The following moved me deeply. We asked permission to post it. It speaks for itself. My thanks to John Knight, John Piper and Desiring God.
Pastors, Help Your People: The Ministry of a Letter in Suffering
by John KnightPastors, Here's a Scenario
You're a pastor and ‘the call’ comes. One of your families have welcomed a child into the world – and that child is significantly disabled. They are crushed.
I think it’s fine and appropriate to quote from Christian speakers and authors we have benefited from. But while gratefully acknowledging I have benefited from these men and women, I do not put them on a pedestal.
When the following was posted last month on the Desiring God blog, written by Michael Oh, I was very touched by it. Read it, ponder it, pray over it. In case God speaks to your heart about giving, I’ve included a few ministries you may wish to invest in, an investment which will pay off for eternity.
As I shared with those on Facebook, Nanci and I had an amazing few days at the Desiring God conference in Minneapolis. Francis Chan's message on Saturday night was anointed by God.
Those of you who enjoy the resources from Desiring God (a site we highly recommend) are probably familiar with “Ask Pastor John”, where John Piper answers questions on video. That’s our inspiration for this feature: we’re inviting those of you who read Randy’s blog to submit your question for him in a comment on this post. We’ll choose three of those questions
I tire of the incessant church-bashing and endless tales of people disillusioned with their churches. Yes, Christians can be jerks, and we’ve all had rough times in churches, largely because they consist of people too much like us: sinner-jerks in need of grace and truth and growth.
The problem is, Jesus calls the church his bride. He died for her, and says that ultimately the gates of hell won’t prevail against her. So if you give up on the church, you give up on God’s plan.
I'm honored to be one of the Friday seminar speakers for this year's Desiring God National Conference, which has the theme "Think: The Life of the Mind & the Love of God." After I speak on Friday, October 1 about "Difficult Truths & Deep Love: Pondering Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Promise of Heaven," Nanci and I will be staying to attend the featured weekend conference, October 2-3.
Since writing my novel Safely Home, which is set in China and involves religious persecution, I’ve received innumerable confirmations of the persecution of Chinese Christians. Those who live in China now and know the country from the inside know that persecution, in some places, is very severe, while in other places it is mild or almost nonexistent. At the same time, I've heard many sincere but naïve comments from American evangelicals who say, “There’s no longer any persecution of Christians in China.”
I addressed this issue in the foreword to Safely Home I added a couple ...
I was listening to a John Piper message on Hebrews 12, titled "The Painful Discipline of Our Heavenly Father," and appreciated this introduction, so I’m sharing it with you. I really enjoy John’s messages, and highly recommend that you download them, and put on an iPod or listen to in the car and on planes, or as you do housework or tinker in the garage. John’s life and ministry, and his insights and passion for God, have been a gift to me and many others. Download any of John’s hundreds of messages from www.desiringgod.org ...
As many of you know, I am on both Facebook and Twitter, where I frequently post short updates and devotional thoughts. Some people may ask if as a Christian, being on Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites is really worth it, or just a waste of time.
John Piper addressed this in an article called Why and How I Am Tweeting:
I see two kinds of responses to social Internet media like blogging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and others.
One says: These media tend to shorten attention spans, weaken discursive reasoning, lure people away from Scripture and prayer, disembody ...
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