Today was RD Day Away, a day when the Deans’ Staff gets off campus and relaxes together. We went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley in the morning and early afternoon, Malibu Beach for the late afternoon and sunset, and a local fish restaurant called Froggy’s for dinner. It was a refreshing day … More Signing Your Life Away
Kirk Cameron was the guest speaker in my Apologetics & Evangelism seminary class yesterday. He’s one of the leaders of The Way of the Master, a ministry that does evangelism and trains Christians to evangelize by using the law (specifically the Ten Commandments) to show people their need for the gospel. There are theological questions I have … More Lessons in Evangelism
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
During his recent sabbatical in Cambridge, John Piper wrote a new book entitled What Jesus Demands from the World. He spent almost three months huddling under the interrogating light of Jesus’ commands in the gospels, and then wrote what he learned. This past Friday night at the DesiringGod National Conference, he was asked how this … More Personal Thoughts about Jesus from John Piper
Tonight I find myself honestly wondering when the word “preach” became a Christian cuss word. As in, “We shouldn’t preach at people; we should just love them.” Or, “I just want to talk; I don’t want to preach at you.” Or, “Yeah, nobody really likes him; he just preaches at people.” I’ve used the word … More I Don’t Want to Preach at You
The guy RD’s decided to hike Half-Dome in Yosemite this weekend (Jeff Lewis, Dave Hulet, Siona Savini, and I). The only other time I was in Yosemite is long enough ago for me not to remember anything about it. I’ll certainly remember this time, though. The hike was 15.2 miles roundtrip. We gained around 4,800 feet … More Climbing Half Dome in Yosemite National Park
Cindi and I were going to spend some time together at 9:00 tonight after I finished my reading for tomorrow morning’s seminary class (Apologetics & Evangelism). I was pretty baked, though, after a long week and an hour and a half of Cornelius Van Til and other philosophically-oriented writers. She could tell, so she asked me … More In Praise of My Wife
I flipped on the TV tonight and Remember the Titans was ending. Although it has some definitely cheesy football footage, I’ve always appreciated the race-centered storyline. Especially now that we’re adopting a baby boy from Africa. During the scene where Sunshine, Petey, and Blue walk into a restaurant-bar in 1971 Virginia and are turned away … More Cultural Righteousness
I had a wonderful conversation Friday night with Juan Moncayo, Peter Bugbee, Cameron Knox, and a new seminary student named Ricardo who flew in six days ago from Bogota, Colombia. He’s living in an empty Cornerstone apartment this semester and plans to start classes in the spring. For three hours we talked about all kinds of … More Spiritual Conversation, Journaling, and a Small Grace
The new and vastly improved DesiringGod website is now up. What an amazing ministry. Check it out and use it.
I read an email this afternoon from a missionary couple that our church supports. They served in South America for decades and then moved back to the States to work among the growing Hispanic population in the northwest. As their main prayer request, they simply wrote, “Pray for us… we need to reach out more.” I … More Titles, Positions, and the Measure of a Man
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
I’ve been tagged by TMC IBEX professor Todd Bolen to answer and post the following book survey. I don’t read as much or as carefully or as frequently as I want to or should, but here are my answers. One book that changed your life: The Pleasures of God by John Piper One book that you’ve read … More Name One Book That…
I just finished rapping publicly for the second time in eight days. I don’t know what’s going on. The first time was at an all-fun-and-games Skit Night, and it went along with my dorm’s ghetto skit. Today was at the end of a discussion about the TMC handbook (which is almost like a ghetto skit). … More That’s a Rap
WOW Saturday is done. I just finished walking around the dorm checking in on the guys and they seem to be doing fine. Everyone’s exhausted, but that’s Week of Welcome for you. Even after just the first day. Before the mayhem began this morning, I was reflecting on the providence of God in placing each … More WOW Saturday: Housing Providence
It is stunning when you realize that you are a person you never thought you’d be. As I was walking alone across the empty campus from the Student Center to King Hall, breathing in the first quiet air I’d breathed all day, it struck me that I am Scott Burns. Scott Burns was the Resident Director … More How Did I Get Here?
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