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Friends and Family,

I’ve started a new service that allows me to easily share articles from my blog with you via email.  If we’ve emailed each other before, you may be receiving an email asking you to subscribe or confirm a subscription to my blog.  Don’t worry: your email address was not shared with anyone, and you can--very easily--opt out of any future emails.

I’m hoping you stay on though!  Over the past 6 months, I’ve been gathering data and preferences as to what people would like a pastor to write about.  I’m looking forward to setting time aside every week to write about the topics you chose:

1. Interacting with the culture from a biblical perspective
   1. How to share my faith
   2. How to speak out on political issues
   3. What’s the Bible say about drinking, R-rated movies, etc.?
2. Family Life
   1. Raising my kids the way God intended
   2. How to be the right kind of husband/wife
   3. Growing spiritually with my spouse
3. Biblical & Theological Studies
   1. Where did the Bible come from?
   2. Do we have free will?
   3. What does the Bible really say about heaven, hell, angels, demons, & death?
4. Christian Maturity
   1. Why should I pray, fast, study my Bible, etc.?
   2. How do I deal with anger, guilt, and regret?
   3. What’s supposed to happen between baptism and death?
5. Biblical Manhood
   1. How to lead my family with a backbone and a soft heart
   2. Being a husband my wife needs and adores
   3. Being a dad my kids look up to
6. Leadership
   1. How to influence people around you
   2. Why God expects you to lead and how to do it right
   3. Professional development and continual personal growth

If you haven’t received the email and would like to subscribe, great!  Just go here and fill out the form.  Regardless, have a great day!

-bill

What Should I write about?

Friends & Family,

A while back I posted this questionnaire online asking you to tell me what you’d like a pastor to write about (if at all!). Well, I’m almost ready to pile up the data and start writing. It’s not too late to weigh in though. If you don’t mind, please take a few seconds to let me know what you’d like to read.

Thanks in advance,

-pastor bill

My Antioch

Antioch Christian Church: Coal City, IN

This is the small little country church I preached in during my first year of grad school (so, 2003-2004 ‘ish).  A great congregation full of wonderful people where the average age was well over 70!

This would be where I “cut my teeth” in preaching.  These fine people endured me figuring out how to write a sermon, how to preach it, etc.  On a real good day, we had 45 people.

Acts 13:1–3 (NLT)

¹ Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.² One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”³ So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

The Untold Story of the New Testament Church

March 2011Newsletter

This month I want to tell you about a fun little book that gives us an opportunity to relive the New Testament’s story in a refreshing way. In The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, Frank Viola, “…has ‘straightened out’ the NT (New Testament) for us! The Bible we have today is fully inspired, yes. But the order of the NT epistles—well—a complete jumble. Instead of being arranged by date, they are arranged by size!” (p. 9, from the foreword)

So, this book tells the story of God’s second covenant (aka: the New Testament) according to the way God put His story together. After reading through (which can be done in one afternoon: it’s only 180 pages), you’ll walk away with more of a “ground-level” understanding of how the church—God’s Family—came to be. Narrative in style, the book reads almost like a novel. You’ll need to read it with your Bible at your side because the footnotes will have you flipping through all 27 NT books and exposing you to stories and characters that you may have never noticed before.

The author presents the giving of our second covenant as a play with five major “motions.”

1. The Godhead in Eternity Past

2. The Son is Sent to Earth

3. The Church is Born

4. The Son Returns to Earth

5. The Godhead in Eternity Future

The third motion is the largest and longest, as Viola unfolds the growth of the very same church body we are all a part of today. Following the book of Acts and Paul’s epistles, the author takes us through Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, the greater Grecian area, Ephesus, and finally Rome. Along the way, he “sharpens the focus” with historical tidbits that help us better understand the culture of the day.

If you’re looking for a fun book to read as you hibernate and wait out the last of this cold weather, I recommend checking this one out. It’s about $10 on Amazon.com. If you read it, let me know what you think!

At Your Side,

-bill