What is that revelation? Simply put, you should use what’s going to work for you without worrying about the thoughts & opinions of others. If there’s something out there that works for you, then by all means you should use it, regardless of what people may think. For example, I still like & drink Kool-Aid at the age of 27, and I could care less what some of my friends may think. It’s a personal preference, it works for me, I like it, so I’m going to continue drinking it. Or a better example may be my use of the Microsoft Zune over the infinitely popular iPod from Apple. The Zune may not have the same cool factor, but for me it’s more functional and gives me a better experience than I would have if I owned an iPod.

Along those same lines, you shouldn’t try to make something be what it’s not designed to be. Of course, there will be people out there that think you should, for whatever reason; but I don’t think that you should. A Honda Civic isn’t designed to tow & haul stuff like a Ford F-150, so why would you even attempt to make the Civic perform the functions of the F-150? Instead of trying to make the Civic perform like the F-150, why not just use the F-150 and be done with it? That’s how I feel about some things. Some things are designed with a particular audience in mind, and it should be allowed to function in that capacity. We shouldn’t try to force it to be something that it’s not; instead, we should embrace it for what it is & use it for what it was designed for. At the same time, if you know that you’re going to do a lot of towing, skip the Honda Civic altogether and just use the F-150 because you know it’s going to be able to perform the way you need it to.

That’s the realization I came to this weekend. There’s been some stuff that I’ve been trying to push and use in a way that it wasn’t designed for. The problem with that is that I have the proper tools sitting right next to me; so, instead of forcing my screwdriver to be a drill, I just need to grab my power drill and use it to help me accomplish the job quickly & efficiently, especially when I know that it’s a better tool & I like it better anyway.

For the most part, I’m a calm guy and it takes a lot to get me riled up (my kids are another story, LOL). Life is stressful & busy, but even that doesn’t bother me or make me lose my cool. I roll with the punches and keep on going. Sometimes, though, I wonder if this is such a good thing. A perfect example would be my finances. My money is tight, sometimes in the red. Does that bother me? Not really. Sure, it concerns me and I do what I can to better manage my money, but I don’t let it get to me or bend me out of shape. I remain cool about it all. I’ll find out about stuff that’s going on with my family, like when my grandfather passed away from cancer. Was I sad to lose him? Yes, but I was still calm about it, almost too calm if you ask me.

The more I think about it, I realize that it’s probably the way I should be. The more I study Scripture, it makes sense. If I’m focused on my Father’s business and heavenly things, then the rest of what happens in my life is an afterthought. The bad things? Momentary light afflictions that pale in comparison to what God has in store for me. The good things? Highlights that give me opportunity to thank the Lord for His kindness. I sometimes wonder if this is how Jesus was while walking the earth. Stuff was happening around Him, but He didn’t let it phase Him.

Whether it’s good or bad, I’ll keep walking this way because it keeps me from being anxious (a command from Scripture) and from fearing. My faith is in the Lord, and I’ll keep rolling with whatever comes my way because I realize that it’s all part of God’s design for me & my family. Maybe being nonchalant in a Christian way can be a good thing…

It’s pretty obvious that I frequent message boards, especially those that are a part of the Christian hip-hop community. One of the things that I’ve noticed, at least that I’ve finally started noticing, is that people listen to a lot of Bible teaching online. They are watching YouTube clips of sermons, downloading sermon podcasts & listening to them, or purchasing them from all different kinds of ministries. I’m not going to knock that because it’s a great thing and I do it myself; I’m actually an advocate of taking advantage of technology in this way.

Here comes the disconnect: these preachers are typically the only ones that we ever hear about. “Did you check out this latest Paul Washer clip?!” “Have you heard that Mark Driscoll sermon?” “Man, that MacArthur sermon was on point!” And the comments go on. I’m glad that these people are getting fed by these ministries and great men of God; but, how often do they talk about the teaching that they’re getting from their local church & pastor? I don’t hear enough about that. I’d love to read and hear about what people are getting fed from their own pastor, instead of someone they’re simply listening to online. I think this should especially be the case if they’re at a church where people can get access to the teachings online to share it with others. Personally, I love sharing what I’m learning at my local church and would love it if other people took the opportunity to listen from time to time.

I can’t help but wonder if some of this is a form of “sanctified idol/star worship.” Because our pastors aren’t preaching to thousands a week, we think lesser of them, and would rather talk about the big name preachers that everyone knows about & follows. Of course, I can’t judge people’s motives & intents, nor do I want to; all I’m saying is that I’d like to see more balance and people giving their own pastors some love, instead of always talking about the “big names.”

Just a real quick blog tonight. I want to share a thought I’ve had on my mind recently.

I know without a doubt that I have the pastor-teacher gift, I’m thoroughly convicted of that. With that comes an innate desire and passion to want to study the Word of God and take it to the deepest depths that I can possibly take it to. I enjoy studying the Scriptures, breaking down the Greek and Hebrew, reading reference works, and so on. In a lot of ways, because of the gift that the Spirit has given me, it’s a given that I should have such passion. I honestly can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing than studying; it’s the only thing that satisfies me.

It is that satisfaction that brings me to my thought. Is it wrong of me to think that others should have that same passion? Of course, I know that the answer is yes, at least on some level; it’s wrong for me to think that all believers should have that desire for the Word. Not everyone will have a desire to delve into the original languages and read church history, and that’s fine. Sure, they should have some level of passion for studying the Word, but I doubt for most it’ll be anywhere near the level of desire that I or other pastor-teachers have. But what about those that really don’t have a desire for the Word at all, to the point where they rarely read their Bible? What’s up with that?

I think a lot of this thinking, for me, stems for the article I wrote over @ TM about holy hip-hop music. Because of my gift, am I looking “too deeply” at the music and expecting too much for other listeners to do the same thing? I mean, I can listen to an album and tear it apart (i.e. Excelsius’ album Liberation that I’m doing the study guide for), but I wonder if others are even interested or equipped to do the same. For me, it comes easy and is second nature almost. But am I wrong to think it should be for others? Maybe so.

I don’t really have an answer other than that; but it’s some food for thought that I’ve been chewing on. At the very least, I gotta stay focused on grace and exhibiting that in my life.

Experiment One: So far, I can’t say that I’ve completely abandoned hip-hop, but it has definitely been sparse. The only hip-hop I’ve really listened to are albums that needed to be put in the queue for review on Trailblazin Ministries. As the gatekeeper of the site, I need to continue to make sure that what gets covered has acceptable content. I have been listening to a lot of new music, though. I’ve found a few new jazz artists that I like, thanks to my friend Antoine. I’ve also picked up some R&B/Soul too, so that’s been a nice listen. It’s definitely been a break in the monotony. In a lot of ways, my perspective on music has really changed for the better, even to the point of openly being more critical of the hip-hop I listen to. Of late, I’ve been able to listen to a CD once, extract its content & theme, and determine whether it’s good or not; not bad for a single listen.

Experiment Two: This one hasn’t gone quite like I planned, but it’s doing better than I expected. I’ve been able to have devotions ready for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so I count it a success. Still finding it a bit difficult to get in all of the studying I would like, so I need to figure that out. Partly it’s because I’ve found myself drained, of late, so much so that the last thing I want to do is sit at my computer and try to read. It’s one of those things where my spirit is willing, but my flesh is apparently weak, fat & lazy. I’m going to pray and see where I can do better.

Experiment Three: Things are getting better at work. My motivation is coming back, slowly, and I’m finally starting to get into a groove with things, making sure people are getting things done and that I’m able to tackle some tasks as well. Still growing here, but progress is what I’m looking for.

That’s it. Just a (somewhat) brief update. Off to do whatever.

Seriously, it amuses me. I say that I want to see an artist expand their subject matter instead of recycling the same content over & over, and now I’m labeled as someone who doesn’t appreciate or have a love for the gospel. Funny. It’s funny on a number of levels. First, there’s a lot more to talk about than just the gospel in the entire canon of Scripture, so why not touch on some of that? Secondly, as it relates to the personal attacks, how many of these people even know about the ministry that I have, whose sole focus is to teach the Bible? Third, since when does someone’s opinion of music become equivalent to their appreciation & love of Scripture/gospel?

I could flip the script and start judging & gauging their maturity from the comments they post, but I won’t because then I’d be no better. I just think people need to be wiser about the comments they make, and not be so quick to judge someone’s spiritual maturity based on an album review. If they were judging it based on what I do at Trailblazin Ministries, then that’d be something else entirely, but not an album review, which is meant to be a critical look at music. Just some food for thought.

The first conversation was had earlier this week; we were chatting about Christian hip-hop music. I had mentioned the name of a few albums & songs that I had come across of late. Most of them left me shaking my head, and wondering what had become of the genre. In our chat, I had made a comment to the extent that I was really starting to lose hope/faith in the genre. His response to me was, “Starting? How about lost and looking for a reason to keep it there?” (paraphrase). It really made sense, and his follow-up comment wondering why I try to convince myself otherwise was spot on. For the most part, I have somewhat of a love-hate relationship with the genre. I still support it because I dig the music (most days) and my site has found a nice niche with it. On the other hand, there’s a lot I see that I could do without, leaving me wondering why I don’t just let it all go.

With that in mind, I’m going to try my first experiment. I’m going to get rid of most of the Christian hip-hop from my Zune and car (leaving it on my computer, of course). In its place, I’m going to make use of my Zune Pass and add some of the other musical genres that I’ve been listening to of late, particularly jazz, soul, UK R&B/Pop, some electronic music, and anything else I find appealing. There are a few CHH albums I’ll keep around because I find them edifying; but it will only be a few (let’s say less than 20 out of the hundreds that I own).

Why do it? Mainly to get along without it; I’ve basically been listening to it non-stop for a little more than a decade. I’m tired of waiting for the scene to mature, and it’s not like it’s my “calling.” So, I’m just going to let it be and see where God takes me. Who knows, I may not look back. I don’t have a timeframe for this experiment, I’m just going to let it take its course.

That’s the first experiment. The second conversation was had this afternoon. I was telling Antoine how I felt that Trailblazin Ministries was in a good place right now, other than the fact that I wish that I could have content to put up daily, instead of being so sporadic. I told him that I’d like to see devotions published daily (M-F) with a full length study published monthly, along with sporadic music reviews & articles. His comment to me was, “Why aren’t you?” I told him that it was a time issue. He told me that it was a lame excuse and that if I really wanted to do it I could make it happen by simply better managing my time & prioritizing (much like I did when I picked up Hebrew this year). In thinking about it, I see where he’s coming from. There’s a lot of idle time in the day where I find myself just surfing the Internet; I could use that time for study and writing.

So, that’s my second experiment. I’m going to challenge myself to cut back on the “idle” times and be more diligent at studying and writing. I don’t think I’ll immediately get to writing devotions every day of the week, but I can start with at least two or three per week, and build from there. As far as devotions go, I’ll probably have to pick up a few additional topics of study so that I can remain fresh without focusing too hard on a single subject. That will help because if I get stuck in one topic/study, I can move to another and keep moving with content.

Experiment number three? Nothing major, just continuing to improve my management skills at work and keeping myself motivated. That’s another talk Antoine & I had. His words of wisdom have had immediate benefit, making for a productive end of the week. I just need to keep growing and learning, figuring out what works best for me, instead of simply doing what may have worked for someone else.

Let the experiments commence…

Honestly, it’s been quite a while since I’ve heard anything that I would deem classic, but I guess that’s just me.

That’s all I have. Carry on.

I understand promotion and all of that, but at what point does it become falsehood? Is it really “highly anticipated” if only a few people are anticipating it? I don’t know. Just another one of my gripes with the Christian hip-hop scene. It’s stuff like this that makes me unsubscribe from just about everyone’s email list and avoid message boards; I’m tired of the hype.

When I think of highly anticipated albums/artists, I think of two in particular, at least recently: Zane One & John Wells (aka the Tonic). Both had albums in the works years ago and weren’t able to release them for whatever reason, and fans have been patiently waiting for years, literally. Then both of them drop their albums in the same month. Now that, my friends, is highly anticipated.

For everyone else, please tone it down. Thank you. Rant done!

Tonight I hit a major road block and it’s literally causing me mounds of frustration. With the system I’m on now (Movable Type), once you get it setup, things just work like they should; but, the design isn’t flexible or easily changed, at least not without first having some web design & coding experience. The system I’m switching to, theoretically, should make things easier to manage in terms of the website. And things were going find until the point I’m at now. Come to find out, there are some things I didn’t take into consideration (thought they’d be a given) and now it’s giving me cause for concern. In order to get things to work right, I either have to come up with some cash and buy more plugins (which I’d rather not do), go without and just suck it up, or simply stick with the platform I have now and don’t even bother making the changes.

The way I feel right now, I almost want to just throw in the towel and say forget the money I’ve invested and keep what I have. But I don’t want to do that, given the time & money I’ve put into it. Then at the same time, I don’t want to put more money into it, especially if I don’t have a 100% guarantee that it’ll do what I need it to do (plugins are buggy sometimes).

Oh well, I just felt like venting. I’m going to lay down and get ready for bed. Maybe tomorrow will bring with it some fresh ideas. Goodnight world.

After writing that piece on stewardship a few days ago, I really took time to sit down and think through things. I talked with Robin and discussed where we were, how we planned on wisely using our tax return, and so forth. The more I thought about it, I just couldn’t bring myself to break down and spend $160 for a Bible, even if it’s the one that was formatted exactly like I wanted it to be. True, the Word of God is priceless, but when you can buy a paperback Bible for less than $5, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to put that kind of money into one. With many hours spent in thought, I ultimately decided that I wasn’t going to spend that much money on a Bible when my MacArthur Study Bible was still in great working order (study notes aside).

So, that’s where I stood, I wasn’t going to buy that wide-margin Bible, and I wasn’t going to look at buying another. Then I went out with the family today to run some errands. I had promised Robin a new dining room table with our tax return, so we went and purchased that (to be delivered in 2-3 weeks). The day was supposed to be spent visiting different furniture stores to find the right table, but we found the perfect one at the first store we visited, which meant we had the rest of the afternoon to do some other shopping as we made our way back home.

I decided to ask Robin to stop by Family Christian so that we could look around; they had a necklace she wanted to get for her mom (wasn’t in stock) and I wanted to get a copy of Fireproof. Generally when I walk into Family Christian, or any Christian store for that matter, I make a B line for the Bibles. Well, today I happened to spot a centennial anniversary edition of the Scofield study Bible. I’d been wanting to buy a Scofield just to have in my library (yes, I already own a digital copy in WORDsearch), but I never bought one because no one every had the NASB in stock. So, it just happened to be my luck and this copy was NASB, and the last one on the shelf. I debated for a minute and decided to crack it open (luckily it wasn’t wrapped in plastic, cuz if it is, I leave it alone). I flipped through the pages (thumb-indexed, nice!) and saw that the notes were sparse and didn’t overpower the Scripture in any way, that’s just what I was looking for. The cross references were in the margin, which wasn’t that big of a deal and the price was right (regular price $79.99 on sale for $49.99). So, I decided to buy it and let it become my Bible of choice for everyday use, replacing my MacArthur.

Knowing that this isn’t a top of the line Bible, although pretty high quality, I wanted to make sure I took care of it. You know, throwing a bare Bible into a book bag isn’t always the nicest environment for keeping a Bible looking nice. So, I opted to find a Bible cover to put this new Bible in; which is funny because I hadn’t owned one in years because I had always enjoyed looking at the leather and the way it felt in my hands. Anyway, I found a nice one for $20 that had the names of Jesus written on the front. I picked it up, gave it a look over and determined that it was large enough to fit my Bible, so I opted to get it.

Once I got both of them home, I was pretty impressed and pleased with my new purchase. I now have a Bible that is of good quality and a sturdy means of keeping it well protected, especially when putting it into my book bag for carrying around.

In making this purchase, there is one thing that I wanted to comment on. It amazes me just how much Christian bookstores sometimes mark up their items. Remember, I said that the sticker on the Bible had the Scofield listed at $79.99, which I thought was a fair price, and a steal at $49.99. Well, when I got ready to write this entry and find an image of the Bible, you wouldn’t believe that the MSRP for this Bible (the exact one I just purchased) is $49.99. That means the bookstore marked it up $30 above MSRP and were touting it as a “sale” when selling it at MSRP, when that should be its regular price. That just bugged me a bit, and these stores wonder why they’re losing out to online retailers and chain bookstores. If I wasn’t in the buying mood and wanted to do some comparison shopping, I would have been appalled at seeing the marked up value. Either way, $70 for a Bible & cover isn’t bad when you compare it to the $160 I was looking to spend on that other Bible.

That aside, I’m happy with my purchase and I look forward to using it. And being a centennial edition makes me feel good, especially given my pastor’s recent emphasis on remembering our doctrinal heritage. It’s good to know that this Bible will always be a reminder of Dr. Scofield’s original 1909 edition of the Scofield reference Bible. Now, to dig back into my 1 Thessalonians study…

Recently though, I’ve given some thought to some new purchases I want to make, such as the Bible I’d mentioned before and a few other items, including upgrading some software and purchasing a new smartphone. Given the current state of the economy, along with a desire to be a good steward of my finances, I’ve really been trying to gauge whether or not these are legitimate purchases of need or if they’re merely wants that won’t provide much usefulness. In writing this out, I’m hoping that it’ll provide further clarity for me, as well as provide you, the reader, with a lesson in stewardship & decision making.

Let’s start with the Bible. As I’ve said many times before, I currently own a MacArthur Study Bible (NASB) and I’m pleased with it, minus the excessive footnotes at times. Other than the footnotes, the only other drawback is that there is quite obviously no room for me to take my own notes. Plus, I want to train myself to not rely on "study notes," but to work through the text myself first. Either way, I decided that I wanted a wide margin cross reference Bible. I narrowed it down to a Bible that retails for $230 (roughly $160 on Amazon.com). The question is: do I really need to spend $160 on a Bible? Can’t I find something cheaper? To be frank, I’m pretty particular in what I’m looking for in a Bible and how I want the text (and cross references) to be laid out, and this is the only wide margin Bible that does it the way I want. All the cheaper ones are "flawed" in at least one way that’s significant enough for me to not want to purchase it. So now the question becomes, will I really be taking that many notes to necessitate the wide margins? Honestly, that’s a question I’m still working my way through, but it’s my desire to jot down more notes in the print Bible as I read/study, so that I can have them handy by chance I don’t have my computer & software handy. Is it a need? Not really, but it would be nice; although, I can continue getting along just fine with the Bible I currently own.

The next item that I have my eye on is upgrading my smartphone from the T-Mobile Dash to the G1 (aka Google phone). Over the past few days I’ve done my research, and given how much I currently use Google (hosted email for TM, calendar, etc.) it would be nice to have a phone that integrates nicely with all of that. Plus, throw in the fact that I’ve been a T-Mobile customer for two years and can get it for the upgrade/new customer price (half off), it seems like a pretty good purchase. The main drawback is that it’ll require me to add a $20-25/month data plan to my account. Over the course of a year, that’s a pretty good chunk of change (roughly $300) just to have Internet access on my phone. Granted, there’s nothing wrong with my current phone (and I don’t even use a data plan with it), but Robin has expressed the desire for owning a phone with a qwerty keyboard, so it’s the perfect opportunity to upgrade. I don’t want that to be an excuse, though, for spending $180 for a new phone and giving my carrier an extra $300/year. Again, it’s a matter of need versus want. Do I need the new phone? Obviously, no. Do I need the features? Not really, I have most in my current phone in one form or another. So, the question comes down to this: what benefit will come from owning this phone over my current one? That’s the question that I have to ask myself; and, just like the last item, it’s one that I’m still mulling over.

So, is there anything that can be justified as a need on my part? How about that software upgrade? Now that’s something that I can legitimately say is a need. As I’m training for ministry, there are some purchases that will be necessitated, and one of those comes in the form of expanding my digital library. This is a purchase I’ve been planning for some time, but it’s one that always makes me weary because of its price tag ($800+). Sure, I have the option to do a payment plan, but I’ve learned through experience that if I have the ability to pay for something upfront without creating a lingering bill that I need to go that route. But, I just have a hard time convincing myself that spending that much money is worth the price (even though I know it is when compared with its print equivalent). Unlike the wants above, the need is there because I know that these resources are something that I’ll use for the remainder of my life as I continue in the work of the Lord, and they’ll continue to be with me even as the software gets upgraded in the future. There’s no question that I’ll be buying this (if not now, then some point in the future), but the question is stewardship of finances and knowing what I can afford, especially having a family to care for (can’t be selfish).

As I take a step back and look at the larger picture, I have to be faithful with my finances and look at what is going to bring the most glory to Jesus Christ. The software is a no brainer. The Bible? Well, I have a Bible that’s in good shape, and if I purchase this new one, it frees the MacArthur SB to be a blessing for someone who has need of one. How about the phone? That one is clearly a want in all ways, although there’s nothing wrong with wants and fulfilling them every once & a while. Sure, it’ll help keep me organized & centralized (I’d love the fact of not having to ever sync with a PC), but I can do that well enough with what I already have. For that, it’ll be a matter of whether I decide it’s worth splurging on and being committed to the addition to my monthly bill. As with all things, I’ll continue to take it to the Lord in prayer, and then walk in faith with whatever decision I make, asking the Lord to keep me from making an unwise decision.

Stewardship… yeah, it’s not always fun, but entirely necessary.

Let me qualify what I mean by that statement. When I listen to holy hip-hop music, it’s pretty easy to spot the artists that come from a prosperity theological background; it’s also pretty easy to spot those who are Reformed/Calvinists in their theology. And the more I listen to the music I own and review, it’s pretty obvious that a lot of the music that’s coming out, especially in the more preaching/teaching rap, is coming from this (reformed) belief system. So, I’ve been wondering to myself, where are the cats spitting doctrine who are doctrinal and dispensational in their theology? Why don’t we hear a lot (if anything) from this side?

On the one hand, I don’t really care; but on the other, I do wonder where these kinds of artists are. I enjoy listening to my shai linnes and Christcentrics, but there are so many times that I can listen to tracks like "TULIP" and "Mission Accomplished" or an album heavy in Covenant Theology like Voice’s The Process of the Pardon without wanting to stand up and object to the doctrine that’s coming through my speakers. Don’t get me wrong, I love these artists and will continue listening to them and purchase their music. I’m just curious to know where my likeminded brethren are at on the mic, that’s all. For all I know, they could be in my collection and not spitting the heavily theological rhymes or only covering material to a point where it doesn’t get into the "sticky" or dividing doctrines. Who knows.

I don’t have any point in saying this. It’s late and I’m up after taking a long nap after work, so I figured I’d share what’s on my mind. It’s just a thought; nothing more, nothing less…

I get it though, they’re advertising what sells and what the people want; but, what does that say about Christianity today when this is the kind of stuff that’s being advertised. I will say that I saw Chris Tomlin’s latest release being advertised in there and I did purchase it, but it wasn’t from a Christian bookstore. Back to my point, what is this saying about the state of Christianity? I can at least appreciate a mailer from CBD (Christian Book Distributors) that at least gives me a listing of the latest commentaries, lexicons & so forth along with the other stuff. But you’ll never see these Christian bookstore chains advertising these kinds of things.

As a matter of fact, I’m a bit disheartened when I visit most Christian bookstores. Why do the actual tools that help people learn the Bible (dictionaries, commentaries, ect.) only get a corner in the back of the store with only an aisle or two worth of stuff?

I’m not pointing fingers, at least I’m not trying to; I just thought it a bit disheartening to see the kinds of stuff that Christian bookstores are wanting me to buy, which is "cheap & easy" Christianity in most regards. Okay, I’m done, rant over.

I’ve heard the argument before that it may be sin for you, but not for me. Indeed, in some cases, that is Scriptural and correct, but I don’t think that really stands in this instance. How can we willingly sit down and choose to expose ourselves to sinful acts? The same goes for music; how can we find enjoyment listening to an artist talking about cheating on his girl or some other sin?

I don’t really have much more to say; I just want you to ponder on that and think about the entertainment you’re allowing yourself to enjoy. Are they the things that we know for a fact God hates? (And know that I’ve assessed myself before presenting this to you, and I had to do some house cleaning)…

On the technology end of things, I guess you could say that I’m content, but not satisfied. Recently, I’ve been attempting to change my work flow and computer use because I continue to find myself wasting time online doing idle things. That’s not a very good thing for me because I have quite a bit on my plate and I’m not being such a good steward of my time. One program I’ve downloaded to possibly help in this arena is more of a toy than anything else, but I’m trying to use it to help my productivity. The application is RK Launcher, which mimics the OS X Launch bar. The reason this helps me is because I’ve always been one who likes a clean desktop & taskbar, therefore I never let my Quick Launch toolbar have more than 5 or 6 shortcuts at any given time (which mainly consisted of FireFox, Bible apps, and Zune player). RK Launcher lets me ditch the Quick Launch toolbar and have multiple icons floating @ the top of my desktop, and is a lot cleaner and more functional than simply having desktop shortcuts. Along with this, I have also downloaded the Prism plugin for FireFox so that I can run applications such as Gmail and my Trailblazin Ministries admin panel as standalone "programs," which helps to keep me from pushing Ctrl+T to open a new tab and start surfing other websites. Both of those have seemed to help somewhat.

At the other end of this spectrum though, I’m still at odds with how I want to go about writing my devotions and which application to use in doing so. I had been using Windows Live Writer of late to do my devotions and it worked great because I was able to do all of my formatting and have it carry over with no problems whatsoever. Plus, with that, I was able to work locally (i.e. offline, although I’m always connected) and not have to depend on it being stored on some server that I could not get to for whatever reason. Well, that all changed recently when I discovered the Bibleref Markup when doing some reading up on Logos’ Reftagger script. This seemed to be a great use of XHTML markup and something that would help take Trailblazin Ministries one step further in helping to push Bible standards on the web. Using this markup came with a catch though, because I could no longer use Windows Live Writer because it was just too cumbersome to have to manually enter the Bibleref tags. So, I decided to move back to using Movable Type via the browser to input my devotions, and I even found a nifty plugin that allowed me to put a button on the menu to do the Bibleref code. This wasn’t so bad, but it required manually coding some things and having to work strictly online. Of course, there were other options, such as writing in Windows Live Writer (or even WORDsearch and then merely cutting and pasting into the browser when I’m done, and manually marking up the tags. That too seemed cumbersome.

Update: while in the midst of writing this entry, I came across a plugin for Windows Live Writer that allows me to create my own sets of template code, which works perfectly for inserting Bibleref tags. The plus on this is that I can just highlight the text, have a couple mouse clicks, and have it prompt me to type the Bible reference. This, in all actuality, worked much better than the MT setup I had just created. So, I guess I just resolved that dilemma.

I was going to write about the spiritual side of things tonight, but I think I’ll leave that for a post tomorrow or the day after. I’m just glad I got Windows Live Writer back to a place where it’s workable with the new things I want to do, along with all of the other changes I’m making. I’m hoping it all works out for the best. Definitely keep your boy lifted in prayer! One!

Of course, I would be quick to say that a Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon or Catholic is not a Christian. Those are a given because of the extra-biblical doctrine that they teach, including teachings that clearly contradict Scripture. What about a Oneness Pentecostal though; would I call them an unbeliever? I would have to say yes because of their incorrect view on the Trinity and Godhead. So, what about someone who’s caught up in prosperity theology? This is where I start to struggle.
Let me talk about myself right now. I know that I’m still growing in a lot of areas, but right now I do know what is heresy and what isn’t. I understand that there are theological differences on things, and I can walk in grace (albeit a tough walk, but I walk nonetheless). For instance, my brother Kerry (sorry to keep using you as an example bro) is a Calvinist; I am not. I do not agree with the sum of Calvinism & its soteriology, but we agree on many things outside of that. Is he my brother? Of course! Just because we differ on theological issues such as that, he still has sound teaching and handles the Scriptures properly. Just as John Piper believes certain things about the spiritual gifts (and is also himself a Calvinist), I still consider him to be a brother in the faith and look to him as someone who can accurately teach the Word of God (I listen to his podcast). Same with someone like John MacArthur or an R.C. Sproul; we differ theologically in areas, but none that would cause us to break fellowship or call the other a heretic. Quite frankly, I have absolutely no problem calling these my brothers in the faith.
On the other hand, there are those whom I have a difficult time calling my brothers in the faith because of their doctrinal beliefs. I won’t name names here, out of wisdom, but I will speak on the issue. I’ll use prosperity theology since I have already mentioned it above. I consider this distortion of Scripture to be a wicked heresy as it severely distorts the truth of the gospel and the sum total of Scripture, and then goes on to present a twisted view of the Godhead (Jesus incarnate, God the Father, and even the Holy Spirit). I won’t take the time to break that down here, as you can study it for yourself, but it begs the question: if you believe this, are you really in the faith? Yes, you can believe the basic tenets of the faith and say you’ve repented & put your faith in Jesus; but, if your view of Jesus and the teachings of Scripture are off, do we really have the same Jesus? And, if we don’t have the same Jesus, does that Jesus save or is he merely an idol? At this point in time, my stance on the issue is that it’s a false teaching & heresy with that God/Jesus being an idol created by man, as opposed to the God of Scripture.
Now, if that is the case, can I, in my right mind, call that person a brother in the faith? I hesitate, but I struggle to call that person my brother because his views of God, Jesus, and the Scriptures are so far removed from my own. Does it matter whether we seemingly agree on the essential doctrines on the faith, when their view of those key things are so different from my own? Quite frankly, I would argue that a proper understanding of God, Jesus, and the Scriptures are a part of those essentials, and without them I cannot extend a hand of fellowship in calling you my brother in the faith.
This is hard to write and even say because I have many friends and loved ones who are caught up in theologies and teachings that are like this, and I find it hard to say that we are brothers because I do not feel that we are serving the same Lord, even if we say that we are. It’s in instances like this where I feel I must call a spade a spade; just like Mitt Romney (a Mormon) claims that he is an evangelical; I refuse that because of his Mormon beliefs. The same has to hold true here because our views don’t line up. Even in this though, I am working to walk in grace because I want to call them my brother and I don’t want to see anyone go to hell, especially when they feel as if they’re serving Christ.
I’m going to mull over this some more and study the Scriptures, seeing where it takes me, but as of right now I have to say that this is my stance. So, what are your thoughts? Am I way out in left field and just being dogmatic, or is there some substance?

What am I digging in the music world lately? In the genre of holy hip-hop there’s The Yuinon’s “Genocide: The Sequel,” Sho Baraka’s “Turn My Life Up,” and JR’s “Life by Stereo” that are getting the most airplay from me right now. Of course, I am anticipating the release of Shai Linne’s new LP titled “The Atonement,” which deals almost exclusively with the cross of Christ and our response to it. For someone who didn’t even want to be an emcee, that is one gifted brother. In other Christian music, I’ve been really feeling Chris Tomlin of late, as well as Jeremy Camp’s “Carried Me” album. I also picked up Kathryn Scott’s “I Belong” from the Zune store, and something new called Chill Cafe which takes modern worship songs and puts them to euro styled techno/house type music, which makes for an interesting listen. But yeah, I’m really looking forward to Shai’s release; I’m really fiending for some deep lyrical theology right about now.
My Scripture reading has been going okay, I guess. I’m still on schedule with my reading and haven’t missed any days yet, but it has really been a struggle. I’m not really one who likes to do reading at night because I’m more of a morning person, but it seems that it is the only time that I have available to do my reading. I’ve caught myself dozing off quite frequently while reading, so I end up having to get up, moving around, and coming back to the text in order to finish my reading. It’s hard because I know I need to spend time in the Word, but I don’t feel like I’m getting very much from it if I’m falling asleep while reading. I had considered waking up earlier, but I already get up at 5 AM as it is, and I don’t see myself getting up any earlier which forcing myself to go to bed much earlier. I will say that I’ve caught a second wind a few times and have finished my reading very strong, but that hasn’t consistently been the case. I really need to figure this out though because I feel that my reading and time in the Word is going to suffer and be inadequate if I don’t find a proper solution. With that, I’m also needing to balance the amount that I’m feeding myself so as to not take in more than I’m able to digest. Sure, some of it can get in through osmosis, but I really want to understand what I’m learning. I hope I can figure it out soon.
That reminds me too, I still have yet to figure out a schedule for how I’m going to do devotions in 2008. I want for them to be consistent, but with all that’s going on and with the reading above, it’s hard to try to factor in time for this as well, also throwing in the larger Bible studies. Am I trying to do too much? Do I need to back off or what? I don’t feel that I should because this is who I am and what God has for me to do. I feel that I’d be neglecting my gift if I slowed the pace and not feed those who frequent this website (even though it’s only a handful of people). I guess at this point in time, I have more questions than answers when I feel that I should have more answers at this point.
I don’t know, I’m going to attempt to finish reading for the night (Job 15-17 & James), and go from there. G’night & God speed!

…For those of you who consider Bible Forums as your “church/fellowship” then let me be the first to tell you… Get real. This is not a local gathering of believers and that is what we need and it is very much a biblical requirement. We operate in a biblical manner as best as can be done within this medium. We are a gathering of believers. We can talk about the Bible and pray for each other and do many things that are similar to that gathering of believers laid out in the Bible. BUT there are MANY things that we cannot do and it is those many things that discount us as your “church/fellowship.”…

On the one hand, I wholeheartedly applauded their statement because they firmly knew what they were trying to do with their forum, and also knew what they didn’t want to do; on the other hand, I felt that there were drawing a pretty harsh line in the sand when it comes to the capabilities of the Internet and their use within the Body. Right now, I’m sitting on the fence because I do not know which side I fall on, so let me at least try to explain my current thought processes so you can see where I’m at.

Let me start by telling you why I agree with what this forum wrote. Now, I can only speak for myself, but I must say that there is absolutely no substitute for face-to-face communication and interaction. There is only so much that can be had via an online chat or telephone conversation. Those hugs, handshakes & facial expressions are sorely missed in an online medium. That’s not to say that fellowship cannot be had online. For example, my friend Antoine and I talk almost daily (having never physically met), and we have some of the most intimate times of fellowship through our chats where we discuss life, technology, and the Word of God. The fellowship that we have would rival that of the physical fellowship that I have with others.
As far as this whole idea about having church online, it’s a tricky subject, as it brings up more questions than answers. Who would be the pastor? Who would be the elders/deacons? How would finances be handled? When would services be? How often would they be held? Who manages the web space? How does counseling work? What about the language barrier? There are just lots of questions. One of the main questions that comes to mind is accountability. How are church members going to be held accountable in this kind of setting? It’s very easy to create an identity online without revealing who you really are, so what’s to keep people from doing that in a “church” setting; we already know how fake people can be in person, how much more so online?!
I’m not sure where I sit. I love technology, and I even use it to teach the Word of God, as you can clearly see. I’m just don’t know the extent that we should be willing to go in terms of trying to be relevant to the culture and maximizing our use of technology. I can see something like that working if done right, but I still cannot see it working without there being local safeguards being setup to keep people fed & grounded outside of the web setting.
Just some questions and food for thought…
Btw, Antoine talked about this on his blog too @ AntoineRJWright.com

Again, as you all know, I’ve been reforming what I’ve known to be doctrine and gospel for years and discovering, really for the first time, what the true gospel is all about. As a result, I’ve tossed out a LOT of old books, tapes and videos that I feel that I can no doctrinally agree with and are off in their teachings. When I did that, my mind began to venture towards the music I listen to. You see, I try to listen to and support a wide variety of Christian rap music, and because of that, I end up listening to artists who hold to some of the same values as those pastors that I have chosen to stop listening to. That’s when I got to thinking and asking myself if I should be continuing to listen to artists whom I no longer can agree with doctrinally, especially when you consider that I run a ministry website that has a large focus on this brand of music.

The way I see it, these rappers are essentially preaching when they are on the microphone, just like any pastor would, and what they are speaking is being taken into my spirit just as would the teachings of a pastor. Now, this is a question with many levels to think about: 1) I know some artists who have these doctrinal views, but don’t necessarily “preach” them in their songs, but I know they hold to it, 2) others do preach their doctrinal views in their songs, and 3) some have MySpace pages and have heretical/false teachers in their top friends lists. I’ll try to deal with each individually and then bring it back together as a whole.

First are those that subscribe to the doctrine, but don’t necessarily teach it in their music. If that is the case, then I honestly can’t say that I have a problem with their music. If I can listen to it with no problems and not have anything “get up my nose” then it’s cool. What reason do I have to kick an album to the curb if I have no qualms with it, even if I don’t agree with them doctrinally? I don’t have any reason to do so. It’s kind of like the talk that’s been going on in Christian rap circles: in the essentials unity, in the non-essentials grace. If a rapper and I can agree on the essentials on the faith, then I will always consider him a brother in Christ and we can differ on the non-essentials; and the same goes for the music. If we can agree on the subject matter in the music, then we can walk in unity, even though we have our differences. Plus, who in this world will I agree with 100% all the time anyway?

The second case is those who adhere to the doctrine and then teach it in their music. In this instance the rule from the first still applies. If I can agree with you on the subject matter that is being spoken of, then we can walk in unity as brothers. But the road begins to separate at this point because now I’m talking about when they present their views on the album, and not necessarily on a whole album, maybe just on a single song. How am I to handle these artists and their music? Do I still support them, even if I think they’re wrong? Do I keep the CDs, give them away, or do I just toss them in the garbage? I’ll hold off on answering this because it directly ties into the third point. I will say that it’s a tough call because we are still brothers in Christ, but can I or should I support financially or by recommendation an album that I cannot agree with? A tough question, indeed.

The final piece lies in what I found the other day when checking out a few artists’ MySpace pages who were in my friends list. There was one artist in particular who had pastors & teachers such as Benny Hinn, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Paula White, etc. and others who I believe to be preaching a different gospel, or at least a highly twisted and self-serving form of it. I won’t get on that, as it’s an argument for another day. The point is this, how can I knowingly endorse an artist, whom I may or may not have supported loudly in the past, who endorses the teachings of pastors that I cannot agree with? If I were to go with my gut, I just can’t do it because I know what’s at stake; it’s more than unity and friendship, it’s about lost souls finding the true gospel, and not some twisted form of it that may still lead them to hell.

That last sentence just about sums up how I feel about the whole situation; I cannot just idly sit back and allow myself or my ministry to support ministers who follow a faulty doctrine. While talking to Antoine, I came to the conclusion that I have a ministry to run in Trailblazin Ministries and I have people all over the world who are using my site as a source of doctrine and spiritual growth, and I have to be careful what I allow to be fed to them. Much like a shepherd looks after his flock, I have to keep them from the wolves that come in the form of false teachers and false doctrines, even if it may mean burning a few bridges in the process. For example, I have always loved Tonex with all my heart and have yet to hear a song of his that I have not enjoyed, but I can no longer support him. In his albums he frequently chooses to speak in tongues (I really don’t think that should be done on an album, but that’s another story too… respect your fam that doesn’t agree with you on that) and even insisted on his Out the Box album that the infilling of the Holy Spirit is manifested with tongues, and so on. I just can’t get with that, among other things. Shoot, to stay with him for a minute, the brother even had a song called “Speaking ‘n Tongues” where the hook was in a “tongue.” Nevertheless, I have chosen to remove his reviews from my site, as well as many other artists & authors that I no longer agree with.

I know I may burn some bridges in the process, but that’s okay when I look at the eternal value of things and what it means for those who are using my site & ministry to learn about God. I have decided to toss my CDs in the trash that I no longer agree with (I battled this one for a while, especially with Tonex as there were many that I could’ve made a few dollars on because they were so rare). From now on, I will thoroughly examine my music closely for doctrine and spiritual content. If it isn’t doctrinally sound or doesn’t line up with point #1, then it doesn’t get covered on the site, nor will it be kept in my music collection. This is all about Christ and representing Him in a light to where He alone gets the glory. Sound doctrine is a must and there isn’t room for anything else. It’s holiness first ’til we’re under the earth!

To artists: if your review gets taken off or you get booted from my friends list on MySpace, now you know why. If you have issue, please hit me up via my contact form here or @ Trailblazin Ministries and we can chat over email or phone.