October 31, 2005 by iMonk
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land- not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. Amos 8:11-12
On the way to preach at the evening chapel service, I drove past a church building here in our little village. There were probably 30 cars out front, a good crowd on Sunday nights here in the mountains of southeast Kentucky, but especially good because, just a few weeks ago, this building was empty. A few families have left a large Church of God down the road and come down here to start services in this building. Now they appeared to be up to probably 50 people or so. A quick start. [Continue reading]
October 22, 2005 by iMonk
I’ve been to school the past week. The school of life. God’s school. The best teacher of all, with lessons that will never leave you asking, “Now how am I going to use that in real life?”
The class I’ve been taking is called “The Only Child Cares For The Aging Parent.” There are other classes called, “Adult Children Care For The Aging Parents,” but let me give some of you more responsible folks a heads up: be careful thinking there will always be someone to step in an exempt you from the class. Don’t be surprised when the rest of the family informs you that junior’s soccer game is preventing them from helping out, and you are it.
Being an only child is a mixed bag. I have some wonderful blessings because of it, and I have some screws loose and a few screws entirely missing. I don’t think the universe revolves around me any more than the average person, but I don’t want to share my stuff with you either.
An only child certainly knows that the day is coming when he will become the caretaker. It’s inevitable, short of tragedy. You think about it at moments when you glimpse your parents caring for their own parents. You think about it when you visit a nursing home or a hospital and see other adults in the role of decision-maker and responsible family member. You think about it briefly when you move away, or go to a new job, or pick up the phone on Sunday to call your parents and tell them some good news. You think about it when you have to ask for financial help, or advice. Something in your mind tells you: One day, your parents won’t be able to care for themselves, and you will be responsible. [Continue reading]
October 21, 2005 by iMonk
*Music Up….swells….Voice Over*
It’s VAN TIL LIVE! The Internet Monk Radio Network Presents The BHT’s Magic Tail-Chasing Dog, Van Til, in Hippy-Emergent Christianity’s Favorite Interview and Entertainment program…..VAN TIL LIVE! And now, broadcasting live from the Boar’s Head Tavern in downtown St. Sadies, Maryland, it’s Vaaaaaaaaan Til!!
*Music Swells….Applause….more Applause…more….shouts from crowd when Van Til appears…..goes to his desk. Hops up in chair…..music up and fade to out*
VT: Hello America. I’m your host, Van Til, the BHT’s Magic Tail Chasing Dog, and you know what we love to say at the beginning of this program…”
Crowd: THE BIBLE IS TRUE!!! [Continue reading]
October 12, 2005 by iMonk
Every so often, I daydream about what I would say if I had to defend myself as having been a member of or sympathetic with that nefarious group known as “The Southern Baptist Founder’s Movement.” The Founder’s Movement is a group of self-conscious, non-apologetic Calvinists who want nothing more than to return the SBC to its roots in Reformation theology and to see the fruits of Reformation in the denomination. Of all the Calvinists in the world, they are my favorites, and while I have dropped the label “Calvinist” from my own theological resume out of deference to those who wouldn’t let my dog share a bowl with their dog, I still dearly love those Founders and what they are all about, mostly because I still hope for better days for the SBC.
If I were called before the trustees of my school or a panel of Kentucky Baptist deacons concerned about my association with such questionable characters, I know exactly what I would say. “My dabbling in Calvinism is, gentlemen, entirely the fault of the current condition of the Southern Baptist Convention, and frankly, reformed theology is the only way that I can cope.” (Actually, I have a much better answer, but that for another day.) In other words, I have Calvinism on my breath because the SBC has driven me to drink, so to speak.
[Continue reading]
