Wow… how long has it been since our last blog entry? Truth be told, I haven’t much felt like writing about what has been going on in my life. I like writing, just haven’t had that umph lately – that desire to let my life flow through my fingertips and onto the screen of a computer. I’ve been very content to live, enjoy my family, worship my Savior, and try to lean into the Spirit as He lives and moves and animates my very being. Like many of you (I’m sure), I do read several blogs and ponder much of what is out there. I’m currently working through a few books too. I’m even watching/listening to the Ligonier Conference live as I type!
So, in an effort to justify my sorry attempt to maintain a blog, I want to share with whomever might be reading this a few sites that you might find of interest and worth checking out on a regular basis.
If you are not familiar with Sam Storms, I want to encourage you to check out his website and learn more about his ministry. If I had the money and a sabbatical to boot, I would love to carry this man’s bags as he goes around the country speaking, and I would love to be able to spend time picking his brain about everything from theology, to life in the Spirit, to how he interacts with both charasmatics and Calvinists alike. 🙂 His e-mails are well worth signing up to receive. You won’t be sorry.
Of course, listening to and reading Sam Storms is almost like listening to and reading John Piper in many respects. They both have a great passion for the glory of God and desire to be satiated by the God who has given us all things freely to enjoy. Piper’s site is called Desiring God and is well worth the trip whenever you are looking for resources to minister to your soul.
One that I have recently been reading and perusing is Pen and Parchment. It is the blog outlet for Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. Michael Patton is the founder and president of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries. He thinks deeply about theological issues, grappling with them in such a way that they are accessible to both lay person and pastor alike. He also has some excellent contributors to his site, all of whom are seminary trained and either teach on the university level or have ministries of their own that assist the church and its members in understanding the truth in greater measure. For a great interview about Michael and his ministry that just came out within the last two days, go to internetmonk.com.
And speaking of internetmonk.com, you may as well add that site also. Michael Spencer is the owner and propriator. As he writes on his blog site: “I am on a post-evangelical journey, discovering what it means to be vitally connected to Jesus. That process is always worth sharing.” Mr. Spencer wrestles well with life and how it affects his relationship with Jesus, others, and himself. He goes on to write in his FAQ section: “I speak what I feel, not what I ought to say. Eventually, I’ll irritate you… I talk hard. You read and know you’re not alone.” Well, you simply need to read his blog. I probably find myself disagreeing more with what I read at times on internetmonk.com, but I’m always grateful for the different viewpoint and the thinking that goes in behind it. I am probably as challenged by Michael Spencer’s writing as anyone’s. 🙂
And finally, on the church side of blogging… As a pastor, I don’t regularly (think weekly) check in on these sites, but I do regularly (think as often as a need arises) check in on these sites:
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Challies.com: Tim Challies is a monster blogger and serves the church well by reviewing books, attending conferences and sharing notes via his blog, and in general, keeping a pulse on the developments going on in the evangelical world.
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Together for the Gospel: The tag line for the blog site says: Four friends. One passion. Together for the Gospel. The four friends are Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, C.J. Mahaney, and Albert Mohler. They simply have joined together to have an ongoing public conversation. I encourage you to drop in…
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reformation21: This is the online magazine of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. They exist to encourage biblical thinking, living, worship, ministry, and constructive cultural engagement.
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9Marks: Mark Dever, the Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church asks the following questions on the 9Marks website: “Have you ever considered what it means for a church to be healthy? Have you ever thought about how that health is nurtured and sustained? If so, have you reflected on why you answer those questions the way you do?” When I am looking for the good biblical thinking on how the church is run and why it is run… when I am looking for pragmatic information about how to minister (i.e. hospital visitation, benevolence, counseling) I frequently check this site to see what they have written on the topic.
Other sites I read and enjoy: The No Kool Aid Zone, The Jolly Blogger, Ravi Zacharias Ministries, and Al Mohler. Wish I could comment on each of these, but you’ll just need to check them out for yourself.
As you can see, my tastes aren’t terribly diverse, and I am fairly reformed in my orientation to the blogs and sites I frequent. These may or may not be of any help to you out there in blogland… they are just some sites that have helped and encouraged me, and I do know that we can all use some help and encouragement. 🙂
Sentinel Court 