Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 381
March 29, 2012
3 Reasons Why I'm Hopeful About the A29 Leadership Change
The last couple days have been pretty big ones as far as news about transitions is concerned. Jason Meyer was named as John Piper's successor at Bethlehem Baptist Church (pending congregational approval), Mark Driscoll stepped down from the TGC Council and Matt Chandler has been installed as the President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. The news broke the night before last but remained unconfirmed until Wednesday, March 28. At the same time Sojourn announced that they're leaving Acts...
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Mark Altrogge:
Why Jason Meyer Should Be the Next Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist ChurchBecause of all the manipulation on Christian TV, I'm hesitant at times to encourage people to give to God. But God unashamedly tells us to be generous and to expect him to bless us lavishly. We shouldn't let the manipulators make us stingy.
Tim Brister:
I met the guy who is replacing John Piper first on a UPS tram at 3:30AM nearly five years ago. He was reading his...
March 28, 2012
A Personal/Professional Update and a Prayer Request
The last little while has been a bit of a whirlwind around the Armstrong house. We're beginning to settle into life with a new baby (Hudson's already outgrown newborn size clothes and diapers—awesome!). I'm starting to work out plans for getting the word out about my next book, Contend (the release date has been pushed back to August 1, incidentally). We're going through some interesting changes in my day job… and there have been a couple of other changes that have happened along the way.
The ...
Obedience to the Truth
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart… (1 Pet. 1:22)
We are living in strange times in terms of how the church functions. We have been caught up with a fierce desire to find a way to relate to a culture that has been immunized to Christianity. We try to find new methods to reach the lost. The motivation is righteous, because we should have compassion for the lost. The danger comes when we ask the...
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Matthew Anderson:
Moore's case against boycotts is compelling, yet it raises more questions about the practice than it really answers. While Moore grants he is not opposed to all boycotts by Christians, he has left little to no room for discerning which boycotts we should pursue. Should Christians have, for instance, boycotted BP for their gross mismanagement of the clean-up efforts on the Gulf Coast? Or if it...
March 27, 2012
Book Review: The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller
Every so often, I find myself reading a great deal on one or two subjects. Most recently, it's been marriage. Prior to October, I had (I think) one or two books on the subject in my library, total. Since then, that number's grown dramatically, with each new addition bringing certain strengths and weaknesses to the table. But there's been one thing that's been consistent: the books written by couples whose marriages have been tested by trial and time have been a tremendous blessing to me. The...
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Marc Cortez:
Should Christians Boycott Starbucks?I was at a loss. Four years at a Bible college hadn't prepared me to face the wrath of a frustrated father. But I still should have seen the next one coming.
"Where have you been through all this? Why didn't you see this coming? What do we pay you for?"
Why do they always blame the youth pastor?
Russell Moore:
A boycott is a display of power, particularly of economic power. The boycott shows a corporation (or...
March 26, 2012
Solomon's Advice for Bloggers
A project I'm working on has had me spending some time in the Proverbs this weekend. The wise sayings recorded are a wonderful gift to us and deserve greater attention than I think I give them at times. In my reading the other night, I was stunned at the practical warnings about how we use our words and how they relate to particularly well to blogging:The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. (Proverbs 10:18)When words are many, transgression is not...
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Joe Thorn:
Why I Love Jesus but Reject IslamIs Jesus really like a "serpent?" Not exactly. But he is like the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses. John Gill wrote some fantastic words on the "agreement between the serpent and Jesus Christ." I have formatted it below and given subtitles, but the words are all Gill's.
Provocative (but enjoyable—if that's the right term to use for this sort of thing) video:
Can't see the video in your RSS reader or...
March 25, 2012
Do Not Neglect the Need to Reach All the Nations
It has been objected that there are multitudes in our own nation, and within our immediate spheres of action, who are as ignorant as the South-Sea savages, and that therefore we have work enough at home, without going into other countries. That there are thousands in our own land as far from God as possible, I readily grant, and that this ought to excite us to ten-fold diligence in our work, and in attempts to spread divine knowledge amongst them is a certain fact; but that it ought...
