“Man, it’s great to be in the thick of the fight and to draw the old devil’s heaviest guns, to have him at you with depression and discouragement, slander and disease! He doesn’t waste time on a lukewarm bunch; he hits good and hard when a fellow is hitting him. You can always measure the weight of your blow by the one you get back. When you’re on your back with fever and at your last ounce of strength, when some of your converts backslide, when you learn that your most promising enquirers are fooling, when your mail gets held up and some don’t bother to answer your letters, is that time to put on mourning? No sir, that’s the time to pull out the stops and shout hallelujah! The old fellow’s getting it in the neck and hitting back. Heaven is leaning over the battlements and watching. Will he stick it? And as they see Who is with us, as they see the unlimited reserves, the boundless resources, as they see the impossibility of failure, how disgusted and sad they must be when we run away. Glory to God! We’re not going to run away!”

What I liked:  Himes provided narratives from fundamentalist history that are not usually found in other sources.  Most accounts that I have read previously tend to glorify the heavyweights of fundamentalism while omitting their faults.  I was particularly interested in the interactions between Rice and Bob Jones, Sr., Billy Graham, and Jerry Falwell.  (Strangely missing were more details of Rice’s relationship with Jack Hyles, who was at least as prominent as Rice in this movement.)

What I found touching:  Himes evidently deeply loved both Rice grandparents.  He refers to his grandmother as the only person who ever loved him unconditionally. (This saddened me, and reminded me of Josh McDowell’s adage:  ”Rules without relationship leads to rebellion.” )  Himes also demonstrates strong feelings towards his grandfather, despite their deep philosophical differences.  This actually gives Himes more credibility, IMHO.

What troubled me:  Himes’ rejection of fundamentalism stemmed from racist attitudes and actions of certain fundamentalist leaders, particularly in the south.  Unfortunately, some of these attitudes are still all too common in some circles.

My response:  I was particularly interested in Himes’ account of Rice’s final Sword of the Lord Conference sermon in 1979.  I was actually in attendance for this sermon as a nine-year-old boy.  My parents were attending the conference, and for the most part, I went to the “children’s church” version of the conference while my parents were in other meetings.  For this particular sermon, however, my dad kept me in the adult service because he wanted me to hear this “great man that God has used”.  My dad probably realized that this would be our last opportunity to hear Rice in person.  My memories of his message are, of course, rather limited, but apparently Rice sought at the end of his life to remove some of the divisions between men who should have been of like mind.  This type of message is still needed as we struggle in our day to “speak the truth in love”.

I highly recommend this book, particularly for those who were raised in fundamentalist circles.  I did not like or agree with many of Himes’ conclusions, but appreciate his attention to detail and balance.

Disclaimer:  Andrew very generously provided me with a free preview copy of this book in exchange for this review.  He did not, however, seek to influence a favorable review in the process.

Click here to read the article.

For what it’s worth, here’s what I wrote.  (And remember, he said to be creative!)

Why I need this book:

1) Just finished reading Leviticus. I really miss bacon, BBQ sandwiches, and working in my yard on Saturdays. Please help.

2) Have never heard of this guy named Andy Stanley. Thought it might be a good idea to learn from a guy who pastors a church that is larger than my county.

3) Ok. #2 was a lie. I’ve heard of him. See? I need grace.

4) I have five kids. Girls. They like to eat. Sometimes two or three times a day. Doesn’t leave much $ for buying books.

5) I just read all the previous comments and they sound so spiritual. Mine doesn’t. So by giving me the book, you would be giving it to the person that is the least worthy. Isn’t that what grace is all about?

Well, it must have worked.  My copy arrived in the mail this week.  Check back later for my review of the book.

1.  Your character is more important than your reputation.

2.  Praying is more important than preaching.

3.  A message is more important than a sermon.

4.  Faithfulness is more important than success.

I Peter 5:1-4

He concluded with an area that we should seek to be unbalanced in, and that is evangelism.

“Eternity is more important than earth.”

This year, in addition to reading for sermon/lesson preparation, I’m reading through the Bible.  In the past, I’ve avoided trying to do this in one year because every time I’ve attempted this, it became more of a thing to check off my to-do list instead of a spiritual blessing.  For whatever reason, this year it has been different.  God is truly blessing me as I read through His Word.

Something that is helping me with this spiritual discipline is biblegateway.com. I have this site bookmarked on every computer that I use.  It provides me with a daily reading from both the Old and New Testaments.  They have a mobile phone Internet friendly option for those of you with an iPhone, Blackberry, etc., and they will also eventually e-mail the reading directly to your inbox.

If the thought of reading through the entire Bible in one year is overwhelming, they have some alternative reading plans you may find helpful.  Regardless of what you choose, let me challenge you to daily have a time, a place, and a plan for reading and meditating on God’s Word.

In the midst of the pain, death, and suffering, Martin Rinkart wrote these words:

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

May God forgive me and my generation for often selfishly focusing on our “problems”  instead of truly worshipping “the one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore”.

Brit Hume, former news anchor for Fox News has raised quite a stir with his comments during last week’s “Fox News Sunday”.    The topic of the day was the well-publicized transgressions of Tiger Woods.  Hume made the following statement:

“Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person I think is a very open question, and it’s a tragic situation for him. I think he’s lost his family, it’s not clear to me if he’ll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal — the extent to which he can recover — seems to me to depend on his faith. He’s said to be a Buddhist; I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.’”

Brit Hume, you’re my hero.  You’re the one who’s the great example to the world.

Mark  16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

]]> http://bkjournal.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/tiger-woods-and-brit-hume/feed/ 0 Bro. Karl http://bkjournal.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/dave-ramsey-videos/ http://bkjournal.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/dave-ramsey-videos/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:45:36 +0000 Karl http://bkjournal.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/dave-ramsey-videos/ Continue reading »]]>

Several of you have asked for a link to the Dave Ramsey videos. These three FREE messages basically compile most of Ramsey’s teachings on money. Great stuff. It’s been encouraging to hear some of you talk about how you’re applying these Biblical principles to your finances. “Live like no one else so one day you can live like no one else.”