Woodlawn to Host Eric Redmond

We are looking forward to a special day of worship this Sunday, October 4 as Pastor Eric Redmond comes to speak at Woodlawn Baptist Church in our 10:45 Sunday morning and 6:00 evening services.

As founder of Reformation Alive Baptist Church in Temple Hills, MD, Pastor Redmond’s passion is to see lives transformed by growing in love an under­standing of the Lord Jesus Christ. His book, Where Are All The Brothers? Straight Answers to Men’s Questions About the Church, is one of Pastor Redmond’s attempts to help strong men give Christ a second look by addressing some of their modern day concerns. He feels a burden to reach all generations for Christ, so that a generation yet unborn might be raised up to know and love God. Pastor Redmond also serves as an Associate Professor at Washington Bible College in Lanham, MD.

In the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), he has served as the 2007-2008 Second Vice-President. He also has served on the Trustee Board of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Executive Board of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he maintains membership in the Evangelical Theological Society. Rev. Redmond holds degrees from Washington Bible College and Dallas Theological Seminary.

Pastor Redmond and his wife Pam reside in Lanham, MD and are the parents of five children.

Beauty in the City

This article  and video in the Washington Post is a metaphor on life and how coarse many of us are to that which is intended to bring joy.  When a thousand people walk by one of the nation’s great musicians playing his violin, who will notice?

ht: Steve Clevenger

Evangelical Forum Hosts Derek Thomas & Conrad Mbewe

This weekend the Evangelical Forum will host its 8th annual conference in Charlottesville, Virginia at Jefferson Park Baptist Church.   The featured speakers are Derek Thomas and Conrad Mewbe.  The theme will be “Of God’s Decrees.”

Conrad Mbewe, known as “The Spurgeon of Africa” is Pastor of Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia.

Derek Thomas is Professor of Practical and Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi.

This conference is always a powerful time of worship and fellowship in the Word of God.  The meetings are free to attendees.

More details are at the EF website.

Gospel-Lite Family-friendly Radio

In the D.C. area, we are fortunate to have some good Christian radio stations that have a decent format.  There are two (WAVA, for example) which still have a majority of their content devoted to preaching and teaching with the likes of Alistair Begg, R.C. Sproul and John Mac Aurthur.  There are also a couple that are predominately music-only stations.  Many stations across the country  have adopted to a “family-friendly” format.  A recent study examines what is said between the songs.  According to Paul Butler:

There are thousands of radio stations across the country today which play Christian music. A recent study looked at Christian Music Radio to determine what sets it apart from its mainstream counterpart. But the study didn’t look at the music itself, but what was said between the songs—and what they found may surprise you.

You can listen here to the feature with Mark Seignious (Associate Professor of Electronic Media Communication at Northwestern College  in St. Paul, MN) and Ripley Smith (Professor of Communication at Bethel University, also in St. Paul).

HT:JT

Eyes to See God

You will never perceive God in nature, until you have learned to see God in grace.

-Quote from C.H. Spurgeon in tonight’s message from Genesis 28:10-22 on Jacob at Bethel.

Michael Horton Interviews “Unfashionable”

There is a good interview on the White Horse Inn with Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of Billy Graham, and pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. Michael Horton talks with Tullian about his important new book “Unfashionable” which deals with worldliness in Christians.  Tullian critiques the trends that have driven evangelical churches for a generation.  He also speaks later in the interview about the segregation of age groups in churches.

Give Us More Like Wilberforce

May God raise up more public servants like William Wilberforce who will stand against injustice in this generation; who will decry the abortion industry and the modern-day slave trade that exists inside and outside our national borders.

The story of  the lifelong work of Wilberforce is worthy of reflection on his 250th birthday.   Here is an excellent overview video of his life.

HT: JT

Tour de Washington D.C.

On the same day that the confirmation hearing for Judge Sonya Sotomayor was taking place on Capitol Hill, our family took a bike trip through DC.  It  also happened to be near the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.  We visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and checked out the exhibits commemorating the event among other attractions.  A fun day was had by all.

Accountability, Consequences & Mark Sanford

This past week we heard news that yet another public figure has fallen into adultery.  The governor of South Carolina stood before the press to publicly acknowledge his sin. 

It is a cautionary tale that all men should take to heart.  Especially in demanding occupations that require lengths of time away from home, special care should be taken to guard the heart.  In this case, according to World Magazine, Sanford had been involved in an accountability group in the form of a somewhat secretive  men’s Bible fellowship that meets in a townhouse on Capitol Hill.

In spite of the bad news, it is refreshing to read that at least some of our public servants who meet in this fellowship take their walk with God seriously.  Unfortunately for Sanford, it was not enough.  There must be aggressive action taken daily beyond Bible study groups to guard ourselves as men.  Randy Alcorn has an excellent post on the action he took to guard himself from sexual immorality:

About twenty-five years ago, while pastors at Good Shepherd Community Church, my friend Alan Hlavka and I both developed lists of all the specific consequences we could think of that would result from our immorality as pastors. The lists were devastating, and to us they spoke more powerfully than any sermon or article on the subject.

Read the whole thing and develop a plan of attack against potentially life-devastating temptation.

Justin Taylor Interviews Dockery on SBC’s Future

Insightful answers were given by David Dockery in a recent interview with Justin Taylor in lieu of the release of a compilation book on Southern Baptist identity.  They cover recent developments in view of the past history of the Southern Baptist Convention.