david norman blog dot com

You Might Be Killing Your Ministry (And Not Even Know It) from Aaron Armstrong

There is nothing that kills effective ministry faster than pride (even if that ministry seems to be thriving on the outside).

Know Your Evangelicals: Francis Schaeffer from Joe Carter

Schaeffer was one of the most influential figures in American evangelicalism in the period between World War II and the mid-1980s.

The Humanity of Christ Matters from Russell Moore

Why is it so hard for us to imagine Jesus vomiting?

Why I Resigned From The Gospel Coalition from James MacDonald

I have very different views on how to relate to the broader church and how the gospel must impact every relationship. I don’t want my minor role on the Council to hinder their work as a whole or to give the impression they agree with all God has called me to do.

My Take: Why the Abortion Issue Won’t Go Away by Dr. Al Mohler

After recently addressing a large secular assembly on issues of moral controversy, I turned and faced a woman who urgently wanted to ask me a question: “Why won’t the abortion issue just go away?”
I knew exactly what she was asking. I often meet abortion rights advocates who honestly thought that the national controversy over abortion would simply melt away within a few years of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973.

A Pattern for Prayer, Courtesy of O.S. Hawkins from SBCVoices

Baptist pastor, financial administrator, and author of over 20 books, O.S. Hawkins, does what Bounds forgets to do. In his very practical, helpful book, “The Pastor’s Primer,” Hawkins disciples his reader in private prayer by sharing a model from his own life.

Why Christians Should Be Concerned About the Obama Administration’s Contraception Mandate from The Gospel Coalition

Last week the Obama administration shocked and disappointed many church-affiliated institutions by announcing they will be forced to cover free birth control for employees in their medical insurance plans. According to the Washington Post, workplace health plans will be required to cover all forms of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ranging from the pill to implantable devices to sterilization. Also covered is the morning-after pill, which is considered by many pro-life groups to be the equivalent of an abortion drug.

My Take: Why Christians are Criticizing my Christian Marriage and Sex Book by Mark Driscoll

We knew before we wrote the book that we’d catch a lot of flak, especially on the chapters dealing with sex. We also knew the criticism would come from every direction, as some people would think we went too far and others would think we didn’t go far enough.
But we wrote it anyway. Why? Simply put, we want to help marriages — and single people aspiring to marry — and we wanted to do so in a way that is practical, biblical and applicable to the reality of today’s culture.

My review of his book can be read here.

A Review of T.D. Jakes’ Code Orange Revival Sermon from BetterThanSacrifice.org

Jakes’ teaching is deadly to those who are enticed by it. They trust in God to fix the problems of this life, to keep them from trial and tribulation. And should He not accede to their arrogant expectation, their faith is shipwrecked, because it was founded not upon the sure and certain promises of God’s word in Christ as recorded in the Scriptures, but upon the false words of a self-proclaimed prophet.

President Obama’s Indifference on the 39th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade from Denny Burk

The President says he wants “our daughters [to] have the same rights, freedoms, and opportunities as our sons.” Who could disagree with that statement? I agree with it totally. The problem is that President Obama does not really mean it. At the same time he calls us to protect our daughters’ rights, President Obama praises the decision that has led to the legal killing of at least 25 million of our unborn daughters. Clearly he does not want to protect the rights of all of our daughters, but only some of them. How can he not see the moral absurdity of his own words?

Why Am I Grateful for C.J. Mahaney’s Ministry? from Practical Shepherding

have been and continue to be very troubled by how so many people are quick to dismiss so much of C.J’s fruitful ministry on the basis of accusations of which many have no first hand insight to the validity of them. With this post, I still intend to stay away from the debates and write only on that which I have experienced with him, first hand. Namely, the pivotal and unique impact C.J. Mahaney has personally had on me and my ministry as a pastor.

Maybe Calvinism isn’t the Problem from SBCVoices

I think the number one issue facing us today is the number of members we have in our church that are not saved, because we have made it too easy… Many will say to Jesus “Lord, Lord” but will not enter the Heaven. Maybe we are far too concerned about ‘predestination’ or ‘election’ and not worried about the people who “made a choice” yet will spend eternity weeping.

You just caught your child in porn. What are you to do? from Counseling Solutions

Let’s say a dad came to see you for advice about his teenage son. He tells you his son has been sneaking out of bed late at night looking at porn on the computer. He’s put filters in place but his son seems to be able to get around them. How might you start advising this father?

Please accept my apologies for not posting yesterday. I underwent a procedure to remove kidney stones and was a bit loopy due to the pain medication. But without further ado, here are the articles that I think are worth your time.

Seminary: Life or Death? from DesiringGod.org

In this series of posts on “How to Stay Christian at Seminary,” we’re hoping, under God, to do precisely that — help keep you Christian.

Making Necessary Distinctions: The Call to Discernment from The White Horse Inn

Sometimes we treat contemporary controversies as if we were the first to encounter them. Unaware of the discussions and debates that forged Christian consensus in the past, we often treat controversies as if we were the first to encounter them. Starting from scratch, we often end up with our own lopsided confusion of things that ought to be distinguished and separation of things that ought to be held together.

Shepherd the Flock That is Among You from The Gospel-Driven Church

I have heard more than a few times that a preacher ought to preach for the crowd he wants. There’s a grain of truth in that but it’s mostly balderdash. Preach to the crowd you have. They’re the ones who are there, listening.

And, I seem to have struck a nerve with several people with my article a few days ago on Joel Osteen, Oprah, Mitt Romney, and the Importance of Pastoral Education

Hey Football Fans, The Big Day Is Nearly Here Again from the White Horse Inn

Whatever “Super Bowl Sunday” has become in our culture, it is not “missional” to tell the world that what happens on that field is more game-changing than what happened at an empty tomb and what happens every time sinners gather to be made recipients of that inheritance of the saints.

An Actual Pro-Life Conversation from Justin Taylor

My goal isn’t just to protest, but to persuade.

Monday is for Missiology: Applying the Gospel Coalition Mission Statement that Churches “Must Work for Justice” from Ed Stetzer

Any time someone says, “we believe churches should work for the good of their community,” there is danger. I have written on these dangers many times. So, it is helpful to make clear what this statement is not saying and to eliminate a few conclusions regarding this statement that we should not make…

And on a completely selfish note: I reviewed Mark Driscoll’s new book, Real Marriage here.

Everything You Need to Know About SOPA in Less than 5 Minutes via ChurchM.ag

Christianity Today Goes on Record Against Spanking from Denny Burk

There are a number of problems with this editorial, not the least of which is its unsatisfying interaction with the biblical issues at stake in this debate. The CT editorial relies almost entirely on William Webb’s trajectory hermeneutic—a way of interpreting the Bible that says modern readers sometimes need to move beyond the ethical instruction of scripture to an ethic that supercedes it.

Healthy Sexuality from Tim Challies

Many great Christian resources are available on the topics of sexuality and marriage. In light of so much discussion about sex and marriage in the blogosphere these days, I wanted to highlight a few of the ones I’ve come across that seem to be particularly helpful.

I Baptize Children: Does That Make Me a PaedoBaptist? from SBCVoices

One blogger I respect deeply (and almost always agree with) calls what I do a Baptist version of Paedobaptism. He believes that we should not baptize until much later in a child’s development. The danger is that children with an incomplete understanding of faith may be baptized before they have been truly converted, thus giving them a false basis of hope or salvation.

Matt Chandler at Elevation Church from Justin Taylor

How do you go and preach in an environment where the pastor and the church have a very different understanding of theology, celebrity, and ministry philosophy than the one you live and proclaim?

A Christian Psychology and Response to Homosexuality from The Gospel Coalition

There are many difficult issues that arise in Christian ministry. Homosexuality is one of the toughest. It’s difficult to be winsome and firm, loving without compromising when dealing with actual people who struggle with same-sex attraction.

‘Sexperiment:’ Ed Young Suffers Eye Injury; Leaves Before 24 Hours Over

Ed Young, founding pastor of Texas-based Fellowship Church, suffered a minor eye injury from exposure to the sun during the 24-hour bed-in with his wife, Lisa, on the church’s roof to discuss truths about sex with pastors and friends from around the world.

In Defense of Neatniks by Aaron Armstrong

No one likes being called a neatnik or a nitpick—especially a theological one. The nickname conjures an image of a guy sitting in his mom’s basement surrounded by Calvin’s Institutes, The Westminster Catechism, Systematic Theology (Horton’s, Berkhoff’s and Grudem’s) and dozens upon dozens of commentaries. Think a serious Star Wars fan—but sub in Jesus for Luke Skywalker.

What are the boundary lines to determine whether a pastor can/should conduct a wedding? by Brian Croft

I am very aware that there are strong opinions and lively disagreements about whether an evangelical pastor should marry Christians, non-Christians, and everything in between. The debate does not end there. Then you have to determine if it is wise to marry two Christians in “this particular circumstance” as opposed to “that particular circumstance.”

MLK at Southern Seminary in 1961

On April 19, 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Alumni Chapel at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The speech was titled, “The Church on the Frontier of Racial Tension.”

And on a personal note, the sermons at Greenbrier Baptist Church will now be available to listen online and/or via podcast on iTunes.

Be Missional, Not Superficially Contextual from The Gospel Coalition

We need churches more concerned with gospel faithfulness through true contextualization. We need to preach, teach, train, and disciple the church to communicate the historic gospel of grace in creative cultural forms that awaken people to Jesus, not just lure them into bland services

Sanctity of Human Life from Evan Lenow

The number of abortions in the United States is staggering—50 million in 39 years. These are 50 million lives that were ended. These were 50 million individual persons whose opportunity to develop, live, and thrive was taken from them all in the name of a right to privacy.

The Supreme Court Speaks: A Major Victory for Religious Liberty from Al Mohler

By any measure, this is an important and vital decision. One way to consider its importance is to ponder what the opposite finding would have meant. In this case, this would mean that there is no ministerial exemption, and that churches, church schools, Christian colleges and seminaries, and any number of church-based employers, would be forbidden to hire and fire on theological and doctrinal grounds.

Supreme Court examines TV nudity, profanity from Baptist Press

U.S. Supreme Court justices challenged lawyers for major networks Tuesday to explain why the federal government should not be able to establish a “safe haven” from nudity and obscene language on television.
The high court heard oral arguments in what has been described as the most important broadcast indecency case in more than three decades.

[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/Tabletalk/status/157453834581590016"]

Jim Hamilton on His New Revelation Commentary by Denny Burk

This book is an excellent exposition of the text, and I commend it to you. I am grateful that Hamilton took some time to answer some of my questions about the book of revelation and his interpretation of it.

Justin Bieber says he doesn’t have to go to church and Dan Kimball’s response

But I would say if by the quote he is meaning we can function as healthy followers of Jesus on our own, without being part of some form of a structured local church, whether a house church or a large church, then I would say that is incorrect theology he would be advocating about what church is and what a Christian’s role [is] as being part of a local church.

Learning from Christopher Hitchens: Lessons Evangelicals Must Not Miss by Al Mohler

There are important lessons to be learned from the life and career of Christopher Hitchens, and they are lessons we must not fail to contemplate. In the final analysis, Christians have far less to fear from atheists or antitheists as we do from what Hitchens called “the generalized agnosticism of our culture.” We agree with him that the question of the existence and identity of God is nothing less than the most powerful and urgent question humanity will ever confront.

Can We Judge the Morality of God?: A Response to Roger Olson

When Roger Olson announced he was releasing a book, part of a two-book counter-point effort along with Michael Horton, titled Against Calvinism, there was hope for something that might engage the real strength of Reformed theology—the clear and consistent exegesis of the biblical text that the “young, restless and Reformed” have found so compelling. But even before its release, Dr. Olson gave clear indication that its focus was not going to be exegetical. Instead, as the book substantiated, his argument can be summarized fairly easily: the God of Calvinism is a “moral monster,” and Calvinists simply need to think through their beliefs far enough to see what Olson has been able to see.

January Book Giveaway From Crossway!
Zach Nielsen is giving away books, such as Finding Faithful Elders and Deacons by Thabiti Anyabwile, Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches by Jim Hamilton, and Keep Your Head Up: America’s New Black Christian Leaders, Social Consciousness, and the Cosby Conversation by Anthony Bradley (editor).

Is the Cooperative Program Worthy of Sacrifice? by Nathan Finn and Micah Fries from SBCVoices

When we treat the Cooperative Program as a mere program, we neglect the fact that the CP is, in fact, a tremendous method through which we channel funding to take the gospel to the nations.

Teaching the Whole Counsel of God in One Year from The Gospel Coalition

One week into my current pastorate, I challenged our congregation to read through the Bible. Desiring to encourage participation, I offered a weekly lesson on how the gospel of Jesus Christ is evidenced in every book of the Bible. Many in our church showed interest, and so with great zeal for God’s Word, and with just as much ignorance on what it would take to finish the course, I embarked on teaching Genesis through Revelation in 52 weeks.

How Andy Stanley Handled A Heckler from Giving Rocket

Today, during the first service, a heckler started yelling at him from the crowd during the closing minutes of his message… This heckler was loud & screaming something theological in response to Andy’s message. The point of this post is to help you as a church leader know how to handle situations like this.

I’m Embarassed by Tim Tebow from Ragamuffin Soul

My embarrassment is not about Tim Tebow. It’s always about ME.
What people will think of ME.
Because no matter how cheesy…
No matter how brash…
He is 100% more open about his faith on a daily basis than I am.