The Read and Share File

It has been a long time since I tried to put together a link list but I want to share just a couple. The first is about pastoral candidates. When Bobby Braswell is asked “Could this candidate be your pastor?” he may be willing to consider candidates you would not. His pastor doesn’t have to be young and good looking, for example. Churches often hire pastors that look like the church members they hope to attract. Then the mostly older folks that make up the church will not let him do the things the church needs to do to bring in and/or retain those 20 or 30 somethings with kids. That’s just one example. Check out Could This Candidate be Your Pastor at The Christian Index.

This one is a lot of fun, I thought about saving it for Saturday. Rhyne Putman was invited to preach at a KJV only church as a seminary student 15 years ago. He read from the wrong translation but that’s only one facet of this “bed time story” he shares. It’s a long thread of Tweets but worth your time. Click the tweet below.

The time I preached from the wrong translation at a rural KJV-only church: a bedtime story.

— Rhyne Putman (@rhyneputman) July 31, 2019

Facebook Issue Resolved

Good news! Facebook has restored links to The Master’s Table FB page and my personal profile. I was incredibly frustrated but honestly didn’t figure there was anything I could do. Someone, somewhere, looked at the issue again and determined this WordPress blog was not malicious and that I wasn’t spamming my friends. Praise the Lord and thank you Facebook Help team!

Thank you everyone for your patience while I fumed. I will try to make it worth everyone’s while by posting some God honoring, Christ centered blog posts over the weekend.

Update on Facebook

UPDATE: This issue has been resolved. 

So my issues with Facebook continue unresolved but there is a twist. Back when I first signed up with Facebook, late in 2008, there was an input field for a website. Those links still appear on the sidebar, or the about section, of my profile. I tried The Master’s Table link, which is displayed, only to receive an error message about that link violating FB’s community standards. But the link to my original URL, clarkbunch.wordpress.com, still works. Why I have two blogs is a long story but the fact that I can link to one but not the other makes it that much more interesting.

The Master’s Table Facebook Page

Update: Issued resolved, links have been restored.

I’m having a bit of a tiff with Facebook. It’s probably not enough to make me give it up for good but at this time I am unable to post links to this blog. I always link new blogs on the Mater’s Table Facebook page and occasionally, though not very often, link from my personal Facebook profile. I was hoping to spread a little Happy Monday cheer but Facebook rejected the post and claimed it violated their community standards on spam. They also removed all links to this blog from the Master’s Table FB page. That page has 178 followers. It was created for several reasons but perhaps the biggest thing at the time was so that I could post links each time a new blog post was up without constantly irritating my Facebook friends. Every new blog post was linked from the FB page and like I say only occasionally from my own profile. Currently the only links on the Master’s Table FB page are to Paul Wilkinson’s Wednesday Connect posts.

Happy Mother’s Day

That’s Mom and I at a Braves game in 2013. This will be the Braves last season at Turner Field, so we may try to get in one more this summer.

Useful Links

Yesterday I updated the blogroll. That’s a list of blogs that I read and you might enjoy as well. Beneath the blogroll is another list of links. Rather than blogs those are resources useful for Bible study, research and passage look-up. Some of those sites I use on a regular basis, others “as needed.”

Speaking of websites I use, check out the new look of Our Daily Bread. The interactive calendar feature makes finding a particular devotion easier than before, and you can now login and post comments.

Tweeking the Blogroll

Managing a healthy blogroll is something of a lost art. Now that blogging has integrated with social media I sometimes question the value of a good blogroll myself. It used to be that having a good list of blogs and websites others could click to, and being linked to from the blogrolls of others, increased your chances of being viewed and considered a useful destination.

The Wednesday Link List

Paul Wilkinson is the author of Thinking Out Loud and Christianity 201. You’ve met him here before and from time to time I pop in on either of his blogs. This is just a friendly reminder to check in at least weekly on the Wednesday Link List, even when I don’t mention or link to it.

The Read and Share File

The Read and Share File is a new feature here at The Master’s Table.  I’ve had nothing but positive feedback so far, let me know what you think.

John Piper asks Why Did God Let Paul Become a Murderer?  This is some heavy theology, give yourself time to take it all in.

Did you give up anything for Lent?  According to Stuff Christians Like the Internet is the most common thing to do without for 40 days.  It’s called a Digital Fast and obviously no one reading this is on one.

So you would think that police in New Orleans would pretty much have their hands full during Mardi Gras.  In addition to everything else going on (I decided not to print a list) Paul Wilkinson shares this story about Hope Church.  They got shut down for giving out coffee and water – for free – to parade goers without a permit.  Have you ever seen Mardi Gras?!?  Handing out bottled water, that’s gotta’ stop.

Tim Challies is giving stuff away free stuff every Friday, or at least finding it for us. Here you can download Christian themed March calendar wallpaper.

*For a guy that normally looks like a million dollars, that may be the worst picture of Joel Osteen I’ve ever seen.  Thanks Christian Post.

 

New Friends …Again

It’s that time again.  Time to add some new friends to the blogroll.  New on the blogroll at this time is New Creation Person, a.k.a. Carl.  We think a lot alike.  He’s a bit new to the blog thing, so pay him a visit and share a comment or two; I already have. 

And new in the Useful Resources list is Catholic Answers.  Check out their forums.  This is the self proclaimed largest network of Catholics on the net, and Protestants alike are invited to join in and comment.  I found out about them when a member linked to a post I wrote months ago.  The thread on Christians struggling with homosexuality was sending traffic my way, so I joined as a member.  Anytime you happen to wonder what our Catholic brothers and sisters believe about a particular subject, this is the place to start.  Even if you believe Catholicism is wrong, I want you to do the research and be able to say why it is wrong.

Warning:  If you are entering the URL yourself to visit Catholic Answers, be sure  to type  http://catholic.com   and not catholics.com, with an “s.”  This site will download malicious code (a trojan) to your computer.  I was fortunate that McAfee caught it.