Twitter

Just in case anyone wants to follow me on twitter, I'm wannabenewsboy on there.

UPDATE: You can now see my latest tweets on the sidebar.

Chapman Family Update

By now I'm sure you've all heard about the tragedy that struck Steven Curtis Chapman's family (link is to the Associated Press story), and I simply wanted to post to put out some updates on what's going on.

First, a brief summary: One of the boys (I believe the younger of the two boys), Will, was driving an SUV down the driveway where the girls were playing, and hit Maria, the youngest of the Chapman's adopted daughters. She was airlifted to nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Please, please, PLEASE pray for Will especially; I'm sure he's beating himself up over this to no end.

At this time, SCC's official site has been reduced to only the front page, due to high traffic. Services for Maria have been set; visitation is tomorrow, service on Saturday at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, see the official site (link above) for details. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to Shaohannah's Hope. If you would simply like to send condolences to the family, head over to In Memory of Maria, a blog set up for this purpose.

Addicted to Blogging?

60%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Dating Site

HT: ysmarko

Guidelines for Comments

The first few are from my "other" blog, According to Coop, which deals with political stories, national news, local news, and other stuff that just doesn't fit here. Much like While Rome Burns, it's mostly just a sounding board for me that I have opened up to the Internet. Anyway...

As I seem to be having more folks showing up and commenting here at While Rome Burns, I thought it was a good time to set down some ground rules for commenting on this blog. More guidelines than rules, but if you are going to comment here, I ask that you abide by them.

1. Keep it clean. You don't need to use bad language to make your point.

2. Keep it friendly. If you wouldn't say what you're about to say to someone's face, don't say it on this blog.

3. Keep it respectful. People of all backgrounds, beliefs, and opinions are welcome here. You can disagree with someone and that's fine, but don't insult them because they don't agree with you.

4. Keep it concise. Please don't write novels in the comment section. If you have that much to say, you can start your own blog right here on Blogger for free.

5. Please check your spelling. I don't expect you to be able to win the national spelling bee, but please take a moment to make sure everything is spelled correctly. It makes it a lot easier to understand just what it is you are trying to say.

6. Keep it on topic. If your comment covers the content of two posts, please split it into two comments. That way, the discussion all stays in the same place, and everyone can follow along easily. And please don't drag something completely unrelated into the discussion (for example; don't drag Islam into a discussion about Rick Warren).

This is not in any way meant to be exhaustive, and this list may change in the future. If it does, I will let you know. Until then, please abide by these guidelines.

Why Join a Church?

So asks Frank Turk over at Pyromaniacs, in a post he wrote yesterday. Go check it out; it's a great read. I'm glad I decided to take a peek at Pyromaniacs today. I don't agree with a lot of what they post, but sometimes I do, and sometimes they post some really good stuff. Like this. So go read.

Verse of the Day

This is more likely to become Verse of However Often I Get Around to Posting It, but that notwithstanding...

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." ~Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

Question for Fellow Blogger Users

Does anyone know if it is possible to log the IP addresses of those that leave comments on a Blogger blog? I've had a couple of comments in the lifetime of this blog that have been left either anonymously or without any real way to track them back to their origin. Mind you, I have a pretty good idea where they came from (partly because the posters addressed me by my first name, which does not appear on this blog). Are there other blog sites that DO offer this?

In other news, I'm considering a move to TypePad. Feedback on it, good, bad, or indifferent, is welcome. But keep your snarky comments to yourself.

Something that's been bothering me

"...the historic Biblical Christian faith recovered at the Reformation"
"...the proper historic orthodox and Biblical theology recovered during the Protestant Reformation"
"...the proper Biblical theology recovered at the Reformation"
"...the proper Biblical doctrine recovered at the Reformation"

The above four quotes are taking from the articles and missives of Rev. Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries. I could cite more examples of Ken's use of phrases similar to this, but I think it would be unneccessary. So why bring it up? My issue is this; Ken points to, as you can see above, the "historic orthodox Christian faith recoverd at the Reformation." Ken also frequently cites Jude 3; "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." Emphasis mine, because Ken often cites that specific portion of the verse.

I say all that to say this; if the faith was once for all handed down to the saints, how was it "recovered at the reformation"? If it was recovered, that would indicate that it was lost at some point. But how could it be lost when the Scriptures state that it was handed down once for all?

Is there anybody out there?

I'm not dead yet...

Just a quick post to let everyone know that yes, I am still here. Just started a new job, so I'm trying to get adjusted to the new schedule that it brings. And in the midst of that, mom's car broke down, so that's thrown me for a loop too, seeing as I'm driving her to work every morning. Hopefully we'll get it back from the shop today...

Nothing really looming on the horizon right now, but that Gifts of the Wise Men series is still bouncing around in my head, and may make it out sometime. And yes, I'm still keeping an eye on Slice/CRN, and the insanity that goes on over there. Maybe that will spur me on to post in the near future.

Hypocrisy 101

More than once I have read a post at Slice of Laodicea/Christian Research Network, and been blown away by it. Not because of great writing or a well made point; rather, by the fact that they point out the speck in the eye of another and remain oblivious to the plank in their own.

I offer into evidence a post, written by Ingrid, decrying other "discernment" ministries, and later removed by her (she claims it will reappear with more information). However, thanks to the miracle of modern technology, the post is not gone forever, and several other bloggers have taken note and dissected the post much better than I ever could.

I recommend reading Discernment Gone WILD!!! at Verum Serum for analysis and response to the disappearing article. To read the article without commentary, pay a visit to Sliced Laodicea.

In other news, I just got back from a weekend retreat with the youth, and we had a great time. We were joined by members of the Rockford Masters Commission. I hope to have a post about the weekend on MySpace soon, culled from my journal entries from the weekend. I need to boil them down first and make sure they'll be of interest.

Updates

I'm finally home from Orlando! I had a three hour layover in Kansas City, plus two and half hours spent sitting on the runway waiting for takeoff, because of freezing rain and a ground crew that can't make a decision. I will never fly through KCI ever again. Unless they seriously overhaul the place. Anyway, wanted to put a few updates out there.

1. As promised, I am planning a study digging into the gifts of the wise men. I need to do some research and get some thoughts down on paper (or at least on the screen), but I hope to have the first part up in a few weeks. Suggestions for resources are welcome.

2. My book of choice for my trip was Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, which I am enjoying immensly. There are a few quotes that I'll be posting here and elsewhere from the book. Some serious, some not so much.

3. Slice of Laodicea has been reborn as Christian Research Network. Old links redirect to the new site. Not sure if I'll be keeping them on my blogroll or not.

4. Just before my trip I finished John Eldrige's Journey of Desire, which will definately require a second read. I may bring up the possibility of a teaching series in our youth group based on this book. We did one based on Epic last year that went over very well, and we all learned a lot.

That's it for now. I've got some catching up to do from my week away, and I'm headed out to a game night tonight. Grace and peace to all!

Coop

Time's Person of the Year

While I intend for this to be a blog dealing with news and issues within the Christian Church at large, I wanted to take a few minutes to mention Time magazine's announcement of their Person of the Year. And yes, this does relate to the church, as you'll see in a few moments.

If you haven't walked past a magazine rack yet this week, or you haven't seen the news stories (man, where have you been?), Time has named you (yes YOU) their "Person of the Year" for 2006. Why? Because, in their words, you, and I, and all of the millions of Internet users, have changed the information age. From social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, to YouTube, to the myriad of blogs that exist today, information and the way we share it has significantly changed in 2006. Blogger, the site that hosts this blog, along with and other blog hosting sites, have also played a big part in this, allowing anyone with access to the Internet to start a blog.

As with just about everything, the ease of entry into the blogosphere has it's positive and negative effects. While blogs and bloggers have added a myriad of unique perspectives on the news of the day, and can provide local content in a way that big news agencies can't match, it is also very easy for disinformation to spread. It's a bit like the chain emails we've all received on a variety of subjects. Have you seen the one about Target being French-owned? (It's not true, by the way). Unfortunately, the disinformation and half truths that can be (and have been) spread in the Christian blogosphere can be far more damaging. Their consequences can be eternal.

I say all that to say this: Whatever you read, be it here or anywhere else on the Internet, especially in the blogosphere, don't accept it as absolute truth. It's the old addage; don't believe everything you read. Read the blogs, certainly. But if something doesn't seem right, research it for yourself. Read something about what Rick Warren wrote in The Purpose Driven Life? Stop by the library or your local bookstore and check the citation for yourself. Read something about John MacArthur's latest book? Again, check it for yourself. Did someone cite a Scripture you're not familiar with? Crack open your Bible and look it up, and read the surrounding verses too. If you'd like to look at a different translation, Bible Gateway is a great resource. Above all, don't just accept what someone else says is true. Find out for yourself if it's true.

Slice Goes Non-Interactive

In an announcement posted on the site today, Slice of Laodicea, one of the blogs I frequent (which also holds a place in my blogroll on the right side of your screen) has gone non-interactive. Ingrid, the site's founder and lead contributor, cited abuse of the comment section, and the division and confusion often caused by the comments. I don't mean to be critical of Ingrid or any of the site's contributors, but I will say that this likely won't change anything. While I appreciate many of the posts on the site, a lot of misquoting and error goes on there as well, and there are many who rightly take them to task in the comment section of the blog for these errors, until the comments are shut off or the person leaving comments is banned from doing so. I have to wonder how much accountability there will be at the site in light of this decision.

In spite of the decision to permanently disable comments at Slice, you can still post your thoughts on articles posted to the site. Click on Emergent What? in my blogroll to do so. Emergent What? is an aggregator site for several blogs.

One more thing; if you would like to suggest a blog for my blogroll, please feel free to do so.

Quote of the Day

"We are quick to pick up swords, but slow to pick up towels." ~Tommy Tenney

I happen to have TBN on in the background (they were showing a program on Billy Graham a little while ago) while I do some ironing, and Tommy Tenney is the guest on the program currently airing. In the above quote, what he is saying is that we are quick to jump into a fight, cut each other down, and generally cause (or join) strife, but we are slow to serve each other. If it stopped me in the middle of my ironing, and moved me to get online and post this, you know it's good.

Purpose Driven Split?

There is a lot of chatter in church circles these days about Rick Warren's best selling book The Purpose Driven Life, and the 40 Days of Purpose campaigns it has spawned. There is also a lot of talk about the division it is coming to create in churches all across the country that have adopted Rev. Warren's methods. Ingrid at Slice of Laodicea posted a link to this article at EthicsDaily.com dealing with the aftermath of PDL at the well-known Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. This Southern Baptist congregation of nearly 30,000 is in an uproar, all because of the PDL.

Why have I posted this? Well, my church (Brookfield Assembly of God) went through the 40 Days of Purpose some time ago, and while I wouldn't say the church has split yet, there are quite a few people (many long-time members of the church) who have left in the time since we completed the campaign. I myself haven't yet made it through the book, and now I'm not so sure I want to. Stories such as this are becoming all too common, it seems. I'd like to think that I haven't seen the telltale signs of my church slipping away from true Christianity. Part of me thinks that maybe I haven't seen these signs because I don't want to; another part of me tells me I need to keep reading, keep researching, and above all, get into the Scriptures to find out what God has to say about the matter. Which, of course, is what I intend to do.

Your comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Here I go again...

Talkin' bout the rain/And mulling over things/That won't live past today...

These words from Casting Crowns' hit song Here I Go Again seemed appropriate as I make yet another attempt to enter into the blogosphere. There is a lot of talk in the Christian community about the state of the church today. Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Don Miller, Brian McLaren, Jon MacArthur, R. C. Sproul... all of them are putting their opinions and their studies out for all the world to see, but yet the two sides don't agree with one another. I'm hoping to find some middle ground. You'll likely see material from other blogs posted here with some of my own thoughts, as well as news from anywhere and everywhere in the church world. Care to join me for an interesting journey into finding just what is truth, and what we need to cast aside? Grab your Bible; you're going to need it, I'm sure. Other reading material is optional.