How Quickly Things Can Change
It’s amazing how quickly things can change, but what’s equally amazing is how some things have never really changed at all. The truth is some things are probably never going to happen; and there are things that will always stay the same.
Nevertheless, we wonder: are there things in our world that can change?–things in our experience that can be altered? Are there things within the sovereign will of God that we have been given the ability to control? Are there aspects of our lives that we have been given the freedom to choose, that we must deal with personally so as to give glory to God and show the world that Christ is supreme?
The answer, of course, is yes–there is! From what Paul has said to the Philippians in chapter 1 verses 12-20 of his letter to them, the apostle himself exhorts us that we can change a number of important things in our lives. In these verses, I have found that God, through Paul, calls us even in this postmodern day to intentionally change that which can be changed–things we have control over–namely our mindset, motive, and methodology. In these 3 areas, let us examine and evaluate ourselves, and to check and change that which needs to be changed. (more…)
SBTS working with NAMB to plant churches in eastern Canada
June 06, 2008
By David Roach
For the next three years, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will partner with Baptists in eastern Canada to plant churches in one of North America’s most unreached corners.
Beginning Jan. 1, Southern’s Church Planting Center teamed up with the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists (CCSB) for three years during which time Canadian Baptist leaders will recruit church planters from among seminary students. Participants will plant congregations in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland/Labrador and a portion of Nunavut.
The Church Planting Center is a partnership between the seminary and the SBC’s North American Mission Board.
“There are three practical components to this partnership,” said J.D. Payne, associate professor of church planting and evangelism and director of the Church Planting Center. “First, each semester for the next three years, a representative of the church planting work in eastern Canada will be on campus recruiting students and speaking in classes.
“Second, through the Great Commission Center, each year Southern will send at least one short-term mission team to serve with church planters in eastern Canada. Third, twice each year, professors from the seminary will be traveling to the region to work in leadership training with Canadian church planters and pastors.”
Gary Smith, CCSB church starting coordinator for Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces, said the spiritual opportunity in eastern Canada and the missions interest at Southern came together to inspire the partnership.
“We saw the great need and the great opportunity together, and so far great fruit has been yielded from the partnership including multiple mission trips and multiple church planting leaders coming to Canada from Southern,” Smith said.
The partnership appears to coincide with the God’s working in eastern Canada, Payne said.
“In addition to hearing of the need for missionaries to preach and plant Gospel-centered churches, I also discovered the Lord is presently doing amazing work in eastern Canada,” he said. “I was told that the CCSB saw more churches planted in eastern Canada in just the past few months than they experienced all of last year.”
The partnership has given Southern the opportunity be a part of several “firsts” in Canadian missions. Through NAMB’s Nehemiah Project two church planters from Southern were recently called to Newfoundland and became the first Southern Baptist missionaries in that province. In addition to other mission trips, Southern will send a team in 2009 to Iqaluit, the capitol of Nunavut, which will be the first organized Southern Baptist missionary work to that area.
Pioneering mission work is necessary in eastern Canada because of the huge number of unchurched people there, Payne said. Quebec contains the five most unchurched cities in North America, and only half a percent of all Quebecois are evangelicals, he said, adding that many small communities throughout the country have no evangelical witness.
As one of the world’s most multi-cultural cities, Toronto has many residents from unreached people groups.
“Whenever you reach the cities of Canada,” Payne said, “you have the potential to reach the world.”
Both Smith and Payne said they anticipate Kingdom-impacting results from the partnership.
“My hope is that this partnership will be used by the Lord to glorify Himself through the multiplication of disciples, leaders and churches throughout eastern Canada and beyond,” Payne said. “Also, I hope that this partnership will develop and strengthen the relationship between the seminary, North American Mission Board and the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists.
Source: Towers Online
Summer 2008
As the clock struck 12am, I registered for my summer classes! I changed my mind on a few classes I originally planned on doing so that I could have each week-long summer class spread out a bit, giving me more breathing (reading) time in between each class.
Here’s my current schedule for this summer:
32960 INTRODUCTION TO MISSIOLOGY
Troy Bush
MTWRF(8:00 am-5:00 pm) 6/2/2008 to 6/6/2008
MAIN NRT 104
40080A THE MINISTRY OF LEADERSHIP
Randy Stinson
MTWRF(8:00 am-5:00 pm) 6/23/2008 to 6/27/2008
MAIN NRT 101
34300 INTRO TO BIBLICAL COUNSELING: METHODS & SKILLS
Paul Tripp (visiting professor from Westminster)
MTWRF(8:00 am-5:00 pm) 7/7/2008 to 7/11/2008
MAIN NRT 102
I’ll update this page if there’s any changes;-)
Theology Bleeds
MEMORANDUM
School of Theology
To: School of Theology Students
From: Dean Russell D. Moore
Subject: Theology Bleeds
Date: February 26, 2008
I’m concerned about something, and I’d like to ask you to join me in prayer and action about it.
It seems to me that too many of our churches—and too many of us—think of the Great Commission as little more than Jesus’ way of promoting a Christmas offering or of marketing an evangelistic video series.
Too many theologians—even pastor-theologians—tend sometimes to ignore the Great Commission. After all, isn’t it a “practical” exhortation, better left to denominational bureaucrats and women’s missionary auxiliary leaders? At the same time, too many missionaries and evangelists tend to ignore theology. After all, what does abstract theorizing have to do with Jesus’ ultimate church-wide missions emphasis—the Great Commission?
As a result, we are left with theologians who lust more for recognition by the American Academy of Religion than for the global expansion of the gospel. And far too many missionaries, evangelists, and church planters see themselves as the ecclesial equivalent of the civil service—organizing initiatives and promoting programs.
The problem, whenever the Great Commission is taken for granted, is the eclipse of Jesus. (more…)
The Time Has Come
Have you ever gone through a dry spell?
Or, maybe you’ve gone through an extended time of silence when it seemed like God was subtlely absent. Maybe it was something akin the inter-testamental period when the sons of Israel waited 400 years in silence for God to speak again, patiently expecting the fulfillment of the LORD’s covenantal promises, and anxiously hoping that the Ancient of Days would come forth and reign over the Kingdom of God. Have you ever felt like God Himself was putting you through a long period of deprivation?
Could it be that you are in the midst of this very time where God has deprived you explicitly of what you so desperately need. Certainly, you know there is a purpose to this divinely-imposed time of fasting, a reason why God has withheld from fulfilling His promises to you. May it be that the LORD was waiting until you finally got it, when you finally woke up from your slumber and finally realized that there is something greater and more important than that which you think you need. May it be that the Lord has sought to teach you ever so bluntly that desiring anything more than God Himself is idolatry.
And in this, we must confess our sin, repent, and return to the Lord.
I have gone through such times as that; and who knows, maybe I am still in the middle of that period of waiting and expecting.
If you are going through something like this right now or have experienced such in your past, may this be a reminder to all of us that God has spoken to us through His Son. Maybe Christ Jesus was not what you expected and did not come in the way that you had hoped. Nevertheless, be certain of this — all of your waiting, yearning, and desiring for God to manifest Himself to you in the most experiential way has already occurred. God has already spoken to us, and is speaking to us at this very moment. And He is here with us — right here, right now — working in us and through us by His Spirit, if only we would open our Bibles and hear what He would say:
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
Maybe it’s time for us to re-learn the discipline of deprivation.
Sermon by Dr. Hershael York, Victor and Louise Lester Professor of Preaching, School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from Exodus 16:1-18
Mohler to undergo additional surgery
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, will require additional surgery after a scheduled colonoscopy on February 11 revealed a tumor in his colon. An initial biopsy indicated that the tumor is pre-cancerous and further tests are to be scheduled, along with surgical options.
Mohler, 48, underwent major abdominal surgery in late December 2006, complicated by the development of bilateral blood clots in his lungs. Doctors will take special precautions to prevent a recurrence of the blood clots with this new surgery. Specialists are consulting on the case, and a decision on the date and location for the surgery is to be made in the very near future. The procedure is likely to require an extensive period for recuperation and recovery. (more…)
Winter Weather Announcement
Because of the winter storm, Southern Seminary and Boyce College will be closed on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008. There are no classes and offices are closed.
$50: New Attitude 2008
I received an email on Monday from Jo Medler, Event Planning Assistant of Sovereign Grace Ministries concerning a special discounted SBTS/Boyce students rate for the New Attitude 2008 conference:
I am pleased to tell you that it has been decided to offer a discounted fee to SBTS/Boyce students and the rate will stay the same as last year at $50. However, it will take a little while to set up a special link for this service but I will keep your email on file and as soon as the registration link is ready for use I will let you know.
You heard it here first!
SBTS & Boyce College students will be able to register for New Attitude at only $50!
Stay tuned for the link for the special registration page 
A few books I’m reading this semester
These are the books I’m reading for the Spring 2008 semester at Southern Seminary: (more…)
Phriday Photos
Here’s a few photos of the little bit of “snow” we have had here in Louisville. It’s all pretty much melted away already, FYI!
(Imho, Louisville isn’t south enough for me. I could really get used to summer weather all year long, but it seems such is not possible here 
)
President Mohler to be nominated for President
The current president of my seminary, SBTS, Dr. Albert Mohler is finally now a candidate for President for the Southern Baptist Convention. This announcement is a heart-warming one, though not a surprise as rumors have been floating around throughout 2007. There is no better time than now for Mohler’s leadership to help take Southern Baptists forward into the 21st century with fervent passion for Gospel proclamation throughout the world.
Here is the press release from Towers (see also the Southern Baptist Texan):
FBC Dallas pastor to nominate Mohler for SBC presidency
January 02, 2008
By Tammi Reed LedbetterSouthern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. provides “the kind of visionary leader Southern Baptists need to communicate a missional conservatism and biblical clarity to the world,” stated Robert Jeffress, pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in announcing his intention to nominate the 47-year-old Mohler for Southern Baptist Convention president in June.
In a news release provided to the Southern Baptist TEXAN Jan. 2, Jeffress said his decision is the result of prayer and concern for the future of Southern Baptists’ global witness. He said he believes Mohler would “motivate Southern Baptists to unite around cooperation for global missions and evangelism.”
If elected on June 10 when messengers meet in Indianapolis, Mohler would become the sixth seminary president to serve in the top denominational office.
Before moving to the Dallas congregation last August, Jeffress served 15 years as pastor of First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls, Texas. He hosts the “Pathway to Victory” television program and broadcasts a daily sermon series heard in 13 countries.
“When Southern Seminary seemed to be lost to liberalism and irrelevancy, Dr. Mohler put his life and ministry on the line for the truth of God’s word and the urgency of sharing Christ with a lost world,” Jeffress said. “Since that time, he has led Southern Seminary to be a boot camp for young men and women training to take the gospel to the nations—whatever the cost.”
Mohler’s experience as a spokesman for Southern Baptists in the public square is another reason he should be president of the SBC, Jeffress added, noting the seminary president has been recognized by influential publications such as Time and Christianity Today, with Time calling him the “reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S.”
“For years, Southern Baptists and other Christians have seen Dr. Mohler stand for biblical revelation on programs such as “Larry King Live,” Jeffress said. “And, each and every time, no matter what the issue, Dr. Mohler has been a strong witness, telling lost people how they can come to know Christ. That kind of truth-telling with gospel compassion is the kind of leadership we need in these tumultuous times,” Jeffress added.
“Southern Baptists will be blessed to have a president in Dr. Mohler who can walk into the Oval Office or into the pulpit of your local Baptist church and say the same thing, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ with clarity and conviction,” Jeffress said. “Whether the issue is the family and marriage or Islamic terrorism or the religious liberty of Christians to share the gospel freely anywhere in the world, Dr. Mohler represents Southern Baptists well in pointing to Christ and his word,” Jeffress said.
He added that a Mohler presidency also would be critical in emphasizing the necessity of a strong and healthy Cooperative Program, pointing to Mohler’s experience in denominational leadership on the Program and Structure Study Committee that made recommendations for sweeping reorganization of the denomination in 1995 and to his work with fellow SBC entity heads on the denomination’s Great Commission Council.
