joel's thoughts

I am an American. I am a conservative. I am a Christian. I grew up in the 80s while Ronald Reagan was president, followed by George H.W. Bush, and I was raised with fairly conservative values — honor God, family, and country, respect and support the military, give an honest day’s hard work for honest […]

Heidi pointed out these songs a couple of days ago, and they’ve been haunting me (in a good way) ever since. Two completely different styles, both full of incredible energy and emotion. See what you think… I Can Hear the Rhythm by Misty Edwards The More I Seek You sung by Kari Jobe

Jonathan Walton over at Religion Dispatches Blog turns a critical eye to seminaries and churches, and how more and more they seem to inhabit completely different worlds.  Good thoughts, and challenging.  At first glance it may not seem relevant to the everyday layperson, but it seems to me we could all stand to be (and […]

So we got some exciting news the other day about our Ethiopian adoption: our court date was successful! We are now the proud parents of two more children! As those of you who’ve been faithfully following my non-existent posts (*ahem*) already know, the court date is one of the final steps to happen before bringing […]

Kerry over at the Voice of the Orphan has a good post on the place of submission in God’s order, and the effect its absence can have on ministry.

    Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me. Anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Forbid that I should become a religious scribe and thus lose my prophetic calling. Save me from the curse that lies dark across the face of the modern clergy, the curse […]

Bono’s acceptance speech at the NAACP Image Awards a few weeks ago. Definitely worth a watch or three, especially at the end… “‘Love thy neighbor’ is not a piece of advice…” Great stuff…

Just came across a list of ground rules some guy came up with (I’m guessing the result of direct experience) for anyone on either side of a debate on Christianity. This should be required reading for anyone considering stepping in the ring… (H/T: ThinkChristian)

Greg Kouki of Stand to Reason writes a pretty compelling response both to James Cameron’s Discovery Channel piece about the “Lost Tomb of Jesus” and to believers who immediately got their teeth a-gnashing at the very suggestion: Look, if the Bible says it and you believe it, that might settle it for you, but it […]

Fascinating review over at Implications (from the Trinity Forum) of a book suggesting that before the influences of Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam, ancient China had an understanding of (and respect for) a monotheistic, sustaining creator God with moral attributes strikingly similar to Israel’s Yahweh, in direct contradiction to the general assumption that Christianity is solely […]