One FOX reporter says that Ron Paul says he is. If I heard those words from Paul, I’d believe him… he’s been right about a ton of stuff in the past. I’m just not sure he thinks he is winning.

aplacetotalk is unashamedly LOOSELY affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. We aren’t ashamed because LOOSE affiliated was originally expected, the relationship was designed for shared mission work. <- I thought about spelling out that period. The SBC isn't about tight knit shared theology. Some better historians than me may argue with that, but that is my understanding.

aplacetotalk is associated with this denomination (the SBC) for two reasons. #1 the Cooperative Program was a great idea and used to be extremely efficient. #2 the "autonomy of the local church" stance of Southern Baptists is a beautiful, healthy, picture of the way I believe Jesus set up His church. At aplacetotalk we may go a step further than other SBC'ers because we even trumpet the Priesthood of ALL Believers and the autonomy of every family and individual. If you take autonomy to mean that we don't need one another, serve one another, rebuke one another, and love one another then you are misunderstanding autonomy. By individual/personal and family autonomy I mean that we don't seek to control one another or manipulate one another, under a church name, banner, board, or pastors and deacons.

At aplacetotalk we are currently taking about Calvinism. I am not a Calvinist. Of course I don't speak for everyone at aplacetotalk.. but I am opposed personally to what I see as the heart of Reformed (Calvinism) theology.

Now, I don't agree with everything in this video, but I think there are some important things in the video that we as Southern Baptists should hear and consider.
(1) Listen to the testimony.
(2) Listen to the explanation of the way the SBC operates, and the respect the speaker has for that system. That is the heart of autonomy, and the best part of the SBC.
(3) Listen to what the speaker says we should unite around. I wish he would've said Jesus. Not being Baptists, or the Bible, but I wish he would've said Jesus. Oh well, I like most of the video. But I wanted you to hear what he wanted us to unite around, because I think that explains a key concern I have with the SBC. We must be careful, to never think that Lifeway, or being Baptist, or the big convention is the key thing for us - Jesus must be key.

I'm posting this video on my blog, because I would love everyone to see it, but I'm not going to take time to play a 8 minute and 18 second clip on Sunday morning. I may play it during breakfast, and before 9am Sunday morning for anyone who wants to see it.

Last night Noah, my son and I volunteered at a screening of Blue Like Jazz in Huntersville, NC. I can’t say enough about how good this movie was. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, but you are disgusted with religious crap this movie is for you. Donald Miller and Steve Taylor both seem to really want to help people with this movie. While I think this movie will be a great evangelistic tool, I think it may more importantly lay a foundation for other faith based films that aren’t starchy and cheesy Religious Christian infomercials.

Blue Like Jazz isn’t a family film, but I would recommend it to all families with children middle school age or older. My 14 year old enjoyed the movie with me last night.

The story is about Donald Miller and of course some of the story is fictionalized, but it includes very REAL LIFE ISSUES and struggles. It’s hard for me to write a review about a movie without spoiling it, so I’m going to be very careful to simply say – WATCH THE MOVIE. I’d love for you to go out and actually see the movie on April 13th or 14th at the latest. The opening weekend is a big deal for movies like this.

This type of movie has truly evangelistic quality that movies like Fireproof, Courageous, Facing the Giants, etc simple can’t offer. My friends who don’t know Christ (heck even those who do) might rent those other movies to mock on a “Bad Movie Night” gathering, but they won’t watch them and hear the message because they are too much like a Christian infomercial. I know many people loved those movies and honestly I enjoyed Facing the Giants and I saw value in Fireproof, but Blue Like Jazz is the first Christian based film that I’ve seen that I wish I was a part of making, I will support this movie anyway I can.

A bit more about the movie… Donald comes from a broken family, his pagan father encourages him to get out of his Christian bubble by spending a year at Reed College. Reed is known as the most Godless Campus in America, Steve Jobs was a Reed College drop-out if I’m not mistaking and he actually named one of his children Reed. Anyway, the movie is about how Donald struggles with being ashamed of his faith and walk with Jesus Christ at Reed.

The movie includes Justin Welborn from Final Destination, Tania Raymonde from LOST, Claire Holt from Mean Girls 2 and the Vampire Diaries, and Jason Marsden from approximately 1 million 4 hundred thousand movies and TV shows including General Hospital. Marshall Allman plays Donald Miller and he has previously been seen in Prison Break and HBO’s True Blood. I only shared some of the actors to point out that this isn’t a bunch of amateurs trying to be part time actors in a Christian film, in fact I’d guess that this movie may be a powerful introduction for even the actors and actresses to Christ.

I’m trying to see what it would take to get this movie in a Hickory Theater, if you’d be interested in helping me with that please comment below or on facebook and email me at aplacetotalk@gmail.com. Will you help me?

Another way to help is joining the Civil Disobedience team at everybody belongs somewhere.

Here’s the trailer… you’ll love it!

By that I mean… I can’t guess as to whether or not Mel Gibson or Robert Downey Jr. are talking about Jesus out loud or not. Neither seemed to mention Him publicly in this clip, but I’m pretty sure that the message of Jesus has impacted this story in some way or another. What are your thoughts?

I think that if I were placed in the situation where I had to stand up to protect another human being from serious danger… I may actually step up! I’ve seen this in little minor situations. I pulled over alone about a year ago to stop a fight between two women, I felt pretty safe throughout that situation despite the fact that there was a 19 – 25 year old young man sitting in the back of one of the ladies car. He yelled, cussed, and threatened, but he never got out of the car. I have no idea why he never stepped up to stop the fight. Another time just a few months ago I was driving by a gas station when one of the kids in my car said “look there is a fight.” I pulled over about 100 yards away and realized that it was a man, actually attacking a woman. I ran as fast as 350 lbs of out of shape man could run and I stepped in. Some may say that this was totally stupid, others may think it was heroic. I don’t think it was either. As much as I want to believe I was rescuing someone who needed help, I was really rescuing me. As men we need to protect, we want to be heroes. As I approached I screamed to the man attacking the woman, and told him if he had to hit someone that he should hit me. I’m so glad he didn’t. If he had, this blog would be more interesting… but I would’ve probably cried and any chance of sounding like a hero in this blog would be gone. I really don’t like to fight. I got beat up in school much more than I won fights, even the fights that I would consider wins would’ve been ended before I threw a punch if there had been a referee. The referee would’ve stopped the fight for my protection.

At this point in my life, I’m beginning to believe more and more that if we truly become like Jesus we will put down our swords and choose not to fight. This is where the paradox gets interesting.

I want the gun laws to be very relaxed. Much more relaxed than they are. I believe in the right to bear arms and I want more people to exercise that right. I don’t want to shoot anyone, and if I ever were to shoot someone I hope I would be smart enough and accurate enough to shoot them in the leg or hand, Denny Crane style if you were a Boston Legal fan, lol.

I actually believe that if more students on college campuses were allowed to have their hunting riffles in their dormitories the Virginia Tech guy would’ve been taken out early or better yet the threat of a gun could have stopped him without a single shot being fired.

Is is possible to be a gun carrying pacifist? Maybe…

My favorite movie in the recent past is called Gran Torino. I started to put the ending of the movie here at the bottom of this blog, but I decided against that because of the horrible language. Gran Torino has a beautiful story, in Gran Torino Clint Eastwood plays character who certainly believes in the right to bear arms, but he also realizes toward the end of his life that the right to bear arms doesn’t make using a gun the best answer. In fact, he learns that more violence does the opposite of its desired outcome. I wish there were a clean films version of this movie, maybe there is but either way if you can handle the profanity in order to hear and see the message of the movie it is worth your time.

“Me, I’ve got a light!” As believers in Jesus Christ, we carry the light of God. Let’s show it!

Chantae’ didn’t know that Adam was playing with the video feature on her phone. Enjoy, listen closely and you’ll hear Chantae’ actually singing.

I’ve set with dozens of Mormons and showed them stuff in the book of Mormon that they saw with a “deer in the headlights” look. They didn’t admit it, but these were things that they had never seen before and they were in my living room or office to introduce me to the book of Mormon.

For example in an 1830 Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 11:18 reads “And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh.” In later (or latter, lol) translations the Book of Mormon says in the same verse “And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the son of God, after the manner of the flesh.” Note the added phrase “the son of”. Mormons teach in Alma 7:10 that Jesus was born at Jerusalem, not Bethlehem. In Ether 15:30-32 the Book of Mormon has a guy getting his head cut off, then that same guy raising up on his hands and struggling for breath. In the 1830 Book of Mormon there’s a place where a King dies and then shows up a few chapters later, in the later translations they changed that King’s name to another still living King. I probably didn’t just pick the best examples, but the point is… many Mormons aren’t aware of some of this stuff.

I’ve talked to Catholics who have accepted Jesus Christ by faith and they believe that real faith sufficient for their eternal life, and I agree. But at the same time they don’t realize that the Catholic church teaches that a series of works called Holy Sacraments are really a part of traditional Catholic Soteriology, theology of salvation.

Lately I’ve encountered lots of Calvinists through videos, blogs, books, conferences, and even family. I’ve also been studying Church History, and I am quickly approaching the Reformation period in my teaching. I’m currently digging as deeply as I can into the different theories of the atonement. These studies and MULTIPLE conversations have led me to believe that many Calvinists don’t realize that many other Calvinist believe that God hates lots of people (actually most people). I’m sure there are many people out there today attending Calvinist churches and as lay people they have no idea what their leaders and traditions actually teach. Calvinism OFTEN leads to an exclusive teaching that often includes hate. I’m sorry to be so bold, but Calvinists teach hate. We all become like whatever we worship, and many Calvinist teach and worship a God of hatred not a God of love. They sometimes use their words carefully, but they essentially teach that because God is love, His love requires Him to hate sinners. I believe that “the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil” and that God’s wrath is poured out on evil, not people. I believe that God loves you.

Remember the song: “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Calvinists can’t really sing that song, because they actually believe that Jesus loves some little children and He hates others.

I heard an old song once that was sung in Calvinist / Reformed circles that said in essence that they were glad that heaven wouldn’t be over crowded due to God’s Unconditional Election. They were glad to be the elect ones chosen by God and they were glad that God didn’t elect more.

Below I’ve inserted a photograph that I took from a page of the book “Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe” by Mark Driscoll, Gerry Breshears. This hatred leads to more hatred. Below the picture, I’ll give you a few links to more Calvinists who teach that God hates various people.

http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/understanding-calvinism-one-tulip-at-a-time-479626.html

http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2010/06/26/understanding-calvinism-with-this-funny-little-quiz/ (If you are a serious Calvinist don’t go here… it is a joke making fun of you. Sorry.)

http://www.oldtruth.com/calvinism/balanced.html (on this page notice extent of the atonement and preaching of the atonement, the two beliefs are contradictory if we are honest. One says that Jesus died only for some, but that His death had the power of all… they want to teach that Jesus died for only some, but offered salvation to all. It’s like offering a cookie to a person behind bars, but never carrying the cookie close enough for them to reach through the bars and get it. Calvinist may even admit that this is a good illustration, except they would argue that the person behind the bars never wanted the cookie, while others were taken out of prison and the cookie was forced upon them until they began to believe the cookie tasted good.)

Calvinists will be mad that I include Westboro Baptist Church links, but go to there beliefs page. They clearly claim to find their roots in reformed theology.

http://www.godhatesamerica.com/common/html/john316.html

http://www.godhatesfags.com/

Mysticism? A few weeks ago I was teaching about the theology of Theosis and as I prepared I thought and prayed… “God, I’m afraid people may think I’m teaching Mysticism if I share this just the way I am planning.” As soon as I had that thought and prayer, I felt like God told me to look up Mysticism. After understanding the meaning, I decided that I’d be alright with being called a Mystic. Here’s a poster I just slapped together for my office wall.

Mysticism Christian

A blogger named morganguyton just commented on one of my blog entries below. I haven’t read much of his stuff, but I think I am going to enjoy reading more later when I can. Check him out….

Morgan… I didn’t have time right now to read a complete article from your blog, but after two paragraphs I can tell I’m going to like you and your writing. I’m excited to read more asap.

I personally love understanding God’s wrath like a mother in the backyard shoving her child to the ground and slapping at him over and over… from a distance it sure looks like hatred because she seems to be beating the child, but as you run closer to rescue the child from the crazy mother you realize that she has just about beat the fire completely out. Thank God for his wrath poured out on our sin, and yes we may be a bit sore after the trials, but thank God the fire has been put out.

The illustration works pretty much the same whether it is a child on fire or a child being attacked by bees.

I got stung by two animals the other day… I guess they were bees or giant evil ants but I didn’t know I had been stung at all until I got inside. Those stings were bad, and that’s so similar to sin… we don’t know it is hurting us until it is over.

A friend of mine, Wayne Jacobsen (in He Loves Me) describes God’s wrath as chemotherapy destroying cancer in a person’s life. I personally love that understanding of God’s wrath too. We hate the cancer, so we give our body something very dangerous to destroy the cancer… all the while we pray that the chemotherapy doesn’t kill the loved one before killing the cancer. Since you and I can’t stand in God’s wrath for even a second, Jesus took all of our sin on Himself and He took the chemotherapy or wrath of God on Himself so that you and I could be cancer (or sin) free.

WHAT A GREAT, GREAT GOD!