IHOPKC: Urgent Call to Surf

Billy Graham’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, called the nation to urgent prayer. IHOPKC has responded seriously. Anne is not better than any one else. But she is in-the-know. She’s wired. Her father advises many presidents and other important leaders. The family has friends who know what happens behind the scenes. When praying woman or man who is wired makes an urgent call to prayer, it’s wise to respond.

Here are my own feelings about this weeks urgent call to prayer…

There have been a number of statements and Scriptures about a nation being offered mercy if it “returns” to the Lord. My own random Bible reading last night was, for the first time, randomly opening to Jeremiah 4, “If you return…” Another friend stumbled on Psalm 47, which declares that the Lord God is king of all and praises Him for being so. Allen Hood, from IHOPKC (see link above) explains that he believes the nation is facing judgment, not from any prophetic dream or vision, but simply from the Scriptures.  · · · →

Looking for Truth

I get questions and comments once and a while like, “How can you be sure that the Bible is legitimate? How can we know what Jesus actually said? How can the earth be created in only 6 days? The Bible has wisdom, for sure, but I just can’t believe the factual claims.”

I’m giving a very simple answer to this. Questions deserve answers and evidence demands respect.

Firstly, for anyone who asks these questions seriously, who is interested in these ideas—not just looking for a fast excuse to invent personal religion—you need to familiarize yourself with two books: The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel and The Evolution Handbook. That should be a good enough start to decide whatever you want.

Responsible research means hearing from credible sources in favor of a belief—not only credible opposition, not only ignorant believers either! There are a lot of Christian idiots out there.  · · · →

What Should the Church Pray For?

Calamity in America is immanent. Few deny it, regardless of their religious beliefs. More importantly, it will mean American Revival… you know… revival?

Revival in American history has always been directly proportionate to the degree of domestic war. The greater the attack, the more pews are filled. The Battle Hymn of the Republic became more of a movement than a mere song, as it caught wind during the American Civil War. Events such as on December 4, 1941 or September 11, 2001 led to packed-out Church services.

Revival is a time when the Church gets back on track and non-Christians get revitalized. It affects everything from economics to the environment. The Fiji Islands saw revival recently—farmland that was formerly dead produced carrots the size of your arm! That was only the beginning. A dead coral reef came back to life and polluted water was miraculously purified. But it doesn’t end there.  · · · →

Statements about Specific Debates

Eternal Security Debate

The problem with the Eternal Security paradigm is that Christian Eternity was decided when the Book of Life was written. Eternal Security debates, from both sides, assume that a Chrsitian’s Eternity is determined in this lifetime rather than discovered in this lifetime.

Lordship v Grace Theologies

IMHO, nearly all concerns surrounding these topics would be satisfied if we preached a paradigm of a “wise-friend-and-King” view of Jesus. This would mean abandoning any tones of “mostly Lord-ruler” or “mostly friend” views of Jesus, which are unintended, yet consequential from both paradigms of teaching. Little teaching comes from either side concerning the wisdom of God’s commands. This debate surrounds “to should or not to should” in regard to God’s commands, rather than “to be wise or not to be wise” in obeying the good, perfect, and empowering commands from our loving ruler-Creator.

Church Government

It’s organic. If it has any tax exempt or non-tax exempt status, it may be wonderful, it may be terrible, but it’s not the Church.  · · · →