partsofspeaking

 Twitter post from "Sandi" "Thank you, Jesus!" Reply from "Jeffrey": "Do you ever get tired of talking to yourself?" So this guy (who claims to be autistic) went out of his way to mock a person's faith. Does he go to the Muslim accounts and do so? Or just the Christian? And is he using an autism diagnosis as an excuse for rudeness (like others use it for an excuse for accusing others with that diagnosis of psychopathy?) This is Twitter. Mockers, haters, wise butts, and bots. $44 billions worth of it.

  https://thespectator.com/topic/unorthodox-folks-embracing-christianity/?utm_source=Article%20Art&fbclid=IwAR2f4rCQqOVEy4A_h40mb84tvXpVpBdM0WRBcQQ4kJSw5h48h2jxicH8YMg_aem_Ad_5f6RUy1tgg4Q7bEgFqpHe7PtA-XOtcrFrCJz3mE1BLVogNxnoeOwA_fPQXQar7v1S--Qu87O2tV-_g0cSgDi7 Fascinating article, but....a reformed Christian might have a little trouble with this return to Mary the healer, Mary the mediator. 

I listen to Russell Moore's podcast every week. Well, almost. Sometimes his guests don't call to me. This one, I thought, would.  Maybe it's me, (although I think Russell got a little put out, too), but he seemed to be saying the way to have more church growth is to: 1. accept same sex marriage 2. understand not everyone is prolife 3. get over gender roles in church leadership That would be great if the short-term and long-term goal of this church gig is to have more people in the pews. "Don't be so conservative! Give up on millenia-long convictions!"   I know the Bible pretty well, and I don't remember any commands to fill the church building with people. I do remember Jesus telling some people they weren't ready to follow him. Also, something about a narrow gate and persecution. Now, I'm more open about 3 than I ever was, but the reason has nothing to do with the fact that young women today want to be in leadership. The reason should be that it i...

  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/write-as-if-you-were-dying-read-annie-dillard-s-greatest-writing-advice?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us I frequently listen to a podcast called THE HABIT. Its host is Jonathan Rogers, who for the most part interviews writers with a Christian focus. He is a better interviewer than I, and he runs a community of writers. I recommend him. I do have to say that the podcast makes me feel very shallow as a writer.  One reason is that Jonathan Rogers has a signature question, Who are the writers that make you want to write? If I ever land on his program (a dream), I will need an answer to that one, and right now I don't have one. Sure, there are writers I like, lots of them, but reading them doesn't send me to my computer to get cracking. They are more likely to make me think, you've got no business doing this writing gig.  Actually, bad or mediocre writers motivate me more although I am not exactly proud of that. And the fact that what I want ...

Datelines on Oxygen  Network.  Addendum. Their commercial breaks are the most annoying on TV (not that I watch very much of it), these are old programs (all the crimes are over ten or fifteen years old), and they tend to portray professing Christians as psychopaths. Case in point, the Frank Howard and Nancy Howard story. That poor woman, those deluded children, and that evil man. And he was a very active member of their church (to some point) and a pastor's child. Well, it happens. The Mormons come off bad on this program, especially.

 I heard this speaker on the Bulletin podcast (Christianity Today), and was glad to see the article here . It is a must read, although I think it probably applies to certain "evangelical" groups more than others. The SBC is probably very low on meetups for mission trip groups at bars.  However, that doesn't mean drinking in private is not a huge problem, and I am glad to see there is public discussion of it.  There is a somewhat companion piece on the site now called "The Loosening of Evangelicalism" that does not really bemoan, only wonders at, what I have seen for the 50 years of my journey.  It is easy to slide into "some wine with Italian food" to "a glass after work" to "I need this when things are getting on my nerves" and "Nobody needs to know what's going on in my house."  I have wine in my cupboard. I would like a glass . . . But... I recently started a medication, Farxiga, and alcohol and it are not a good mi...

COME JOIN US! ALSO, JUNE 1, 9-12 AT RABBIT VALLEY FARMERS MARKET IN RINGGOLD, GEORGIA! AND--June 8, Local Coffee of East Ridge, 2-4 (google it--at the corner of Ringgold Road and Belvoir Avenue) AND---Dogwood Books, June 22, 1-3, Rome Georgia independent bookstore Crazy Book Lady, Acworth, GA, June 29 July 13-Dickenson County, Virginia--the place of the story! and working on one for Barnes and Noble, Chattanooga.    Now, let me say, I'm selling the book for $20.00. I am making absolutely no profit from that. You can buy it for more on Amazon (boo, hiss) or the same from the publisher--$19.99.  https://www.colorfulcrowpublishing.com/our-bookshop/p/lying-in-barbara-g-tucker-hardcover  

I will be having book launches on June 1, June 4, and June 8 in the Chattanooga/North Georgia area. More to come.   I am so excited about this book: My first Appalachian novel, and the first hardback. Can be viewed at Amazon.  Print will be available Mid-May.

A Sent Messenger, Acts 13 and 14 (life group lesson)   Let us begin with context. Acts 9: Paul converted, called, and commissioned, then he disappears from the narrative for a while. He states in Galatians 1:15-20 that he was in Arabia and perhaps Damascus for three years. This passage is an interesting aside about how he was not easily accepted in those first few years. Galatians also describes a conflict with the leaders in Jerusalem that could be seen as less than charitable. Acts 10-11. Through Peter, the gospel breaks through to the Gentiles via Cornelius’ household. Acts 12: Herod kills James (Zebedee), Peter is delivered from prison, and Herod is judged.   The focus of the narrative shifts to the Antioch Church in 12:25-13:1-3, referring back to 12:19-26. 1.      These four verses are sort of a model for missions and serving with spiritual gifts. a.      Together, collectively, corporately. N...

 Derek Thompson, who is never short on opinions, published this in the Atlantic . Despite this first sentence, I agree with him. I have lived it over the last 20 years. And I would say my institution is quite conservative in this regard, but we have had to, because of federal law and student expectations mostly, add several non-faculty positions. Fortunately, we do not depend overmuch on part-timers, not like many institutions, and their service is limited to two classes per semester in most cases.   The issue is also, are these burgeoning staff positions even effective? Well, it could be considered Apples and Oranges. Today there is almost no barrier to getting into some kind of (access) college. That access does not mean success. (Sounds like a good slogan for someone:  Access means success [or not].) But because there are few barriers, more come, and that means more issues to deal with, mental health being one of the largest, as well as academic unprepared...

 John MacArthur helped many of us in the 1980s, and afterward.  He has grown old and proud and mean. The latest viral video saying there is no such thing as PTSD is heartbreaking. Yes, Big Pharma gets us to overmedicate, but denying the severe trauma people have gone through is out of his league and cruel. He must be surrounded by yes-men.