“One measure of a good judge may be how many decisions has he authored with which he did not personally agree … that despite the fact that he might have preferred a different law, as a judge he follows the law as enacted and faithfully executes it… and can there be any doubt that Caleb…
Is Mormonism True?
Is Mormonism True? This is an important question that must be answered and it must be answered carefully… Here is a :30 minute video that addresses that question and gives a lovingly true answer. Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho has more than 30 videos like this that address some of life’s hardest to…
Thy Way, Not Mine, O LORD
In 1857, Horatius Bonar wrote this hymn Thy Way, Not Mine, O LORD Thy way, not mine, O Lord, However dark it be; Lead me by Thine own hand, Choose out the path for me. Smooth let it be or rough, It will be still the best; Winding or straight, it leads Right onward to…
Stop Trying to Save Yourself
In preparing for the Christmas Eve service at Eastside Baptist Church coming up on December 24, at 6:00 p.m. I came across an last year’s message. It was also published in the Times News as my Here is a good reminder to all of the redeeming work of Christ. By the way… you are invited…
What About the Dying Church?
(Book Review of “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” part 6. Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4 and Part 5) This is my final review/critique of “Autopsy of a Deceased Church”. I want to start with a qualifier: I appreciate the value this book has to offer the church at large. In this part…
Prescription for a Sick Church
(Book Review of “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” part 5. Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4) Final review/critique of Autopsy of a Deceased Church, by Thom Rainer. I appreciate that Thom Rainer offers a book that looks at some serious issue churches face. These final three chapters seem to be written from…
We Didn’t Mean That Kind of Change
(Book Review of “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” part 4. Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3) Continued review/critique of Autopsy of a Deceased Church. Chapter 8: Pastoral Tenure Decreases Thom Rainer has written about the tenure of pastors for many years. He has studied, contemplated and written about this critical issue with integrity. I’ve…
Follow the Money
(Book Review of “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” part 3. Part 1 and Part 2) Chapter 5: The Budget Moved Inwardly “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) When the autopsy shows a drifting of spending from giving to self sustaining then this can be a helpful diagnosis of when…
How Many Baptists does it Take to Change a Light bulb?
(Book Review of “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” part 2. here is part 1) The chapters are short, this make the reading easy and convenient for a day that can be broken up into short bite sized moments of reading. The reader can knock out parts of the book quickly or take smaller parts of…
The Autopsy Room
(Book Review of, Autopsy of a Deceased Church. part 1) I’ll confess, at first I was expecting Rainer’s book, Autopsy of a Deceased Church, to be a regular church growth book that would follow the normal predictable agenda of many others. First, I should admit my bias. This is not reported a church growth book.…