Ancient Paths Blog

My Trip to Mayo Clinic

Sorry there was no post for Monday, December 21.  My continuing battle with cancer had me down to the world famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota on Monday and Tuesday.

Wow.  What a place.  What the Louvre is to art, what the Vatican is to Catholicism, what the Taj Mahal is to...  um, well, Mayo is to medicine.  The magnitude and opulence of the place is staggering yet the efficiency and patient centeredness of the care was encouraging.

I went there for a second opinion and they assured me the diagnosis and course of treatment suggested by my Dr. in St. Paul were spot-on.  I continue in need of your prayers...

From the Creed - the Father...

A Timely Word For Today

Not only does our confession of God as Father speak against the cold and unfeeling monotheism of Islam but it also addresses an alarming need in American society: the plight of fatherlessness.

David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values describes our situation this way,

Are You Qualified, Brethren?!

"Are you qualified brethren?  Let me hear you say it?"

"Uh huh... Amen... Preach it now..."

"I say, Have you been qualified by the Savior?!"

"Amen preacher!  We're qualified!"

From the Creed - the Father...

A Relational God

Another implication of our confession of God as Father is that He is not solitary.  This is an extension of the thought about Father being a relational concept.  But we need to be clear about this.  All the descriptive names and titles for God - Creator, Sustainer, Protector, Provider, Redeemer, etc. - pertain to His relationship with creation, with us.  But His designation as Father pertains to His relationship with the only begotten Son.

Why Baptists Should Insist on Immersion

Preface

The position elaborated in my last post - that I'm a Baptist who would not insist on immersion in every case - almost cost me my ordination.  The committee, composed of a retired Bethel theologian, a denominational executive, and a prominent conference pastor, was in no mood for heresy; and it was only my assurance that I would not trumpet this at my review that they allowed me into the club.  (What red flags are posted to my dossier at headquarters I can only guess.  It would explain why I'm never invited to speak or take part in committees...).  Having shared this, it may come as a relief to some that I now present the case as to why Baptists should insist on immersion.

From the Creed - the Father...

A Personal God

To say that we believe in God is only a beginning.  While it may distinguish us from secularists, it does not distinguish us from most of the rest of the world.  It's not until we include the next statement "I believe in God the Father" that we begin to focus as we should.  To confess God as Father implies at least two things: