tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.comments2014-04-13T15:09:41.870-05:00The Word of God Is Not BoundEd Franklinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-28100413688150310882014-04-13T15:07:51.746-05:002014-04-13T15:07:51.746-05:00On the matter of a home church
they can be just as...On the matter of a home church<br />they can be just as dangerous as the mega church if they are not led by Gods Spirit! We are never told in the New Testament that THE CHURCH is a business with marketing strategies competing on the open market with other churches and ministries. if that was the case then what about all those sold out Christians in China? The real church is wherever Gods people meet. its not about degrees and buildings its about sold out hearts for God!blrodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06769626960353580878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-29356863759732859262014-04-02T07:27:37.129-05:002014-04-02T07:27:37.129-05:00I think you have nailed something here. American C...I think you have nailed something here. American Christians seem more interesting in fighting 'flesh and blood' instead of 'spiritual battles.' <br /><br />Naas Preacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14697487882969821345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-76606864789945193132013-11-10T22:23:28.211-06:002013-11-10T22:23:28.211-06:00Thanks for your comment, Wayne. Five and a half y...Thanks for your comment, Wayne. Five and a half years down the road, I will pretty much stick with my statements. I agree with you about poor grammar and syntax (in so much of modern music).<br /><br />Your defense of this self-glorification as "testimony" does not register with me. What you quote from Paul was his summation of his life. I'm always put off by anyone who compares himself to Paul, John the Baptist, or the Lord Himself when trying to justify his own behavior.<br /><br />My idea of "testimony" would focus more on what He has done for me, with the emphasis on Him--not this paean to self focused on "what I have done for Him"Ed Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-33257029758118796182013-11-10T19:49:21.287-06:002013-11-10T19:49:21.287-06:00Twenty years ago at our church in Nashville, some ...Twenty years ago at our church in Nashville, some of our folks got up a mixed quartet and sang this song. More than once. Ugh. It's also been recorded many times, including by the renowned Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. But that doesn't make it a good song.<br /><br />I take your point about the I-Me-My emphasis. But this is, after all, a "testimony" song. The Apostle Paul did say "I have fought the good fight, I have run the race." So I think there's a place for a testimony song, particularly given the difference between a hymn for congregational singing and "specials" or "artist" songs that are justifiably more oriented to <br /><br />My problem with the song is grammatical. Especially the jaw-dropping redundancy of this: "Sometimes it's not always easy..."<br /><br />Last I checked, if something is "sometimes" easy, it is, by definition, "not always" easy. <br />:-) Wayne Zeitnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01754718936635363108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-27407439382863759712010-03-31T11:09:28.097-05:002010-03-31T11:09:28.097-05:00I agree with your premise as described. I think a ...I agree with your premise as described. I think a better model would be for churches to go where there is no coverage. For instance our church has been going to Plzen, Czech Repulic for 3 years. The first two of those years there was no missionary on the ground. We made contacts, got into schools to teach English, etc. Once the missionary got there, two years later, he was miles ahead. His first home church meeting, two months after his arrival, had a turn out of 12 people. These 12 were converts/contacts we had made in our two years of visiting. We go back in July and the city of Plzen is paying our lodging bill because the guy that handles the money for the city is one of these contacts.<br />The job is not getting done globally and it won't unless we reformulate our process. Churches have to get involved some way other than wrting a check and thinking "okay, I did my part".Edwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16389332987447893458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-12227482617705396702010-03-29T13:50:40.470-05:002010-03-29T13:50:40.470-05:00"leave it to the pros" huh?
That could ..."leave it to the pros" huh?<br /><br />That could be what I mean, I guess. Depends upon what one means by "professional missionary" of course.<br /><br />What I am objecting to is the casual, entertainment-type "mission trip" so popular in our circles (SBC) these days. I know you have some experience in short-term missions and report that they are (or can be) useful. I don't doubt that there are exceptions to the general state of affairs which I see as a waste of resources and sometimes more a distraction and/or hindrance to the missionary on the field.<br /><br />Let me set up a hypothetical with purely "guess-timation" numbers. A team of six holiday missionaries goes from Tennessee to Costa Rica for a week-long endeavor in aid of a mission work already in place, perhaps shall we say to work on a new building. Figure the transportation costs, lodging, meals, including the de rigueur "day off" trip to the beach or mountains or whatever. Also, factor in the loss of production from the regular jobs of these "missionaries" plus all the "planning" and meetings by the sending church, plus this that and the other which I have not listed. All things considered, the price tag for such a trip could easily be $30-50,000.<br /><br />Here's the question: How does this "value received" compare to what the resident missionary might have been able to get done with local labor, etc, had the sending church mailed him a check for $50,000. rather than sending those tourists down there for a week?<br /><br />I have seen some of these missions where the "project" was holding a VBS! Good grief!....are resident missionaries unable to hold a VBS using their own congregation members? Do they need "experts" from Civilization to spend a fortune traveling down there to show them how?<br /><br />"Professional missionaries".......implies "amateur missionaries"........I'm not sure either category is legitimate.Ed Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-80623810207385042952010-03-28T08:21:31.492-05:002010-03-28T08:21:31.492-05:00Ed, some of your comments would lead one to believ...Ed, some of your comments would lead one to believe that your view is that missions are "best left to the professionals". Am I reading this wrong or is that, indeed, what you mean?Edwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16389332987447893458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-11759967924223433842010-03-25T09:54:51.567-05:002010-03-25T09:54:51.567-05:00Sounds good at first....I thought that, too....but...Sounds good at first....I thought that, too....but it would involve breaking the law, which of course we are commanded not to do.Ed Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-41059477086723524412010-03-25T08:59:25.294-05:002010-03-25T08:59:25.294-05:00Since this is all under the topic of being foolish...Since this is all under the topic of being foolish for Christ...why not just get arrested? Then there's no waivers and no outside organization or motivation.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03443868102626190760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-61646415561517039792010-03-21T00:02:55.266-05:002010-03-21T00:02:55.266-05:00I appreciate your view on this, Ed, I really do. I...I appreciate your view on this, Ed, I really do. I am happy that you understand that believers are baptized into Christ, and not into "a" church.<br /><br />I would dicker with you one one thing and that is that there are two baptisms. I believe in fact that they happen at the same time. When we are born of water we are simultaneously born of Spirit. Ephesians 4:5 only refers to one baptism. Either Paul was speaking about Holy Spirit baptism and not water baptism or water baptism and not spirit baptism or he was considering it one and the same thing. I vote for the latter since the other choices leave out clear scriptural statements of fact. In Titus 3:5 Paul joins the two together very clearly, I think. In Colossians 2:11-14 he again clearly says that the circumcision we experience is one "made without hands", but goes on to join it to being "buried" in baptism. There is no other way to interpet this than spiritual circumcision of the heart and water immersion. There is no other meaning that explains the sense (or symbolism) of burial than immersion in water. Baptism of the Spirit is never considered an immersion, hence the Methodists liken their baptism to a pouring based on that view.<br /><br />I love you brother for your stand concerning the incumbency of baptism and the reality that it doesn't baptise anyone into a local anything, but rather into the body of believers, past and present, who make up the body of Christ in spirit.Prodigal Knothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15414230356322258269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-24220512194614853002010-03-19T11:10:23.230-05:002010-03-19T11:10:23.230-05:00Tuning in... :-)Tuning in... :-)M. Eric Fryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07429576968922066882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-42714515925802967012010-03-16T00:29:46.222-05:002010-03-16T00:29:46.222-05:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.Ed Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-80555996791183235942010-03-15T23:10:44.762-05:002010-03-15T23:10:44.762-05:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.Warren Chuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18313328450850381646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-4880677161968046882010-03-12T21:20:22.198-06:002010-03-12T21:20:22.198-06:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.M. Eric Fryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07429576968922066882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-28998347898115412952010-03-12T12:07:52.552-06:002010-03-12T12:07:52.552-06:00This comment has been hidden from the blog.Shanna Lockerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06169327430670719545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-34917378139434616702010-02-26T08:56:59.154-06:002010-02-26T08:56:59.154-06:00Excellent post Bro. You addressed something that I...Excellent post Bro. You addressed something that I think a lot of us see, but don't know how to express. Thanks for writing this... I don't know what makes you think it is disorganized. It makes very important points and is very well structured.<br /><br />Blessings,<br />MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-51523483683656420602010-01-03T18:19:38.947-06:002010-01-03T18:19:38.947-06:00AMEN!
Even those who consider doing radical thing...AMEN!<br /><br />Even those who consider doing radical things, do not for fear of how others will view them. Yes, it is pride. We are so hipocritical (said with shame).Debshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06520354971367237322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-48073957057668101732010-01-02T00:43:00.445-06:002010-01-02T00:43:00.445-06:00That is a very convicting post, Ed.
I have tried ...That is a very convicting post, Ed.<br /><br />I have tried to stir people up in my own congregation to go downtown and DO SOMETHING! Even if it's just singing or passing out New Testaments.<br /><br />But, I am either a poor instigator or a sorry organizer, because I am operating on my own. But I never have thought of doing what Park did.<br /><br />Granted, I am married, and perhaps he is not. But I do have some free time now and then to do more than I am. It really embarrassed me last Sunday when one of the elders said, while introducing me to someone, that he did not know of anyone who was doing more than myself in the church to promote the gospel. I know he was trying to compliment me, but it actually grieved me.<br /><br />I don't feel that I am ever doing enough and know I have much to learn and much room for improvement, so if I am doing more than anyone else out of almost 500 people, that really makes me sad. <br /><br />I saw some brothers (not from my church tho') preaching on the street New Year's Eve and was glad to know that at least someone was out there trying to tell folks what they should be pursuing. Of course, now I feel that I should join them and I may. But, it would be so good to know that we were not "the few, the loud, and the unlistened to".<br /><br />I know that you sometimes feel like you are very alone in what you do. I wish more people could see that our time here is wasted unless God and souls are our priority...every day. I think of supposedly saved retirees who only care for fishing and hunting and showing up for church on Sunday. What a waste of the golden years on selfish pursuits!<br /><br />God bless you brother. You are loved!Prodigal Knothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15414230356322258269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-4903192681990457712010-01-01T10:27:28.043-06:002010-01-01T10:27:28.043-06:00Very well put regarding the use of the ESV and how...Very well put regarding the use of the ESV and how unreasonable many KJO folks can be.ESL at Woodrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08433571940418229076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-55940672318442312672009-12-31T22:15:58.492-06:002009-12-31T22:15:58.492-06:00Thanks for visiting the blog, brother!
There are ...Thanks for visiting the blog, brother!<br /><br />There are way too many groups viewed as "those people" by the self-righteous organization which passes itself off as "the church"<br /><br />The origin of that classification? Pride.<br /><br />The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as <i>other men</i> are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, <i>or even as this publican.</i>--those people <br />(Luke 18:11)Ed Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05878045658191730881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-30638397723641085272009-12-30T00:25:17.255-06:002009-12-30T00:25:17.255-06:00Wow, great question! I venture to think most folk ...Wow, great question! I venture to think most folk don't want to think like that. It's a sad state for the church when so many in it look at Park like he is a freak- almost a "one of those people" if you will. Good post sir. Let's get the church thinking.Juliankandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06218077048870899949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-57470991012872688382009-12-28T22:41:05.251-06:002009-12-28T22:41:05.251-06:00Ed, just keep being a prophet, brother. There are ...Ed, just keep being a prophet, brother. There are still those who believe in keeping the gospel simple and powerful. I am, of course, completely with you on your distaste for the misapplication of the so-called "sinner's prayer" and somehow tricking people into becoming "saved".<br /><br />I am also very glad to see you affirm what my reaction was when a brother fowrarded me that same anti-ACLU suggestion. I told him it was completely un-Christian to return evil for evil. It is something I would have done in my Moral Majority Republican days...before I was born again.<br /><br />I detest formulas, of any kind, when studying or teaching people. I believe each and every situation is different. We can use guidelines and outlines, but we should not use cleverness of any kind when presenting the gospel. Only God can open a person's heart to receive the Word implanted.<br /><br />Love you in the Lord!Prodigal Knothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15414230356322258269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-30921477904377409782009-11-26T09:01:16.509-06:002009-11-26T09:01:16.509-06:00Great article Ed! And Pastor Paul, once you get to...Great article Ed! And Pastor Paul, once you get to understand Ed and his strange, unique, ironic, and very un-opinionated sense of humor you would have...ooops, sorry Ed, I was thinking out loud again!!! :)<br />May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and keep standing for the Truth my friend!Shanna Lockerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06169327430670719545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-74027218802581282252009-11-25T22:12:35.727-06:002009-11-25T22:12:35.727-06:00Ed, good read here. When I first saw this show up ...Ed, good read here. When I first saw this show up on your facebook site I resisted with everything in me to jump in quickly and slam the sign and mostly question you for posting it. But I resisted, and now glad that I didn't show my self a fool (this time.) Good to hear you complete your thoughts out here. The 'clever' evangelism approach turns my stomach as it presents itself as a circus act or Christians thinking that the Creator of the universe needs some kind of opening act or side show to attract the lost world or grab their attention.<br />Ever wonder what would happen if God's people would humble themselves, pray and seek his face? What if the church put the King of Glory in front of lost people? Well, I could go on here for a while. Good post.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10902485420515625337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4332804130255871970.post-56949758434526194672009-10-31T00:55:08.219-05:002009-10-31T00:55:08.219-05:00I see you still keep your tongue in cheek(at times...I see you still keep your tongue in cheek(at times :).<br /><br />It's almost sad to say, but I am glad you see Billy for the pseudo- apostle he is. And while you give Mohler some wiggle room, it's not much.<br /><br />Anyway, your point is well made.Prodigal Knothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15414230356322258269noreply@blogger.com