One More Week? Please!

So a week has come and gone since I last asked you to answer the question, "What is a Christian?"  To my shame, I've not yet had a chance to compile all of my thoughts in the form of a post.  They are still floating around in this head of mine, and I've still got to grab them and put them down on paper.  So, if you don't mind, let's do 2 things.

1. Let's push back my response another week. Next Wednesday is my self-imposed deadline.
2. If you haven't already given an answer to the question, "What is a Christian?", take some time to write a short answer.  I was hoping for a little bigger response than what I got for discussion's sake, so this gives you a little more time to answer if you'd like. You can leave a comment here in answer to the proposed question.

And to make it up to you, here's a pretty hilarious video Kevin DeYoung posted last week on his blog.  I just hope your dentist is a little better than this one.

Is It Okay to Be a Christian & Be Transgendered?

If you have never listened to these Ask Pastor John sessions, I would recommend you subscribe to their iTunes podcast or YouTube page.  It's these hard, ethical questions that I really enjoy seeing how Piper answers them. 

The Dad Life

Happy belated Father's Day to all Dad's out there!


Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

What Is a Christian?

Recently, I've been reading Evangelicalism Divided by Iain Murray, and it's got me thinking. In it, Murray plots the 2 paths that Evangelicalism has taken in the past 50 years. A path toward biblical Christianity or a path toward liberalism. One of the many forks in the road for these 2 paths was how the following question was answered: "What is a Christian?"

So that's the question I'm posing to you.  What is a Christian?  What makes someone a Christian?  I think this is an important question for all of us to think through, and the answer has massive implications that we might not realize.  So here's what we're gonna do.

You have one week to leave a comment on this post answering the question, "What is a Christian?"  I'll try to interact with you as you post your answers.  One rule though...  I want people to feel free to answer this question without the fear of ridicule or condemnation.  Therefore, if you leave a comment that is derogatory towards anyone's answer, it will be deleted immediately.  Let's be gracious to others just as Jesus has been gracious to us.

At the end of one week's time, I'll follow-up with a post that summarizes your answers, show some of the implications of some of those answers, and then share how the answer to this question caused division between Evangelicalism in the past 50 years. So have it.

What is a Christian?

If Perfect Angels Could Sin & Fall, How Do We Know This Won't Happen to Us in Eternity?

Great question, better answer...

A Dragon Fight for the Ages

This was a helpful reminder for me today.

'We fell into sin as a race because we were beguiled by a dragon (Gen. 3:1). God promised to send a warrior who would crush the seed of that serpent (Gen. 3:15), and He has done this in Jesus Christ. In sum, the gospel is the story of a dragon-fight. The serpent of Genesis is the dragon of Revelation (Rev. 20:2), and we are called to rejoice that the dragon has been slain. In contrast, we have reduced the gospel to four basic steps toward personal happiness, and we are much farther from the truth than our fathers were when they told their glorious stories. This is another way of saying that dragon-lore is truer than therapy-speak.' - Doug Wilson in Future Men

Thanks to: Jared Wilson & Zach Nielsen

John Piper's Thoughts on Being a Part of an Online Church

I appreciated John Piper's thoughts here.  Online churches are becoming more and more popular with the emergence of streaming audio and video.  You can now, literally, attend church from the comfort of your own home right in front of a computer.  Without becoming too long-winded, let me just say this and I'll let Pastor Piper do the rest.  Our Christian lives are meant to be lived in community, not isolation.  We are Christ's body... many different parts forming one whole church.  So get off your butt, get dressed, drive to church, and begin the hard yet joyful work of living out your Christian life in community... at church!

How to Pastor Your Family

My pastor from college recently sent me an article on how Mark Driscoll lead's his family in daily worship.  Being a new dad, reading it was helpful, edifying & fruitful.  If you are a parent and are seeking to learn more about family worship, take 5 minutes and read this short post.  Here's a short outline of it.

1. Routine
2. Intentional Evenings
3. Time to Play
4. Mealtime
5. Cleanup
6. Bible Time
7. Questions & Answers
8. Family Prayer
9. Bedtime
10. Explicit vs. Implicit