tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24752388320747330892012-01-16T17:52:17.391-06:00"(Christ) came into the world and became a man in order to spread to other men the kind of life he has - by what I call a "good infection." Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else." - C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity"Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-36736134403753394222012-01-11T10:41:00.001-06:002012-01-11T10:43:42.381-06:00

I couldn't have anticipated just how much interest there would be in my Tim Tebow series. Thanks to everyone who read and commented on it! The final part yesterday was especially popular. It was the busiest day in the history of my little blog.  If you didn't get to read all of them, but would like to, links are below. Jesus and Tim Tebow, Part 1 - "Tebowing" vs. Private Prayer  Jesus and

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-23379232726270418212012-01-10T12:22:00.003-06:002012-01-10T20:13:32.473-06:00

This is the last in my series of posts on Tim Tebow, faith, and football. I’ve been trying to answer some questions that I think have been coming up as the Tebow phenomenon has steamed through the NFL season.This final post, I think, could be the most important one in terms of understanding how God relates to us as Christians. Another week, another miracle win for Tim Tebow and the Denver

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-19447090858920205102011-12-23T11:48:00.003-06:002011-12-23T11:51:41.513-06:00

I love the Gospel of John. I’ve been immersed in it for about 6 months now, leading my Sunday School class through a year long study of this book. It’s full of theological and practical truth, and gives us a unique look at Jesus. There’s lots of stuff in John that is not in any of the other Gospels. It’s been well worth the time spent studying it. The book begins with what I think is a powerful

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-21659196921483750122011-12-22T11:09:00.001-06:002011-12-22T11:11:49.282-06:00

This is the third part in a series on life and faith, that was triggered by a segment I recently did on Tim Tebow at WMOX radio. You can read parts 1 and 2 here and also here. I am Tim Tebow. And you are Tim Tebow. We are all Tim Tebow. No, most of us will never set foot on an NFL football field for any reason; much less lead a game winning drive, (or a bunch of them, for that matter.) But there

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-32101752962444027602011-12-20T22:50:00.001-06:002011-12-21T15:11:30.518-06:00

This is the second part of a series on life and faith, that was triggered by a recent segment I did on WMOX Radio about Tim Tebow. See part 1 here. One of the questions that inevitably comes up in any discussion of public faith is this: why do people get offended when someone puts their faith on display? Why should it bother others that someone is unashamed about their faith? Why should

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-39330539343595547552011-12-19T22:47:00.018-06:002011-12-19T23:59:20.249-06:00

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of posts on life and faith, that was triggered by a recent segment I did on WMOX radio about Tim Tebow . . . Let me lay my cards on the table from the beginning. I really like Tim Tebow. I like him for a number of reasons. Some of them are related to his faith, some of them are related to his football skills, and some of them are related to

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-64419874010720693222011-02-21T11:57:00.000-06:002011-02-21T11:57:20.614-06:00

This is the latest in a multi-part series on Sunday School. For more, click on Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. There's a little sign as you walk into our classroom, put there by the church, to denote a bit about who we are. It simply says, "Co-Ed 30-40, Wade Phillips, The Loft." The sign is simply there to give us some simple identifying marks of the people who are in the class. We are both men and

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-854407260192319892011-02-17T12:17:00.000-06:002011-02-17T12:17:55.447-06:00

This if the third of a multi-part series. For the first two parts, see here, and here. Four of us stood on the carport; an empty house in front of us, and a U-Haul behind us. We'd just spent the last couple of hours loading up that U-Haul with furniture, clothes, and five years of memories. Now, all that was left to do was say goodbye. This was the unfortunate scene I was faced with several

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-51706333791543898552011-02-16T12:17:00.001-06:002011-02-16T15:36:02.129-06:00

This is the second of a multi-part series. For previous post, see On Sunday School. It was November 2005, a Sunday. It was a Sunday I had been looking forward to for several weeks. It was the Sunday we began our new Sunday School class. We had been birthed from what was, at the time, one of the largest classes in the church, and I was excited about the prospect of several of the couples in that

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-24176925424038449562011-02-15T16:30:00.002-06:002011-02-15T17:59:10.479-06:00

I have had the great honor, for the last five or so years, to be able to teach a Sunday School class of young adults at my church, Northcrest Baptist, in Meridian. Yes, we still call it Sunday School here in Mississippi. I guess it really doesn't matter what it's called. It's what you're doing there that counts. Over these five years, it has been, for the most part, one of my greatest joys. I

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-19358479376826495272011-02-10T08:24:00.006-06:002011-02-10T08:34:02.301-06:00

As many of you already know, my grandmother passed away Monday. We buried her yesterday. She was a great, Christian lady, a wonderful grandmother, one of my biggest cheerleaders, with a spitfire of a personality to go along with a heart and a smile as big as anyone I’ve ever known. We watched her die. She had been sick for some time, but seemed to recovering, until early Monday morning, when she

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-38675327736502514532010-06-04T11:31:00.007-05:002010-06-04T14:36:35.507-05:00

I am a huge baseball fan. I grew up on the baseball diamond. My dad ran our local recreation league for several years, and I played high school baseball, so from March to August, I was on the field or at the park practically every single day. I know a lot of people find the game to be slow and boring, but I love the subtle intricacies and strategies of the game, and I love the battle between

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-31066814122070152012009-02-23T15:00:00.004-06:002009-02-23T17:45:26.462-06:00

I've been thinking a lot over the last few days about the complementarianism; for those of you who don't know, it's basically the idea that men and women have specific, God-designed, complementary, gender roles in their marriages and in the church. Some will even take it as far as to say those roles should carry over into every other aspect of life: work and politics being two specific examples.

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-33740906460235086332009-02-02T10:46:00.002-06:002009-02-02T10:49:41.930-06:00

Aslan on the move.What is going to happen?He will show us soon.

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-88378250787194727572009-01-20T21:44:00.002-06:002009-01-20T22:04:48.648-06:00

I had a conversation with my boss today that got me to thinking. He and I will sometimes sit and talk about life and society and God for a few minutes in the middle of a work day. It's nothing too serious, but it is almost always interesting.The inauguration of Barack Obama brought today's conversation up. It was about blind spots. Every society has them. Every era has them. And because they are

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-71624573386433751312009-01-19T11:22:00.002-06:002009-01-19T11:53:13.919-06:00

Yesterday was an incredible day. It was the day our new pastor, Dr. Danny Lanier, began his ministry at Northcrest Baptist Church here in Meridian. It was great for a number of reasons: great music, great preaching, the largest crowd we've had in years, and just a generally electric atmosphere in both services. But it's what happened outside those two services that was the most amazing part of

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-68497725834105662302009-01-01T12:15:00.002-06:002009-01-01T12:17:36.390-06:00

This is a remarkable video from Penn Jillette, of Penn and Teller fame. He's an atheist, who was recently given a Gideon Pocket New Testament. Listen to what he says about the man who did it, and think about how that might be able to help us bring the Gospel to the world.

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-70473689726882262422008-12-24T09:41:00.000-06:002008-12-24T09:42:34.473-06:00

For Christmas, my favorite part of my favorite Christmas special:

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-39696330114799932082008-12-08T10:58:00.002-06:002008-12-08T11:22:45.040-06:00

Every once in a while, I like to spend some time taking part in a church service the way a visitor who is not a believer, and hasn't spent a lot of time in church might. I listen to what's being said and sung and think about whether I'd have a clue as to what was going on if I hadn't been in church all of my life. And I've come to the conclusion that some of the things that I hear us say in

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-18306125507487018512008-11-11T16:23:00.006-06:002008-11-19T09:19:46.597-06:00

I have decided not to participate in the annual war on the "War on Christmas." I know as we get closer, and the decorations start going up, and the shopping gets going full swing, we'll begin to hear about it. You know what I'm talking about, those stores that refuse to acknowledge Christmas. Their web sites refer to Christmas trees as "Holiday Trees," and their greeter say "Happy Holidays,"

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-7771785063083734172008-11-07T09:00:00.001-06:002008-11-07T09:00:00.508-06:00

I'm about to dip my foot into murky waters here, and there's a good chance I'm going to get bitten for it. I guess that's okay. But as I've thought about this election for the last couple of days, my mind has gone off in a hundred different directions, and the one I'm about to talk about is one of them. Let me say first of all, I'm not promoting one candidate over the other, and though I have my

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-71731228387572739942008-11-05T20:54:00.003-06:002008-11-05T21:07:26.456-06:00

I spent some time talking via e-mail with a friend today about theological discussions. So often, those discussions, even among friends and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, turn ugly, and nothing is ever accomplished. I think this is, in many ways, the current state of the Southern Baptist Convention. We've forgotten how to disagree in a Christlike way. I wrote a few things down for my

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-76857854887180632292008-11-03T11:42:00.002-06:002008-11-03T12:09:40.076-06:00

Drill sergeants really like to scream. A lot. No, really, I mean it. Now, that may sound like a self-evident truth to you, and it did to me before Saturday. But on Saturday I found out just how true it is. They scream really loud, and do it really often. It's their thing, I guess.I went to Montgomery Saturday with a group of local Marine Corps recruits, many of whom will soon be going to boot

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-30017663854391858342008-10-28T20:49:00.002-05:002008-10-28T20:57:42.636-05:00

In my last post, I discussed hard stuff, how the most rewarding things are almost always the hardest things to achieve, and how God had really taught that to me over the last several weeks. Little did I know the lesson was not over at that point.Our church called our new pastor this Sunday, and I'm very excited, because I believe he's about to put us on the path to growth and freshness and

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-50354849550687834832008-10-21T22:47:00.001-05:002008-10-21T22:50:18.442-05:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I have good reasons. I'll maybe get more into those later, but tonight I'm reading C.S. Lewis, and as always, he's making me think.Here's what he said in his book, "Reflection on the Psalms: "When we find a difficulty, we may always expect that a discovery awaits us."I read that line tonight, in the middle of a particular reflection on the Psalm,

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-49076521674660513382008-09-10T18:12:00.006-05:002008-09-10T20:04:24.040-05:00

My wife and I live in the city. It's just your run-of-the-mill city neighborhood; not terribly affluent, but not a slum either. It's a mixture of races and ethnicities and social/economic statuses. We live a mile and a half from our church and 2 1/2 miles from our jobs, so that's pretty convenient. Obviously, the neighborhood has it's down sides too. Our home is not one that's likely to skyrocket

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-62186230854037943202008-09-08T00:17:00.002-05:002008-09-08T00:25:58.986-05:00

So I can finally let the cat out of the bag! I've been holding something in for several weeks now, because I wanted to let as many people know in person as I could before I put it on the blog. But we have done that now, and I'm glad to bring my glad tidings now into the blogosphere!Baby #2 will soon be on the way! My lovely bride is pregnant! Pretty exciting news, huh? I'm not really an

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-14693185099827415952008-09-05T22:00:00.002-05:002008-09-05T22:10:34.200-05:00

I grew up in a small, rural church, in tiny Sebastopol, Mississippi. Sebastopol is tiny town, and Steam Mill Cumberland Presbyterian Church was small even for Sebastopol standards. We ran 50 on a good Sunday when I was growing up. But I cut my teeth on the Word there, heard the gospel preached faithfully there, and gave my life to Christ there. My grandfather ministered there in good times and

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-24252634421858034752008-09-01T19:35:00.002-05:002008-09-01T19:45:29.800-05:00

I'm living my Sunday School lesson this week. Sunday, our class talked about how life's difficulties are sometimes chastening from God, and how when we go through those difficulties, it's a good time to examine ourselves to see if there is something God is trying to tell us about our lives.Well, I'm having to do that now. We've had an especially trying month or so here at the Phillips household,

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-24293575027466090332008-08-31T19:16:00.002-05:002008-08-31T19:40:22.550-05:00

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted in more than a week. Hurricane Gustav has kept me pretty preoccupied for the last several days, as we at the station prepare for what appears to be another doozy of a storm.The good news for Meridian is that it doesn't appear it's going to be nearly as bad for us this time as it was during Hurricane Katrina. We got hurricane force winds for several hours

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-92194214570553813172008-08-21T23:05:00.002-05:002008-08-21T23:23:41.587-05:00

I have a confession to make. I don't want your e-mail forwards. I know, they're probably cute, or inspiring, or information that the mainstream media is hiding, or a threat to our way of life and civilization, but I'll be honest with you: I really don't want your e-mail forwards.I'm not against all e-mail forwards, don't get me wrong. Occasionally, in the pool of cess that is my inbox, I'll get a

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-20495211677176866182008-08-17T20:37:00.003-05:002008-08-17T20:39:36.163-05:00

In honor of the Olympics, I thought I would post my all time favorite Saturday Night Live sketch. This one comes all the way back from 1988, when SNL was still funny.

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-41318272704075368792008-08-14T22:03:00.003-05:002008-08-14T22:10:12.318-05:00

I have really enjoyed the last couple of week's lessons, as we've studied the book of Hebrews. This book is just full of meat; the discussions we've had the last couple of weeks have been some of our best in quite some time. And that's saying something for our class! Anyway, I've enjoyed them thoroughly.Get ready for another good one this coming Sunday, as we look into the 5th and 6th chapters of

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-27404917148760654932008-08-12T15:06:00.004-05:002008-08-12T15:19:38.652-05:00

I've had several different things come together over the last several days that have opened my heart up in a new way to those who are outside the faith. In evangelical Christian circles, we call that having a "heart for the lost." I've always desired to be a better evangelist, but I've never been nearly as serious about it as I should. But a few simple things that have happened over the last

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-22178299147454310262008-08-03T15:04:00.004-05:002008-08-03T15:44:56.496-05:00

I don't think there is a Christian who at some point, for at least a little while, hasn't doubted whether or not he or she was actually saved. Some will tell you this is a bad thing, that Christians ought to never doubt, that they ought always be confident in their salvation. I'm not so sure I agree with that. I think sometimes a little bit of doubt about their eternal destination can cause

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-52107625592194841232008-08-02T20:17:00.009-05:002008-08-02T20:39:53.734-05:00

To quote George Constanza, "I'm back, baby!" After eight, I mean nine, days of vacation with some of WTOK's most loyal viewers in Western Canada, we are finally back home. We rolled in yesterday morning, about twelve hours later than we expected to. Nevertheless, we are glad to be back home. Today, we held Reed's 3rd birthday party. He turned 3 Monday, but he doesn't know that, so keep it quiet

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-74255660703791578812008-07-21T20:25:00.004-05:002008-07-21T21:09:59.279-05:00

Okay, so I'll admit to being a pretty bad blogger lately. I haven't posted in more than a week, and I didn't even get a preview up of last week's lesson. I've been especially tardy in posting my final thoughts on the theological underpinnings and spiritual meaning of marriage. I think I promised the final part of that series like three weeks ago. See the other three parts here, here and here.

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-13426878316799651902008-07-11T16:00:00.002-05:002008-07-11T16:11:37.610-05:00

I'm frankly a little bit nervous about this week's lesson; let's just say it's not really in my area of theological expertise. I told you all last week how Revelation is not my favorite part of the Bible. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed studying it over the last several weeks. That having been said, this week is particularly difficult for me, because it's a subject that has been a particular thorn in

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-29384704399818779522008-07-07T13:11:00.005-05:002008-07-07T13:39:46.268-05:00

This is Heidi. No I don't remember why she's sitting in a kitchen (or bathroom) cabinet. I also don't particularly care for that scarf (or any clothing for pets). But this is the best picture I could find of her. So get past those two things for just a moment so I can tell you this story.Heidi has been Crystal's dog longer than I have been Crystal's husband. She got her 8 years ago, before we

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-52944499374764693922008-07-04T20:32:00.004-05:002008-07-04T21:10:16.350-05:00

This week, we're going to begin a brand new series of lessons on the book of Revelation. For the next four weeks, we're going to look at this often-confusing, often misunderstood, book of the Bible. It should be interesting.Let me begin though, by admitting my biases. This is not my favorite book of the Bible. I think I've been tainted on this book by all of the ways it has been mutilated and

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-62075249837788845212008-07-03T09:00:00.000-05:002008-07-03T09:00:36.904-05:00

I'm afraid I'm daring to venture where angels fear to tread in this next post, because it is so controversial, and so easily open to misinterpretation, both by myself, and by someone who might be reading this. But, because I believe there is a Biblical basis for the wife to submit to her husband, I'm going to go here, and just let the chips fall where they may.Submission is difficult for everyone

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-66557155080189869882008-07-02T10:54:00.005-05:002008-07-02T11:25:35.926-05:00

Okay, I'm going to dive headlong into this marriage thing, and take a look at the Biblical model we're given as husbands and wives. Before I go any further, I have to admit that I am a great sinner as a husband; I fall far short of Jesus' model here, and I'm not claiming myself as an authority with any real personal expertise on this subject. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife desperately, and we

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-82754618293977989262008-07-01T21:30:00.003-05:002008-07-01T22:17:03.566-05:00

Today has been a difficult day for me. I found out that two men that I've known for more than a decade, and assumed had good marriages, had either divorced, or were getting a divorce. Neither of these two were people I'd kept up with much over the last few years, but I knew both of them to be good Christian men, so the news came as a surprise.I don't know about you, but no matter who it is, and

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-89355295383378800222008-06-27T22:43:00.003-05:002008-06-27T23:00:55.160-05:00

I am alone this weekend. Crystal and Reed have travelled up to Alabama to see her family and left me here to fend for myself. I would have gone, but she wanted to stay through Sunday, and I have class to teach. Of course, I'd be lying if I said there were no advantages to having some time to myself. But I will certainly miss those two while they're gone.But I think while they're gone, I ought to

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-17726832485118314752008-06-26T20:41:00.002-05:002008-06-26T20:46:27.349-05:00

Hey everybody. This week we finish up our short look at the Book of Proverbs. We'll be looking at the Christian perspective on money and power. Everybody is chasing those two things it seems; is it okay for Christians to? Is there someone way that Christians can go after money and power and still somehow bring glory to God?It's easy to find people that tell you God wants you to be rich and

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-38632964326559851592008-06-24T17:38:00.004-05:002008-06-24T17:50:16.448-05:00

I've been thinking a lot over the last few weeks about mentoring; you know, older Christians taking an interest in younger Christians, and helping them understand better both the theology and practice of the faith. I don't think this is something we've done a very good job of this lately in the Evangelical church. Frankly, we're all so busy, that finding time for our own families is sometimes a

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-14362317244947474532008-06-18T10:54:00.008-05:002008-06-18T16:25:44.453-05:00

I'm making up for my late posting of last week's lesson with an early posting of this week's. So there. We're going to be talking this week about Biblical reasons to keep our mouths shut. If I was going to title the lesson, I don't know if I'd call it "Shutting Up for the Kingdom," or "How God Gets Glory from Our Closed Mouths." Both seem appropriate for the subject matter.We're going to be

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-29597010965104956272008-06-14T21:52:00.003-05:002008-06-14T21:55:14.925-05:00

I know I'm doing this late, so most of you probably won't even get a chance to read this before class starts tomorrow. Sorry about that. We've had a busy day here at the Phillips household. Who am I kidding? We spent the whole day in the pool! Well, except for that two hour nap. Oh well, no excuse for not posting.Anyway, we'll be continuing our look at the book of Proverbs tomorrow. We'll

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-74879512275764642912008-06-12T20:29:00.003-05:002008-06-12T20:41:38.375-05:00

So I have good news! It appears that the frogs around our pool are gone. As you might recall from an earlier post, we were having major problems with those frogs croaking around bed time. It was driving us crazy since the pool is right outside our bedroom window.Well, they're gone, and I think I've figure out why. Our main problem earlier was that our pool's chemical levels weren't right; as a

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-4863172416826463392008-06-11T21:31:00.001-05:002008-06-11T21:33:50.295-05:00

I must tell you that I am very excited about something that Southern Baptists did at the annual convention today. As I told you about a couple of weeks ago, Dr. Tom Ascol, the Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, has been trying for three years now to get a resolution passed urging Southern Baptists to get their rolls straight, and repent of what is essentially lying about

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-66496484385726727042008-06-10T11:20:00.005-05:002008-06-10T11:36:11.602-05:00

I don't really like rejection. I guess that's probably a universal feeling; no one really likes being told no, and it's even worse when it's personal. When I ask people for an interview and they say no, it doesn't really bother me all that much. I know most of the time it's because either they don't have time or they don't want to be on television or, sometimes, they're just trying to hide

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-53713541144808375652008-06-03T09:00:00.007-05:002008-06-03T16:09:30.631-05:00

I still remember my initiation into the world of Southern Baptist blogs very well. I can't remember the exact date, but I do remember, I was sitting at my desk when I worked in Augusta. During some down time, I was reading an article on ChristianityToday.com about whatever the latest controversy in SBC life was. It was specifically speaking of two people, bloggers, who'd become popular in

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-65053880819718749792008-05-31T15:13:00.003-05:002008-06-02T23:40:44.942-05:00

I'm going to try to do the final installment of my look at the landscape of the Southern Baptist Convention on Monday, but today, I want to give everyone in the class a heads-up on tomorrow's lesson. We're going to begin a four week study into the book of Proverbs tomorrow. Four weeks isn't nearly long enough to study Proverbs, but we'll have to take what we can get, I guess.Tomorrow, we'll be

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-11937191211951148442008-05-30T08:00:00.008-05:002008-06-02T23:39:46.070-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I did not grow up in the Southern Baptist Church, or a baptist church at all, for that matter. I went to church for the first 18 years of my life at a tiny, Cumberland Presbyterian Church in my hometown of Sebastopol, Mississippi. My grandad was the pastor there for 38 years, and I got my spiritual foundation there. It wasn't until I graduated from college and had

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-79151493591805588822008-05-29T04:45:00.002-05:002008-05-29T11:40:46.171-05:00

This year's Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis should be one of the most intriguing in years for one major reason: the shear number of candidates running for the office of president. It's been almost thirty years since the SBC had so many candidates, dating back to the very beginning of the SBC's so-called Conservative Resurgence in 1979, when conservatives began to regain

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-89211454697528279352008-05-28T09:00:00.002-05:002008-05-28T10:58:30.856-05:00

I've never been to an actual SBC annual meeting, so I can't really say with any certainty exactly how it works. Most of us know only what we see on TV: lots of people gathered in some large auditorium, singing, listening to speeches, debating resolutions, and so forth. It frankly looks a little like a Party Presidential Convention, sometimes complete even with addresses from politicians.

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-68424862234874067972008-05-27T14:43:00.006-05:002008-05-27T22:21:26.099-05:00

The Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting is set to start in about two weeks. It will be held June 10-11, in Indianapolis, Indiana. I'm admittedly still a neophyte when it comes to Southern Baptist politics, but for those of you who are even newer to it than I am, I'm going to try over the next several days to do a quick overview of the state of the SBC right now.This year's meeting will

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-28648713253580731192008-05-26T15:56:00.003-05:002008-05-26T16:02:34.600-05:00

What does it mean to take off the old self and put on the new? That was the subject of yesterday's lesson, in case you were among those who missed it, for some reason. Paul talked about that in the latter part of the 4th chapter of his letter to the church at Ephesus.Here's the bottom line: the old self is radically depraved, unable to see or understand or please God. Through a miracle borne by

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-20182409502761076682008-05-24T10:06:00.004-05:002008-05-24T10:10:02.095-05:00

So what does it mean to know the truth? What difference does the truth of Jesus Christ make in our lives? Why can't non-Christians seem to get the truth? These are questions we plan to explore during tomorrow's lesson.We have to be people committed to truth in every way in our lives. We have found the truth of Jesus; it has been revealed to us by a miraculous work of God, through Jesus' death on

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-65730526874076236092008-05-22T21:54:00.009-05:002008-05-22T22:22:28.272-05:00

Tom Ascol, the pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral Florida, and the president of Founders Ministries, has for two years presented a resolution to the Southern Baptist Convention calling on churches to clean up their rolls, calling people to real, covenental, church membership, and churches to more truthful reporting of their numbers. Both of those times, his resolutions have failed. This

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-48029692241185626442008-05-21T15:38:00.006-05:002008-05-21T21:49:11.726-05:00

So today is my birthday, the big 3-4, and for the first time ever, I'm a little down about it. I know there is nothing special about the 34th birthday; it's not a milestone that ought to cause me to be depressed. But for some reason, I feel a little bit old.Maybe it's because 34 is my all-time favorite football player, Walter Payton's, number, and as a kid that just seemed like such a high number

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-21043959964285130402008-05-19T20:59:00.005-05:002008-05-19T23:02:44.513-05:00

Great news! We found out today that we'd sold enough of our "Railroading in the Rockies" trips for Crystal and me to get to go! We are going to get to go to the Canadian Rockies for seven days for free, as tour hosts for WTOK's "Railroading in the Rockies" trip in July. Yeah, I'm pumped. There's nothing like a free luxury vacation to make you feel pretty good about the summer ahead.Not that there

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-30723125241350622242008-05-18T21:04:00.003-05:002008-05-18T21:23:06.324-05:00

"Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!"On JoyThis morning in class, it was all about joy. Finding true joy, fighting for real joy, and teaching people to search for true joy. The fact of the

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-53495580036898433642008-05-17T08:13:00.001-05:002008-05-17T08:14:43.263-05:00

I didn't realize that I had the settings to where comments could only come from registered users. If you wanted to say something, but didn't want to register, I've now fixed that. Sorry.

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-52042931150546467012008-05-16T20:46:00.006-05:002008-06-26T20:40:33.955-05:00

UPDATE- We have solved our frog problem. If you'd like to know what we did, go to this post. Frog UpdateOkay, so I'm pretty frustrated right now. This is the third night in a row that I'll have had to try to go to sleep with the sound of croaking frogs right outside my window. I mean right outside my window. For those of you who've never been to my house, our pool sits right beside the master

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-55805424836548669922008-05-15T21:44:00.003-05:002008-05-15T21:49:19.906-05:00

I'm going to try to, once a week, post a preview of the coming week's Sunday School lesson. I hope it will be an opportunity for those in my class to prepare a little (maybe . . . guys?), and I hope it might also be a discussion starter. I also want to try to use this blog to answer any unanswered questions from the week before. I know there are always unanswered questions when we only have 30-45

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-52305536435264098282008-05-14T15:15:00.005-05:002008-05-14T15:35:10.946-05:00

Let me just say upfront that I'm no evangelist. As much as I believe the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, I'm not very good at sharing it. I'm theoretically on fire for the Lord; I love to think about Him and study His Word, and even teach those in my Sunday School class. But when it comes down to brass tacks, to sharing the gospel with the dying around me, I'm frankly terrible about it, even

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475238832074733089.post-12185839561836655902008-05-13T16:17:00.002-05:002008-05-14T13:20:10.241-05:00

This is not the first time I've tried the blogging thing, so I'm not sure how this is going to work out for me. This will make attempt number three for me; I blogged for a little while at work, before getting too busy to keep going, and I still have blog on Yahoo! 360, but I've never been very consistent about it.I'm not sure I should even be a blogger. Let's be honest; I'm not really hurting for

Wade Phillipshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01797870793178905326noreply@blogger.com0