Does this ever happen to you: you have a block of free time, which in and of itself gets you excited, but as you consider how to use that time you lock up? I waste more time reading pointless news or surfing pointless blogs (I don’t mean yours, Kyle) because I can’t decide which option to pursue during my free time.

So here I am tonight. Do I revive a writing project, read Sailhamer, read Piper, read Ryrie, read Sproul (all books in progress, some shelved for a while), study Spanish, work on Sunday’s sermon, or go read pointless news and blogs?

I suppose I could engage in the Great American Tradition and waste the time in other ways: tv shows and movies. Decisions, decisions.

Update: I left off the pièce de résistance of time wasting: playing pointless games on my iPhone.

I see the moon
And the moon sees me!
God bless the moon
And God bless me!

The full moon on its brightest night in 15 years.

Don’t try to obtain a home mortgage in the middle of a national credit crisis.

Looks like we have something figured out but I’ve learned several new forms of pain.

My inner geek is very happy. But like most geeky cool things, now that this cool thing exists I have to figure out what to do with it.

Our details are being finalized for the Desiring God National Conference. This will be my first one of these to attend (actually, this will be my first time to go to any conference of this sort). We bought our tickets a month or so ago and have just made our hotel reservations. For travel we will be driving there and back. Plans are to drive from here (Birmingham, AL) through St. Louis, MO and on up to Minneapolis, MN. We may do the drive in one day either there or back but we will split the trip and stay the night in St. Louis at least one way, if not both ways. The kids will be kept by family so it will just be Sandra and I making the trek.

At any rate, all those details are given just to say will anyone else be going and will anyone else be traveling along any of this route? Perhaps we could meet up and caravan somewhere along the way.

I do not know how one can improve upon already perfect kids, but they say third time’s a charm. My wife is now expecting our third child.

[esvbible format="block"]Psalm 127:3-5[/esvbible]

Well boys, looks like my quiver is getting full.

As with my previous post, this was written to accompany my resume. I should start sending out resumes in a few days. Pray for me as I look for a full time position!

The following beliefs are not comprehensive. I avoided a few issues that I am still wrestling with, left out several important topics for brevity, and likewise did not go into much depth on the topics I did touch on.

I believe the Bible to be the word of God. It is the primary source for teaching and instruction in the Christian faith. While other sources (such as commentaries, devotional books, historical studies, and theological works) can help believers to study and understand the Bible, we are not free to teach or believe anything that contradicts the Word of God. I believe the Bible is trustworthy and reliable as well as timeless and unchanging. God’s truth does not change from culture to culture, though how we communicate that truth might be different from one culture to another.

I believe that the Bible reveals God to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each existing as distinct persons while forming the one union of the godhead. God is triune, the three-in-one. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always united in motivation and purpose while carrying out different work within their sovereign will. The Father is the overseer of the Godhead, directing the actions of the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Son is the redemptive agent of the Godhead, carrying out God’s redemptive plan through his death, burial, resurrection, and continued intercession for humanity. The Holy Spirit is the protector and preserver of the will of God, working in believers as a comfort and counselor who guarantees that believers will receive the blessings of salvation, who helps believers to understand and practice the teachings of God in the Bible, and who assists and speaks through believers in defending and proclaiming the gospel to the world. Although Father, Son, and Holy Spirit perform distinct actions, they are together equal and together eternal, eternally existing as the one true God.

I believe human beings are all fallen into sin, sharing in the fall of Adam and Eve. Like David in the Psalms, we are sinful and separated from God from the moment we are conceived. We are unable to save ourselves and are dependent on God to send a savior who would bear the curse of sin on our behalf. That work was accomplished by Jesus Christ through his death on the cross. Through his resurrection he conquered death. All who call upon his name receive forgiveness of sins from him, are covered with his righteousness, are given a new heart which is able to please God, and begin the process of sanctification – becoming like Christ – which will continue until death takes them to be with the Lord where they will be glorified, having the sinful flesh fully and completely cast off and becoming so united to God that throughout eternity they will never again turn away from him in sin and rebellion.

I believe that God uses human beings in his plan. He has no need to use humans so the work he calls us to do is an act of grace on his part. All Christians are called to serve him as ministers of the gospel. All that we do should be in service to him, from the preacher who preaches on Sunday to the bus driver who takes kids to school on Monday. All are called to live by faith, to display Christ in our actions, and to proclaim Christ with our mouths. We are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, praying for wisdom so that we might boldly proclaim Christ in the way that most glorifies God and is most effective to reach a lost world.

I believe that God has equipped all Christians to serve in the church. Church ministry is not just for those ordained to full time service. Church ministry is for all believers. God has given gifts to all Christians and he expects us to use those gifts on behalf of other believers. Not everyone is called to serve the church in the same way. In particular, God has ordained different forms of service for men and for women. In the eyes of God, men and women are equal in terms of worth and value. All are precious in his sight. And yet in his wisdom God has structured society so that men are to be the heads of their homes and their churches. Men are to lead with love, compassion, service, and humility. Like Eve in the garden, women are to be helpers in the work, performing ministry that is vital to the church. The church cannot fully serve God without both men and women, and the church cannot fully serve God if men do not do what men are called to do and if women do not do what women are called to do.

I believe that someday God will bring his ministry on earth to a close. On that day Jesus Christ will return, not as a suffering servant but as a conquering king. Sin will be eradicated once and for all. Those who have persisted in their rebellion against and rejection of God will be condemned and punished eternally in Hell where they will experience unending, conscious suffering. Those who have been adopted into the family of God through salvation in Jesus Christ will join God in Heaven where they will forever exist to worship and glorify God.

I originally wrote this to accompany my resume. I have not yet decided if I will send it out with the resume since most resumes leave out this sort of thing. That strikes me as odd, I would think this is more along the lines of the sort of thing a church would want to know.

I will also post an entry on my statement of faith and belief, also written to go with my resume.

I was blessed to have been raised in a Christian home and in a godly, biblical Presbyterian (PCA) church. I do not remember a time when I did not know the message of Jesus Christ. As a child I learned that I was a sinner in need of a savior and as a child I received forgiveness through Jesus Christ. I have experienced many years of straying, particularly during my later high school and early college years. Only the grace of God protected and preserved me from my own attempts to plunge into sin.

Around 1999 I began to visit a small Baptist church plant. Eventually I joined the church through baptism. I still respect and appreciate the church I grew up in but came to a disagreement with what the Presbyterian church teaches about baptism. I became convinced that the Bible teaches that believers should be baptized by immersion after placing their faith in Jesus Christ.

The church I joined also provided my first opportunities for ministry service. I was able to lead Bible studies, teach Sunday school, run Bible drills, and eventually became the minister of youth. It was during my time at this church that I began to feel that God wanted me to serve him through full time ministry in a church. I transferred from Mississippi State University to a small Southern Baptist college to pursue a Biblical Studies degree. My first day there I met a cute redhead named Sandra who I eventually asked to marry me. On August 16, 2003, standing in the Presbyterian church I grew up in, we were married. While at Blue Mountain College I also served for a time as youth minister at Pine Grove Baptist Church

The following May Sandra and I graduated from Blue Mountain College and moved to Birmingham, Alabama where I pursued a Master of Divinity degree at Beeson Divinity School. While at Beeson I had the opportunity to serve as interim pastor at Artesia Baptist Church; I had the opportunity to teach, preach, and evangelize for three weeks in and around Ayacucho, Peru; and I had and continue to have the opportunity to serve as part time pastor of Overton First Baptist Church. Both of our children were also born while in Birmingham. In May of 2008 I graduated from Beeson and am now seeking God’s guidance to a full time ministry position.

My primary gifts are with teaching and preaching. God has graciously given me the ability to study and understand his word and to be able to help others see what God is teaching us in the Bible and how our lives should reflect his truth.

Over at my other blog Exploring the Mystery I wrote a post called History on the Web in which I talk about some of my internet activity over the last few years, particularly as relates to the World Wide Web. It is a bit of nostalgia inspired by my latest move, switching from DreamHost to use MediaLayer as my new web host. 

I won’t often post links on here to things I write at Exploring the Mystery, but I thought this one was worth a mention.

In other news, things *might* get shuffled around on here soon. I am trying to make up my mind whether to keep using Movable Type or to switch this blog back to WordPress. Decisions, decisions.

Picked this up from the Jollyblogger and from Introverted Church. An article has been written for marketers explaining how to market to introverts. It is a humorous article which nonetheless contains some insights into introverts. Being quite the introvert myself I thought it was a good read. Much better than the post by Anthony at The Institute saying introverts are “the sugar in the kingdom’s missional gas tank”. 

Anyway. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the marketing article:

Introverts don’t like interruptions, uninvited visits or phone calls.
If you want to come see me, please do! I enjoy having company. We love having people over for meals. But please let us know you are coming. Nothing throws off my day like unexpected company. As a pastor this is something I will just have to deal with, but if you are coming for a social visit, let us know first. And don’t be surprised if it is my wife who always answers the phone. I despise the things.

Introverts love to read.
Many non-introverts also enjoy reading, but I don’t think I’ve met an introvert who was not fond of books.

Please don’t be cute, peppy, positive, enthusiastic or motivating. Instead, be polite, know your stuff, get to the point, leave written material and invite a response at a later date.
I enjoy cheerful people. I am annoyed by peppy people. I do like to see enthusiastic and motivating people, however, provided they are that way as a natural part of their personality and not as something put on.

Introverts hate small talk. If you would like to make an excellent first impression, be polite and come quickly to the point.
For me it’s not so much that I hate small talk but I’m not very good at it. I don’t mind it, per se, if it is going somewhere. The article says to avoid personal details, but I like personal details. They help me get to know someone. But if a conversation is simply pointless then I quickly become bored. Don’t include every detail – I don’t need to know everything. Get to the point of what you want to say and we will have a good, constructive conversation.

Introverts hate phones and especially cell phones.
Don’t expect a return phone call. We figure, why bother someone when we can dash off a note, leave a message on an answering machine or click off an email. This is pretty accurate for me. I do not like phones. I cringe every time I hear the phone ring. If it is someone I know well, I might not mind so much. Still, I prefer to do all my communication face to face or via email. I am guilty of ignoring more than a few ringing phones and letting the answering machine get it. I am also bad about not actually returning phone calls. Try to catch me in person if you can, or just send me an email. And as I mentioned already, if you call, don’t be surprised if my wife always answers the phone.