Sometimes I believe that people are more interested in arguing over Calvinism vs. Arminianism than sharing Jesus. In his book, Southern Baptist Thought Since 1845: Has Our Theology Changed, Paul Basden writes about our history of theology, saying that predestination is that doctrine that relates God’s purpose to the human hope of salvation. The relation may be seen as absolute or relative, eternal or temporal, conditional or unconditional. It concerns the mystery of God’s grace, the certainty of human sin, and the promise of salvation. Moreover, it concerns not only God’s will and power, but also human freedom and responsibility.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why there is such an insistence to the point of broken fellowship by some to either be entirely in one camp or the other. I have trouble with some points in both and embrace some points in both. I ran across a concise description of the two camps from www.gotquestions.org that I have included below followed by my take on the two positions point by point. I will show you my score along with my assessment.

Calvinism holds to the total depravity of man while Arminianism holds to partial depravity. Total depravity states that every aspect of humanity is tainted by sin; therefore, human beings are unable to come to God on their own accord. Partial depravity states that every aspect of humanity is tainted by sin, but not to the extent that human beings are unable to place faith in God of their own accord. FULL POST

It is Maundy Thursday. This concept was not introduced to me in the early years of my Baptist upbringing. It is very likely that my first recollection of this term was in seminary. It has become one of my favorite observances of the year and this morning in chapel at the seminary where I teach, we heard a moving message from one of our doctoral students that prompted me to write.

Maundy comes from the Latin meaning mandate or commandment. In John 13, Jesus commanded his disciples to follow His example of service as He washed their feet. Later in that same chapter He said, I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Maundy Thursday is the Holy Thursday before Good Friday.

It is the shortest service of our entire church year--never more than forty minutes. And no, that’s not why it’s my favorite. I love the simplicity of the body of Christ coming together, reading a passage of Scripture, observing the Lord’s Supper, and then departing quietly. It is quick and to the point and full of reflection.

The thirteen that were around the table that night observing the Passover meal were all Jewish. They had observed the Passover every year of their existence. It had likely become somewhat routine, as many of our seasonal rituals have become. However, in the middle of this meal, this time, Jesus reached for a piece of bread and in an instant changed everything. FULL POST

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverb 22:6

I once heard Rick Warren say that there is no such thing as illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents. The child should never be penalized for the careless act of two people who produced a child while hormones were working overtime.

As you settle in for part three of this series, let me remind you of the items we’ve discussed so far: love them unconditionally, give them room, don't move off center, instill confidence, listen when they talk, talk only after they have finished, and learn which hills are worth dying on. Now on to part three.

Carefully consider your reaction. In a two parent family, moms and dads must carefully determine their game plan in private so that there will be a solidarity shown in front of the kids. Parents must be on the same page at all times with each other and never gang up when disciplinary action is necessary. Neither should parents play good cop-bad cop or one parent be the predominant disciplinarian. Couples may want to help referee each other and debrief privately after each disciplinary encounter. Even when one parent takes the lead, it should be crystal clear that both parents present a united front. FULL POST

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverb 22:6

Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs I have ever undertaken. You literally go into this job without a job description. And contrary to the entire parenting section of your local bookstore, there is no parent manual. Everything on the shelf is simply that person’s best guess or since this worked for me--you might as well try it too. So, as you settle in for part two of this series, let me remind you of the first two items we discussed last time: love them unconditionally and give them room. Now on to part two.

Don't move off center. A parent must be consistent. Know who are and in what you believe. Part of the parent problem through the centuries is the fact that men and women may have the physical capability to bring a child into this world, but many have not yet earned the right to parent emotionally or spiritually. A parent must be persistent, always remaining active in the child’s life. Doing something is better than nothing, don’t throw in the towel and never, never, never give up. FULL POST

Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverb 22:6

My two children are both grown, college graduates, out of the house and living on their own. The most amazing fact is that they still love God and are a part of His church. Something happened along the way and I thank God that I didn’t screw them up. We live in a world where their generation is walking away from the church.

We made a recent trip to visit our second grandchild, the first grandson. On the way to back to the airport to fly home, my son asked if I had seen the video that had gone viral on YouTube entitled Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus. I told him that I had heard of it, but had not yet watched. Upon my return home, I quickly found it and watched. He had told me that he has friends on both sides of the love-church-hate-church debate and both said that it spoke to their position.

It reminded me of the opening scene from Fiddler on the Roof where Tevye is trying to get his milk deliveries done before the Sabbath. A group of men have gathered around his milk wagon. A man runs up with a copy of the village newspaper and begins to read a controversial article. Upon conclusion, one man states his opinion and Tevye says, “You’re right”. Another man states his contrary opinion and Tevye “you too are right”. Someone says, “They both can’t be right” and Tevye replies, “You also are right”. FULL POST

Over the years traveling extensively across the United States and around the world, I have been on more than my fair share of airplanes. Over a fifteen-year stretch, I averaged 120 days a year on the road. When you calculate that out, I spent nearly five of those fifteen years away from home. We will save the family dynamic associated with those years for another time. What I want to share in this installment deals with the fact that these experiences have put me in close contact with lots of strangers who happened to share the seat next to mine.

Unless you’re reading a book or the other person is asleep, there is at least a quick hello to check if your neighbor has any interest whatsoever in conversation. If so, the usual where are you heading eventually leads to the ultimate, what do you do?

Some travelers often talk with one another over the course of hours, many times without ever sharing their name. If the conversation has been pleasant to at least one of the two conversant, after the plane lands and people are up securing hand luggage from the overhead bin, occasionally the two will shake hands and share their names. I cannot count the times I have witnessed this seeming oddity to our social norm. Names are very important and we will talk about that at some point. FULL POST

It is with some fear and trembling that I say welcome to my first experience at blogging. A Simple View from the Back Pew will take a look at a variety of theological and other musings that will relate to both the church, the Christian faith and life in general from a lifetime of experience gathered from books read, people met, places traveled and other odds and ends so far. I don’t expect you to agree with everything I write, but I do hope that it will stimulate our thinking and that we can learn together. So we shall forget about the trembling.

I want to give you a glimpse of who I am as we begin this journey together. I am 56 years old and have been a Southern Baptist two months longer than I’ve been born. We’ll talk more about that later. I grew up in a home that was both Christian and dysfunctional to the core. Life was not always easy growing up.

My living extended family includes my father, a step-mother, step-sister, step-brother, half-brother, and a real brother. The immediate family includes my wife of nearly 34 years, a daughter living on the West Coast, and a son living on the East Coast. My son is married to a nurse and they have our only two grandchildren. Since so much of our life revolves around family, we shall return to various family issues to discuss relationships that have brought both my greatest joy and my deepest sorrow. FULL POST