And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The ultimate goal of Christianity is world domination. Our Prime Directive, our Great Commission, is to reach the world. We recognize that not everyone will believe, but our goal is still global evangelization.

So when Pat Robertson says that the goal of Islam is world domination, I say, "So what?" The goal of any belief system that teaches absolute truth must be to have the entire world recognize that absolute truth. Otherwise, your "truth" can't be that important to you.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 07:39 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I found out today that Dr. Nash passed away Friday morning. Russell Moore has a great article about him at The Henry Institute.

I had Dr. Nash at Southern my first full-time semester there, in the fall of 2004. I was a little intimidated at first, because of the ammount of reading we were going to be doing -- and all his books. I learned quickly that there was a good reason for that -- the books are valuable resources. I read them all, cover to cover, and still refer back to them frequently.

I was also a bit nervous about the class. I took Philosophy at Liberty my sophomore year, but wasn't a very diligent student. I had to work hard for that C. By the time I reached seminary, I'd forgotten most of what I'd learned.

Dr. Nash made the class not only bearable, but fun. I actually looked forward to 11:20 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the weeks we had class. He was able to engage everyone in the class, no matter how much we didn't want to be engaged, no matter how busy we were with everything but philosophy.

Dr. Nash made the classes fun. Dr. Moore mentions his hip-swaying, as he quoted someone he thought was wrong. I think that's one of the things that I'll remember about him -- that and his profound relief at George Bush's victory in the 2004 election. Dr. Nash pulled no punches -- you always knew where he stood. He didn't like liberal theologians, Aristotilian philosophers, or Democratic politicians -- and he would let you know in no uncertain terms.

Whenever I read Augustine, whenever I read Plato, I'll remember Dr. Ron Nash -- the greatest philosopher to ever come out of Cleveland, Ohio. At least, that's what he told us, and how could he have been wrong about something like that?

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 10:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Dr. Michael Haykin has posted a brief biography of Andrew Fuller as part of his series on Eminent Christians. Go read it.

I've had Dr. Haykin for two classes at Southern -- one on Baptist history and one covering the life and ministry of Andrew Fuller. Any class that Dr. Haykin is teaching is well worth taking. It's all his fault that I've become fascinated with Fuller.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:19 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So I've seen the iPod jackets, with the headphones that pull out of the collar and the connection in the inner pocket. And I've seen the MP3 player sunglasses, and even those make sense.

But now I've seen everything.

New from LL International Dada Shoes: the MP3 sneaker.

The Code M System is a proprietary wireless technology application for footwear that delivers both audio and data. The initial application of the System is a shoe that delivers music to a wireless headset. The delivery system consists of two key components built into Dada shoes, offering easy access to music with no wires and no digital music device to carry.

The Code M system is integrated into the shoeÂ’s heel and tongue. Its memory gives the device the ability to hold up to 100 songs with a six-hour battery life. A USB port on the lateral side of the shoe allows downloading of music and re-charging of the battery. Another important element in the system is the wireless headset, which picks up music from the shoes as far away as 30 feet.

Dada will sell Code M products primarily through the companyÂ’s normal retail outlets, but Willis also intends to market shoes through electronics retailers and catalogs where consumers are comfortable buying technology-based products. Suggested retail for DadaÂ’s basketball line employing the Code M system will be $199.99.

But shoes?? Do we really need that?

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:47 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I just received this in my email:

Our friend and colleague, Professor Ronald Nash, is suddenly at the point of
death. I just talked to Betty Jane, his wife, at his bedside. He is expected
to live only another few hours. This comes as shocking news, but he had been
declining in recent days. He is now in a skilled nursing facility in the
Orlando area.

I know you will want to pray for Dr. Nash in these final hours, and for his wife
Betty Jane and the entire family. They are gathered there in Orlando together.
Pastor Bill Haynes, our trustee and the Nash's former pastor, is also there with
them.

Betty Jane expressed her confidence that God has "a better plan" for Ron than
what they would have chosen, and she looked in hope to his relief from
suffering. I assured her of our love, concern, and prayers.

Faithfully,
R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President

I had Dr. Nash for Intro to Philosophy my first full semester at Southern. His class had to be experienced -- listening doesn't do it justice. You can hear him at http://www.biblicaltraining.org/

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 04:40 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Everyone knows I read webcomics. And I hadn't really given a lot of thought to writing about what I read -- partially because there are a TON of blogs devoted to nothing but Webcomics, but mainly because Donald Crankshaw does such a good job of it over at his blog, and I thought it would look like I was ripping him off (well, I kind of am, but ...).

But I decided I'm going to do it anyway. And though I read three comics that Donald reviews on his site, I won't be duplicating him (unless I disagree with him, of course). There are a few comics that I love reading, that I look forward to, and I want to talk about them. So this post is where I introduce you to them, and talk a little about the plot to this point. And don't worry -- I'm only doing three.
more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:15 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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From the "If it sounds too good to be true ..." department.

We've all seen the ads for "mystery shoppers." "Get paid big buck for shopping -- just send us $50 and we'll get you set up!" And it sounds good, but we all know that it's a scam.

I know it's a scam because I have done mystery shops, and never had to pay anyone for the privilege. My wife makes a BUNCH of money each month mystery shopping, and never paid a dime to anyone. We get free movies and free dinners (after reimbursements, of course).

Go to Volition.com. They have a few hundred mystery shopping companies that want people to work for them, and don't charge you a dime. If anyone asks you to pay to mystery shop, tell them to take a hike.

There's money to be made. We live in apretty rural area, and never have a problem getting mystery shops. Hardees, Arbys, McDonalds, gas stations (FREE GAS!!!), more. Texas Road House. Buffalo Wild Wings. We eat places that we otherwise couldn't afford, because we're getting reimbursed.

You're going to eat there anyway -- do it for free.

And no, I don't get anything out of this. No affiliate programs, no finders fees. Just trying to let people know so they don't get ripped off.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 07:22 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Christianity is a confessional faith. Even those who proudly proclaim "No creed but Christ" are, in fact, living by a creed of sorts. After all, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10, ESV) Confession is as important to our belief.

Throughout history, the Church has put together documents that set forth essential Christian beliefs. These creeds are important parts of our history, because we can see how people thought about the Bible, and how important doctrines were formulated and defended based on Scripture.

There is a part of Protestant Christianity that doesn't like creeds -- "too Roman" they say. This is a book that I'd like to get every single person who thinks that, because it will change their minds. In this book, Ray Pritchard goes to great lengths to show that the Apostles' Creed is based solidly on the Bible, and that it is as relevent for us today as it was to the Christians in the 3rd century when it was written.

The book is not a church history text, nor is it a theological treatise. In fact, it reads like a sermon series (which it is most likely based on, as Pritchard mentions in the book that he has preached through the Apostles' Creed before).

He starts off with a great chapter on how the Apostles' Creed came to be, and why it is so important. This is an important starting point, since many evangelicals have abandoned the ancient creeds in favor of something more "relevent" or "modern." Pritchard does a good job in establishing exactly why a look at the Apostles' Creed can be valuable to the church today.

Then he takes us through the creed, phrase by phrase. This is an outstanding way to lay the book out, and I think that as pastors read this, they'll be taking notes and making outlines -- I know I was.

The only weak point in the book was chapter 10, covering "He descended into Hell ...". I've always thought that this part of the creed was a later addition, and that it lacked Biblical support. Pritchard makes a good case for its inclusion, and shows how to teach this part of the creed, but I'm not sure the case is made for it's inclusion in the creed to begin with.

Credo is an outstanding book. At a time when Christians are increasingly ignorant of what they believe, and why they believe it, more people need to read this book. The essentials of Biblical Christianity are in the Apostles' Creed for everyone to read. And believe.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 10:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I promised in another post that I'd link to other IMB trustees' blogs if they started one. And one of them has done just that.

The Most Excellent Way is a blog by IMB trustee Jerry Corbaley. According to Marty Duren, he was the person who sent the trustees into Executive Session shortly before the motion to remove Wade Burleson was made, so he should bring the other side of the story to the blogosphere at last.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:28 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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My wife reminded me of a piece of history that I'd learned and then promptly forgotten. In the early 1800s, in New Orleans, there were bands of aristocrat's sons who would roam the streets looking for duels. They had been well-trained in fencing, some by the top fencing instructors in France, and looked for opportunities to show their skill, and show off who their teachers were. Of course, the better fencers were trained by the better (read, more expensive) teachers.

These kids would walk around looking for opportunities to take offense with something that someone said or did, and challenge them to a duel. And the duel would begin in earnest -- unless the challenge was refused. If the challenge was refused, the challenge-ee was considered a wimp (or at least the 19th century equivalent of a wimp) and roundly mocked. more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 04:32 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I found this piece in the Jerusalem Post thanks to Tim Ellesworth. As an LU graduate, I was concerned, so I headed over to jerryfalwell.com looking for an explanation. I didn't find one right away, but I did find an email link to send a comment to Dr. Falwell, which I did.

I got an answer:

A GRACIOUS CORRECTION OF THE JERUSALEM POST

By Jerry Falwell
March 1, 2006

Earlier today, reports began circulating across the globe that I have recently stated that Jews can go to heaven without being converted to Jesus Christ. This is categorically untrue.

These false reports originated from a March 1 Jerusalem Post front page column which said: "An evangelical pastor and an Orthodox rabbi, both from Texas, have apparently persuaded leading Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell that Jews can get to heaven without being converted to Christianity. Televangelist John Hagee and Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, whose Cornerstone Church and Rodfei Sholom congregations are based in San Antonio, told The Jerusalem Post that Falwell had adopted Hagee's innovative belief in what Christians refer to as 'dual covenant' theology. This creed, which runs counter to mainstream evangelism, maintains that the Jewish people have a special relationship to God through the revelation at Sinai and therefore do not need 'to go through Christ or the Cross' to get to heaven."

While I am a strong supporter of the State of Israel and dearly love the Jewish people and believe them to be the chosen people of God, I continue to stand on the foundational biblical principle that all people - Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Jews, Muslims, etc. - must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to enter heaven.

Dr. Hagee called me today and said he never made these statements to the Jerusalem Post or to anyone else. He assured me that he would immediately contact the Jerusalem Post and request a correction. Before today, I had never heard of Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg or had any communications with him. I therefore am at a total loss as to why he would make such statements about me to the Post, if in fact he did.

ONE WAY TO HEAVEN

In this age of political correctness and diversity, the traditional evangelical belief that salvation is available only through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is often portrayed as closed-minded and bigoted. But if one is to believe in Jesus Christ, he must believe in His words: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father but by Me" (John 14:6). I simply cannot alter my belief that Jesus is The Way to heaven, as He taught.

Again, I do not follow this teaching of "dual covenant" theology and I believe it runs counter to the Gospel.

I have been on record all 54 years of my ministry as being opposed to "dual covenant" theology. In fact, Dr. John Hagee has indicated to me, as recently as today, that he likewise does not accept "dual covenant" theology.

I want to reaffirm that I am a Zionist in terms of Israel's entitlement to its homeland. I continue to pray daily for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Bible instructs Christians to do. And I have dedicated my life and ministry to working for the peace of Israel. I dearly cherish the highly esteemed Jabotinsky Award which was given me in 1981 by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. I have led thousands of pilgrims through the Land Of Israel during my 31 tours over 36 years. I seriously believe that few Americans have invested more time and resources in the defense of Israel in this generation.

However, I simply cannot alter my deeply-held belief in the exclusivity of salvation through the Gospel of Christ for the sake of political or theological expediency.

Like the Apostle Paul, I pray daily for the salvation of everyone, including the Jewish people.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 03:27 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Somebody listened!!!

The Christian Podder Sync tool has been replaced with an RSS feed. You can now use any podcasting software to download your Christian Podder content.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 03:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So there are now 42 bloggers listed on the SBC aggregator. I haven't been promoting it much, but 42 is a pretty important number.

The headlines that used to be at the top of the page aren't working right now. I used to have the five most recent posts up there, but Blogdigger doesn't like me much at all, and it only ever worked on about half the feeds. Mine was one that it didn't like much, for some reason. I've been looking for a better alternative, but nothing so far. I combined all the feeds into one XML file, but it won't validate (too long), so it's not FeedtoJS comliant -- otherwise, there'd be no problem. I even set up a Bloglines account with the entire aggregator in it to see if I could use that somehow, but no dice.

I'd LOVE it if I could find something that would take the Bloglines OPML file and let me take the five or ten top headlines and put it at the top of the page. That way, I could add the new blogs to bloglines and have them added to the rotation right away, and add the individual entry when I get a chance. But I have no clue how to do it. I've even got a Perl book to see if I can learn a nifty script to do it, but I don't even know if that's the best language to use. Any web gurus out there want to help a brother out?

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 09:22 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Don Knotts died today at 81.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 07:48 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
(Mark 8:31-38 ESV)

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 08:15 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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I think that about covers it. He and his followers are total, complete idiots.

They have awarped sense of God, and a warped interpretation of Scripture. They have missed the purpose of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. They've missed the purpose of the Church on earth.

Their God is not Jehovah. Their "Christ" is not the Christ of the Bible. And it pains me that they call themselves a "Baptist" church. They bear no resemblance to any historical Baptist church that has ever existed, whether Anabaptist or English Baptist, General or Particular, Sandy Creek or Charlotte.

And in the end, they will have to face the Almighty God they claim to serve, and give an accounting for what they have done. For their hatred. For their bigotry. And they will weep.

Unfortunately, we have to deal with them here. Free speach means just that -- they can run their mouths all they want. But we don't have to listen. That's why this is the last post you'll hear about them, unless they attack me personally.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 02:53 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So, not too long ago, I told my wife I had a great idea. I was going to talk to the folks at Lifeway about setting up a podcast service for Christians, especially churches, who wanted to podcast but wanted to keep costs to a minimum. The service would be free for Southern Baptists -- supported by the Cooperative Program -- and of minimal expense (less than $5 a month) for non SBC folks. NOT because we're better than the rest of ya', but because we already pay into the CP, so in effect we'd really be paying something, just more indirectly.

Today I learned, thanks to Podcasting News, that Lifeway has done it already, or at least they are supporting the folks who are doing it. Christian Podder even goes me a step better - they're free for everyone who wants to d a Christian podcast. They'l host your MP3 files and everything.

The only drawback is that to listen to podcasts on their system, you have to download their software. There's no RSS feed to plug into iTunes or anything like that. MOST of the podcasts that are listed have their own web sites, and assumably an RSS feed for the podcast, but people who are new to podcasting may not have that. If the idea is to get the word out to everyone, I'm not sure that Christian Podder will be the most effective, though for edification it will be an outstanding resource. I think that podcasts need to be available to iTunes users, and publicizing an RSS feed can only increase the number of listeners to the podcast.

I've signed up, and both my podcasts will be added to their directory, but I'm not abandoning the hosting I already have at podOmatic. I get an RSS feed there, and my shows will show up in iTunes and all the other podcast directories that I've submitted them to. One thing I've learned in podcasting -- don't put all your eggs in one basket, nor all your hopes in one podcasting directory or service. But Christian Podder is a valuable service, and I can now honestly say that one of my great ideas really was a great idea. So great that it's already been done!

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 02:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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From Gaither.com:

During the evening of Wednesday, February 22, while in concert on the Gaither Homecoming Cruise, Anthony Burger collapsed on-stage. He was taken backstage but was unable to be revived. The exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed, but is thought to have been a heart attack. Anthonoy was 44 years of age.

Please keep Anthony's family in your prayers during this unexpected and tragic loss.

Further details and arrangements will be provided as they become available.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 10:46 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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On his blog, Ben Witherington is talking about translation "problems" with the ESV, and advocates the TNIV as an alternative. He specifically mentions in the comments

My concern is with translations of texts like: 1) Rom. 16.7; 2) 1 Tim. 2.12; 3) Ephes. 5.21-22 and the like. So far as I can see, the ESV doesn't do justice to any of these texts, and at the expense of women.

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There are some podcasts that are going to a subscription-only format. The Earthcore podcast, which was originally presented as a free weekly podcast, is now available in the iTunes music store for $9.99 for a complete download. Also, one of the most popular podcasts in the BBC's recent podcasting experiment, The Ricky Gervais Show, is going to a subscription-based format starting on the 28th of February. The show will cost $2 per fownload from Audible.co.uk and iTunes.

I've known podcasters who have done similar things. The Richard Vobes Show has some things that are available to everyone, but has special subscriber content that makes people want to pay the $20 to become a member. I like that business model better. Give people a reason to give you money, rather than simply assume that they're willing to start paying for something that you've previously given them for free.

Earthcore is a different case, though, and I agree witht he way it was handled -- though here, again, is an example of something that would be better served with some value-added content. I'm sure people have saved the episodes of the original podcast on their computers, or burned them to CDs. I can see these being passed around by fans, bypassing the pay-per-listen downloads. But if the new downloads gave users something more for their ten bucks, there might be more people downloading.

Of course, I've said for a while now that the answer for the record industry isn't going after people who rip CDs, or making CDs unrippable, but to make some value-added content available only on the original CD. Coupons for free stuff, codes for free downloads, drawings for free concert tickets, etc. would be a great idea here, and there are fans who would shell out the money for these extras.

Think value added -- it's the way to go. This is one area where my former marketing weasel self shines through -- people will pay more if they think they're getting more. Don't believe me? Hang out at the local Sams one Saturday morning, and watch the people buying 20 gallon drums of Mustard because it's cheaper per serving than buying it by the squeeze bottle. There's a perceived value. And it works everywhere -- even in the recording industry, if they'll let it.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 07:41 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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