News – Page 2

When the Pastor Falls: Lessons from Church Scandals & Blind Loyalty

June 2, 2011

“Why People Stick by Scandal-Plagued Pastors” by CNN’s John Blake is a brief foray into the blind loyalty that many knowing parishioners maintain toward their scandalized pastors. Sue Thompson, a public speaker herself, has been burned before. She explains that followers often build a “spiritual firewall” around their pastors so that reasonable suspicions and legitimate … More When the Pastor Falls: Lessons from Church Scandals & Blind Loyalty

Secret Sins and the Resignation of Jim Tressel

June 1, 2011

Jim Tressel, long-revered coach and field general of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, resigned on Monday after a lengthy saga of unraveling details regarding NCAA violations. Time and truth go hand in hand, so the sporting world must wait, as it often must, for the full revelation. I’m nauseated by those who turn every … More Secret Sins and the Resignation of Jim Tressel

Kind-of Confessions

September 15, 2010

Yesterday afternoon former USC running back and 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush took the unprecedented step of forfeiting the award for the best college football player of the season and returning the trophy to the Heisman Trust. I can still picture some of his spell-binding runs during that captivating year that culminated in the … More Kind-of Confessions

Starting and Finishing: How You Can Pray for Us

May 25, 2008

Our life is full of transitions right now. At times we feel a bit like Doctor Doolittle’s Pushmi-Pullyu, though in the same breath I must say that we also feel uniquely blessed by the multiplicity of opportunities the Lord has given us. With everything going on, we would be grateful if you would pray that the Lord … More Starting and Finishing: How You Can Pray for Us

Ph.D. News

May 9, 2008

From Baptist Bible Seminary yesterday: Congratulations! I am very excited to inform you that the Ph.D. Admissions Committee has granted approval for you to enter the Skills Assessment Phase of the Doctor of Philosophy degree program at Baptist Bible Seminary. You have embarked on a potentially life-changing experience! Assuming I pass the four entrance exams … More Ph.D. News

Wildfires in Southern California

October 21, 2007

Some may be wondering about the wildfires in Southern California and if Santa Clarita and TMC have been affected. The strong Santa Ana winds are driving numerous fires out of control as they often do in SoCal. As I write this on Sunday at 10:30pm PST, the closest fires to TMC and our extension-campus dorm are in Canyon … More Wildfires in Southern California

John Piper’s Father Is With Jesus

March 7, 2007

I prefer to write instead of linking, but when a spiritual hero shares his day-old journal entry about the death of his father, linking is better than writing. You will be better for reading it. Perhaps, by miracle and by grace, I might be a father like “Daddy” and a son like John.

Welcome to Raw Christianity

October 18, 2006

Welcome to Raw Christianity. This site is new in that it’s freshly designed and newly launched. But it’s really just a continuation of my old blog. I’ve taken everything I ever posted at the old site and transferred it here, so this blog looks like it’s been around since 2004. I’ve been working on this … More Welcome to Raw Christianity

New DesiringGod Website

September 1, 2006

The new and vastly improved DesiringGod website is now up. What an amazing ministry. Check it out and use it.

False or True

August 28, 2006

The rising popularity of this guy (and others like him throughout history) is an astounding reminder of (1) how easily people are deceived, (2) how ready people are to follow someone who’s persuasive, (3) how important it is to know your Bible, and (4) the urgency of a churchwide reform that produces genuinely godly lives … More False or True

110°

July 22, 2006

If you were to go to weather.com right now and type in “Newhall, California” as your location, you would see something like this: Partly Cloudy 110° F Feels Like 119° For those of you who go to Master’s and live in Santa Clarita nine months out of the year, you can be glad that this is not one … More 110°

Back from Camp: Thanks for Praying

July 14, 2006

I’m back from the high school camp I was preaching at. Thanks to any who prayed. The Lord certainly answered in some very neat ways. I preached on the radical words of Jesus, specifically Luke 18:9-14, Luke 9:57-62, Luke 14:12-14, and Matthew 13:1-23. The kind of things that can turn your world upside down. If … More Back from Camp: Thanks for Praying

One-Year Anniversary of Lynda Varner’s Death

July 3, 2006

For those of you who know Dr. Varner and his wife, their 26-year-old daughter Lynda was killed in a car accident on July 4, 2005. I think the Varners were notified about the accident late on July 3 and Lynda was pronounced dead on July 4. The funeral was on July 9. So there are a … More One-Year Anniversary of Lynda Varner’s Death

International Justice: One Small Reason

June 30, 2006

Here’s one small reason why international justice is important. By “small,” I mean the girl, not the reason. (HT: Adam Powell)

“Something Isn’t Quite Right”

June 29, 2006

I’m currently taking two two-week seminary classes: Exegesis of Deuteronomy in the morning and History of Israel in the afternoon. There are a ton of great things I’m learning that I’d love to post about, but there’s really no time. So, this: Graham Poll, a 42-year-old English referee who’s working the World Cup, just retired … More “Something Isn’t Quite Right”

Your Palm Beach

June 13, 2006

A few days ago, my friend Juan arrived back from Ecuador with the TMC summer missions team he was leading. We were only able to talk for a couple minutes yesterday, but I was blown away by this: The caption said: "A Huaorani man that killed Jim Elliot and the missionaries… now prays for our safe … More Your Palm Beach