I believe it was Edmund Burke, British statesman and orator (1729-1797) who argued that when it was not necessary to change, it was necessary not to change. I thought of his exhortation while reading an article in the August 4/August 11, 2008 issue of U.S. News & World Report, “The Political Perils of Changing Your Mind” (see p. 20). Kenneth T. Walsh reflects on the accusations of flip-flopping by two presumed presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. There are several interesting statements:
“Suddenly, flexibility is all the rage in the presidential race. . . . [The two candidates] are refining, recalibrating, and shifting their positions left and right, trying to show they are pragmatic leaders in an ever changing world.”
“One person’s constancy is another person’s integrity. One person’s flexibility is another person’s vacillation.”
“So what is acceptable as a reason to change one’s mind? More information. Additional time to reflect more deeply about a problem. Changed conditions. Most of all, Americans consider a flip-flop acceptable if they trust a leader to do the right thing.”
As I read the article I was reminded once again that in preaching and teaching Scripture for nearly forty years, I have certainly changed my mind many times. Read more…
Seeing Things is the title of the most recent album released by Jakob Dylan, the son of Bob Dylan. It is an album that will make his father proud. Dylan is the lead singer of the Grammy-winning band The Wallflowers. Seeing Things is a solo effort by Jakob, and a magnificent one at that, at least in my opinion.
The opening song, “Evil is Alive and Well,” gets your attention (hear a sample by clicking the widget below):
Read more…
Several weeks ago, my son Brian and I were asked by Mark Taylor, editor of Christian Standard to reflect on the general question “Does the Restoration Movement Matter?” by answering six questions. It was a challenging assignment, in part, because each of us had only 1000 words to answer all six questions. You may be interested in our responses.
Read more…
It is Sunday night, 6 July 2008, and I cannot sleep. It is not because I am restless but it is because of an overwhelming sense of joy that washed over me a few minutes ago.
For the last fifteen years I have had the privilege of teaching for TCM International at Haus Edelweiss in Heiligenkdreuz, Austria. TCM is the finest parachurch ministry I know of, period. It has a clear mission that is biblically and theologically based, relevant for ministry, and culturally relevant. The staff, faculty, and administration are some of the finest servants of Jesus I have ever met. But I do not keep returning because of the mission or those servant-leaders. No, I return because of the students. They are some of the finest I have ever met. Let me tell you what happened on Thursday of this week…
Read more…