June 27, 2008

A Fishing Parable

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The following came into my inbox this morning...it was delivered as humor, but I see it instead as a great parable for the challenge facing Christians in a post-Christian age: This old fisherman would go out in his boat every...


May 20, 2008

Best Advice?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Fortune Magazine shares the best advice ever given to leaders of finance, entertainment, technology, and military. There are many good and some not-so-good nuggets of counsel in the collection. Here's a couple gems: "Always assume positive intent." - Indra Nooyi...


May 3, 2008

U.G.L.Y...You Ain't Got No Alibi...

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
ed. note: This entry originally posted October 9, 2002. It has been edited for content, with links changed and added. A while back, I was reading another blog that referred to a site with pictures of "ugly people." The whole...


November 17, 2007

Leaving a Legacy by John Weber

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John wrote this on August 16, 2007. On November 1, 2007, He returned to the Lord who created and redeemed him. John Weber Here's the challenge for ALL MEN... For each husband, every father. Leave behind something that will be...


November 4, 2007

Take A Closer Look Online

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I've been teaching from my book Take A Closer Look for the past month. Here are the audio recordings of some of those sessions....


October 9, 2007

Bushido Christianity

Posted by Bryan | Comments (29)
Update: I am reposting this original entry from May 10, 2004, for the purpose of making it available to some men's groups who are searching for this information. For some reason, it is visible in my archives, but not readily...


October 7, 2007

Flunking Retirement

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Here's a story about "seasoned" missionaries who are flunking retirement. My in-laws are retirement flunkees. Sam, Kelli's dad, has gone from a lifelong service of ministry to local churches through the denomination to enjoy a retirement marked by service of...


October 2, 2007

Proverbial Friendship: Choose Your Friends Wisely

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Proverbs 12:26The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray. If you ever want to appreciate the value of making a good choice, all you need to do is go shop for a...


September 10, 2007

Shirley? Psalm 23

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This is one of the most wonderful things I've seen on the web in recent history...(h/t random commands) " /> " FlashVars="flvPath=http://www.godtube.com/flvideo1/7/11096.flv" FlashVars="videoThumb=http://www.godtube.com/thumb/1_11096.jpg" quality="high" bgcolor="#000000" width="330" height="270" name="video" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" />...


August 16, 2007

Praying at the Opposition

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Warren from View from the Pew shares the story of a prominent SBC pastor calling for imprecatory prayer upon a couple of Americans United staffers. This group, in case you don't know, strives to eliminate any presence of Christian faith...


August 10, 2007

The Power of One

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The following is an edit of an earlier entry dated Oct 3, 2002 As America approaches the six-year anniversary of September 11, 2001, the death toll of US servicemen approaches 3,700. That number is as incomprehensible as the 2,835 who...


August 9, 2007

Revelations on Love

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(The following is an edited update from an early blog post, dated Oct 1, 2002) I'm constantly amazed at the "Jewishness" of the book of Revelation. For example in the first chapter alone, I see at least fourteen Old Testament...


August 3, 2007

Take a Closer Look....at Chapter 1

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I just learned that Amazon offers an excerpt of Chapter one from my book Take A Closer Look...so I'll C&P and offer it here: Let's Begin In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1 Close...


July 22, 2007

Good Grief

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Today is the one year anniversary of my mom's death. Last Sunday night I preached a message I called Good Grief. I reflected on my own journey of grief over the past year in mourning the unexpected death of my...


July 9, 2007

Sung to the Tune of Do You Lie? as a Congregational Response

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Colorado Pastor Calvin Wittman writes an article Help! The Pastor Search Committee Lied to Me! In it, he offers suggestions on how a minister going to a new congregation can avoid the uncomfortable inevitability of discovering that its PSC's presentation...


June 30, 2007

The Beatitudes: Clarifying Spiritual Starvation

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Starvation is the absence of a necessity for life. You can probably think of people that you might identify as being "attention-starved" or "affection-starved." When compared to the template definition, their "starvation" does not quite meet the standard. Starvation is...

Christ in the Old Testament: Provocative Beginnings

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Here's the link to the first two sessions of my Sunday night class called Christ in the Old Testament. Actually, a clarification. This is actually sessions two and three. Actually, this is all of session two and the completely unrelated...


June 27, 2007

Up With Worship: An Opening Discussion

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I offer this with much fear and trepidation...the first of several conversations we are having at the church about worship. We're using Anne Ortlund's phenomenal book Up With Worship to guide the discussion. In this initial conversation, we talked about...


June 25, 2007

The Beatitudes: The Condition of Spiritual Starvation

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Americans spend (on average) 47 percent of their food expenditures on eating outside of the home. For the most part, Americans do not know what it means to go hungry. By and large, The USA is a nation of...


June 21, 2007

The Beatitudes: Meting Meek

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"Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." At a simple glance, the promise seems at best ironic and at worst sadistic. Historically, the promise has never been realized. Experientially, the promise is antithetical to the crushing oppression...


June 17, 2007

The Beatitudes: Measuring Meek

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If "meek" doesn't mean "spineless, cowardly," or "weak," what does it mean? First, meek means "gentle." Look to Jesus for the example of meekness shown in gentleness. In John 8, Jesus goes nose-to-nose and toe-to-toe against the biggest worst kind...


June 11, 2007

The Beatitudes: Misunderstanding Meekness

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The third promise of the Beatitudes is an interesting promise of God: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Meekness historically has been an attitude that has been criticized and ridiculed, rather than celebrated and pursued. Its...

The Beatitudes: The Original Introduction

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Consider for a moment two generations of godly men. On one hand there is David, and on the other there is his son Solomon. David was a murderer, an adulterer, the ruler over a kingdom in chaos. Solomon, though, was...


June 5, 2007

The Beatitudes: Assurances to Mourners

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The promise of God's blessing extends to those who grieve with godly mourning. Remember, the Greek word for blessing means "happiness." It might seem ironic that God promises happiness to those who are in mourning, but that is indeed the...

The Beatitudes: Audiences of Mourners

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The Greek word for 'mourn' is penthos; it literally means 'grief.' This word is a strengthened word from a root that literally means 'to experience suffering.' So, here, God is promising blessing to a category of people whose condition of...

The Beatitudes: Blessed are those who Mourn

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Harold Kushner is a Rabbi. He gained prominence more than twenty years ago, he asked a question that millions of people prior to him had asked, but did so in a way that was different. Rather than simply ask a...


June 4, 2007

The Beatitudes: The Blessing of Spiritual Poverty

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The Beatitudes: Introduction The Beatitudes: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit The Beatitudes: The Barrier to Spiritual Poverty The Beatitudes: The Barometer of Spiritual Poverty Jesus promises, "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God."...

The Beatitudes: The Barometer of Spiritual Poverty

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The Beatitudes: Introduction The Beatitudes: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit The Beatitudes: The Barrier to Spiritual Poverty The Bible says that every action in life will be tested by fire. It also says that you will have to give...

The Beatitudes: The Barrier to Spiritual Poverty

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The Beatitudes: Introduction The Beatitudes: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit The barrier to spiritual poverty is pride. It is impossible to experience spiritual destitution in the presence of pride. Pride declares that your attitudes, your conduct, your behavior,...

The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Poor In Spirit

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
This is what Jesus declares: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Most people probably understand what "poor" means, but you have to be careful because there is an important distinction that is...

The Beatitudes: Introduction

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In the process of cleaning and fixing up Spare Change, I have been digging through the archives. The first sermon series I ever posted on here was on the beatitudes. My pastor is preaching through the beatitudes right now (available...


June 2, 2007

High School Muse-ical

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This morning, my children were watching the Disney flick High School Musical with their cousins Samantha and Mitchell. I was in here..."the office"...working in my Bible study for tomorrow evening (Christ in the Old Testament...please join me, if you're nearby...


May 29, 2007

All or Nothing

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The following is the meat of the sermon I preached Sunday night at Walnut Springs Baptist Church. To be honest, I'm not even sure where the church is, apart from being 30 or so miles away from Weatherford, Texas. I...


January 24, 2007

Cross Post: The First Five Minutes

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We're launching new blog at church...and no surprise, I'm the first to post to it. And my first post is actually the wisdom of church growth guru Josh Hunt, which perhaps ironically is about making the right first impression. If...


September 30, 2006

Samurai Christians

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What began as a blog entry is now a soon-starting men's study at our church. Here's the promotional video: The study is going to be excellent. We've recruited over a dozen men to write daily e-votionals that will take these...


August 14, 2006

F.E.N.: The Two Sides of Pride

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The latest contribution to FRIENDmail, inspired by an acrostic penned by my pastor, Dr. Mike Mowery... Pride. Perhaps the most double-edged of all human characteristics, pride is the one thing that every person aspires to embrace, only to risk ruin...


June 17, 2006

Fresh Fruit: Making a Man of God

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This is a copy of the weekly e-votional I write for our church. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox by either e-mailing me, or by going to the FBC Grapevine web site and putting your email address...


April 11, 2006

Believe It or Not

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
What do you believe? More important, how do you know? I've been struck by these twin questions the past couple weeks. In the work I do, "belief" is a dominant force and factor in the decisions are made. So much...


April 8, 2006

The Blushing Bride*

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Most married men love their wives. Deeply. Even when their wives are not perfect. Sure every man could probably tell you what is imperfect about his wife. The longer you spend time with someone -- even someone you love --...


March 15, 2006

Paging Cher, Jim Croce, R.E.M., or Joshua son of Nun

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Most everybody mistakenly believes that eternity - or the life that follows this one - is represented by the dawn of new time that extends forever forward without a terminus. Such an opinion may be represented graphically as such: O------------------------>...


February 3, 2006

Brokeback at Birth

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
A classic defense in the argument over the Calvinism/Armenianism predisposition of a person's sexual identity is articulated with a rhetorical that usually sounds something like, "How would I choose to be gay? Why would I choose homosexuality?" Classicly speaking, most...


January 22, 2006

Giving in 3-D

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Note: This is a Sunday school lesson I prepared for the church on Stewardship.The biblical history content is derived from the resources at Bible.org: Scripture in Focus 8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of...


January 11, 2006

I've Never Looked at It This Way Before

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
This illusion, from my inbox: If you watch the below images from your seat in front of the computer, Mr.Angry is on the left, and Mrs.Calm is on the right. Get up from your seat, and move back 12 feet...


January 8, 2006

Resolve Gets the Tough Stains Out

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The sermon manuscript from 1/1/06...God bless! ***** Like many of you, I’ve decided to start 2006 with a series of resolutions in an attempt to improve my life and attain a higher standard of living. Things are going pretty well...


October 31, 2005

Halloween

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Martin Luther"The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn." If you be a follower of the Christ, may God give...


October 2, 2005

A Simple Message

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Today's message I'm preaching, in the stead of our pastor: We live in a confusing world. Only in our world could the words bough, cough, dough, rough all end in same four letters and not rhyme. (the following from the...


September 16, 2005

The Others

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Just read a good devotional by Os Hillman (link goes to a different one, though, oddly enough). In it, he basically asks, "Why does God bless you?" Using King David as his example (and 1 Chronicles 14:2 as his proof...


September 14, 2005

Allow Myself to introduce Myself

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
From Lifeway, a practical tool...How to Remember the Names of People in Your Church Written by Teena Stewart Name recall is important. When you call people by name it communicates their value to you. Learning names helps build up the...


August 29, 2005

Kaboom

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Outgoing Lifeway Christian Resources President James Draper offers 5 landmines for pastors to avoid. Here's a couple more... Don't counsel without accountability. Put a window in your door if you don't have one, and any time you counsel, instruct your...


August 24, 2005

Spiritual Courtship

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Ed. Note~This is an edited (albeit only slightly to account for Webbery) version of a Bible Study I prepared for our church to launch a new outreach campaign. It uses Jesus' encounter with "The Woman at the Well" as a...


July 11, 2005

Sunday Message: The Life-Driven Purpose

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Note: The following is the message I'll be sharing today at church. It was inspired by the blog entry over at Totem to Temple by the same name (actually the first of three). I tried to edit for the blog,...


July 4, 2005

A Prayer for the Birthday Girl

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
Happy Birthday to the United States of America. May God bless this land, healing what divides us by humbling us who call ourselves His followers and leading us to share His grace instead of our dogma. May He protect us,...


June 26, 2005

Morley on Suffering

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
From my Inbox:10 Reasons Why God Allows Suffering 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 - So that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received. 2 Corinthians 1:6 - So that we may learn patience and endurance. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9...


June 23, 2005

Going on Reccord

Posted by Bryan | Comments (3)
The annual meeting of Southern Baptists has concluded, and you can read all about it at Baptist Press, if you are so inclined. Here's a summary: Attendance was up...that's good. The Disney Boycott ended...that's good. NAMB gave it's report, and...


June 22, 2005

Prayer Service Announcement

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
I just wanted to let you know that I've signed up for an hour of prayer each week. If you have a prayer need, please email me and I will intercede on your behalf at 1PM CST each Thursday. I...


June 8, 2005

Do You Love Your Pastor?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (4)
From Pat Morley:25 Ways To Connect With Your Pastor Don’t ask him to lunch to tell him how much you love and appreciate him (just tell him or, better, send him a hand written note. Respect time as his most...


May 29, 2005

Leaving a Legacy

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Today's Bible study addresses the matter of leaving (or building) a godly legacy. Reduce all the eulogies down to one sentence, and tell me...what would you like it said of you when you're gone? For me? I'd like other's to...


May 24, 2005

Death Valley Restoration

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } This was sent to me via email, and confirmed as real at Snopes. This is...


May 6, 2005

The Oxford Holy Club

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From Patrick Morley:Lessons from Oxford’s Holy Club In the early eighteenth century John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield attended Oxford University where they formed what came to be know as “The Holy Club.” It was a religious society built...


May 4, 2005

Why God told Noah to Build an Arky Arky

Posted by Bryan | Comments (5)
Not only is this photographic evidence of why women think men are immature, I find this to be another one of those clear images that affirm the biblical account of the global flood. This can't be explained by erosion,...


April 22, 2005

Mohler on Manhood, Part 2

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Part One can be found here, in its edited form (just as is part 2, below), from Al Mohler's own blog. He continues his discussion on the 13 marks of biblical manhood:Ethical maturity sufficient to make responsible decisions. To be...


April 21, 2005

Mohler on Manhood, part 1

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
From Dr. Al Mohler's own blog, but with my edits, for readability (and, believe it or not, brevity)... From Boy to Man--The Marks of Manhood, Part One When does a boy become a man? The answer to this must go...


March 24, 2005

Maundy Thursday

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In the Holy Week celebration, today commemorates the gathering of Jesus and his twelve apostles where they share their final meal together in the upper room. Here, you may observe the setting of the greatest object lesson in human history....


March 17, 2005

One-Word Solution

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On Thursday, I'm going to go be a part of the "young leaders" solutions discussion with Dr. Draper (SBC leader and President of Lifeway Christian Resources) at an Atlanta-area church. Over at the discussion boards, I've been reading the many...


March 3, 2005

43 Things: I want to obey Christ by serving others through my church.

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This is the 2nd of my 43 things, and it is also the 2nd “mission point” of the Baptist Men On Mission Mission Statement. Obedience is never as easy to do as it is to say. Jesus himself asked the...


February 23, 2005

43 Things: I want to worship God with all my life.

Posted by Bryan | Comments (3)
I’m busy. You’re busy. We’re all busy. And as busy as I may be, I probably would have no problem finding someone so much busier than me that I look like a slacker by comparison. The question is, how much...


February 21, 2005

Christopher's Questions

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Christopher offered a Sunday Brunch of theologically yummy questions, so I'm offering my opinions below:1. Are people basically good? No. Men are born separated from God. There is nothing good apart from God. Anything good from man's perspective may be...


February 14, 2005

Don't Pet the Peeve!

Posted by Bryan | Comments (5)
When I recently posted on my domesticated annoyances, I knew there was one other that I could not remember but seemed to irritate like a festering pimple in the middle of one's back, just beyond finger's length (not that I've...


January 20, 2005

Rise and Shine

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
When I started blogging a while back, I never anticipated making connections with folks from around the country that, though we've never met in person, we've formed real and important (and really important) bonds of friendship. Tony is one of...


January 19, 2005

In Summary

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
A while back, I participated in some discussions taking place regarding the leadership and future of the Southern Baptist Convention. This discussion was initiated by Dr. Jimmy Draper, president of Lifeway Christian Resources, our denominational publisher. The conversations were good,...

Cooking in God's Kitchen; Serves Plenty

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
A simple look around your own church congregation and you probably won't have much difficulty identifying the following groups of people: People who aren't doing squat People who are doing very little, and begrudgingly People who are doing a ton,...


January 15, 2005

Next Question

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
What is the Kingdom of God? Share your answer in the comments. I'm looking forward to the insight....

The Primary Message of Jesus Christ

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
In the previous post, I asked the question, "What is the primary message Jesus Christ spoke while on earth?" Excellent answers were provided. In fact, when the question was asked of us by boss 1 at our Spiritual Focus Day...


January 14, 2005

A Simple Question

Posted by Bryan | Comments (4)
From yesterday's Spiritual Focus Day: What was Jesus' primary message while He walked the earth? Leave your answer in the comments....


January 11, 2005

An Unexpected Discovery

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
As I continue my search for the perfect cover for our leading book, I was visited by the photo to the right: Why this image came up on a search for "generations of three men" I'll never know. What I...


January 4, 2005

Kingdom Cooperation

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
If you like the stories that encourage your spirit and remind you that many, many churches out there are indeed doing a good work, then you'll want to read this post over at Thinklings about the rural church and the...


December 26, 2004

December 26th

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
It's after midnight. My children are asleep, exhausted from a day of tearing into presents, waiting patiently for daddy to put together a toy or to open up a box (with contents so seemingly valuable that the packagers contracted with...


December 14, 2004

Don't Give Up

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
The Phrase "It came to pass" is found 177 in the Bible. Your problems may linger, but they will pass. Every circumstance in life has a purpose to shape you, to tempt you, to refine you, to mature you. Stay...


December 13, 2004

What Matters Most, Redux

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
A while ago, I shared my opinions on the most important matters facing God's church. My post was inspired by an invitation to participate in a poll being done by the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing arm, Lifeway Christian Resources. Some...


December 10, 2004

Assimilate This!

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
The following is a edited response to my earlier question posted at the Lifeway discussion board on leadership: The indicators of assimilation are primarily intangible, in that they can't be marked off on a scale to show when a person...

Tis the Season to Walk the Walk

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
At my place of employment/service, we've been immersed in holiday/year end-type activities. Several retirment receptions, including the mother of all banquets yesterday after a chapel where 5-10-15-29-25-30-35-and-40-year service awards were given (it was pretty humbling to see people honored for...


December 6, 2004

Borg Ecclesiology

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
I asked this question over at the Lifeway discussion board, and got a resounding thud, meaning one stab at a reply in four or so days. Here's the question: How do you measure assimilation (in a church)? What indicators do...


December 1, 2004

QOTD: Happiness is....

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
I want you to tell me What makes you happy Tell me, show me, be creative!...


November 30, 2004

QOTD: S-U-C-C-E-S-S

Posted by Bryan | Comments (5)
Welcom to a semi-regular post where I'll offer an open-ended question, and you can post your thoughts in the comments or at your own site (and use the comments to link back to it). I'm not looking for a Sunday...


November 29, 2004

Who Do You Want to Talk To?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Dr. Draper asked this question over at "the board." Here's my answer: I feel a little silly admitting this, but I seem to have a proclivity for looking foolish... The reality is, I really don't know who I'd like to...


November 28, 2004

The "Broken Ox" of Evangelism

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
My latest post on the Lifeway Board: I'm not saying anything that y'all don't already know, so don't be surprised when you get to the end of this and say, "well, duh!" Even so, I can't help myself. Our dearth...


November 26, 2004

Guilt by Association

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
My most recent post on the discussion at Lifeway for emerging leaders. In the discussions, the issue of the role of the association has been touched upon, but not really explored. I contend that if SBC churches are going to...


November 24, 2004

Why be Denominational?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Note: The following is adapted from the conversations taking place over at Lifeway's discussion board. quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- why would I go to the National SBC Conference which is not musch more than an extra long business meeting, when I can...


November 23, 2004

Assessing the "Good Ol' Boy Club"

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Continuing the discussion:I'd like to add another thought on the "GOB" issue, not to any one commenter, but in general... The GOB club exists because these are people who have been involved in the work of serving the denomination for...

Basic Questions

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
The second thread I've been compelled to start over the emerging leaders discussion board:In reading around, there's an air twinged with discontent, frustration, and concern. To help move forward, I'd like to ask a few honest, unloaded questions: 1. What...

More about "Focus"

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
The emergent leader discussion continues over at Lifeway's bulletin board. Here's my latest:Will, I agree with your caution not to assume the worst in our leaders. I (and I think most would agree) that we have godly men in leadership...

Focus!

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
My first post to the previously mentioned bulletin board on the Emerging Leadership discussion over at Lifeway Christian Resources Online.On the other side of the conservative resurgence, ours is a denomination muddling through taking the next step. We've gained a...


November 15, 2004

What Matters Most?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (5)
Lifeway Christian Resources is asking us to tell it what are the 10 most important issues of the church. It's an open survey, where you don't have to choose from a predetermined list...you can say whatever you think matters most...


October 30, 2004

Affirming Fatherhood

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Chip Ingram agrees that dads are important, saying we have four primary responsibilities: Role Number 1: Dads are leaders who make things happen. Role Number 2: Dads are priests who make God known. Role Number 3: Dads are teachers who...


October 28, 2004

So Sorry

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
Unlike Jen, I had a good apology experience today. I've railed before about empty apologies and related matters, I loathe insincerity-coated sorry pills. That said, I was convicted recently that I needed to apologize to a coworker/friend. My concern was...


October 15, 2004

On Prayer

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
We're just slightly half-way through this 40 days of Presidential Prayer. It's been a real rewarding experience. I've been so appreciative of the many of you who have partnered and committed to a daily time of intercession for the sake...


September 24, 2004

MVP: Male-Valued Parenting

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
The following may be construed as bragging. It's not intended to be. It could be interpreted as sexist. It's not at all intended to be. It's just the thoughts I have on the very important matter of the need for...


September 23, 2004

Hurricane Relief Videos

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
The Southern Baptist North American Mission Board has some free video available of the work its disaster relief teams have undertaken in response to the series of hurricanes that have hit the Southeast. These teams are volunteers of folks who...


September 21, 2004

Presidential Prayer: A Non-Partisan Platform

Posted by Bryan | Comments (15)
I'm under the strong conviction/impression that we must be committed to pray for the President. What I want to make clear is that I am sincere when I say this is non-partisan, and I'm acknowledging the possibility that John Kerry...


September 14, 2004

Succeeding a Giant

Posted by Bryan | Comments (12)
This, from a Religious News Service, via Baptist Press: Adrian Rogers, who helped lead the Southern Baptist Convention back to its biblical, historical roots, announced his retirement as pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church Sept. 12. Rogers' retirement is...


September 13, 2004

Things God Cannot Do: Love You More or Better

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Irene is concerned that God may be disappointed with her. Her concern is the impetus to start a new series that has piqued my interest: Things that are impossible for God. The first issue on this potentially provocative topic is...


September 11, 2004

Never?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (4)
I just read Don's comment on my post about 9/11. "Never forget. Never forgive. Never again." I've not forgotten. I stand in arms with my countrymen and vow, "never again." It's that middle one that's giving me a hassle. I...


August 27, 2004

Perfect Attendance Again!

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
The Lark, deserving of a permalink, details one group that has arrived at the inevitable consequence in the current approach to Sunday school. And the priceless quote:Stu's Pastor"He's definitely matured in his faith since starting the group. I guess it's...


August 23, 2004

A Widow's Mite is all that and a Bag of Chips

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
This, from my friend Jim, who has followed the call of God to Iraq as a civilian contractor (this, after the beheadings and kidnappings, in order that he may be close to the military and minister to them as they...


August 1, 2004

Lifeway Enrages AAA

Posted by Bryan | Comments (5)
Lifeway Christian Resources, producers of the most well-used Vacation Bible School curriculum have released their 2005 VBS theme, Ramblin' Road Trip. Pack your bags and get ready to cruise "Route 254" with LifeWay's Ramblin' Road Trip: Which Way Do I...

A Game, or A Metaphor

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Here's a little flash game called Cross the River. It's in Chinese, but the premise is simple enough -- figure out the right combination to get everyone across the river. I figured it out, so I'm sure you can, too....


July 30, 2004

A Commandment Question

Posted by Bryan | Comments (4)
The following is from Mikey's Funnies, from which I have posted here many, many times:MY APPETITE IS MY SHEPHERD (POUND 23)My appetite is my shepherd; I always want. It maketh me sit down and stuff myself. It leadeth me to...


July 22, 2004

QFH 004: Why Couldn't Jesus Hug Mary?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Asked by Cotter. Specifically, his question really asks about why Jesus couldn't be with His mother any time after his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane. The people who falsely arrested Jesus, were very angry with Him because so many...

The Church, Inverted

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
An observation from the book of Acts: When the church first formed, it was a place of central gathering where devoted disciples congregated for the purpose of worship and prayer, where they learned the tenets of their doctrine, and from...


July 17, 2004

QFH 003: Why were there Kings back then?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
This question was asked by Kaylyn. To clarify, she explained, "like King David and Solomon, and the others after them." The answer, to "why were there kings back then?": The first kings you read about in history were not kings...


July 15, 2004

QFH 002: Why Should I Be Baptized?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
This question was asked last night by Cotter, apparently not having read my treatise on the topic, written not that long ago. I will rely upon that for the long answer. For the short answer, I'll provide the following four-pronged...


July 14, 2004

QFH 001: Why is there God?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
No sense in trying to warm up to the fastball, since I pulled this question from the container, asked by Kaylyn. In Genesis 1:1, the Bible begins, "In the beginning, God..." Those first four words are important to know in...

QFH: A New Family Tradition

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
This post is to introduce something that we've recently started in the McAnally household that I'll be sharing here, under the new category of "Questions for Heaven." Two days ago, Kelli and the children took an oatmeal container, cleaned it...


July 7, 2004

Are You A Disciple?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Patrick Morley from Man In The Mirror Ministries asks the question "are you a disciple?" in a recent email. He poses three questions to Christ-followers to identify whether or not that person is a disciple. Those questions: Have you made...


July 3, 2004

Reflections: Acts 1:8; 8:1

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
The marching mandate of Christ-followers is found given by Jesus, (presumably) moments before He ascended to heaven, to reign at the right hand of the Father: Acts 1:8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;...


July 2, 2004

Calling Simon Cowell!

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
With the news that the Trinity Broadcast Channel is planning a second-rate Christian version of American Idol, we have another reason to look forward to being mocked for a lack of originality and talent. This, in my simple brain, seems...


July 1, 2004

Please Open to the Book of II Heresies

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
Christopher alerted me to the "Good as New" Bible translation, which has been endorsed by the Bishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England. In its efforts to be modern and relevant, it has effectively stripped away any...


June 22, 2004

That's a Wrap

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
This past convention was my fourth SBC to attend. It's such a treat for me to go because I have grown to enjoy watching our congregational process at work. It's been intriguing and interesting to view the action, both on...


June 10, 2004

Baptists Are All Wet

Posted by Bryan | Comments (3)
Dr. Heddle of the fine blog He Lives asks the simple question, "Immersion?" The question restated is, "Does baptism mandate a procedure of immersion to be valid?" This question can go in all sorts of different directions...what is mandatory, what...


June 9, 2004

Conservatism, Liberalism & Christianity

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
This began as a response to Joseph, who himself was responding in the comments of my Obligatory Reagan Post. My own reply proved to be post-worthy because of it's length and scope. In responding to the question of how I...


June 3, 2004

Flush with Anger, Part 3

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
In the previous entry, I gave a few ideas about how to go beyond managing anger, and actually avoiding it. Maybe a better word than "avoiding" is "overcoming." I don't know...maybe a little of both. This post, the final in...

Flush with Anger, Part 2

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
In my previous post, I mentioned an example of what makes me angry, and what my anger outbursts look like. This is not to excuse my behavior. It is completely unacceptable for me (or you, for that matter) to...

Flush with Anger, Part 1

Posted by Bryan | Comments (3)
I receive periodic updates from the Board's Wellness Department, on how to live a healthier, safer, longer life. Usually, these updates come in about the same time as annother announcement for the weekly popcorn fellowship, or that someone is...


June 2, 2004

Community By Any Other Name

Posted by Bryan | Comments (7)
In my professional capacity, I get to see a lot of interesting and unusally-named congregations. Of course, the majority of the churches deal with an ordinal number (rarely beyond "Third Baptist Church," but I've dealt even with a "Seventh"). But...


May 19, 2004

Bryan with a Y, the Science Guy

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
So it doesn't roll of the tongue the way Bill Nye does, but I've just made a scientific discovery: Individual Tums laying indiscriminantly on the desk + small pool of condensated water, from nearby cold soda = tiny, foamy, chalky...

Historic SBC Moment

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
Tonight, the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board and North American Mission Board are going to announce a joint partnership in a missions strategy to bring the gospel to the world. Here's excerpts of the press release:You can watch live...


May 18, 2004

Turning the Other Cheek

Posted by Bryan | Comments (3)
Over at Broken Masterpieces, the question is asked 'what should we do if we have Bin Laden?' The comments on this post, which from its content seem to inquire what is appropriate and allowable to subject the head of a...


May 17, 2004

Instant Messaging

Posted by Bryan | Comments (7)
I'm new to the IM world. I have a pretty small (but ever-increasing) list of IM contacts. I just invited my dad to join up today, sending him the standard email with download instructions. The IM process caused me to...


May 12, 2004

Christian Carnival Hits the Mission Fields

Posted by Bryan | Comments (10)
Spare Change is the honored host of this week's Christian Carnival. In the ministry gracefully entrusted to me, I have the distinct privilege teaching and encouraging men to live out their faith in simple everyday acts of obedience. To help...


May 5, 2004

Sung to the Tune of And I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Two months ago, I had a friend say to me (and I quote), "I was also wondering, if its even possible to put into words, how one seeks God with his whole heart." I've prayed about this for two months...


May 3, 2004

Marginal Theology: God's Word

Posted by Kelli | Comments (0)
Ephesians 5:22-33 In the margin... The second violin brings harmony to the first violin....

Blaming & Thanking God for Answered Prayer

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
A while ago, I received the following story: A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running to church as fast as she could, trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, "Dear Lord,...


April 28, 2004

Real Men, Real Faith

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
An interesting post on defeminizing the corporate worship experience, the blogson of another interesting post on masculine Christianity. I'm conflicted about this, really -- here's why: I'm all for masculine expressions of worship. No doubt, this is why Wild At...


April 24, 2004

Get Your Praise On

Posted by Bryan | Comments (6)
Over at Such Small Hands, an interesting discussion ensues about the "Jesus is my Homeboy" t-shirt. I comment there, but to paraphrase, I think the more accurate statement (at least for me) is "by God's grace, I'm Jesus' homeboy." I...


April 16, 2004

Forwarding Jesus

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
Matt (who promises to contribute a new feature called "shallow thoughts" very soon), sent me this, which expresses how I feel about continuing along emails that begin with "FW" I particularly loathe the ones that say the things like, "If...


April 15, 2004

A Useful Resource

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
If you are responsible for the hiring or recruitment of workers in preschool, children or youth ministry, then you may want to bookmark this site where you can check the public sex offender registry by name or by ZIP code....


April 11, 2004

Celebrate the Resurrection

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
I pray this day will be one of joy and celebration for you because Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, has risen from the dead! The tomb is empty! He is risen indeed!...


April 7, 2004

Marginal Theology: Of Lost Sheep, Coins, & Brothers

Posted by Bryan
In the Margins: These three parables are told in context of each other! Jesus spoke these *to* the Pharisees...the message was to them! The Parable of the Lost Sheep Luke 15:1-7 In the Margins: v.2 -- cf. Matthew 23:6,13. Jesus...

Marginal Theology: John 15:1-11

Posted by Kelli | Comments (1)
John 15:1-11 Christ never commands us to produce fruit, but simply to abide....


April 6, 2004

Marginal Theology: John 1:29

Posted by Bryan | Comments (0)
John 1:29 -- The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" In the Margin: Even His first appeance alludes that Jesus's purpose is to...


April 5, 2004

What do You Want to be When You Grow Up?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
My son is five years old. This past Sunday, on the way to church, we saw God's glory in the bright sun, a gentle breeze and blooming flora. His little hand in mine, Cotter looked at me and said with...


March 31, 2004

The Two Deep Rule

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
An ideal practice for each church offering care and education for children is for each classroom to follow the Two Deep Rule. This rule simply mandates that the classroom provides two teachers for each classroom. The rule is functionally advantageous...

Are you an All-Pro Dad?

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
Here's a survey that assesses the job you're doing as a dad. I took it. But I'm not going to tell you my score until Kelli takes it with me in mind. I think its more important to see if...


March 30, 2004

You should be ashamed of yourself

Posted by Bryan | Comments (2)
This weekend, while listening to a message on our need to be holy and righteous before God and man, I was sidetracked mentally by the evolution of a couple words. The first word is ashamed. This word struck me funny...


March 25, 2004

Putting our Priorities in Perspective

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Day 2 of the Missions Conference is in the annals of history. Another good day. Their pastor, George Anderson, spoke a phenomenal message out of Acts 13 on why we aren't as effective as the first church in carrying out...


March 24, 2004

GIC Day 1

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
I spent my first day at the Missions Conference being held at FBC Canton, Georgia. It was a very good day. I felt a little silly when we, the missionaries, were being introduced to the congregation (about 1000 strong on...


March 22, 2004

Responding to the Response

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
Just to have all things out in the open.... I've responded in the comments area to the Patriot's reply to my earlier decision about leaving the Christian Carnival. I really do want to see the Carnival accomplish its objectives of...


March 18, 2004

Consternation over Carnivals and Christian Community

Posted by Bryan | Comments (1)
I've been a part of the Christian Carnival, which has just posted its most recent offering. I don't think I'll continue, because of the presence of this, an of