marriage and Family, common spiritual activities between a husband and wife are key ingredients to be happy or extremely happy.  What are the activities?

1. Pray together.
2. Study the Bible together.
3. Attend church together.

For those who participate in these activities, notice the difference in happiness compared to those who do not participate.

1. Whites – 83% versus 69% (14 percentage points higher)
2. Blacks – 73% versus 52% (21 percentage points higher)
3. Latinos – 78% versus 65% (13 percentage points higher)

Would you like for you and your spouse to be happier together?  I would encourage you to do the three activities listed above.  To see the article from USA Today, click on the link below.

*  Does your marriage have a prayer? – Faith & Reason.

In 1961, Jaques Courvoisier delivered The Annie Kinkead Warfield Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary.  At the time, Courvoisier was serving as professor of Church History at the University of Geneva.  The printed version of these lectures are available to us in Zwingli, a Reformed Theologian.

Although these lectures were given almost half a century ago, much is to be gained by reading of this historical giant.  Zwingli was the early leader of The Reformation in Switzerland while serving as pastor in Zurich.  Many are more familiar with Martin Luther and John Calvin, but Zwingli played a major role in the Protestant Reformation.

Courvoisier makes the case that Zwingli grounded his theology in the Scriptures and that he placed high priority on the centrality of the gospel.  Both of these are still vitally needed in the church nearly 500 years later.  In examining Zwingli’s biblical and gospel foundations, Courvoisier laid out Zwingli’s views in five key areas.  Each area provides a chapter in the book with an additional concluding chapter.  The five areas discussed are:

1. The Word of God
2. The Christological Axis
3. The Church
4. The Sacraments
5. Church and State

If you are a student of church history (in particular, The Reformation), this is an extremely worthwhile book to read.  It is a little difficult to find.

* Currently 2 of the books are available in the P2P Bookstore at this link: Zwingli: A Reformed Theologian.

Some veterans on the Denver Broncos obviously have a great grasp of history and a sense of humor. This is Tim Tebow’s new haircut courtesy of the rookie hazing tradition of the NFL. LenDale White posted this on his Twitter account.

What I love is that they played on Tebow’s Christian reputation.  Good for Tebow for going along with it.  It indicates his willingness to be a team guy.

Agnosticism is a growing movement in the United States.  At least, vocal agnosticism is.  I have a couple of friends with whom I used to attend church who are now agnostics.  One of the most vocal of the new agnostics is Frank Schaeffer.  Schaeffer formerly was a visible member of the evangelical community.  In a recent article at The Huffington Post, Schaeffer writes about what he considers “the scariest verse in the Bible.”  Which verse do you think would top his list of the most offensive verses in the Bible?

Before I tell you which verse, read some of his other statements.  These statements reveal how far from the evangelical church he has moved:

• A lot of the Bible is hate-filled blasphemy.
• Every vile verse.
• Openly reject the parts of one’s scriptures outright that fly in the face of fact, compassion and decency.
• Maybe the actual God doesn’t like — or accept — “The God-Of-The-Bible” any more than rational and compassionate people do. I hope that’s true.

So which verse scares Schaeffer the most?  Here it is:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
(2 Timothy 3:16 ESV)

For evangelicals, every verse of Scripture is from God and profits us.  For Schaeffer and the agnostics, if they accept any of the Bible, it is only the parts of which fits with a higher standard.  What is that higher standard?  It would be the mind and the ethics derived from that mind.

As a Christian, the mind is not to be dismissed.  Some do this far too easily.  We must remember these things when it comes to the mind.  First, we are to love the Lord with all of our minds.  Our minds are to be captive to the Word of God.  However, we must always be aware that our minds are not infallible judges.  The mind has been corrupted by sin.  This is why we are to use our minds and vigorously work to have it sharpened by the only infallible source – the Bible.

The Nazareth Baptist Church of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa is claiming the manufacturing rights to the vuvuzela.  You remember the vuvuzela, don’t you?  The droning horn that played non-stop during The World Cup in South Africa.

* Church Takes On Rival Vuvuzela Makers

This church is known as the Shembe church after founder, Isaiah Shembe.  The church claims that Shembe invented the vuvuzela in 1910.  The church also claims all rights to making and marketing the horn.

1. I bet your church doesn’t have this cool of an invention.
2. Will this knowledge cause annoyed sports fans to dislike the church?
3. It would have to be a Baptist church, wouldn’t it?  Although it is not really a Baptist church since many claim that the founder is God.
4. 27 other South African companies are now making a vuvuzela.
5. 478 Chinese and Hong Kong companies are now making them.
6. The church spokesman referred to these companies as “Mickey Mouse” companies.  My wife isn’t going to like that.

I confess to having downloaded a vuvuzela iPhone app during the World Cup.  Just wondering, has anybody bought a real one yet or plan on getting one for college football games?

Preaching at the church of St. Mary the Virgin in Herefordshire (England), Michael Land has told his hearers to incorporate cussing into their regular vocabulary.

* Vicar Tells Churchgoers to Swear More

Here are his reasons:

1. Parishioners to be move aggressively into the Modern Age which includes keeping up to date with the language.
2. This is how Jesus would have talked.
3. This is how the church is to stay connected with ordinary people.

Land provided an example from his life in which he dropped an f-bomb on a motorist for cutting him off while driving.

Here are a few of my observations after reading the article:

1. Is “putting Jesus on a pedestal” really a problem for Christians?
2. I’m not a prude, but do we really need sermons telling us to cuss?
3. Do they really refer to priestly collars as “dog-collars” in England?
4. I hope this guy doesn’t rewrite some of the hymns.
5. This puts a whole new spin on WWJD.  That is, if this is what Jesus would do.  I really can’t see Jesus speaking to another motorist this way.
6. Should Christians be just like the world in order to relate to the those in the world?
7. If a preacher is to be known for 1 sermon, is this really the sermon a preacher would want?

Your thoughts?

Russell Moore – just overheard my 5 year-old quoting the Bible verse, “Be angry and sin all you want.” I’m in damage control mode now. Does explain a lot.

XIANITY – QUOTES: Ted Haggard: “I over-repented”, Evangelicals: “That’s okay, we under-forgave”.

XIANITY – OPINION: The main problem with @GlennBeck talking about Christianity, is Glenn Beck talking.

From a Tweeted Cartoon:  Jesus to Peter, “No, I’m talking about Twitter.  I literally want you to follow me.”

XIANITY – QUOTES: @RickWarren “Be careful of pointing out the speck in your brother’s eye when there’s a firestick in your own”