My good friend Bret Capranica is a pastor at First Baptist Church of San Jacinto. He recently “tagged” me with this meme:

In an effort to keep it simple, short, and easy to follow, I’d like to challenge you to quote one verse (not one chapter). And then say what the Lord has been teaching you in one sentence (not one paragraph). Then tag 5 peeps (you know the drill).

Thanks, Bret (I think). I really hope this won’t set a precedent for lots of future memes, but just one little meme is okay, right? Anyway, here goes…

My verse: “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” (Col. 1:28)

My lesson: God has called me to exalt the greatest name (Jesus) through the greatest means (preaching) to the greatest group (all people) for the greatest goal (Christlikeness) by the greatest strength (see Col. 1:29); what a privilege!

Tag, you’re it:
John & Jessica Pham
Mike & Cheryl Prince
Mark Baker
Darrin & Monique Smith
Darien & Libby Bowers

There’s a lot of debate nowadays about whether preaching has become passe in our high-tech, low-attention span culture. Are expository sermons irrelevant? The Pulpit Magazine blog answers this question with some thoughts by John MacArthur on “Preaching and Postmodernism.” You can check out part one here. MacArthur’s conclusion:

The bottom line is that expository preaching confronts the amorality of postmodernism with an authoritative message of absolute truth. It’s not a question of debating. It’s not a question of trying to find some way to sneak that in. It’s an issue of confronting this kind of thinking with the absolute authority of Scripture and then letting the Spirit of God make the application to the heart.

I’m looking forward to part two tomorrow. I also hope to post on Wells’ chapter four on Thursday or Friday.

I won’t be blogging on the next chapter of The Courage to Be Protestant until Friday. Over the past 24 hours, I took an unplanned trip to see John Pham, IMB missionary, who is briefly here in the States.

John and his family are currently in language school in Costa Rica, but because of his dad’s poor health, John made a quick trip to California to spend a few days with his dad and sisters. This morning and afternoon, I had the privilege of visiting and praying with John and his family, and just fellowshipping with John.

Our church first met and “adopted” the Phams a little over a year ago, at the Missions Appointment Service at Immanuel Baptist Church in Highland. Since that time, it’s been a privilege to grow better acquainted. Through their blog, phone, email correspondence, we’ve been able to vicariously experience many of the joys and trials of missionary life. It’s especially been good for our church to partner together and pray more specifically for some of the needs of our Southern Baptist missionaries.

Today was the most time I’ve ever spent with John, and I really felt a kinship with him. It was great to be able to talk about family and ministry and missions strategies. I’m so thankful the Lord brought us together in His kind providence, and I look forward to seeing their ministry in South America blossom in the years ahead.

I like free stuff, and right now Matthias Media is “giving away 500 FREE subscriptions to our monthly magazine, The Briefing, to North American readers. No obligation. No cost. Posted to you totally free. We just want you to get to know us a bit better, and this seems like a good way to do it.” Click here to subscribe. I suspect these 500 copies will go fast. (Thanks to Tim Challies for this tip.)

I’ve been very impressed by Matthias Media as I’ve gotten to know them better over the last year. Our church has started using their evangelistic method called Two Ways to Live, and I’ve enjoyed reading their new blog, the Sola Panel. I’m sure their magazine will continue their reputation for sound biblical teaching.

Here’s a fun list of quirky sports teams compiled by humorist John Kinde. Let the puns begin!

– A cricket team with a vitamin C deficiency — The Rickety Crickets
– A team of spendthrifts who like to max out their credit cards — The Sans Dinero Chargers
– Texan hot air balloon racers — The Ballast Cowboys
– A team of cooks from Kansas — The Kansas City Chefs
– A team of sluggards from Wisconsin — The Green Bay Slackers
– A team of forest navigators — The Oak Land Radars
– A team who uses second-hand uniforms — The Old Jersey Nets
– A team of barbers from LA — The Los Angeles Clippers
– A racecar team of drug junkies — The Speed Racers
– A basketball team of stock market investors — The Chicago Bulls and Bears
– A fishing team of geometricians — The Right Anglers
– An olympic team of Polish athletes — The Pole Vaulters
– A skating team who lives dangerously — The Thin Ice Skaters
– An olympic team of small golfers — The Short Putters
– An equistrian team of underwear models — The Jockeys
– A body building team of lewd and vulgar musclemen — The Bawdy Builders
– A boardgame team of oriental inspectors — The Chinese Checkers
– A darts team of star wars fans — the Dart Vaders
– A Czechoslovakian basketball team for fraud artists — The Czech Bouncers
– A baseball team of Ohio communists — The Cincinnati Reds
– A debating team of entomologists — The Tick Talkers
– A bowling team of fast, accurate bowlers – The Lightning Strikes
– A football team for East Coast comedians — The New York Jests
– A baseball team of landscapers — The Houston Astro-turfs
– A baseball team for oil well owners — The San Antonio Spurts
– A football team for crazy people — The Baltimore Raven-Maniacs
– A Bicycle club for old maids — The Spinsters
– Hang Gliding for Pedicurists — The Hang Nail Gliders