From Al Mohler’s blog…
“President Barack Obama has nominated David Ogden as Deputy Attorney General of the United States. This nomination is both ominous and dangerous. Given David Ogden’s high visibility in defense of pornography, this nomination sends a clear and unmistakable message. The pornography business will have a friend in high office in the Department of Justice.”
Read more here.
Seen on Amazon.com–this review of William Young’s not-exactly-orthodox book, The Shack:
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
The Shack is no Shaq!, February 10, 2009“I thought this was a horrible book, as I thought it was a biography about Shaquille O’Neil. He will go down as one of the greatest centers in the history of the nba. From his time in Orlando, through his current team, the Phoenix Suns, he continues to dominate.”
The Session has called a congregational meeting for 9:45 am on Sunday, March 1, 2009. The meeting has two purposes. One is to elect additional elders and deacons. We will let you know in advance who will be on the ballot after the nominees conclude their training class and examinations.
The second purpose is to consider and vote on a Session proposal that men elected to the office of elder or deacon be elected to a term of six years. Both the Session and the Diaconate would be organized into three classes (class of 2010, 2012, and 2014). A man nearing the end of his term of service would be eligible to be nominated and re-elected to another term. No time off would be required, and there would be no limit to the number of terms he could serve. Men who go off after a term of service would remain an ordained elder or deacon, but would not be an active voting member of his respective board until he should be elected back on.
The Session believes this proposal is a good idea for several reasons:
1. Current Representation – Presbyterianism is a representative form of government. By having a term system such as this, the Session (and Diaconate) is representative of the congregation that exists now, not one that elected the Session or Diaconate many years ago.
2. Ongoing Accountability – This system would hold men more accountable to serve and minister to the congregation well.
3. Built-in Breaks – Under our current system of permanent service, the only way a man can take a break from duty as an officer is to resign. Resignations can be difficult for the man in question and awkward for the congregation (or for the pastor announcing the resignation!). Under a term system the man knows when his term will end and a break arrive (much like a Bible study that has a definite stopping point). Again, if the man would like to be nominated and stand election for another term with no break in between, he will be able to do so.
4. Shared Leadership – God has blessed, and continues to bless, our congregation with men who have the qualifications and gifts to serve as elders and deacons. A term system allows these men to have the opportunity to serve on the Session and Diaconate (and the church to benefit from their leadership) without enlarging those boards to an unwieldy size by adding more men with no one going off.
5. Regular Elections – In our current system we hold elections on an “as needed” basis. There is an element of the arbitrary in determining what constitutes “as needed.” Under the term system, we would hold nominations, training, and elections every other year.
If you have questions about this proposal, please speak to me or one of our elders. You will also have opportunity for discussion and questions at the congregational meeting on March 1st.
Please continue to be in prayer about the decisions we will make at that meeting.