Just a note -- Scott Brown took a moment to introduce me to Arnold Pent as a homeschool leader who has taken a plunge into the cold water of the entrepreneurial pool (I'd say it's not cold, it's refreshing); I had a nice but necessarily brief talk with Arnold and got him to inscribe his book, Ten P's In A Pod, which we read as a family last year.
I also had a moment to talk with Kevin Swanson, the executive director of the Christian Home Educators of Colorado, another excellent writer and speaker.
I need a minute more on my notes from Doug Phillips' presentation but those should be up shortly.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Alexander Strauch on Biblical Eldership
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee!
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
if with His love He befriend thee!
We opened this morning with song and Scott Brown pointed out the verse above as especially meaningful in his own life. Certainly I concur. I haven't heard the official number yet but we're sitting in the Crystal Ballroom with about 400 people, not just the men of the church but a number of their wives and not a few children. I don't know if there is any program for the youngest present, though.
Alexander Strauch is speaking this morning. Scott Brown is introducing him and his book, Biblical Eldership. “This has become the seminal work on church leadership. It is a timeless book because it is a collection of expositions of Scripture, nothing fancy but the beautiful, sweet words of Scripture,” says Scott. He says this book has sold something more than 250,000 copies since publication in the 1980's; “It has been a wonderful correction in the life of the church,” he says.
Strauch recommends two books: Agape Leadership on the life of Robert Chapman, the spiritual mentor for George Mueller and the first trustee of Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission. Spurgeon called him “the saintliest man” he knew. The second book was given to us at check-in, Leading with Love, Strauch's own.
The opening Scripture is Titus 1:5-10 on Paul's view of elders and church order.
The essential nature of having elders who are properly qualified. “[Paul] would say this is a problem in many churches today.”
Strauch said when he was a student at a Baptist seminary some decades ago, the professor lectured on church polity without referencing Scripture. When he asked why, Strauch said he was told all those passages in Paul were just “proof texting” and not relevant.
Many churches have people called “elders” but many are not Biblical elders. The Board Concept is common – elders are elected laymen and not expected to be qualified nor permanent leaders.
“Reformation, revitalization, and recovery of doctrine is an unending task for God's people” he says.
“In every generation, we need an enlightened purification of our tradition; the cry of the Reformation is semper reformanda. The church is always being reformed.” -- R.S. Lewis
John Robinson writing for the Separatists on their departure from Holland deplored Reformed churches who have not moved beyond their reformers – Lutherans who stopped growing with Luther, Calvinists who never go further than Calvin, and so on.
The churches established by the apostles are always examples for the modern church. Further, the New Testament teaches and models plurality of elders and pastoral eldership.
OT witnessed plurity of elders. “It is not a new and subversive doctrine invented by John McArthur twenty-five years ago.” There are elders around the very throne of God. It is the background to the NT
Jesus Christ established eldership for His church. He did not appoint a single man to head the church but appointed twelve and then trained them as a team. He singled out three for particular ministry and leadership; “[And] They were not twelve long-stemmed roses,” he says.
New Testament elders are more defined than their Old Testament counterparts. Further, there is more in the New Testament about elders than about the Lord's Supper, baptism, the Lord's Day, or spiritual gifts. The NT gives us Examples of elder-led churches, Instruction to churches about eldes, Instruction and exhortation directly to elders (Acts 20, 1 Peter 5), and the apostolic direction to elders to “set in order” and correct deficiencies in the church.
“Why do we have elders? Because the Bible says so.” A mission professor who was reprimanded for using Biblical Eldership in classes when it didn't include women in that role said, “It's not the author's fault; look at the title.”
Elders promote the true nature of the church. The structure of government you give the local church makes a profound statement about the body, and it is important. Why? Because the church is a close-knit family and household -- 1 Tim 3.15. The church is a humble, serving community. Luke 22.26f. Humility, servant hood, and love is modeled by shared leadership.
Mt 18.20 The church is under the headship of Christ. “This was very real to the early church.”
And it promotes the protection and accountability of leaders. “Our theology tells us man has been ruined by sin.” Jer 17.9 says the heart is desperately sick. “You need accountability and community.”
Defining and understanding New Testament Christian eldership
The general NT concept is pastoral oversight, not board eldership or lay eldership. They shepherd the church.
There is one very confusing subject in many churches ... equality and diversity within the eldership. It's taught in the four gospels even before the Epistles. The church is built on the apostolic body and authority selected by Christ. Not Peter and the associate apostles – all equally called to go out in Christ's name. But no question Christ also picked Peter to strengthen his brethren.
Look at 1 Tim 5 (Cf. Acts 20) – Paul charged the Ephesian elders to guard the church. The church's great enemy is false teachers. Five years later he returns to Ephesus and finds false teaching rampant, excommunicates two men (see 1 Tim 1) and leaves Timothy behind to take action, sending a letter of instruction and authorization to him later. The best remedy for false teaching is good teaching.
“Sermonettes produce Christianettes.”
Those who work hard, to the point of weariness, in preaching and teaching. Among the elders, not every is gifted as a teacher but every one must be able to teach. Some rule well, some are laborers, some are due double honor for their diligence in study and exhortation. The church must take care of them, not be jealous of them, because they will grow the church. All share the same charge but not all are similarly gifted. There is equality and diversity, the Biblical pattern from both Christ and Paul.
“What a beautiful system of government that allows all men who have desire and qualification to take part in the government with their particular giftedness being recognized.”
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee!
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
if with His love He befriend thee!
We opened this morning with song and Scott Brown pointed out the verse above as especially meaningful in his own life. Certainly I concur. I haven't heard the official number yet but we're sitting in the Crystal Ballroom with about 400 people, not just the men of the church but a number of their wives and not a few children. I don't know if there is any program for the youngest present, though.
Alexander Strauch is speaking this morning. Scott Brown is introducing him and his book, Biblical Eldership. “This has become the seminal work on church leadership. It is a timeless book because it is a collection of expositions of Scripture, nothing fancy but the beautiful, sweet words of Scripture,” says Scott. He says this book has sold something more than 250,000 copies since publication in the 1980's; “It has been a wonderful correction in the life of the church,” he says.
Strauch recommends two books: Agape Leadership on the life of Robert Chapman, the spiritual mentor for George Mueller and the first trustee of Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission. Spurgeon called him “the saintliest man” he knew. The second book was given to us at check-in, Leading with Love, Strauch's own.
The opening Scripture is Titus 1:5-10 on Paul's view of elders and church order.
The essential nature of having elders who are properly qualified. “[Paul] would say this is a problem in many churches today.”
Strauch said when he was a student at a Baptist seminary some decades ago, the professor lectured on church polity without referencing Scripture. When he asked why, Strauch said he was told all those passages in Paul were just “proof texting” and not relevant.
Many churches have people called “elders” but many are not Biblical elders. The Board Concept is common – elders are elected laymen and not expected to be qualified nor permanent leaders.
“Reformation, revitalization, and recovery of doctrine is an unending task for God's people” he says.
“In every generation, we need an enlightened purification of our tradition; the cry of the Reformation is semper reformanda. The church is always being reformed.” -- R.S. Lewis
John Robinson writing for the Separatists on their departure from Holland deplored Reformed churches who have not moved beyond their reformers – Lutherans who stopped growing with Luther, Calvinists who never go further than Calvin, and so on.
The churches established by the apostles are always examples for the modern church. Further, the New Testament teaches and models plurality of elders and pastoral eldership.
OT witnessed plurity of elders. “It is not a new and subversive doctrine invented by John McArthur twenty-five years ago.” There are elders around the very throne of God. It is the background to the NT
Jesus Christ established eldership for His church. He did not appoint a single man to head the church but appointed twelve and then trained them as a team. He singled out three for particular ministry and leadership; “[And] They were not twelve long-stemmed roses,” he says.
New Testament elders are more defined than their Old Testament counterparts. Further, there is more in the New Testament about elders than about the Lord's Supper, baptism, the Lord's Day, or spiritual gifts. The NT gives us Examples of elder-led churches, Instruction to churches about eldes, Instruction and exhortation directly to elders (Acts 20, 1 Peter 5), and the apostolic direction to elders to “set in order” and correct deficiencies in the church.
“Why do we have elders? Because the Bible says so.” A mission professor who was reprimanded for using Biblical Eldership in classes when it didn't include women in that role said, “It's not the author's fault; look at the title.”
Elders promote the true nature of the church. The structure of government you give the local church makes a profound statement about the body, and it is important. Why? Because the church is a close-knit family and household -- 1 Tim 3.15. The church is a humble, serving community. Luke 22.26f. Humility, servant hood, and love is modeled by shared leadership.
Mt 18.20 The church is under the headship of Christ. “This was very real to the early church.”
And it promotes the protection and accountability of leaders. “Our theology tells us man has been ruined by sin.” Jer 17.9 says the heart is desperately sick. “You need accountability and community.”
Defining and understanding New Testament Christian eldership
The general NT concept is pastoral oversight, not board eldership or lay eldership. They shepherd the church.
There is one very confusing subject in many churches ... equality and diversity within the eldership. It's taught in the four gospels even before the Epistles. The church is built on the apostolic body and authority selected by Christ. Not Peter and the associate apostles – all equally called to go out in Christ's name. But no question Christ also picked Peter to strengthen his brethren.
Look at 1 Tim 5 (Cf. Acts 20) – Paul charged the Ephesian elders to guard the church. The church's great enemy is false teachers. Five years later he returns to Ephesus and finds false teaching rampant, excommunicates two men (see 1 Tim 1) and leaves Timothy behind to take action, sending a letter of instruction and authorization to him later. The best remedy for false teaching is good teaching.
“Sermonettes produce Christianettes.”
Those who work hard, to the point of weariness, in preaching and teaching. Among the elders, not every is gifted as a teacher but every one must be able to teach. Some rule well, some are laborers, some are due double honor for their diligence in study and exhortation. The church must take care of them, not be jealous of them, because they will grow the church. All share the same charge but not all are similarly gifted. There is equality and diversity, the Biblical pattern from both Christ and Paul.
“What a beautiful system of government that allows all men who have desire and qualification to take part in the government with their particular giftedness being recognized.”
Uniting Church and Family
This morning I'm at the Uniting Church & Family Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. This is a national event sponsored by the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches, a ministry of Vision Forum headed by my friend Scott Brown. Thirteen of us from North and South Carolina rode up in Jason Dohm's 15-passenger van yesterday -- 1008 miles in 18 hours -- and while we weren't able to make the opening session last night, we're in place this morning.
I'm going to take a shot at blogging through the day -- partly so others can benefit from what we're hearing, and partly because I'm lazy and don't want to go back afterwards and type up my notes later.
Voddie Baucham and Scott Brown have walked in, along with Jeff Pollard, so I'm going to go say hi before we get started.
I'm going to take a shot at blogging through the day -- partly so others can benefit from what we're hearing, and partly because I'm lazy and don't want to go back afterwards and type up my notes later.
Voddie Baucham and Scott Brown have walked in, along with Jeff Pollard, so I'm going to go say hi before we get started.
But, Sir
A man came down to the front desk at the hotel to complain.
"I turned the handle marked 'C' and got scalding hot water," he said.
"But, monsieur," said the clerk, "this is Montreal! To us, 'C' means chaud. It is French for 'hot'."
"I know that," said the guest, "but the other handle was marked 'C', too."
"Ah. But, monsieur," said the clerk, "you see, in Montreal, we are bilingual."
[Not original to me, but I was reminded of it in the shower this morning.]
"I turned the handle marked 'C' and got scalding hot water," he said.
"But, monsieur," said the clerk, "this is Montreal! To us, 'C' means chaud. It is French for 'hot'."
"I know that," said the guest, "but the other handle was marked 'C', too."
"Ah. But, monsieur," said the clerk, "you see, in Montreal, we are bilingual."
[Not original to me, but I was reminded of it in the shower this morning.]
Saturday, September 30, 2006
A visit to great-great-great-great-grandpa
It's not often you have the opportunity to visit the grave of your great-great-great-great-grandfather. In my North Carolina family, a lot of the graves were marked with uncut slabs of rock, if at all. From the small bit of information I've uncovered, this grave had even less marking other than the tradition that he was buried next to his four-month-old son Webb in the old Nashville City Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee.
Susannah is sitting on the child's marker, and just to the right is the new (2005) headstone for Samuel Chester Godshall, Captain, Co. G, 11th Tennessee Infantry, the great grandfather of her great grandmother.
The smaller marker has the names of three Godshall children who died in the same year, 1860, presumably of some illness or disaster. What the marker doesn't show is one of the more interesting names to appear in the family tree -- "A.H." is Captain Godshall's wife, Aramathea Helon Webb (listed as Aramathea in the 1860 census and Helon in the 1880, when she was living with her bachelor brother John C. Webb and her widowed sister).
Friday, September 22, 2006
Okay, I know it's stupid
... but I'll admit to it anyway.
While working on a month-long project out of town (and, not incidentally, on an expense account), I took advantage of a small storefront Chinese restaurant a few blocks from the hotel.* Just for fun, I always make it a point to eat Chinese food with chopsticks, as it was intended, and try to ask for them in Mandarin (Duì bù qì -- gěi wo kuài zi?). I'll confess, I'm not much good with rice, so I'll cheat and use the fork for that.
Unfortunately, eating Chinese four or five times in two weeks wore a groove in the cultural processor in my brain. One evening, I ran across a Greek restaurant** and settled in for another exotic meal ... and all the time, my brain was saying, "Chopsticks ... need chopsticks ..."
Apparently it couldn't deal with "Greek" and settled for "foreign".
=====
* If you're interested, it's the Shuang Xi Kitchen in North Charleston, SC, just off Montague Avenue and near the airport ... it's good, too.
** This was the Zeus Grill and Seafood in Mount Pleasant; it is tucked in behind some crepe myrtles so it's hard to see from the highway, US 17, but it adjoins the parking lot for the Outback Steakhouse. It was really good, and I highly recommend the lemon chicken soup.
While working on a month-long project out of town (and, not incidentally, on an expense account), I took advantage of a small storefront Chinese restaurant a few blocks from the hotel.* Just for fun, I always make it a point to eat Chinese food with chopsticks, as it was intended, and try to ask for them in Mandarin (Duì bù qì -- gěi wo kuài zi?). I'll confess, I'm not much good with rice, so I'll cheat and use the fork for that.
Unfortunately, eating Chinese four or five times in two weeks wore a groove in the cultural processor in my brain. One evening, I ran across a Greek restaurant** and settled in for another exotic meal ... and all the time, my brain was saying, "Chopsticks ... need chopsticks ..."
Apparently it couldn't deal with "Greek" and settled for "foreign".
=====
* If you're interested, it's the Shuang Xi Kitchen in North Charleston, SC, just off Montague Avenue and near the airport ... it's good, too.
** This was the Zeus Grill and Seafood in Mount Pleasant; it is tucked in behind some crepe myrtles so it's hard to see from the highway, US 17, but it adjoins the parking lot for the Outback Steakhouse. It was really good, and I highly recommend the lemon chicken soup.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Is it Gestalt? Or word association?
My first car was a 1960 Volkswagen, but my first "new" car was a used 1981 Ford Escort. I had a lot of fun with it in college, driving it all over the mountains around Clemson and off to court my future wife in Charleston.
At 45,000 it threw the timing belt, a design flaw of the '81 model, and wrecked several valves, forecasting the future for the little two-door. It did this twice more and finally stalled the last time at 83,000 miles. I pushed it home, worked on it for a while, and got a trade-in valuation of $250 when we towed it to the dealership at nine years old.
Though we had decided never to buy another Escort, we were expecting our first child and had one dead car in the driveway and a Datsun/Nissan Sentra starting to show its age as well. It was definitely time to get a more realiable vehicle. As it happened in God's Providence, the best buy was a new, last-year's-overstock 1989 Escort station wagon. Our first brand new vehicle, then, was the second Escort, which was the family Conestoga to California and back. It was our main vehicle until 1996; I installed an after-market seat belt in the back to make it a "five" passenger arrangement. When our first son's feet extended between the front seats, with him in the back and a baby seat on either side of him, we bought our first van.
That Escort developed inexplicable electrical problems the next year, and while waiting at our mechanic's for repair, was swallowed up by Hurricane Floyd's floodwaters. Scrap value at ten years: $36.
Recently my work vehicle, a well-seasoned Chevy Blazer, developed a very disturbing rattle which was diagnosed as a failing piston bearing. Since we have three vehicles at the moment, the Blazer has been sidelined for the time being.
The peculiar thing is that more than once when I've mentioned the Blazer in casual conversation, I said "Escort". Obviously my subconscious mind has permanently associated "defective vehicle" with "Ford Escort"; I suppose that's enevitable when you spent the better part of ten years visiting repair shops in several states. And I can't say it's a Chevrolet mindset, since I'm currently driving a Jeep and have very happy memories of my VW and the Nissan along the way.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Never answered
Working on her masters degree from Florida State early in our marriage, my wife had to take a class at the main campus in Tallahassee, a good two hour drive from our home at Tyndall AFB. It was a Saturday morning class, once a week, so we decided it was manageable. On the other hand, the class met at 8:30 a.m. and the drive involved crossing from Central to Eastern time zone, which pushed the start time back an hour more. We had to leave our home near Panama City well before sunup and frankly, some mornings we weren't at our sharpest driving past Wewahitchka and Blountstown in "the howling wilderness of northwest Florida".
I was driving one morning while my wife napped in the other seat, and passing the exit for the town of Quincy, I recalled a short story called, "The Quince Tree". Musing along the two-lane road, I wondered about that tree, which apparently was symbolic and familiar to the (British?) author but a mystery to me. Knowing my wife's bachelors degree was in biology with a good amount of plant taxonomy in the curriculum, I asked, without introduction and bit too loudly, "WHAT IS QUINCE?"
It was a bit startling, I guess. I don't recall her answer, either.
To this day, now eighteen years later, whenever one of us erupts into comment or explodes a question into a still room while reading, the other will typically answer in kind, "WHAT IS QUINCE?" And like the question in Atlas Shrugged, it generally goes unanswered.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Hotel Galeria
Part of "Grupo Spiegel", which owns not only a slaughterhouse but also grocery stores, hardware and home improvement stores, a ranchero, and a shopping center next door.
Why the Panama Canal needs to be bigger
Because the lines waiting to enter at Panama City (the Pacific end) are pretty long.Monday, August 14, 2006
Back to the graphics shop, please
Wal-Mart usually does much better than this. Seen in the Smithfield/Selma, NC, Walmartgatory, over the photography studio:
"Bubbles -n- Giggles Passport Photos While You Wait".
It comes from trying to use the extra square foot of the banner advertising a new baby picture setup. I'm not going to spend any time trying to picture exactly what a "Bubbles -n- Giggles Passport Photo" might look like.
"Bubbles -n- Giggles Passport Photos While You Wait".
It comes from trying to use the extra square foot of the banner advertising a new baby picture setup. I'm not going to spend any time trying to picture exactly what a "Bubbles -n- Giggles Passport Photo" might look like.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Just what is an inundated Calvinist?
I've never taken the space to explain the title of this weblog, The Inundated Calvinist. I hit on this name long before blogging was a force, in fact, several years before we had Internet service. There are several facets to it, so when I set up my Blogger account, I decided to finally use the name.
The Calvinist label refers to my doctrinal beliefs, which are conservative, evangelical, and thoroughly in line with the tradition of the Reformation.
The "inundation" refers to a particular expression of that Calvinism; although raised in the Presbyterian church, after a thorough study of the matter in college I became convinced of the "credobaptist" position, that is, baptism administered only to believers, and that by immersion rather than sprinkling. An "inundated Calvinist", then, is a tongue-in-cheek name for a Reformed Baptist believer.
Finally, the "inundation" also refers to my general mode of life; between work, family, and several ministries, I find my days are very, very full. It's not uncommon to sense the water lapping at the gunwhales as I row. Of course, a well-laden boat tends to ride low in the water, so I'm not sure I'm ready to lighten the ship yet.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Article in Carolina Journal Online
My article on the impact of rising energy costs on school systems and an interview with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools facilities director Phil Berman, was the lead in the July 3 Carolina Journal Online. Travel, work, and family commitments - not to mention writing for CJ - have kept me from posting recently, but that's the latest on the web.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The thing itself
I've tried to post on at least a weekly basis for the past few months, and it's a reflection of the rush of other responsibilities and commitments that I haven't for the past two. Sorry about that.
I did run across this item the other day and thought I might as well put it up. An article in The Tennessean described a debate on Calvinism during last week's annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. I was struck by the Christian tone of both men who honestly wanted to discuss theology, not aim for personal destruction of their opponent. The most regrettable comment, though, came from a Tennessee pastor who will remain nameless:
"I don't get caught up in Calvinism or some of the other issues," said [Nameless], pastor of [Deleted] Baptist Church in [Deleted], Tenn., attending with his wife, [Mrs. Nameless]. "I think our denomination needs to just focus on evangelism, on reaching the world through Christ."
Interesting twist there, reaching the world through Christ, not for Him. What's the purpose here?
But what bothers me is the highlighted comment. Occasionally I hear statements along the lines of, "At our church, we don't care about doctrine, we just love Jesus" -- begging the question what to do about Acts 2:42, for example -- but I expect better reasoning from a pastor. And if Calvinism as defined in the current debate isn't about evangelism, then it's not a debate at all.
I'd have to agree -- Pastor Nameless apparently isn't involved in the issue.
I did run across this item the other day and thought I might as well put it up. An article in The Tennessean described a debate on Calvinism during last week's annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. I was struck by the Christian tone of both men who honestly wanted to discuss theology, not aim for personal destruction of their opponent. The most regrettable comment, though, came from a Tennessee pastor who will remain nameless:
"I don't get caught up in Calvinism or some of the other issues," said [Nameless], pastor of [Deleted] Baptist Church in [Deleted], Tenn., attending with his wife, [Mrs. Nameless]. "I think our denomination needs to just focus on evangelism, on reaching the world through Christ."
Interesting twist there, reaching the world through Christ, not for Him. What's the purpose here?
But what bothers me is the highlighted comment. Occasionally I hear statements along the lines of, "At our church, we don't care about doctrine, we just love Jesus" -- begging the question what to do about Acts 2:42, for example -- but I expect better reasoning from a pastor. And if Calvinism as defined in the current debate isn't about evangelism, then it's not a debate at all.
I'd have to agree -- Pastor Nameless apparently isn't involved in the issue.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
An Automotive Thought
This afternoon I'm dealing with the realization that for every hundred miles we drive in the van, we'll spend $24.45 on the gas, $1.35 on the tires, 42 cents on the oil, and three bucks on the air conditioner.
Anyway, that's about the cost of cool air in our eleven-year-old 15-passenger van, if our mechanic is right.
I'm reminding myself that as long as we're spending less than $400 a month on repairs, we're coming out ahead in the near term.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Worms, I Tell You
Some years ago I read several books on English and American hymnody. It was interesting reading, but it was plain that like so many other areas of American Christianity, there was a definite slide in the content of the hymnbooks during the last century. One writer quoted, humorously he thought, a clergyman colleague's complaint about "vermicular hymns", that is, "hymns with worms in 'em!" We sang one this past Sunday -- in the sanitized version, alas, but remembering Isaac Watts' original --
Alas! And did my Saviour bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
More modern hymnbooks pull the "worm" reference and substitute "sinner", which it still Biblical and no doubt still offends some. Still worse, though, is the bouncing chorus that some cheerful soul added long after Watts reached his reward:
At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light
And the burden of my heart rolled away (rolled away)
It was there by faith I received my sight
And now I am happy all the day
It's a catchy chorus, though you could debate whether modern notions of "happy" still mesh with the synonym "blessed" when the chorus was added. It even has good harmony and an interesting bass line, I'll admit, but it's totally inappropriate for the original hymn. Watts concludes his portion with simple pathos:
… dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
and melt mine eyes in tears.
But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe
Here, Lord, I give myself away
'Tis all that I can do
Look at Watts' vocabulary --
Alas, grieve, bleed, die, worm …
dissolve, melt, tears …
drops of grief, debt, owe, and give myself away.
And the chorus responds:
And now I am happy all the day
I tried singing "blessed" but it just wouldn't fly.
Keep the chorus, if you like, attach to another hymn or develop the idea to stand in its own framework. But as for me, I need to be reminded of my vermicular state, and my helpless dependence on a gracious Savior, and the awful price He paid, daily. Or to borrow the chorus, all the day.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Conference report
We're back from the North Carolinians for Home Education Conference and on the road to recovery, thanks.
Someone stopped me in the hallway at the conference and asked how I was doing. I told them I was hot, footsore, and full of headache, and wouldn't be anywhere else in the world. All true.
The big personal event was completing my three terms as president of the organization and handing the reins over to my extremely capable "executive officer", Ernie Hodges of Pfafftown. Ernie has been my wing man for the entire three years and I couldn't have asked for one better. I recently read Leading from the Second Chair, a book about how associate pastors, vice presidents, and assistant chairmen can improve their service in the "second chair" positions, and I was thinking the entire time, "Ernie already does this." I'm looking forward to serving under his administration now, and thank him for the support he's given me.
I also had the privilege of speaking to the Friday morning general session, about two thousand homeschoolers in one place, on "the state of homeschooling". The point I wanted to get across is that home education in North Carolina, like Franklin's summation of the Constitution, is a freedom we enjoy only as long as we are careful to keep it. Homeschooling has grown to a population comparable to the city of Fayetteville, and I doubt that we will see a true assault on the basic right to teach our own children at home. What concerns me is the rise of public school programs which offer a home-based instructional program. The educational libertarian in me applauds the development of any alternative system which will allow parents to spend more time and attention on their children's education, saving taxpayers money on school construction and personnel costs to boot; yet we homeschoolers have to remember that a public school program in our living room is not an expression of the parents' right to direct the education of their children.
If our only concern is negative socialization, then keeping our children off the bus and the playground by using a virtual school program may be an adequate solution. If our intent is to train up our children according to our own conscience and best judgment, though, we can't forget that accepting the convenience of public school at home means trading away our independence and freedom to do what we think is right, regardless of the state's largest bureaucracy.
Someone stopped me in the hallway at the conference and asked how I was doing. I told them I was hot, footsore, and full of headache, and wouldn't be anywhere else in the world. All true.
The big personal event was completing my three terms as president of the organization and handing the reins over to my extremely capable "executive officer", Ernie Hodges of Pfafftown. Ernie has been my wing man for the entire three years and I couldn't have asked for one better. I recently read Leading from the Second Chair, a book about how associate pastors, vice presidents, and assistant chairmen can improve their service in the "second chair" positions, and I was thinking the entire time, "Ernie already does this." I'm looking forward to serving under his administration now, and thank him for the support he's given me.
I also had the privilege of speaking to the Friday morning general session, about two thousand homeschoolers in one place, on "the state of homeschooling". The point I wanted to get across is that home education in North Carolina, like Franklin's summation of the Constitution, is a freedom we enjoy only as long as we are careful to keep it. Homeschooling has grown to a population comparable to the city of Fayetteville, and I doubt that we will see a true assault on the basic right to teach our own children at home. What concerns me is the rise of public school programs which offer a home-based instructional program. The educational libertarian in me applauds the development of any alternative system which will allow parents to spend more time and attention on their children's education, saving taxpayers money on school construction and personnel costs to boot; yet we homeschoolers have to remember that a public school program in our living room is not an expression of the parents' right to direct the education of their children.
If our only concern is negative socialization, then keeping our children off the bus and the playground by using a virtual school program may be an adequate solution. If our intent is to train up our children according to our own conscience and best judgment, though, we can't forget that accepting the convenience of public school at home means trading away our independence and freedom to do what we think is right, regardless of the state's largest bureaucracy.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Speaking at the NCHE Conference
Melanie and I will be speaking at the 22nd Annual Conference and Book Fair sponsored by North Carolinians for Home Education, held at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC, this coming Thursday through Saturday (May 25-27).
Melanie, mother of six boys, will be speaking in the first session on "Ballistic Homeschooling: Teaching and Appreciating Boys"; this is free and open to the public, Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
I will be giving my talk for fathers on "The World, The Flesh, and The Young'uns", Friday at 11:00 a.m.
The two of us will also be giving a session called "You Can Rest When You Get Home", about the unexpected benefits of educational travel as homeschoolers. This will also be Friday, at 2:00 in South Main 3. It's not on the website yet; the speaker originally scheduled for that time had to cancel for family reasons, but we has already been asked to do this session so the opportunity was Providential.
I'll also be giving the President's address at NCHE's Annual Membership Meeting, Saturday at 8:30 a.m., right before the Saturday keynote session.
The full schedule and conference information are on NCHE's website, http://nche.com. Hope we'll see you you there -- stop by and say hello.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
My take on illegal immigration
I've posted a piece this on my op-ed blog, Five Points. First things first, I say.
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