tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.comments2017-07-08T11:18:05.322-05:00Weighty MattersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-22501858794175723052016-03-27T12:02:27.838-05:002016-03-27T12:02:27.838-05:00Thanks, Bill, for your honesty and courage in shar...Thanks, Bill, for your honesty and courage in sharing your thoughts. I am inclined to agree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-81014119262667658762013-11-30T12:14:06.402-06:002013-11-30T12:14:06.402-06:00Great story, Joe. I'm from Mangum, OK and my w...Great story, Joe. I'm from Mangum, OK and my wife, who is from Lone Wolf, actually taught at Roosevelt schools in the late 70's-early 80's. I went to OBU with Bill Jones.Steve Sappingtonhttp://www.todayswordonmoney.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-14595179565788234222013-04-03T08:24:58.475-05:002013-04-03T08:24:58.475-05:00Very well said. Thank you!Very well said. Thank you!J. Ernesto Aneiroshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15587633878909019151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-48219639976609204712013-01-14T00:24:53.843-06:002013-01-14T00:24:53.843-06:00Well-said, Marc (no matter who said it first)Well-said, Marc (no matter who said it first)Bill Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14835717318204020660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-27062873864665524882013-01-13T18:43:38.368-06:002013-01-13T18:43:38.368-06:00Something I wish I had said: "Fear is the dar...Something I wish I had said: "Fear is the darkroom, where all our negatives get developed."Marc Mullinaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16482451839273209280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-61343528982349004572012-08-10T11:37:53.438-05:002012-08-10T11:37:53.438-05:00Glad you posted this, Bill. Just yesterday I was t...Glad you posted this, Bill. Just yesterday I was thinking about the lack of civility in political discussions (ironic, isn't it, that civility is a casualty of civics-related conversations?). It seems so much more pronounced in online discussions. Does the "distance" afforded by online media make people feel that it's okay to say things they wouldn't (I hope) say in a face-to-face conversation? I don't know, but I've concluded that when someone resorts to name-calling, personal insults, or empty slogans, instead of verifiable facts, they're clearly signaling that they've already lost the argument, no matter how smug they feel about their retorts. That goes for both sides of the fence, of course.Jane L.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-21747023609530937252012-05-11T08:55:38.999-05:002012-05-11T08:55:38.999-05:00Thank you, Mary. I appreciate it. This past month,...Thank you, Mary. I appreciate it. This past month, including the trip to Israel and the two conferences I attended the week before we left, has been an amazing time for me. I've had the opportunity to have some great discussions with more people than I can count, and - as I expressed here - they've really encouraged me that genuine dialogue is still possible.Bill Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14835717318204020660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-2529920243281589082012-05-11T08:42:05.423-05:002012-05-11T08:42:05.423-05:00Very well expressed, Bill. You really have a gift ...Very well expressed, Bill. You really have a gift for communication.Mary Kellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02294929638776594548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-25047688035419561372012-04-12T10:20:29.871-05:002012-04-12T10:20:29.871-05:00GEORGE,I have wondered for a long time where you w...GEORGE,I have wondered for a long time where you were. Twenty-five plus years ago, we were friends and sent to a batch of gatherings where you did your thing -- when I was with the Christian Life Commission (SBC). You were good then as you are now -- witness your Easter poem. I returned to Nashville some 20 years ago after being with the Governor of NC for two terms. If you are ever back in Nashville -- the red carpet will be ready for you. Floyd Craig, president, Craig Communications Inc.,3188 Boxley Valley Rd, Franklin, TN 37064; facraig@aol.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-89514481164474118342011-02-12T14:54:40.662-06:002011-02-12T14:54:40.662-06:00What a great post, Bruce!
I have to admit that I ...What a great post, Bruce!<br /><br />I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with Wayland's story, and I love learning something new. (Don't be surprised if some of it finds its way into a future Baptist Brief - with a nod of attribution to you, of course.) You've made me anxious to obtain that reprint of Elements of Moral Science. (I'll be looking on Amazon before the day is out.)<br /><br />I also strongly support your challenge to Baptists to get serious about providing ethics instruction.Bill Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14835717318204020660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-60562526379531444882011-02-04T09:31:58.951-06:002011-02-04T09:31:58.951-06:00Thanks, Dave. You wrote University Park, but I'...Thanks, Dave. You wrote University Park, but I'm assuming you meant University Hills. Yes, I sang in the Sanctuary Choir there for several years (about 1979-1985), and also - for 1 or 2 of those years - helped out in the children's choirs. Bill Rhoads was the music minister then, and it was an outstanding music ministry.<br /><br />I agree with you that the young pastor's ambition to grow a "great" church actually destroyed what had been a great church and undermined his own integrity. Thanks for sharing.Bill Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14835717318204020660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-43535623839439693092011-02-01T23:35:30.441-06:002011-02-01T23:35:30.441-06:00Bill -- I missed the story when it came out in the...Bill -- I missed the story when it came out in the Post, so when I went to a rummage sale of choral music from what was apparently a large church music library, I was stunned to see that all of the music stamped with the name "University Park Baptist Church." The party hosting the sale had apparently purchased the entire library for next to nothing.<br /><br />U Park sponsored choir festivals in the 1990s, and had a flourishing music program. I purchased about 50 boxes of music at this sale out of a collection that numbered over 500 titles. Orchestral, handbell and choral music from decades of worship services. Most boxes contained 70 copies or more, one for each singer. <br /><br />I was deeply saddened to think about all that was represented in these boxes of music. Some nurtured children, some youth or adults. Some are stamped with the names of the families who gave them. Texts on being called to serve, words of thanksgiving, songs of praise. All pointing to the spiritual life of a community. <br /><br />While I don't know the story beyond the report in the Post, something seems incredibly wrong here. I realize that the process probably took years, not minutes, and that there must have been some good intentions behind it. I cannot imagine that the members University Park or Cornerstone saw this coming, however, and I find it hard to see that the pastor had the people's best interests at heart. <br /><br />Maybe he thought he was being called to grow a significant church? Raises the question of what is more important -- evangelism or compassion. Maybe I'm not much of a Christian, but it seems to me the young pastor's ambition to grow did much more damage than good. A devastating blow to the life of a good church.<br /><br />For what it's worth -- thanks for the post,<br />DaveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-55145879277424976172011-01-11T20:31:47.791-06:002011-01-11T20:31:47.791-06:00I think this is right. We have a responsibility to...I think this is right. We have a responsibility to speak out of love and respect for our fellow human beings, especially when we disagree. But I have to wonder where all this outrage and counsel has been for the past thirty years as my generation grew up on violent video games and lude sexual references inundating us on every show we watched. We raise a generation on this junk in the name of free speech, insist these have no impact on behavior, and then wonder about the culture of hate we have at hand. <br /><br />"They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." indeed.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11727689682452973822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-69386148098882599092010-12-23T22:17:22.556-06:002010-12-23T22:17:22.556-06:00That's a great point, Craig.
It's temptin...That's a great point, Craig.<br /><br />It's tempting to isolate a Scripture (prooftexting). But the serious Christian needs to take and apply Scripture in context - whether that context be other Scriptures; the circumstances to which it is speaking; the language, culture, or even political setting in which it was written, etc.<br /><br />As you said, we need to seek the principle . . . the deeper meaning, and that requires context.Bill Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14835717318204020660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-26667740425109669652010-12-23T21:56:33.389-06:002010-12-23T21:56:33.389-06:00There is a scholarly debate over whether 1 Cor 6:7...There is a scholarly debate over whether 1 Cor 6:7 is prescriptive or hyperbole. There are obvious differences between the Pauline churches of the first century compared to our churches, as well as first-century Greco-Roman culture and our own American culture. The point Paul is making to the Corinthians is what is important - the civil courts of the day were being used by the wealthy of the church to enhance their own power in the church, exactly opposite to the spirit that Paul says should reign in the Body of Christ. It is the principle, more than the prescriptive (or hyperbole), that is instructive to our own setting. And the principle is not being observed / followed by University Hills' former pastor and his new congregants.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11727689682452973822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3069545700797102287.post-89622635981611558482010-12-22T21:52:52.264-06:002010-12-22T21:52:52.264-06:00I agree totally! It's sad when Christians beco...I agree totally! It's sad when Christians become "bullies" and try to force others into "proper Christmas behavior" at this time of year. Whatever happened to PEACE and GOOD WILL toward men? (And that means ALL people!) Surely there's enought to do in following Christ's commandments to love and care for the needy that we don't have time for such silliness/meanness that just divides and judges people. I don't think Jesus would be that petty...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com