Asbury Revival

The Asbury Revival has been trending on social media and religious newspapers for a couple of weeks. I mentioned it Saturday only to say that I had no comment but maybe later. That story has been well covered, it has the nation’s collective attention, every armchair theologian has weighed in. The response to the Asbury Revival has become its own story. Everyone with internet seems to either be a critic or a supporter of what is being done and how. Jimmy Humphrey wrote a post and made that the subject of his weekly podcast and I finally did reply to his comment. Without looking back that went something like this:

Sign of the Times

We’ve all see the “Now Hiring” signs, open interviews and sign on bonuses being offered. I hear people say “Every place is hiring right now.” Are they actually hiring or are they trying to hire? For businesses to actually hire people have to come in and apply that actually want to work.

The Burger King sign shown here was up for about six hours in Lincoln, Nebraska. Before you complain about work ethic, lazy kids or minimum wage laws let’s add some context. A manager put in her two weeks notice and about eight members of her crew did the same. At the end of that two weeks nothing had changed in the store and that’s when this sign was lettered up at about 6 o’clock one morning. The store has been short staffed for some time and the employees had been working 50 and 60 hours per week to keep it open. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the air conditioning going out in the kitchen. That’s when they had enough. As the marquee sign went viral on social media, the store began getting calls from higher and higher levels of upper management. By lunchtime it was changed to read “Now Hiring, Flexible Hours.” Time will tell.

Satur-deja Vu

It’s been three years since I first saw Wasabi Baby. My advice is watch it at least twice.

Pope Francis is visiting Iraq. The main objective of his visit is to encourage the small number of Christians there and encourage Muslims to live at peace with those Christians. Some notable places Christians read about in the Old Testament, such as the Garden of Eden and Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, would be located in the modern nation of Iraq. Francis is expected to visit Ur on this current trip. Click here to read more about the pope’s visit.

A Biblical Perspective

If you are a follower of The Master’s Table, or a former student, or have ever listened to me preach, teach Sunday School or lead a small group of any kind, you know by now that I do not pick up a recent newspaper and use the headlines for talking points about Bible prophesy. During Advent I talk about prophecies of the Messiah being fulfilled by Jesus’s birth and the events surrounding it. During Easter and Pentecost I talk about prophesies Jesus fulfilled during his earthly ministry, his death, burial and resurrection, and the promise we have of his future return. What I have never done is point to earthquakes, volcanoes, war in the Middle East or any other current event while quoting snippets of scripture and saying “See, the Bible says so.” I’ve seen preachers and other church leaders look foolish when Mikhail Gorbachev did not turn out to be the antichrist, Saddam Hussein was not the Beast described in Revelation and the world did not end in 1988 despite the list of 88 reasons that it was going to.

National Day of Prayer

Today is the annual National Day of Prayer. In years past I would encourage you to find a group event and join them in person and in prayer. It should come as no surprise that this year things are different.

Where Did Your Bible Come From?

I mentioned a week or two ago that impending tariffs, that are on hold for now at least, could cause an increase in the price of Bible. It has to do with the incredibly thin paper that Bibles use and equipment which require special set up in order to process. One of my friends in real life said she would be checking her Bibles to see where they were made. So I decided to do the same.

Remembering Fred Rogers

A full length trailer has just been released for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the biopic of Fred Rogers due out in November. It’s uncanny how much a good makeup artist and a cardigan sweater can make Tom Hanks look like Mr. Rogers. While Hanks is practically a national treasure in his own right the real Fred Rogers was almost too good to be true. Below is a reprint of a post I published back in 2010. (I apologize for the double space after each period. That’s how we were taught to type back in the day.)

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A couple of weeks ago, I had a discussion with a student about Fred Rogers.  His claim was that Mr. Rogers wore long sleeve sweaters to cover multiple tattoos on both arms.  I already knew that Mr. Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister, and it turns out this student knew that as well.  He contended that before seminary and his career in television, Mr. Rogers had a violent and sordid past.  So on a whim, I did some Internet fact checking.  Wow.

News Notes: Changes at Planned Parenthood

There are stories in the news from time to time that either affect Christians directly or that we should at least be paying attention to. The Master’s Table does not post on American politics. Our goal here it to be God honoring and Christ centered. Abortion is a morality issue and one that many struggle with. No matter your political affiliation, or even if you have none at all, this time in our history is seeing a lot of change in the way abortion is regarded. New York has recently passed the most liberal abortion law in the country while states like Georgia, Alabama and others seek to eliminate not only late term abortions but virtually all procedures after the first six weeks. And now this:

News Notes: Chinese Bibles and Empty Tombs

I thought about writing a post yesterday on the possible Bible shortage. Sometimes with news events, though, I figure everyone has the same access to television newscasts and articles on the internet that I do. But life is busy and sometimes I miss some pretty big headlines myself. So here’s a couple of things you may or may not have heard about.

Opinion: Rebuilding Notre Dame

Hopefully the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral is not news to anyone. I don’t try to cover breaking news and share you heard it hear first stories because many times the first things you hear are wrong. Now that everyone has had a chance to hear and digest the facts, and many people have shared their opinion, I would like to reflect on a few things.