Why I'm Not Taking the Time or Spending the Energy to Debate the Trinity

Most commenters on this blog stay on topic. I appreciate that. One of the unwritten rules of blog interaction is that the topic of the post should also be the topic of the comments.

A few times recently at least one commenter has repeatedly called into question the doctrine of the Trinity. This would be fine if I had, in fact, been blogging about the Trinity. However, I was not (and thus I did not post all of the anti-Trinity comments). It has been a long time since the Trinity was the primary focus of any blog post of mine.

While I love the Trinity, I have no intention of taking the time or spending the energy on debating this doctrine. Why not? There are several reasons. First and primarily, I believe the doctrine is very clear according to scripture. One great example occurs at Jesus' baptism. I could go on and on. It is so clear that debating it is pointless.

Furthermore, within the church as a whole this is a largely settled debate. The church has agreed on the truth of the Trinity for hundreds upon hundreds of years. This is different, for example, from the debate about ecclesiology. Numerous dissenters have always existed against institutional Christianity since very early on (see here for more on that). Not so for the Trinity. I'm not suggesting that all Christians have always been convinced of the truth of the Trinity, but rather that no significant number has failed to adhere to it.

I'm also not going to debate the Trinity because plenty of other paces exist to do so. If you desire to bring up the topic, please do so there. Beyond that, I simply see no benefit in the debate. I don't know what can be gained by discussing in detail something that is, at least in my mind, so clear scripturally. I'd rather talk about, and wrangle over, something that needs to be discussed: the state of the church.

So there it is. If you want to debate the Trinity please do so in other forums. This is not the place. Thank you.

Blog Series Favorites

As the years have rolled along I've written several blog series. Some are better than others. My four favorites are below. I encourage you to take a look and tell me what you think.


Church, Bible, And Interpretation - It's Not So Simple

Homosexuality - an appropriate Christian response

Twenty-Five Reasons Professional Pastors Should Resign

Unavoidable Church Principles

Back to School...Sort Of

Today I begin a voyage back to school of sorts. Specifically, I'm taking a "mini-mester" class at Armstrong Atlantic State University (ASU). Armstrong is located just five minutes from our home here in Savannah; it's also where two of my kids currently go to college. Our third child has already graduated from ASU.

I've already earned a Bachelor's degree (from here) and two Master's degrees (from here and here). So why return to school? The answer is simple. In order for me to become re-certified as a school psychologist, I have to take a couple of college classes. I'm taking one this fall, and another in the spring. My goal is to become re-certified through the state by next April and then apply for a school psychologist position in the local schools. I worked as a public school psychologist from 1996 to 2002, so the transition would not be difficult.

I'm pursuing this not because school psychology is a wonderful thing. It has plenty of pros and cons. However, it would be a life improvement over my current situation at JCB. I'd have a much nicer schedule, including a large chunk of time off during the summer. I'd also be on salary, which would allow us to set a budget. Additionally, it is an occupation that I could do until I'm 70ish (almost no physical component).

The class should not be too difficult since it is just entry level. However, it is fully online. I've never done that before. It should be interesting. My kids can help me since they are of the technology generation.

My schedule is about to go insane for the next month. Not only am I starting this class, but I'm also in training for the Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. I'm hoping to not only complete the 26.2 miles, but also to do so fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. We'll see about that.

Due to all of the above, I have no idea how much blogging I'll be doing between now and Thanksgiving. It may have to take a backseat for a while. I'm certain that the world will not come to an end because of it.

Different Color Scheme

Despite their failings, I still love my Buffalo Bills. However, I'm just not happy with the red, white, and blue theme for my blog. Every time I look at it I'm reminded of the issue of patriotism. That certainly has its place, but it's not one of the things I want my blog to reflect. Therefore, I'm changing to the current colors. I prefer the clean, simple look. Additionally, green is my favorite color. So there it is.

What's With the Red, White, and Blue Blog Theme?

I grew up in western New York State. It's a fairly gloomy place much of the year because of the semi-depressed economy and generally poor weather. One of the few things to cheer for is the Buffalo Bills. Despite much heartache and sorrow, I remain a Bills fan and will forever be a Bills fan.

This is the best time of year to follow the Bills. Since they haven't played any meaningful games yet, they haven't lost any yet either. They are undefeated! In light of that, I've changed my blog theme to red, white, and blue (this is not to be confused with the red, white, blue, and gray color scheme of the evil New England Patriots).

Go Bills!

Blogging Block

As is obvious I haven't been blogging much lately at all. This isn't because I dislike blogging; I don't have any intention of quitting any time soon. The reason the posts have been so infrequent is that I have a raging case of blogging block. For whatever reason, I just don't have many new ideas worth sharing. I could, of course, throw some blather together just to get attention. However, that's a waste of everyone's time. I'd rather go a while between posts, and then actually put something of substance together. Just please keep checking back now and then. More posts will eventually appear.

As for my life, things are going well. Grandparenthood is awesome. What a blessing from the Lord it is to see and cherish the next generation. I'm still running quite a bit. My next big goal is tackling the full 26.2 miles at the Savannah Rock n Roll Marathon in November. Regarding church issues, we still gather simply with a small group of other believers. It is a sweet time of fellowship.

2016 Blogging Themes

Each year I focus on a few specific blogging themes. Below are the five that I'm writing about most frequently in 2016.

1. What Is That Supposed to Mean? (Biblical Interpretation)

2. Now That's How It's Done (Proper Church Practice)

3. You've Got to Be Kidding (Institutional Church Nonsense)

4. Man, We Are Messed Up (Cultural issues)

5. Get After It (Physical Fitness)

Some of the above are topics that I've dealt with quite a bit in the past. Because of my deep concern for the state of the church in this country, that will continue to dominate my blogging. The newest focus is one that I just began addressing late last year: physical fitness; this will be on the increase.

If there are issues that you would like me to blog about, please email me or simply mention it in the blog comments. Thanks.

I hope you have an excellent 2016!

Taking a Blogging Break Until the New Year

The title of this post pretty much sums it up: I'm taking a break from blogging for a month.

My JCB work schedule has been more insane than normal lately; in one recent two week span I totaled 155 hours. It likely won't let up significantly until the new year arrives. This combined with various Christmas festivities means little time for anything else (except running of course). Therefore, I just don't have time to blog well. Additionally, I currently have a little blogging burn-out going on. Maybe a month off will help. I believe it will.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. See you in 2016!

And the Free Book Winners Are...

I love handing out free stuff. Since these books are mine to give away, that makes it easy.

The three winners of Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity are Vaughn B., Patrick P., and Tom T. Congratulations gentlemen and thanks for playing!

I hope you all find the book to be both encouraging and challenging. You will read various perspectives on church life. All the contributors do not agree with each other on all issues. However, we do all agree that God designed His church to function in a simple manner that is far different from what we see in the institution. God has given us both the Holy Spirit and the bible to guide our paths. When we allow the Spirit to direct the church and we follow what we see in scripture, the body of Christ can operate in a way that is magnificent. Enjoy!

SEISMIC BLOG SHIFT

I am a runner. A runner runs. A runner also writes (at least I do).

I've run for years, but several months ago I got serious about it. The reason was simple: I was fifty pounds overweight. I was disgusted with my lack of eating self-control and disgusted with my body. It was time to get in shape.

I decided in February that I would run in the Savannah Rock 'N' Roll Marathon. Well, the race is now only nine days away. I've been training like a madman for a while now. It's been exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. While doing this, I've lost the fifty pounds I needed to.

After the marathon is over, I must learn how to maintain my current weight. While doing this I want to gain a better understanding of how to live a more healthy lifestyle. I realize that physical health is only so important, but God gave us bodies; we should be good stewards of them.

In light of all of the above, my blogging is going to make a seismic shift. I'll continue to write primarily about theological and church issues. However, I'm going to add blog posts about running in particular and health in general. My hope is that you will both continue to read this blog and benefit from the new topics.

Thank You, Arthur Sido, for Writing This Important Blog Post

Arthur Sido has penned a critical post entitled Pitting Jesus Against The Bible. He addresses the growing segment within Christianity that claims to follow Jesus but not scripture. This, of course, allows these folks to create a Jesus of their own making and liking. It is delusional.

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about this specific topic. I even began piecing together a blog post about it. However, Arthur beat me to the punch. And he did an excellent job of it. I highly encourage you to visit his blog and read the post. It is a well-written rejection of the fairly modern idea that Christians can somehow know Jesus while ignoring much of the written revelation about Him.

From the Department of Redundancy Department?

I've been told by some who shall remain nameless that I say the same things over and over on my blog. In essence, the accusation is that I'm being redundant. Is this true? If so, is it a problem?

Is my blogging from the Department of Redundancy Department?

I admit to spending a good amount of time pointing out the numerous problems embedded within institutional Christianity. I make no apology for this. However, I also write about other issues such as family and culture. Additionally, other posts look at positives we see in scripture as far as the church is concerned. I attempt to then make application to today's church. Finally, sometimes I blog about simple church practices and activities that I find both important and interesting. To sum up, this blog looks at much more than just institutional problems.

For the sake of argument, let's just say that my posts focus more on the institution and its absurdities than on anything else. Is this a problem? I think not. Here's why. First, each week institutional Christianity rolls along, largely unimpeded. The pastors do their thing. The people sit quietly. The offering plate fills up. Society is not changed. Because of this, at least some of us outside the institution must point out the problems. Blogging is one of the few avenues I have. As long as the institution keeps up its traditional nonsense, I will discuss the unbiblical nature of what I see. The institution's redundancy leads to my redundancy. We must keep these issues in the minds of other Christians. Otherwise, no change will come within the church.

Second, many bloggers who prefer simple church and are willing to discuss institutional problems also have another problem: they are weak doctrinally. I'm not sure why it is, but a lot of those outside the institutional walls hold unbiblical positions on issues such as homosexuality, gender roles, the atonement, and Hell to name a few. Many also border on universalism. The term "squishy" is a good way to describe their doctrine. Therefore, I'm part of an odd, small number of bloggers who hold orthodox Christian beliefs and also reject institutional church practices (Arthur is another in this odd camp). Since our number is so small, we must continue to bang the same drum.

If this seems like redundancy, then so be it. Nobody is forced to read anybody's blog.

Ten Things That Matter

We Christian bloggers, myself included, talk a lot about a lot of different things. This is a quick reminder of the things of utmost significance.

1. God exists.

2. God exists as the Trinity.

3. God created the universe, but does not need it.

4. Jesus Christ became human, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, was resurrected, and ascended to heaven.

5. The Holy Spirit lives with and empowers us today.

6. The Bible is true and must be understood as God wants it understood.

7. The Gospel of grace, as described in the Bible, is true.

8. We must love one another.

9. We must proclaim the Gospel.

10. We must care for those in need.


I do not intend this post to be exhaustive. We could clearly expand on any number of these (especially number four) or add to the list. My point is simply that we do well to ponder, dwell upon, and take joy in the truths of most importance.

I Really Do Try To Be Positive, But...

Blogging is a lot of fun. If it wasn't, I wouldn't do it.

Blogging about the church and how it interacts with culture is also enjoyable. Again, if it wasn't, I wouldn't bother. If you read this blog much you may not think that I like writing about church life. I say this because most of my posts (or so it seems) have a negative tone. As this post's title suggests, I really do try to be positive. However, in light of the current state of the church in this country it is difficult to focus mostly on the positive.

I suppose some of this stems from the fact that I was raised in the institution, stayed there for almost forty years, worked as a missionary, and worked as a professional pastor. I've seen most of the problems first-hand. It's not pretty. Meanwhile, much of my experience in simple church life has been theoretical. I know what the bible says about the church; however, I've only been part of simple church practices for a few years. I still have much more information to draw on about the institution than I do about simple church life.

Another reason for my struggle to be positive is that so many people in leadership within the evangelical church have no desire to make needed changes. To use a Southerism, they "just keep on keepin' on." It's the same thing week after week after week after week. The pastor preaches, the people sit dutifully, the babies cry in the nursery, the ushers take up the offering, and nothing of substance happens. Yucky.

In light of my negative bent, I want to do something proactive to change things up. Therefore, beginning soon I'm going to work through the book of Acts, looking for positive aspects of church life that we can apply to today. Starting in chapter one, I'll attempt to glean the positives from the text. I'm going to purposefully ignore the more negative texts, such as Ananias and Sapphira.

I have no idea what will come of this. Maybe I'll transform into a more positive blogger like Dave Black. Maybe not. Either way, a trip through the book of Acts is always a positive trip to take.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I haven't blogged much lately because life is extremely busy right now.

This is not a bad busyness, but it certainly requires quite a bit of time. Last weekend our younger daughter graduated from high school. In a couple of weeks our older daughter gets married. We are currently trying to both get the house ready for guests and plan the last details of the wedding ceremony and reception.

On top of all this my job at JCB usually has me working at least fifty hours per week. Added to that is my increasing running schedule; I run almost every day after work. This is a choice, but again it takes time.

My wife Alice and I are what you could call "joyful but busy." If we can just make it through the wedding with no major complications everything should be fine.

On Linking

I rarely know well in advance what my work schedule will be at JCB. Some weeks we work forty hours, but others more like seventy. This makes it difficult to blog regularly.

Like many of you, many times I see excellent blog articles throughout the week. While I might not be able to blog, I can still point out these good reads by linking to them. While I've done this numerous times before, my frequency of doing this going forward will probably be increasing (while my own writing dips a bit in number).

My posts that simply link to others will start with the word "Linking." Not very original I admit, but at least you'll know what's going on.

Today I'm linking to two different interesting posts. First, Benjamin Corey has penned an excellent piece entitled 5 Reasons Why So Many Christians Are Feeling Burned Out Right Now.

Second, thanks to Arthur Sido for pointing out this interesting post from the Gospel Coalition of all places: Why Aren't Calvinists Pacifists?

I will by no means agree with all the posts I link to; rather, my intent is to point out thought-provoking pieces.

New Blog Header

One of the things I'm most thankful for is God's releasing me from man's church traditions.

For most of my life I lived within the institutional walls of American-style Christianity. During those years I never questioned the existence or validity of things like worship services, professional pastors, and large church buildings. I even worked for a few years as a paid pastor myself.

I praise the Lord for freeing me from tradition's shackles. The above blog header is an accurate depiction of how I feel much of the time. While I thank God mainly for salvation, at a secondary level I'm exceedingly grateful for His opening of my eyes to the limitations of institutional Christianity.

What a gift from God to see a truly free church.

I hope you are feeling and experiencing this freedom, too!

Listing the 25 Reasons Professional Pastors Should Resign

Below is a complete list of all my posts in the series 25 Reasons Professional Pastors Should Resign.

Reason #1 - Professional Pastors Propagate the Clergy/Laity Divide
Reason #2 - Professional Pastors Take Jesus Christ's Spot as Senior Pastor
Reason #3 - Professional Pastors Turn Gatherings Into Performance-Oriented Shows
Reason #4 - Professional Pastors' Salaries Place a Massive Financial Burden Upon the Church
Reason #5 - Professional Pastors' Sermons Put People in the Pews to Sleep
Reason #6 - Professional Pastors Cannot Be Fully Accepted Members of the Body
Reason #7 - Professional Pastors' Sermons Are Thought of As Special Messages from God
Reason #8 - Professional Pastors Get Confused With Biblical Elders
Reason #9 - Professional Pastors Lead Almost Everything, Taking Opportunities From Others
Reason #10 - Professional Pastors Can Easily Abuse Power
Reason #11 - Professional Pastors Stay Largely Cloistered, Not In Full Contact With the Real World
Reason #12 - Professional Pastors Suggest That Payment Should Be Given For Service
Reason #13 - Professional Pastors' Long Sermon Prep Implies That The Bible Is Extremely Complicated
Reason #14 - Professional Pastors Are Placed on a Pedestal by the People
Reason #15 - Professional Pastors Preach Tithing In Order to Get the People to Give Enough to Pay Their Salaries
Reason #16 - Professional Pastors Keep the People in "Feed Me" Mode
Reason #17 - Professional Pastors Imply That Churches Need "Experts" to Lead Them
Reason #18 - Professional Pastors Keep Money From Going to the Poor and Needy
Reason #19 - Professional Pastors Should Get Real Jobs That Provide Goods or Services
Reason #20 - Professional Pastors' Salaries Give the Message That the Church Should Spend Money on Itself
Reason #21 - Professional Pastors Turn Church Family Gatherings Into "Worship" Ceremonies
Reason #22 - Professional Pastors Allow and Encourage the People to be Spectators
Reason #23 - Professional Pastors Are, In Fact, Professionals
Reason #24 - Professional Pastors Tell the Church That the Biblical Model for Church Life is Unimportant
Reason #25 - Professional Pastors Force Jesus Christ Into the Background

A Sad Day for Blogger.com

I've been using Blogger since 2007, and never have I been more saddened by the company.

Yesterday I received the following notice from Blogger:

An update on the Blogger porn content policy

This week, we announced a change to Blogger’s porn policy stating that blogs that distributed sexually explicit images or graphic nudity would be made private.

We’ve received lots of feedback about making a policy change that impacts longstanding blogs, and about the negative impact this could have on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities.

We appreciate the feedback. Instead of making this change, we will be maintaining our existing policies.

Blogger was apparently considering doing away with people's ability to use Blogger for public porn blogs. Sadly, after whatever feedback they received Blogger has decided to allow porn after all. This is a sad statement on both Blogger and our culture as a whole.

If I was more techno savvy I would probably switch to Wordpress or something else.

Well That Blog Theme Was a Mistake

I tried out a new blog theme for a while, but it was a mistake. The more I looked at it the more it felt too busy. In the end the verdict was this: yucky.

I've switched back to something simpler and smoother. I've always liked the combination of red, white, and blue. I'm not patriotic, but the colors are nice nonetheless. Not that any of this matters in the the big picture of life, but since this is my blog I get to blather about it regardless.