So let me give you my story: My wife and I moved to the Philippines in 2004. In my wife's case, she was moving back after 24 years living in the United States. Anyway, for many years (early 2004 to mid-2021) we spent 10-12 months a year in the Philippines doing ministry. For all of …
A Ministerial Version of the Moth Joke
A few years ago the comedian Norm MacDonald passed away, and I had taken one of his jokes, "The Moth Story" and reworked it. The reworking it gives it a bit of a Christian ministry message. I don't think Norm would disapprove (that much). I put in on our ministerial website for Bukal Life Care. …
HALF in Agreement That the Sermon on the Mount is Not for Today.
I have been a bit surprised at a pattern I have seen recently, especially among American Evangelicals. I see a trend of these Christians (and I generally can be described as an American Evangelical) have with the message(s) of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). First, though, I should note an older view …
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Can Evangelical Missionaries Work with Catholic Ministers?
The TLDR is that my wife and I, as Evangelical/Baptist missionaries, often work with Catholic ministers (priests, nuns, chaplains) in the Philippines. So my answer to the question above is "Yes." Now, here is the longer answer. My wife and I don't get many questions about why we do certain things and not other things. …
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Gehazi the Complicated
I think most Christians would kind of like the Bible to be written more like a Charles Dickens novel. I mean that in terms of characters. Dickens wrote social commentary with numerous characters. In this sense, his novels share something with much of the Bible. A big difference is that Dickens uses pretty simple characters. …
Slavery and Hermeneutics
I don't normally point people to someone else's article, but I will today. William Wade Burleson, wrote a great article, sharing it on FB, strangely, addressing the issue of female clergy. He links the hermeneutics of this issue with that of slavery. He was not relabeling or equivocating. Rather, he was noting the similarity in …
Theology and Three Sources of Truth
Where does theology come from? Many would say that it comes from the Bible. However, the Bible is not a theological work--- it is a work of revelation. Theology is first interpreted (Hermeneutics), and this should be done based on what it says in the context of it being originally said (Grammatical-Historical Exegesis). But theology …
Can We Speed Up the Return of Christ (If We Are of a Mind To)?
Can we speed up the return of Christ? Up until quite recently, I would have given a resounding NO!! However, more recently, I have drifted into the "PROBABLY NOT, BUT MAYBE" response. My reason for the resounding NO in the past was that there were two common arguments that I heard. Argument #1. Matthew 24:14 …
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What is the “Plain Sense of Scripture” Anyway?
If one looks it up online, the expression "plain sense of Scripture" refers to the literal sense of Bible interpretation. But this doesn't help at all. Why? Because both "plain sense" and "literal" are somewhat technical terms that sound as if they are anything but technical. Both "Plain Sense" and "Literal" focus on the grammatical-historical …
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Responding Poorly to Criticism— Historical Missions Example
In my last post I noted the problem of responding badly to criticism. A historical example occurred in the 1600s in Germany. Back in 1651, the faculty of the University of Wittenburg was responding to charges from Roman Catholics that the Lutheran Church was invalid. The person questioning the validity apparently was Erhard, Truchsess of …
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