Pastor Joel Hunter's Prayer, Democratic Convention '08

Watch this video as Dr. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church in Florida and author of "A New Kind of Conservative," offers the closing prayer at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Now, here's the rub. Hunter is a pro-life Evangelical and a registered Republican who believes that "people with differing views can work together and can ultimately further their agenda without compromising their core moral convictions".

This is the new evangelicalism where social change trumps truth. Notice especially the way he ends the prayer - I've never seen anything like it. IMHO, this pastor is teaching that God is accessible through whatever means appeals to YOU.

By way of commentary, while the Scriptures clearly teach that God has opened the way for man to boldly come before His throne, we are not given the freedom to come any ol' way we want - we can only come through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Tim Hawkins - Cletus Take the Reel

Do yourself a favor and watch this video. I love song parodies and this is one of the best.

John MacArthur on Tony Campolo and the Social Gospel

This is so important.

Evangelical Christianity is being seduced by a liberal gospel that seeks to undermine the message of eternal salvation. In addition to Tony Campolo, this message is being propagated by the likes of Rob Bell, Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, and America's pastor - Rick Warren.

You Spin Me Round - Rick Pino

Some of my more conservative blogger friends are all up in arms over this.

This is a video of a song at the end of a summer youth camp program called Summer Ramp ’07.

The song leader, Rick Pino, has the kids spin their socks and jump around while singing “You spin me right round, Jesus, right around” over and over.

The problem some have with this is twofold:

They say this is not worship. The song is vapid, meaningless emotional hype.

Furthermore, the song was actually made popular in the 80’s (without the name of Jesus) by transvestite performer Pete Burns.

The argument continues that, while we have freedom in Christ from sin, we are not free to worship God any ol’ way we want (can I get an “amen” from Uzzah and King Saul?). Also, the blood of Christ allows us to enter boldly into the presence of God (something the OT saints knew nothing of), but not flippantly.

Now, those who know me and have heard me preach know that I’m very sensitive to preserving the truth of the holiness of God. I think one of the main problems with the church today – and this is true of our culture at large – is that we have lost our grip on the meaning of the fear of the Lord. I’m especially concerned about teaching this next generation to frivolously “rush in where angels fear to tread”.

That having been said, I’m also concerned about judging another person’s worship. Yes the song is vapid, maybe even a little silly, but we don’t know what kind of teaching has been going on at this camp (I don’t know anything about Rick Pino beyond this video). It may be that they have been immersed in deep, Biblical, theological teaching all week long and this is just an innocuous “let loose” time.

Are all the kids in that crowd truly worshipping? I doubt it, but I would think many are. Look in on a liturgical church this Sunday, and listen to the organ playing classical hymns. Are all the people in that congregation truly worshipping? Again, I doubt it, but I would think many are. The point is, we don’t know and it’s dangerous to speculate. This is ultimately between them and God.

What about the pagan roots behind the song? I have to admit, this does bother me somewhat. Can we worship God with a song that was originally used to appeal to the flesh? And was recorded by the perverted? Maybe . . .

Do we celebrate Christmas? Doesn’t Christmas have pagan roots? Yet we justify ourselves by saying that we can turn the celebration over to God, let Him redeem that time, and use it for His glory. In fact, that’s what we do with ourselves. Many of us have pagan origins, but we’ve been redeemed and now can be used by God.
Can’t the same be done with a song?

Your thoughts . . .

My Redeemer Lives - Team Hoyt

If you haven't already seen this, take a look at this inspiring video about the sacrificial love of a father for his son.

To me, the video acts as a parable for us and our relationship with our heavenly Father. It also serves to illustrate the role of the church in bearing one another's burdens.

The people cheering near the end (around 3:30) remind me of the "cloud of witnesses" in Hebrews 12:1.

Is this worship?

Some of my more conservative blogger friends are all up in arms over this.

This is a video of a song at the end of a summer youth camp program called Summer Ramp ’07.

The song leader, Rick Pino, has the kids spin their socks and jump around while singing “You spin me right round, Jesus, right around” over and over.

The problem some have with this is twofold:

They say this is not worship. The song is vapid, meaningless emotional hype.

Furthermore, the song was actually made popular in the 80’s (without the name of Jesus) by transvestite performer Pete Burns.

The argument continues that, while we have freedom in Christ from sin, we are not free to worship God any ol’ way we want (can I get an “amen” from Uzzah and King Saul?). Also, the blood of Christ allows us to enter boldly into the presence of God (something the OT saints knew nothing of), but not flippantly.

Now, those who know me and have heard me preach know that I’m very sensitive to preserving the truth of the holiness of God. I think one of the main problems with the church today – and this is true of our culture at large – is that we have lost our grip on the meaning of the fear of the Lord. I’m especially concerned about teaching this next generation to frivolously “rush in where angels fear to tread”.

That having been said, I’m also concerned about judging another person’s worship. Yes the song is vapid, maybe even a little silly, but we don’t know what kind of teaching has been going on at this camp (I don’t know anything about Rick Pino beyond this video). It may be that they have been immersed in deep, Biblical, theological teaching all week long and this is just an innocuous “let loose” time.

Are all the kids in that crowd truly worshipping? I doubt it, but I would think many are. Look in on a liturgical church this Sunday and listen to the organ playing classical hymns. Are all the people in that congregation truly worshipping? Again, I doubt it, but I would think many are. The point is, we don’t know and it’s dangerous to speculate. This is ultimately between them and God.

What about the pagan roots behind the song? I have to admit, this does bother me somewhat. Can we worship God with a song that was originally used to appeal to the flesh? And was recorded by the perverted? Maybe . . .

Do we celebrate Christmas? Doesn’t Christmas have pagan roots? Yet we justify ourselves by saying that we can turn the celebration over to God, let Him redeem that time, and use it for His glory. In fact, that’s what we do with ourselves. Many of us have pagan origins, but we’ve been redeemed and now can be used by God.
Can’t the same be done with a song?

Your thoughts . . .

Steven Curtis Chapman on Larry King

Here's a link to the first of six YouTube videos showing Larry King's interview with Steven Curtis Chapman and his family regarding the tragic death of his daughter earlier this summer.

Very touching. Here's a paragraph from the article where I found the clips:

The family opened up for the first time about theevents surrounding the
accident, a moving recollection that included details such as Chapman performing
CPR on his daughter, son Will Franklin running away from the scene and being
chased by his brother Caleb, and an impactful drawing Maria Sue made the morning
of her death. "They were an incredible group. I'll never forget it," a moved
Larry King said of the Chapmans the day after the interview

Article: New Indian Bible Draws Fire over Hindu References

Here's an interesting piece of controversy - a Bible that contains comparisons to Hindu scripture and teachings. Here's the first line from the article:

A new Indian version of the Bible recently, published by the Catholic
Church, has run into controversy over its inclusion of verses from the
Bhagavad Gita, a form of Hindu chant, and references to the teachings of
Mahatma Gandhi.

Apparently the Bible sold out within 10 days and is going through a reprint.

Reading the comments was disturbing for me. There are those who actually see this as an effective outreach to the Indian population because it makes the Bible more acceptable.

I say it often: we're not responsible to make the Bible, or the Gospel, acceptable. That kind of mindset results in man-centered preaching that produces impressive numbers, but shallow faith.

This is just another result of the increasing disrespect for the true Word of God. When we lose sight of the truth, the lies look more and more appealing.

Check out this advertisement for Sermon Specs!

I don't want to see any of these in our congregation, but I'd like to get a pair for board meetings.

This is a spoof site full of these kinds of advertisements, and they are hilarious!