Filed under: Uncategorized
by Justin Day
I recently listened to a short podcast by philosopher William Lane Craig about Christian persecution in Iran. A lot of thoughts ran through my head after meditating on it. Listen to the podcast, titled “Justice in Iran,” and see what you think about it.
1) How does this make you feel about your brothers and sisters in the East? And how does it make you feel about your current situation, living in the West?
2) What do you think the correct course of action should be for American Christians since we have the knowledge of and (possibly) the means to prevent global persecution of our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Filed under: Uncategorized
by Justin Day
In my quiet times I have been reading through the Gospel of Mark and a few questions have come to me recently. First of all I am curious why Jesus chose to speak in parables instead of “straight talk.” The purpose of Jesus using a parable is something that I cannot comprehend. It seems that parables would be the opposite of what one would want to do if you were trying to tell someone a message so important as the Gospel.
In chapter 4 of Mark’s gospel we get the reason why Jesus chose to speak to us in parable form. Jesus tells the disciples, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” I understand this to be saying that Jesus wants the power to understand his message to not be in our hands, but rather to be in his hands. One must repent and be forgiven before one can actually comprehend what Christ is saying. And as we know regeneration is in the hands of Holy Spirit alone.
How should we understand this? Why would God want to reveal his message only to some instead of all? Lastly, how should we view this in light of 1 Timothy 2:4 where it says that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”?
Filed under: Uncategorized
by Mike Plewniak
David Platt, senior pastor of The Church at Brooks Hill, preaches on the gospel and manhood. Listen as he preaches about 7 truths his dad taught him about manhood.
HT: cbmw via twitter
Filed under: Masculinity
During the summer, men do spontaneously primitive things. Like hurl themselves blindly into some uncharted wilderness-like location, throw their rubber sheets over a tree limb and sleep on the gound. Often times, they do this with absolutely no preparation whatsoever, and because of the fall and our inherent pride, they assume they can survive these dangerously primitive situations. Jeff Sanders, in Popular Mechanics, field director of Boulder Outdoor Survival School in Boulder, Utah helps us understand some of the steps necessary to surviving these self/stupidity-inflicted, precariously primitive predicaments.
Manskills #6. Find Potable Water
- Don’t exert yourself in the heat of the day. You may lose more water by sweating that you’ll gain by digging. Ravines and valleys are carved by running water, so head for the bottom. In deserts, with only occasional flow, look for cottonwoods, willows and other light-green vegetation that grows in wet areas. When the sun or moon is low in the sky, scan the horizon for reflections that may reveal the location of small pools. (Don’t worry if the water looks scummy. Waterborne illnesses won’t kick in for at least three days’ dehydration can kill in a single day.) Collect morning dew by wiping grass with a cloth, then wringing out the water. If you have plastic bags, wrapping them around the boughs of deciduous trees yields 1 or 2 ounces a day.
Don’t overestimate yourselves, fellas. Potable water in your spontaneously self-inflicted wilderness survival predicament is harder to find than you’d think. Let that be a lesson to you.
More to come later. In the mean time, happy survival to you.
—joshcan
Filed under: Masculinity
A Hearty Hello to all of you men/aspiring men/random female readers,
In a Popular Mechanics magazine I recently stole from a friend of mine (sorry Jason), I saw an article titled “100 Skills Every Man Should Know.” It intrigued me, because I’m always looking for easy ways to seem more manly. I’ll take any little thing I can to add to my repertoire of skills and useless talents, in hopes that I can at least look the part of a manly man, until, God willing, I may at some point become one.
Anyway, throughout the summer, I hope to post a few of these, to keep you on your toes, and growing in your outward manifestations of your (hopefully) inward, (primarily) Godly masculinity.
(1) Split Firewood (Originally written by Nathan Waterfield)
- “Seasoned splitters use a maul, not an ax, to prep firewood. (With its slim taper, an ax head often gets stuck in the end grain.) Don’t use a chopping block–it reduces the arc of the swing, which decreases power. Instead, place the log on the ground, 5 inches closer that the length of the maul handle. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart; place your dominant hand at the bottom of the handle and the other hand three-quarters up the handle.
- Rest the maul on the wood, then lifet all the way up–your bottom arm should be straight and your top arm slightly bent. As you begin the downward motion, slide your top hand down to your bottom hand, Use your whole body, not just your arms, and bend your knees slightly, snapping them back a split second before hitting the wood. You want to drive the maul through the wood, so complete the swing once you make contact.
This is for all those guys in the southern hemisphere who are now experiencing winter, by the way. Or us Norther Hemi guys who want to get in some practice before the treacherous mid-south winters billow our way.
—joshcan
Filed under: Uncategorized
by Mike Plewniak
I know, that’s a big question. I’m sure there are thousands of answers, opinions, and convictions about how to use twitter, facebook, myspace, texting, and blogs. Josh Harris recently posted about using twitter during church and his thoughts for his congregration, Covenant Life Church. Albert Mohler writes about texting among teenagers and the all-consuming nature of technology.
Listen to this quote from the NY Times I found pretty humorous about teens texting: “They do it late at night when their parents are asleep. They do it in restaurants and while crossing busy streets. They do it in the classroom with their hands behind their back. They do it so much their thumbs hurt. Authorities now blame excessive texting for sleep deprivation, distraction in school, poor grades, and even repetitive stress injuries. These teens are texting while they should be sleeping, and they are sleeping with the cell phone set to vibrate so that they can respond to texts from friends without waking parents.”
Where’s the line? When is it too much? When is it beneficial and when does it lose it’s benefit?
Filed under: Uncategorized
by Mike Plewniak
This is the testimony of Evan Wilson, soon to be intern for VFC. He shared this at CCK several Sundays ago. Enjoy!
“My career at UT began in the Fall of 2004. My original purpose in coming all the way to Knoxville, TN was to get as far away from my parents as possible without forfeiting the hope scholarship by going somewhere out of state. I was so sure that leaving my small Christian school in Jackson, TN and coming to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville would be the best decision that I could have ever made. I was captivated by the fact that I had freedom to do anything that I wanted without being bothered by my parents or called into the principles office after a weekend of drinking with my friends. The drinking and partying from high school carried over to my college years and I could not seem to get enough of this new lifestyle. The world’s attraction began to grow stronger as I got bored with my usual friends, and I eventually decided that there must be another level of satisfaction at the University of Tennessee. Continue reading
Oh Yes!
I thought about sparing you all this video, but I couldn’t help myself! (What is it about guys that makes us want to share disgusting stuff with each other? Do we like watching the other person suffer through what we just did so that we can feel better about having experienced it ourselves? You know what I mean: “Oh Man! This stinks…SMell It!” Or…”This milk is spoiled…Taste it!”) Guys…We’re wierd!
Anyways, along that same vein, I hope you “enjoy” this video, and I would love to hear your cooments about this band’s musical and lyrical abilities (as well as sharing your kid-pop-star memories)
by Tyler Thayer
It usually goes without question that Christians pray. In A Call to Prayer, J.C Ryle says that if you are Christian it is “absolutely needful” for a you to pray. He says that without praying one can not even be saved, for he has not asked for it. Ryle points out that Christians pray at least once in their life, so the questions left are do you continue to pray and how do you pray?
As men, should we not “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). It is true that the same basic principles of prayer apply to women also, but in the context of Manspeak, this is a conversation about men. Further, the question begins to gain distinction when we look at it through the lenses of biblical masculinity. Who should it be that starts prayer when sitting down for lunch or dinner, when a group comes together to enjoy fellowship, when there is need, or how about when there is simply a sense of thanksgiving? In family life, the role of servant leader falls upon the husband, and thus he will be held accountable for the prayer life of his family. Should not young Christian men follow suit and prep for leading a family?
In Acts 12:5 Luke writes, “So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.” The early church was full of faith for the role that prayer plays in the Christian life. So much that it is described as “earnest” (Merriam-Webster 1 : a serious and intent mental state 2 : a considerable or impressive degree or amount). They were working hard at prayer.
Is our generation of young Christian men praying earnestly? I’m not so sure we value it as much as we used to, and it could very well be part of the faulty foundation that is causing so many broken households. So where is the prayer? Why is our generation not praying so hard that we grow weak from the serious contemplation?
Filed under: Devotions
by Caleb Hancock
So…if salvation is by grace alone, and not according to what we contribute, does that mean that we can now go do what we want regardless of consequences? I mean, if we’re saved by grace, isn’t that a license to sin???
Let’s take a look and see what scripture has to say about this. More specifically, let’s continue looking at Titus 3…
Manspeak 