Latest Post Up on sbc IMPACT!

I have my latest post, a look at LifeWay’s recent job cutbacks, up on sbc IMPACT!  Read, link to it, and enjoy!

 

Shutting Down the Beach

I launched “Along the Shore” in December, 2006, to have an outlet where I could “speak my piece” on various issues. There were times when I became obsessed with the writing and interaction here … almost to an unhealthy point.

But I’ve been considering the following aspects of my life:

• I don’t blog about church life nearly as much as I should. My blogging efforts should truly be focused upon Crossroads Fellowship. I’m making that change of direction as of today. I need to do a better job of promoting the ministries of our church.
• Lately, I’m finding that I don’t have all that much to write about, especially on a denominational/theological perspective. My new collaboration at sbc IMPACT! is providing ample opportunity for me to speak to various issues on a less frequent basis. I think I will place all of my denominational blogging “apples” in that “basket.”
• My church’s partnership with REAP North Peru (IMB) to facilitate a Church Planting Movement among the Pachitea/Panao Quechua people begins in January. I plan to launch an extensive blog to chronicle and promote that missions strategy in my church in December. I will do one final post that will give directions to that blog sometime later this month.

So, all those things taken together have led me to the decision that I’m “calling it quits” here on “The Shore.” I will leave the content posted here in place until December 1, when I plan to delete the blog in its entirety.

I’ve enjoyed the interaction and the friends that I have made here.

If you have active links to my blog from your site, I respectfully request that you redirect those links to http://sbcimpact.net, and please include a link to my forthcoming missions blog.

Blessings to all. It’s been fun.

Geoff

 

“The Amazing Race” – The Apex of Television’s Obsession with Homosexuality

I used to be a fan of The Amazing Race.  It’s a pretty cool concept.  A dozen “teams” of two take part in a worldwide race against time, challenges, the elements, and airports in an effort to be the first team to the final destination … and the winner of one million dollars.

It’s been clear from the beginning that the producers of this program, as with most reality TV shows, are and have been obsessed with the normalizing and mainstreaming of homosexual behavior.  Each season has at least one, and sometimes two, homosexual couples.  Or, the show seems to take particular joy in televising a parent with a homosexual child.

But this latest season takes the proverbial cake.  The homosexual couple on season 12, which began last night, are Kate and Pat, lesbian “married” Episcopalian ministers from California.  They present a situation that is so horribly, terribly, Scripturally wrong on a multiplicity of levels.

So this new season takes the obsession to a new realm.  The producers have moved beyond taking homosexuality to the cultural mainstream.  Now they are trying to present it as “normal” within the context of Christianity.

No thanks, CBS.  I’ll watch some truly uplifting family programming over on ABC – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

 

Altar Call Confusion 4.0

There have been lots of readers, but very few talkers on this series. Oh, well … let’s just keep going…

False Assurance

4. This confusion encourages people to base their assurance on a one-time event. The aisle walked or prayer prayed becomes a false stone of remembrance they look back on to assure themselves despite their lack of growth or blatantly sinful lifestyle. Yet the Bible tells us to base our assurance not on a prayer prayed or an aisle walked in the increasingly distant past. It tells us to look at our present and increasing love for others (1John 4:8, 20), the present and increasing holiness of our lifestyles (Matt 7:15-27; Heb 12:14; 1John 3:7-8), and the present and increasing orthodoxy of our doctrine (Gal 1:6-9; 2Tim 4:3; 1John 4:2-3; 15). (Paul Alexander- IX Marks)

The is, perhaps, the most compelling argument of all. My community is absolutely full of people who have some sort of religious experience … they “walked an aisle,” or raised their hand to say, “yes,” to Jesus in Vacation Bible School. Then, shortly after their baptism, they blended back into a church-free culture, and into a sinful, dishonorable lifestyle. I see this phenomenon every day, especially among the children of “churched” families.

But we must remember that a recurring theme throughout the New Testament is that the mark of a true believer is perseverance … not the fact that an individual answered an altar call.

I fear that many among the multitudes of “salvation prayers” and “strolls down the altar call aisles” have been inoculated against the true Gospel, rather than saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. They have substituted works (a walk and/or a “formula” prayer) for true faith in Christ.

 

Britney Spears’ Mom to Write Christian Parenting Book

I am completely serious.

Sorry, by the way, for straying from my “altar call” posts, but this was too good to pass by.

According to Fox News,  Lynne Spears (you got it – Britney’s mama) has signed on to write a self-help parenting book to be released next Mother’s Day.Christian publisher Thomas Nelson has confirmed the done deal for “Pop Culture Mom: Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World.” The book reportedly will have a religious element.

I’ll be nice.  I’m not going to say what I’m thinking …

 

Altar Call Confusion 3.0

My recent vacation and life events led me to take a short hiatus from my series on altar calls and evangelism. I’m planning to pick up where I left off and continue the series over the coming week.

Here is reason #3 to avoid altar calls, according Paul Alexander of IX Marks:

3. This confusion often obscures the requirements of repentance and belief. This is often how people are deceived into thinking they are Christians when in fact they are not. Thousands of sermons have been preached that have failed to present repentance and belief (Mark 1:15) as the non-negotiable way of responding to the gospel savingly. Then people are told to come forward to “accept Jesus” (language found nowhere in the Bible), and are encouraged on that basis to feel assured of their salvation and even encouraged to join the membership of the local church, never being told that they must repent of their sins and believe in the gospel if they would be forgiven. And even if repentance and belief were preached in the sermon, often people coming forward are not notified that they – individually – must repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus Christ – and must bear good and lasting fruit that confirms the genuineness of their initial profession (Matt 7:15-27; John 15:8, 16). They are simply encouraged to come forward and “make a decision for Christ” or “accept Jesus into your heart”. These people are thus kindly but damningly deceived into thinking that they are saved because they came forward, prayed a prayer, and were received into the membership of a local church on the spot. No repentance, no belief, no confirming godliness – which adds up to no salvation. (Paul Alexander- IX Marks)

I believe this is a valid concern. How many times have we all heard the appeal to “come forward” and “accept Jesus?” I have heard many people describe this act of “coming forward” as they shared their personal testimonies. Indeed, for many it seems that the very act of letting go of the back of the pew and physically stepping into the aisle is the event that changed everything. They “walked” to their salvation and church membership.

But how many have not heard the true Gospel of repentance (an “about face”) from sin and turning in faith to Jesus? How many have bet their eternal state upon the cultural practice of the altar call rather than the actual gospel of Jesus Christ?

*Point of Disagreement – Alexander states that, “… they – individually – must repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus Christ …” This is a common view in our individualistic western culture.  But missiologically speaking, I do not believe this is absolutely true.  Entire households and villages in more familial and communal societies can be saved through genuine repentance from sin and faith in Christ.  But, then again, that is another issue for another post.

 

A Dear Friend Gone

I need to write this. I mean, I really need to write this.

I’ve been debating with myself over whether or not I should. I don’t want to sound stupid. I don’t want to sound trite. And I certainly don’t want anyone to think that I’m goofing off or messing around … because I’m not.

I lost one of the dearest friends in my life Sunday night. I’ve known her for eight years. She has been one of my closest confidants. She has been by my side through thick and thin. She has loved and accepted me despite all of my shortcomings … even when I was unkind to her. On some (many) days she was my closest companion. She was God’s antidote for the loneliness that I sometimes experience in everyday life.

Her name was Gracie. She was, in every possible way, this man’s best friend. She was my little 8-pound ball of bark, love, and joy … she was my dog.

Let me tell you a little bit about Gracie. She was a miniature Schnauzer. Very miniature. She tried to make up for her size with attitude. She barked at (basically) everything that moved. She barked at doorbells on television (no kidding). She barked at the mailman. She went absolutely ballistic when someone came to the front door of our home. She knew that when I was putting shoes on that it meant I was going outside. So she barked. She would play fetch forever with this little ball that was designed for cats. She would pull on a string and growl. She was a great wrestler.

I work out of an office in my home. Every day, right after I had some lunch, she would come and get me and lead me to our guest bedroom. She wanted me to take a nap with her. Most days I would give in. When I was in my office, she lay on the sofa there and watched me. When I worked upstairs, she lay in the chair there and watched me. When I watched TV she would lay in the seat beside me. I especially loved the winter months when she would ball up in my lap under a fleece blanket.

She started getting sick and losing weight a couple of months ago. For some unknown genetic reason, Gracie’s kidneys ceased to function properly. She deteriorated pretty rapidly these last couple of weeks. So Sunday night Kim and I made the excruciating decision to let her suffering stop. Stan, a vet and member of my church, came over to our house. Kim and I held her and comforted her as he kindly and gently put her to sleep. We placed her in her beloved back yard.

I miss her terribly. So much so that it aches. It seems like our house is so empty now. And in a lot of ways I’m a bit empty right now. I never imagined that I could ever be so attached to a dog. I almost feel kind of silly. And I know some people will probably read this and think that I’m being stupid. They may even make fun. But I say get over it … and get a heart transplant …

I only hope that you may have the joy, some time in your life, of having a little four-legged friend as loyal, faithful, and special as my little Gracie was. I will miss her for a very, very long time.

I’ve uploaded a picture of her here, in case anyone’s interested.

 

Phriday Photos – 10.19.07

While on our recent Fall Break vacation in Florida I observed the shrimp boats netting closer to shore than I ever had before. October was the beginning of daylight shrimping season, so they were really going at it … about eight boats working together. Amazingly, they were shrimping just beyond the beach sandbar … within long casting distance.

Here are a few pics …

This is my favorite … silhouetted in the morning sun …

My Penn Captiva heavy-duty rod … just for perspective …

Tag-teaming the shrimp. (That’s my daughter lounging on the beach.)

 

It’s Never Too Late!

In 1971, Mike Flynt lost his place on his college football team. He was “kicked off” for an undisclosed behavior. It was a heartbreaking loss for him … he was his team’s captain.

Fast forward 36 years. Flynt was attending a reunion with some old football buddies when one of them joked that he was probably NCAA eligible for one more year. They checked. He was.

So Flynt, a fitness expert who previously worked as strength coach for the football programs at Nebraska, Oregon, and Texas A&M, enrolled in Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. It’s n NCAA Division III school. He tried out for the football team. And he made it.

Despite being an AARP member and only six years from Medicare, he’s still in good enough shape to butt heads with kids one-third his age — about as old as his youngest daughter — because he’s spent his life in the fitness business. In recent years he’s sold a piece of workout equipment he invented, even training the military.

This 59-year-old senior (and grandfather, to boot) is not the oldest NCAA football player ever. There was a 60-year-old in Ohio in 1997 who was in a late-game blowout for one snap. But he is the oldest player (most believe) who ever actually played and took a meaningful part in a game. And did I forget to mention that he’s eight years older than his own coach?

He played this past weekend … left end on kicking plays. And this 59-year-old grandfather held his own all night, most importantly during the field goal that gave Sul Ross State a 45-42 victory over Texas Lutheran in three overtimes Saturday night. Flynt got in for nine snaps, including one waived off by penalty. He stood up his rusher several times and got in a nice chip block once. With his wife, three kids, grandson and a legion of new fans watching, Flynt kept his defender from getting into the backfield when it mattered most (on the final play), then turned, jumped and pumped his fist. He wound up lost in a teamwide pile celebrating their second straight win in extra periods.

Flynt was quite a player back in the day, helping Odessa Permian (of “Friday Night Lights” fame) win its first state title in 1965. He wound up at Sul Ross in 1969 and in ‘70 he led the team in tackles. That is … before he lost his spot on the team.

Getting one of those tackles is the next step on his comeback trail. With four games left in his college football career, he intends to play linebacker once more before he’s done.

What an incredible, awesome story.

Indeed, it’s never too late to accomplish that which you set your heart and mind to do.

Wouldn’t it be great if all of God’s people were filled with such drive and passion for the Gospel?

 

sbc IMPACT! – Are You Interested in Writing a Post?

Most of my regular readers know that I write and do some editing for sbc IMPACT!, a collaborative blog that focuses upon life and ministry in the churches of our Southern Baptist Cnvention.

Part of my editorial responsibilities include recruiting guest writers, studying their submitted articles, and approving them for publication.

I just wanted to write a brief post today to get the word out about this writing opportunity.  I want to include men and women from various areas of Southern Baptist life.  Differing viewpoints are welcome.  We just want to host a thoughtful, civil, yet engaging discussion within our collaborative forum.

If you’re interested in writing a post, just send me an e-mail.