According to Newsweek’s Lisa Miller, the Scripture is not a good source for supporting traditional marriage. For example, here is the introduction to the article published Monday:
“Let’s try for a minute to take the religious conservatives at their word and define marriage as the Bible does. Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile? Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two sisters and their servants)? Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon and the kings of Judah and Israel—all these fathers and heroes were polygamists. The New Testament model of marriage is hardly better. Jesus himself was single and preached an indifference to earthly attachments—especially family. The apostle Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust. “It is better to marry than to burn with passion,” says the apostle, in one of the most lukewarm endorsements of a treasured institution ever uttered. Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple—who likely woke up on their wedding day harboring some optimistic and newfangled ideas about gender equality and romantic love—turn to the Bible as a how-to script?” read more…
I have something to say. That’s not surprising for many of you to hear. I enjoy writing and speaking on all sorts of subjects. But what I have to say today can’t wait for another day. My spirit is restless as a result of this topic. I believe that Christians have an obligation to speak the truth. We need to speak clearly and passionately on this issue right now.
When I first read the title “Our Mutual Joy,” I expected to read an article about the joy of Christmas. After all, it is the Christmas season and joy is a truly appropriate theme for this time of year. To be honest, I would much rather write an article on the joy of Christ’s birth. But this was not to be the time of “good cheer.” read more…
Heather Hills Baptist Church, on the east side of Indianapolis, is seeking to add a male, full-time, associate pastor to begin as early as April 2009. Interested parties should contact the senior pastor Brian McCrorie at 317-894-7474 or can send resumes to bmccrorie (at) gmail (dot) com.
Heather Hills is an independent Baptist church in fellowship with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches and the Crossroads Fellowship of Indiana. We are dispensational in our interpretation of Scripture, historically fundamentalist in our view of Scripture, and baptistic in our practice of Scripture within the local church. We have a strong desire to make an impact for the cause of Christ both locally and globally. We value expository preaching. We practice a blended style of worship, recognizing the importance of heritage while embracing contemporary expression, all of which is subject to the truth of Scripture and focused on the person and work of Christ. We believe that every member of Heather Hills is to be a minister, using his spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ.
Applicants should possess a strong desire for an equipping ministry, primarily in discipleship/spiritual development. A graduate degree is preferable along with some previous pastoral experience. Applicants must be willing to work as a part of a team and dedicated to the study of God’s Word and prayer. Those who make matters of opinion (Bible translations, musical style, etc.) a basis for fellowship need not apply.
To All Ye Pilgrims: Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, beans, squashes, and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now, I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three, and third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor, and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.
It’s been 384 years since Governor William Bradford called the Pilgrims to the first Thanksgiving celebration in the New World. 156 years later, after a long, hard war for independence, our first President, George Washington, called the United States of America to a day of thanksgiving: read more…
Steve Green
It’s been quite a journey over the last 8-9 years. There was a time, not so long ago, when I disdained Steve Green. Yes, I disdained him. When I was the official “music checker” at my Bible College, students were forced to turn in their Steve Green cassettes/CDs. My job then was to make the students copy on to a blank cassette/CD the songs from an album that would “check.” What that basically meant is that the songs could have no dominant beat, use no electric guitars, and no scooping vocal style. I believed Steve to be the fitting illustration of all that was wrong in the contemporary worship scene. When I would do seminars at various churches on music, Steve was always one of the people whom I would name as bearing the blame for the state of church worship today.
And now, this Sunday, Steve will be coming to my church to minister in song. In one sense, it’s so ironic. In another, it’s so fitting. read more…
Meghan McCain signs an autograph for Ashley McCrorie.
On Monday afternoon, I finally gave in and dragged myself to one political rally. I hadn’t participated at all in the general election like I usually do. I just was not motivated. As my readers know, I was feverishly supportive of Mike Huckabee in the primary election; however, once McCain got the Republican nod, my enthusiasm dissipated. And so, I reluctantly dragged my 3 oldest children off to the Indianapolis airport on Monday to witness one final campaign event for the season. I do believe that government is important–something that God established. And, I want my children to understand the importance of the institution itself. I even took a couple of my children to a Hilary Clinton rally back in the primary season to demonstrate that point!
Well, as far as rallies go, the one I attended on Monday was okay. The crowd was excited but not that large and not as excited as in years past. I had the opportunity to personally greet John and Cindy McCain and their daughter Meghan, along with Senators Joe Lieberman, Lindsay Graham, and Mel Martinez, and wish them well and assure them of my prayers for them. But they were clearly tired and just putting on a good face for the crowd. I think they knew what was coming. read more…
I am preaching through the book of Romans on Sunday mornings, and this recent message really resonated in our church family. I thought I would post it here for your rumination as well! May the Word dwell in all of us RICHLY!
Scenario #1: We were all so excited to see ______________ join our church recently. She was a breath of fresh air, full of excitement and creative ideas about the church’s _______________ ministry. No sooner had she joined than she jumped in with both feet into active ministry. Wouldn’t it be great to have a whole church full of people like her?
Scenario #2: I made the announcement from the pulpit for the fourth week in a row. “Come on now people! We need nursery workers! It’s a really important ministry and we have to staff it well. Some of you pew warmers need to get in gear and get doing something!” After the service, one older saint approaches me and reluctantly agreed to work in the nursery saying “Someone’s gotta do it; might as well be me.” Of course, we put her right in the weekly schedule with no questions asked, even though she was active in three other ministries in the church.
I don’t think either one of these scenarios are caricatures. I have personally experienced them in various ministries in past years. Actually, I believe them to be an all-too-common situation in our churches. We utilize people in ministry based on their willingness to serve, however eager or reluctant they may be. Many times, we activate them immediately without any interview or training or follow-up evaluation. Does this please the Lord? read more…
If there is anyone left who still periodically checks this blog to see if the heartbeat has finally come to grinding halt, I assure you that I am alive and well. I have purposefully not engaged the blogging medium for the last 12 weeks so that I could fully devote myself to a new venture.
First, I want to say that I am a more dedicated follower of Jesus Christ today than ever before in my life. There were many times in my past ministry experiences when I would “say” what I believed but didn’t have the experience to back it up. I do now. read more…
After more than 2 months and 5,500 miles of traveling around the United States, we finally have a home…and a new ministry family.
It was mid-February of this year when my pastor and I first discussed the idea of my leaving a wonderful church ministry in Denver to pursue a senior pastorate. I did not have a prospect in mind at that time–just a growing fire in my spirit for a full-time teaching/preaching ministry. My pastor graciously gave me his blessing and recommendation, and I began to contact churches all across America–even overseas. In all, I contacted over 30 churches. Slowly, very slowly, the list began to narrow.
Some churches rejected my resume outright, claiming I wasn’t a match for their ministry profile. Some decided on other prospects before even having a chance to meet me. I did have the privilege of meeting and talking with some very good men and women in search committees in a handful of churches. In the end, however, God must do the leading and He led decisively to a church on the east side of Indianapolis.
I received a phone call on April 2nd from the chairman of the search committee at Heather Hills Baptist Church. Originally, as I previously mentioned, I wasn’t that interested in taking a church in Indianapolis as my perception was that Indianapolis was filled with Bible-believing churches. However, God began to show me the incredible need in this city and burden my heart for it. Indianapolis is a city in which I have lived as a child. I also spent my senior year of high school here. I spent a summer in Indy as a pastoral intern near the completion of my college degree. Now God has brought me full circle.
After numerous phone calls, interviews, and two site visits to fill the pulpit, the search committee voted unanimously to recommend me to stage two: the deacons. I met with this group of men about 4 weeks ago on a Saturday evening. We talked at length about ministry, experience, philosophy, strategic planning, and church issues. I began to realize that there was an incredible like-mindedness between all of us. Shortly after, the deacons voted unanimously to recommend me to stage three: the congregation. I had the privilege to candidate last Sunday, July 20th. It was an exhausting weekend but a wonderful opportunity to talk face-to-face with so many members of this church.
Today, the process came to an end as the church extended a call to me to be their senior pastor. I gladly accepted and am finally on my way HOME! The next few weeks will be a flurry of activity as we settle into the church parsonage, find schools for the kids, and jump into the new ministry. We are relieved that our “homeless tour” has come to an end. We are exhilarated at the ministry to which God has called us. It is our intent to spend the rest of our lives leading and equipping this church to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this city and around the world.
I am a debtor to so many of you who have encouraged us regularly, not only with your prayers and expressions of good will, but also with tangible help: money, meals, lodging. THANK YOU! You have shown us true Christian love and it has made a tremendous difference in our lives. I go into this new ministry determined to continue the life of faith which so intensified for me in the last two months.
I’ll be putting more pictures up soon on Facebook to close out our homeless tour albums! Of course, we could have just hoarded our resources and stayed in one location all this time. However, the opportunities we have taken to see the beauty and magnificence of this country and fellowship with our Christian family from Chicago to Indianapolis to Sellersville to New York City to Bangor to Albany to Manistique and many more places has been absolutely invaluable. It has been a wonderful vacation and education for our children. It has cemented our confidence in the provision and direction of God. I wouldn’t have traded these past two months for anything else!
I don’t know how regularly I’ll be posting in the next few weeks. If you’re in the Indianapolis area, please stop by and see us. If you have any pieces of advice for a new senior pastor, please send them my way! It is a wonderful privilege to serve the King of Kings. All glory to Him both now and forever!
