The Male Domain: gospel

Showing posts with label gospel. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Gospel Coalition Conference '09

This past week, I took a few days out of my vacation, and kitchen rehab project, to attend the Gospel Coalition Network's 2009 conference entitled; "Entrusted With The Gospel; Living the Vision of 2 Timothy"

I attended with my brother Israel and my Dad. It was a nice chance to hang with family and see and hear from Men who God is using to advanc His kingdom. Men like Tim Keller, John Piper and Mark Driscoll to name just a few. To see the full line-up, and to hear or watch the video's from the conference, click here.

There were so many good things that went on and I went away with much to chew on, and much to ponder. It was really cool sitting less than 10 feet away from Tim Keller and D.A. Carson during one session. It was awesome spending about an hour and a half talking wth Jeff Louie over lunch and gleaning from him nuggets of truth on the state of the church and how we must remember the lowly in our society.

Attending gave me an opportunity to see Men I admire and respect again and say hi to them for a few minutes. Men like Scott Thomas and Tyler Powell, who are the Director and Asst. Director of Acts 29, a church planting network doing some amazing things for God's kingdom.

I saw some good friends from New Life Community Church in Chicago, along with the crew from Bethel Church in Crown Point, IN. Seeing friends who are doing their parts to move the kingdom forward is always a great thing. And today, with cyberspace, we're always just a click away from staying in touch.

I also went away with about $150 in free books! This helps ease the pain of $5.50 sloppy joes. :-)

So all in all, it was a good time. I cut it a day short and went home early to celebrate my son Ravi's 8th birthday. As good as the conference was, it doesn't compare to being a Dad and hanging with my crew at home. Reality set back in as I looked at my kitchen which was gutted of all the old cabinets and flooring, and needed to be put back together before I go back to work on Monday.

So be sure and vist the GCN's website for the messages from a really great conference, then go out and advance the kingdom for your King!

Friday, March 20, 2009

When Rockers Repent...

Read an article the other day about how Reginald Arvizu, better known as 'Fieldy' from the band Korn, had found God and repented of his past behavior and sins to his fellow band members. Fieldy is the second member of Korn to become a Christian. The first was Brian 'Head' Welch. You can read about his conversion here.

If Fieldy's repentance is real, and from what I've read it seems to be, I say Amen! Imagine the impact someone with his connections could have on the music industry. Think of the witnessing opportunities he could have within the crowd he runs with.

In the article cited, he said his Dad, a born-again Christian, had only one with on his death bed, and that was for his son to find God. And according to the facts, he was born-again the night his father passed away.

I'm sure you could point to things in his life, or Welch's, that may provoke some thought of "That isn't right." But be careful, because they might do the same to you. These guys coming to Christ from the industry they're in reminds me of the passage in Mark 2 when Jesus was having lunch with the "sinners and tax collectors," and told the Pharisee's, who hated to see him with such dregs of society, that he came not to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. And according to scripture, these guys are 'sinners,' and me too!

Other notables who've gotten saved, according to their testimony and not my opinion, are: Deion Sanders, MC Hammer, RUN (of RUN DMC), Bono, and I'm sure you can name some.

My hope is that we see and hear about more stories of repentance and faith in Chirst as the years go on within the music industry, sports industry, hollywood, etc. These industries may be hard to conquer, but the gospel is powerful. Jesus said; "I will build my kingdom, and not even the gates of hell will prevail." If they're called, they'll get saved. Glory to God!

¹⁵ Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) ¹⁶ But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”
¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” - Mark 2: 15-17