If I didn't put you to sleep with the title...I will be gone for the next few days to the MBC's Annual Meeting. I will provide some thoughts on it when I return. I won't be blogging for the next few days because my laptop is broken. Hope all is well.

UPDATE: The Annual Meeting was pretty uneventful. Others have better commentaries on the meeting than I do. As for me I'd rather listen to paint dry.

The latest 9Marks E-journal is now available. The topic is Counseling and the Local Church

How Does a Pastor Redeem the Time?: CJ interviews Jeff Purswell

Nathan White provides for us more quotes from Obadiah Sedgwick's Christ Counsel to His Languishing Church. (Man, I have got to get this book).

Timmy Brister provides the links to the Total Church Conference. (If you check these out before next week, drop me an e-mail and let me know what you think).

You can get a free copy of Sproul's Chosen By God by going here.

Are our churches filled with nominal Christians? (HT: Transforming Sermons)

What constitutes suffering for Christ? CJ and Lig Duncan Interview Piper.

Bob Kauflin tells us 10 Ways to Write Bad Worship Songs.

This Piper quote is going on my wall as soon as I get my laptop back. "If it is true, preach it with authority. If it is precious, preach it with passion." Read the rest.

You can't tell me you've never wanted to do this:

(HT: Douglas Wilson)

I will be giving away a free ESV Study Bible to anyone who goes here....buys three...and then gives me two. And what is better than all of those other offers this one will not expire. Anytime you buy three and give me two I will give you a free ESV Study Bible. Simple as that.

Or if you don't like my offer you can go to Abraham Piper's blog and and try to win one the hard way. My way is much easier though.

Some of my Reformed-minded readers may be wondering how the ESV Study Bible stands on issues such as monergestic regeneration. John Hendryx gives an outline and comes to this conclusion: the notes from editors of the ESVSB unambiguously affirm divine monergism in regeneration.

The Ligonier Pastor's Conference is providing free bilingual audio. (HT: Founders)

Sad news today. Christian aid worker Gayle Williams was gunned down in Kabul. (HT: Tullian)

Folks that admire the writing of John Piper will be happy to hear of these recent DG additions. Also resources are availabe from the recent Fall Conference on Job.

Mondays with Mounce: Translating the Imperfect.

J.I. Packer is a one-point Calvinist. Before you choke on your meal read the article first. (HT: Buzzard)

I am not a fan of Howard Stern (in fact very much opposed) but this is enlightening:

(HT: Brent)

Russell Moore reminds us that Jesus Didn't Die for a Campus Ministry. (HT: Trevin Wax)

Ligonier Ministries highlights some of RC Sproul's great children's books.

Michael Spencer has some funny suggestions for the newest study bible. (HT: Abraham Piper)

This Timmy Brister responds to Steve Lemke thing is getting pretty interesting.

Nathan Finn provides Abraham Booth's advice for pastoral ministry.

Great stuff from CJ Mahaney interviewing Piper: Pornography, the Hearth, and Sermon Prep.

Michael McKinley offers suggestions on Developing a God-Centered Church when Most Attendees are New Believers

Newsweek features a sad but true article: The Pornification of a Generation

I had no clue that McCain (0r at least his writers) had such a great sense of humor. This is 9 minutes long but it's pretty funny. It's good to see Senator Marx Obama having such a good laugh too. (HT: DJP)

I sure did not think that I would be reporting this today. The Browns marched all over the defending champion Giants! Go Brownies.

Why Not Destroy the Devil Now? John Piper answers.

JT is calling his blog readers to fast for the sake of the defenseless

The blogworld seems to be pretty dead today--I guess everybody is reading their ESV Study Bible. (I'm doing sermon prep without a new Study Bible). Ray Ortlund Jr. Steve Camp. Tim Challies. Tony Reinke. And I'm sure there are many reading their ESV's today that are not blogging on it.

Admirers of Jonathan Edwards will appreciate this; in correspondence with the launch of the JE 2.0 website high-res images of Edwards manuscripts have been released. (HT: Tony)

My wife absolutely loves this skit. I also find it quite hilarious:

I posted this at the new Reforming Youth Ministry site as well:

In his classic work on Spiritual Depression, Martin Lloyd-Jones writes, “Do not think in terms of bargains and rights in the Kingdom of God. That is absolutely fatal. There is nothing so wrong as the spirit which argues that because I do this, or because I have done that, I have the right to expect something else in return”. (129)

In this context Lloyd-Jones is addressing those that believe, “if we pray for certain things, we are bound to have them, for instance if we pray all night for revival we must have revival”. In our day the church is inundated with such philosophy. Peruse the shelves of your local Christian bookstore and you will find countless titles that promise and “If-then” fix-all in your relationship with God. And yes, those of us that are Reformed-minded are not immune to this. Who of us has not been tempted to think that if we have good doctrine and solid Bible teaching then God will honor His Word and souls will get saved?

If my previous post is read through the lens of “bargains and rights” then it will be grossly misunderstood. Reading through such a lens one would come to the conclusion that if we have biblical student ministry then we will inevitably produce solid twenty-somethings. If you read through such a lens you might get fired up by the statistics and go on a quest to make the student ministry at your church more biblical. And that would certainly be a good thing. However, this is what could happen:

• Rather than going up because you are doing things biblically, your attendance actually begins to drastically dwindle. If you are still looking through the lens of “bargains and rights” then you will quickly assume “well, that didn’t work” and will abandon the biblical approach for something else that “gets results”.
• God blesses your ministry exponentially. You observe marked spiritual growth in your teenagers. Your attendance increases. Teens are coming to know Christ. Your student ministry has become biblical. Looking through the lens of “bargains and rights” you will inevitably conclude—in a spiritual sounding way of course—that God blessed you because you followed these steps. Pride will begin creeping in as you start getting book deals and have people asking “how do you do ministry”.

How then should you read the last post and everything else that is forthcoming? Read it with a goal of faithfulness. Rather than having a “bargains and rights” mentality have an “even if you don’t” mentality. In Daniel 3 we read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are faced with the option of being faithful to God alone in worship and risk their lives or preserve their lives and become guilty of idolatry; they chose faithfulness. Their words in verses 16-18 is a reflection of an “even if you don’t” mentality. This is their response to King Nebuchadnezzar’s threat of throwing them in the fiery furnace:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

• Rather than going up because you are doing things biblically, your attendance actually begins to dwindle. However, because you have an “even if you don’t” mentality you press on in faithfulness to God. You may never have high attendance or have any of the typical marks of successful ministry. Your ministry may have the fruit of Isaiah (see chapter 6) instead of the fruit of Jonah. Yet, you will also get the reward of Isaiah instead of Jonah—“well done good and faithful servant”.
• God blesses your ministry exponentially. You observe marked spiritual growth in your teenagers. Your attendance increases. Teens are coming to know Christ. Your student ministry has become biblical. Because you have an “even if you don’t” mentality your “success” results not in pride but in humble awe that God would shine His mercy upon you. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego people start asking about your God instead of about your opinion (3:28).

What will it be? Will you have an “even if you don’t” mentality or will you view ministry through the lens of “rights and bargains”?

Last night my wife went out to eat with her mother and a two of our youth group girls (I stayed home). My wife ordered a pizza with some red pepper stuff on it. The red peppers were too hot, much hotter than these type of red pepper normally are. She asked if she could replace it with toasted ravioli. There was a mix up between the waitress and my wife. Nikki thought that they would take the pizza off the bill. She got the bill and it was for both items. She asked if there could be anything done. Knowing my wife she asked very kindly and gently. The waitress gets the owner. The owner is extremely rude to my wife. She refused to do anything with the bill and was horrendous in her treatment of my wife; even going so far as sighing heavily and rolling her eyes at my wife.

Nikki came home quite upset. She told me the story and I responded. I called the restaurant to speak to the owner. The owner was actually the one that answered. I briefly explained what had happend (just to refresh her memory). She proceeded to imply that my wife was stupid for not knowing that red pepper are hot. I never yelled or do I think I was overly angry. However, I was very firm. The owner was still being very rude and abrasive towards my wife. (If you know my wife, then you know how out of place this is since my wife is one of the kindest most gentle women). I demanded, again I stress very firmly, that she apologize to my wife. And she actually did. It was a pretty stinky apology--she ended up shifting some of the blame to the waitress. Nonetheless, my wife said very lovingly that she forgave her. End of story.

Here is my question--and I probably left out some details that might help, so ask questions--did I do the right thing? Should I have called the owner and firmly demanded an apology? What would you have done? Be biblical.

I agree with Rick Warren on altar calls. See this post by Dr. James Galyon to find out why.

Matt Svoboda discusses the diversity within the SBC. He suggests adopting Dr. Mohler's three-tier system. Tier one are issues that make us Christians, tier two are issues that determine where we worship, tier three are issues that we can disagree on and still worship in the same church. Really good suggestions here.

Wow! You absolutely must read this: Contextualization Gone Hog Wild. It is both painfully and humorously ironic.

Bill Mounce teaches us on the grammar of Ephesians 4:11 and winds up discussing the responsibilities of a pastor. For those of you that think your pastor should do everything read this article.

The Wall Street Journal has an article on The Mystery Worshipper. (I was in a church once that almost hired a guy like this). Jared Wilson has a great commentary on the article as well. Even if you do not read the WSJ article read Jared's.

Big game tonight for the Browns. My prediction New York Giants 106 to Cleveland 3. I know it's a long shot...but I really think Phil Dawson might be able to kick a field goal. Ok, my real prediction. I actually think the Browns can win this one. They've gotten some of their guys healthy. Donte Stallworth is probably going to be playing. (However, they will probably be without Kellen Winslow). I look for a rejuvenated Browns offense and a flat Giants team. Cleveand 27 NYG 20. But that's me speaking as a Browns fan. Realistically my first pick is probably closer.

Here is a new video from Desiring God:

Chapter 3 of Driscoll's book on pornography is now available.

Jared Wilson gives the other side to the Stay at Home Dad discussion. There is also a link there of to part 1, the article I am linking to is actually part 2.

I have had this book on my wishlist forever: Christ's Counsel to His Languishing Church by Obadiah Sedgwick. (This is a side note, but I bet today such a book would be entitled Christ's Counsel to the Languishing Church. What a significant difference). Nathan White provides some great quotes from that book--makes me want it more.

I really need to read this today. Clinton Arnold has an excellent article on Spiritual Dryness and the Head-Heart Disconnect.

Michael McKinley offers advice on pursuing theological development with little time.

Timmy Brister continues to respond to Steve Lemke on the TULIP.

I am not saying this is the reason not to vote for Obama (allowing the slaughter of babies would be my number one reason) but this is troubling:

(HT: Erik)

We have actually taken a brief hiatus from our Colossians series to deal with the Atonement. However, there are a few sermons from Colossians that I have yet to make available.

Kill Sin or It Will Kill You is part one from Colossians 3:5-11. The primary question in this sermon is "what must I do to cultivate a love for Jesus?" In this sermon we deal with the issue of mortification. And as you might expect I got quite a bit of help from John Owen.

Look the Part is part two from Colossians 3:5-11. In this sermon we deal with the issue of hypocrisy. We compare life in Adam's community to life in Christ's community. Since we have been delivered out of Adam's community and transferred into the community (or kingdom rather) of Christ we need to look the part.

Could They Tell is part one from Colossians 3:12-17. The key question from this sermon is this: "If an unbeliever were to observe our interactions with fellow believers could they tell how beautiful God is?"

The Gathered Church is part two from Colossians 3:12-17. It is very important for us to be an active part of a community of believers, but what are we to do when we gather? Colossians 3:12-17 gives us some guidelines.

Chapter 2 of Driscoll's Porn-Again Christian book is online. Funny story about this one. When substitute teaching yesterday I tried linking to this but the school blocked it. Apparently the word "porn" in the URL doesn't fair well against the school's internet filter.

I'm really interested to find out the answer to this little riddle by Brian Thornton: My tee shot on hole number eleven of Little Ocmulgee Golf Course was an interesting one, to say the least. When I proceeded to hit the ball using my driver, the club made contact and the ball left the tee, but never came back down to land on the earth.

Good to see Dr. Mohler back to writing frequently. I share two posts from him today: The False Apology Syndrome and Spare the Rod?

We talked about this last night but John Piper obviously explains it better: The Godward Focus of Faithfulness.

A couple of months ago Dan Phillips wrote a really good 3 part piece on Transparency. Read part 1, 2, and 3.

Uh oh, I think the monkey's are starting to catch up to us (Also, is anything funnier than a Japanese person with a British accent):

Politics really do not interest me. Our hope is in Jesus and not in politics. However, I did watch the debates last night and John McCain got smoked. Perhaps he could have won the debate in 1940 but not in 2008. Many in the blogosphere are telling us to get accustomed to saying President Obama. Bill from the Thinklings weighs in on the good and bad of an Obama presidency.

Dr. Mohler cites evolutionist Steve Jones as saying human evolution is over.

John Piper offers what seems to me as sound advice for talking with the depressed, doubting, skeptical, confused, and angry.

D.A. Carson recently gave a series of talks on suffering at Omaha Bible Church. Here is the audio. There is also a pastors sessions on preaching and biblical theology. (HT: Erik Raymond)

Here is an older article from Ligonier (actually written by Dr. Mohler) on Training Pastors in Church

This is why you should pray for this on the ministry. (Yes, that includes me)

I am substitute teaching right now...and the school will not allow youtube videos. So I'll try to post a clip a little later.

"Contemporary spiritualities must be recognized as a form of temptation. The question they raise, as Barth rightly suggested, is whether the Church is able to take its own revelation seriously. For what these spiritualities do is invite the Church, theology, and faith, 'to abandon their theme and object and become hollow and empty, mere shadows of themselves'."

-David Wells, Above All Earthly Powers, page 160

Part 2 of Pulpit's "Why Elder Rule" is now available.

I am absolutely astonished by the claims of Steve Lemke in his "What is a Baptist" article. (A good summary of those claims can be found here.) Both Timmy Brister and James Galyon interact on the issue of Total Depravity and Age of Accountability.

The Pyro blog is idle for a month. While they are dark for the month of October their archives are not. Dan Phillips suggest his Top 18 posts.

John Samson asks, Should we use Altar Calls in our Evangelism?

I really hope this is a joke...it's either hilarius or really sad depending on its validity. Michael Patton displays pictures of church-sign war between Catholics and Presbyterians.

A great deal from Desiring God giving away cases of Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ for $1 each.

Since I took about a year off--I have some decent "older" articles to link to. I will feature a couple of these each day. I may have already linked to this one but New Attitude has a wonderful article on The Gospel and Ministry.

My wife and I went to see the movie Fireproof last night. It was phenomenal. The acting (except Kirk Cameron) was decent at best but the movie was wonderful. Here is a clip:

I am not saying yet whether I agree or disagree but this is a very good video by Mark Driscoll and his wife Grace: Should I Be a Stay at Home Dad?

Josh Harris has been compiling sermon notes of various preachers. It's pretty interesting especially for us preacher folk.

At the Koinonia blog they feature a Monday's with Mounce (that's Bill Mounce) column. It's always worth a read. This morning we are treated to a "look at etymologies".

Timmy Brister is responding to Steve Lemke's 4 Stream's of Calvinism. Part 1 and Part 2 have been completed.

Pulpit Magazine asks and answers the question, "Why Elder Rule?"

This is really not a video but more of a song. What happens when you combine my favorite musicians with my favorite (if that's proper to say) preacher? You get Shane and Shane with John Piper. Check it out:

No...I have no clue why Lane Kiffin got fired.

I have decided to bring back a feature from the past. It is my hope to start blogging more frequently (we'll see how that goes). One way to do that is to provide a daily summary of some of the great posts around teh blogosphere.

Dan Edelen explains why I get nauseous every time I go to the Christian bookstore. (HT: Challies)

Did you miss the Desiring God National Conference? So did I. No fear, all of the video is now available here.

Mark Driscoll has a new online book out. He is releasing it chapter by chapter. It is called Porn-Again Christian. Chapter one has just been released.

Great article here about confronting other people.

I'll close with a sport that I absolutely have to try out: