Recently I downloaded and began listening to a series of seminars from various sources. One such seminar was at DTS this past spring and spent four hours on the topic of homosexuality.

I started listening with a critical ear, but soonafter, I was unable to stop. Living Hope Ministries really did a great job of exploring a topic that few churches address. I learned a lot about how early childhood experiences of sexual abuse and absentee parents affect us.

While I cannot make the audio availble here or point you to the DTS site (it is currently restricted to student access only) I do want to point you to the Living Hope website (https://livehope.org/resources) and ask you to consider learning more about this if you have an opportunity in the future.

I also promise to follow up with both DTS and Living Hope, in hopes of seeing this content made available publicly.

What are you listening to this summer?

For DTS Students, visit here: https://campus.dts.edu/student/wec.shtml

I am not a HUGE fan of Dave Ramsey, but I have tremendous respect for the man and the majority of what he does. His heart and character are certainly in the right place. I only hold reservations as to whether we shoud really be investing for retirement as much as we are, and whether the stock market is the right place to place our money.

While I may elaborate on these topics more later, I want to make sure you’re aware of the great lengths that this man is going to in order to get his message out to the world. He has been partnering with Lifechurch.tv over the past few weeks to put together a sermon series that any church can use. These videos and promotions materials will be available at open.lifechurch.tv in the coming days. (Lifechurch gives away it’s sermon material on every series it does, which is a phenominal gift to the worldwide body of Christ)

In addition to this, they are also creating a conference event to discuss finances in a Town Hall fashion over the internet, which will be aired live on April 23rd. Visit www.townhallforhope.com for more details on this event too.

If you have a desire to meet and be used as a witness to non-Christians, then you MUST have a look at this powerful networking tool. It’s one of the biggest evangelism fields I know of. Think about it: a listing of local groups that meet for the specific purpose of discussion. Search by interest, search by zipcode. Join a discussion of travelers or photographers or atheists.

A common statistic in evangelistic conversations today is the Christian’s isolation from the non-believing world. I believe this is a technological blessing that helps earnest people to stretch their social network for the sake of the gospel How many secular social gatherings do you find yourselves in?

Have a look at the local networks in the top 20 results from my area, then think about surfing www.meetup.com for yourself and getting involved in a local discussion or two.

I am constantly amazed at the claims that Christians make concerning the Word of God. There is no doubt in my mind that God’s wisdom speaks to many, many things regarding our lives that can be verified by science, research, and experience. However, I have also heard many a Christian leader cite discoveries and statistics in their zeal to add credibility to the Bible’s teaching only to see that credibility dissolve into some unfounded claim made by a religious zealot.

No zealot that i am aware of makes bolder claims that Ron Wyatt. Ron’s claims span from finding the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, to discovering the remains of Noah’s Ark, to digging up the Ark of the Covenant. This self-described archaologist has been debased as many times as he had made claims, but his zealous rantings continue to find their way into the lives of well-meaning Christians.

At the end of the article, I’ll leave you with a few key postings regarding these discoveries, but let me end primarily with this point: Honest zeal is a good thing. Desire to discover things is also powerful. But unwillingness to listen to or answer your critics, and outright deception are appauling. I am afraid for men like this…not for what the world will do to them, but for what God will hold them accountable to at their judgment.

Concerning Ron Wyatt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Wyatt

Concerning the Ark’s Discovery:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v14/i4/report.asp

While I am not an expert on social networking, it appears to me that there are conflicting understandings of the use of Facebook within the church. Why is it that church people assume that people join Facebook in order to create a vain image for themselves online?

I’m certainly not a part of Facebook in order to see any sort of celebrity status. I’m a part of it because it gives me a window into the lives of people that I have a relational connection with all over the country. Since I have moved to Dallas, it has been my main point of contact to know what is going on in the lives of my friends from that city. In the past 6 months, those “silly” status updates have allowed me to celebrate and contribute to lives of people who have purchased homes, signed up to lead missions trips, and had children. It allows me to recognize birthdays and encourage ministers. It tailors my prayers for my sister, who recently moved to Nashville to pursue a career.

Would another technology have allowed me to have such a knowledge of my friends and family? I think not. Sure a phone call is more personal. An email is more direct. And no one would consider me vain for sending a text message. But they’re just not effective in establishing widespread communications.

I think if we wish to attack technology for allowing expressions of vanity, we would do much better to focus our attention on internet portals like MySpace, Second Life, and online gaming. They allow for a lot more expression concerning our sinful drive for celebrity status and superiority over others.

What do you think???