New Blog

FYI...i have changed blogs: New one can be found here.

Thank you history!

Can Spurrier continue to maintain the Gamecock's exquisite record yet another season before realizing he is no better than Lou Holtz? I say...absolutely. Let's check their past few seasons:

1998: Brad Scott takes the Gamecocks to a stellar 1-10 season, showing Ball State just how it's done in their sole victory.

1999: 1988's National Coach of the Year and National Championship coach Lou Holtz takes the reins to bring glory back(?) to Williams-Brice. Gamecocks finish 0-11, but almost had a win against Vanderbilt, losing 10-11.

2000: With one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history, Holtz leads the Cocks to an 8-4 season, defeating now football power Ohio State in the Outback Bowl. Holtz gets SEC coach of the year.

2001: What's this...the Gamecocks are 9-3, and (finally) defeated cross-state superior, Clemson.

2002, 2003: The Glory of 2000-2001 was short lived, for the Gamecocks finished 5-7 in both years. The Gamecocks were also taken to the woodshed in their home match vs. Clemson in 2003, losing 63-17. Holtz said it was the longest day of his life.

2004: 6-5 Lou's last year, leaving the sidelines after a brawl with Clemson, rendering both teams ineligible to play in a bowl game.

2005: Enter Steve Spurrier. Like Holtz, Cocks bring in a former National Championship coach. Gamecocks go 7-5, with notable wins over Tennessee and Florida. Spurrier is named SEC coach of the year (sound familiar? (See year 2000 above))

2006: Gamecocks pull their best record since 2001 (the year after Holtz is named SEC coach of the year). Cocks go 8-5, and defeat Clemson at Death Valley due to coaching errors on behalf of the Tigers. NOTE: This season is very similar to the 2001 season. The Cocks not only had their best season in a few years right after their National Championship coach is listed as SEC Coach of the year in the previous year, but they defeated Clemson as well. And just like the 2001 season, what happens next? (See below)

2007: Cocks hit .500 for the season, finishing 6-6.


Based on college football history (which is more reliable than many think), here is my prediction for South Carolina football in the near future. I won't be so specific as to predicting each game, but let me say this: If you compare the Spurrier era with the Holtz era, some striking similarities arise. They stink....then an excellent old school coach comes in....win's SEC coach of the year....has their best season the next year and also defeats Clemson in that year....then the "magic" begins to fade. In Lou's case...it's 3 years and out after defeating Clemson in his best season (2001). 2008 is Spurrier's year two after his best season, and defeating Clemson in 2006. Sooo....based on history, the Cocks pull a mediocre, losing or 500 season (see 2002-2003), and like 2003 are absolutely plowed by Clemson, thus leading Gamecock nation to turn on Steve as they did Lou. 2009 is Spurrier's last year, before he retires and serves as an analyst for ESPN when he is not cashing in on his free pass to the Augusta Links.

Go Tigers!

Get Pumped!

Preach the Word!

As i have been studying the book of Acts preparing for a series for my youth group, i have read and noticed some excellent things about the book. I would also like to recommend a book that should be on every expositor's shelf. The book is The Message of the New Testament by Mark Dever. The book is a series of sermons that Dever has preached at Capitol Hill Baptist in Washington D.C. The cool thing is that each sermon overviews an entire book of the New Testament. Although the highly-specific details of each passage are not and cannot all be elaborated, Dever does a wonderful job of giving one preparing to preach some very helpful insights, allowing them to clearly see the big picture of each book of the Bible before they study the small parts...and shouldn't this be our goal as Believers...showing the big picture before the small details? None of us were converted by studying the biblical details on the millennium, were we? And i know nobody who's life was transformed by performing a character study on Paul. We were saved by the Gospel...THE big picture of the Bible. It is God reaching out to us through His son Jesus. This IS the major doctrine of the Bible, for there is no other name under heaven in which we may be saved.

And speaking of the Gospel is what i found so fascinating. Dever mentions that in his sermon at Pentecost, Peter does not have to argue for the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus. He states it as if it was known by all the non-believers in Jerusalem at that time. Peter says: "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it..." (2:23-24). Notice that Peter does not argue for the resurrection of the dead, as Paul had to in Athens and other places. It was taken as a fact! Dever says that the people there had either seen or heard from someone who had seen Christ risen, and therefore had no trouble listening to and believing what Peter was saying in his sermon.

Today, we do not have this freedom. In our pluralistic, authority and intention-questioning culture, we cannot proclaim the Gospel like Peter did because so many have no clue who Jesus is...or if they think they do, many are mistaken, making Jesus be who they want Him to be in their own minds. We must prove the Gospel by letting it speak for itself through the proclamation of the Word of God, then allow the Holy Spirit to draw those who hear to repentance (2 Tim. 2:25). We must not be silent...for this is exactly what Satan wants. He wants his preaching to be the only preaching heard in the world. No wonder Christ rebuked him with the Truth! May we do the same to those who teach lies, yet with gentleness and respect.

Screamin' Eagle Outfitters

Well, baptist history is finished for me, and Keri and I are off at camp with our wonderful new youth group having a blast and learning about Jesus. Check out our new blog in the sites of note section under CRYG.

Baptism- Part Deux

After some study on the subject of who can administer baptism, i have come to a few conclusions. After studying the biblical passages that refer to baptism, i have noticed that the Bible does not concern itself with the specific details of who did the baptizing as much as it did to relate the heart change of those who were baptized.

One could make the case that deacons are the ones who are supposed to baptize others. We see in Acts that Phillip was chosen as a deacon for the purpose of serving the saints in Jerusalem. But Phillip also baptized others as well as served the church, as seen in Acts 8:38. So maybe deacons are supposed to baptize others. But in 1 Timothy 3, (the most direct description of a deacon in the Bible), there is no mention of the task of baptizing other believers.
The same can be said for elders/overseers. There is no mandate for baptizing in Paul's descriptions of this office in 1 Tim 3 or Titus 1.

Since these passages offer no help on our study, our efforts must be directed toward the commands in scripture to baptize. The one that comes to my mind is the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19. Jesus' command is as follows: "Go therefore (on the basis of the authority that the Father had given Him) and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit..." As i was discussing this with Barley today, he brought to my attention the priesthood of believers. According to 1 Peter 2:9, Peter tells his scattered flock: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

Isn't this what we as believers are called and challenged to do in the Great Commission? Yes! For Gospel proclamation is made up partly of how God has saved us, and then sent us (c/f Acts 22). We must note that the Great Commission was addressed to the 1 1 disciples, but we take it as a mandate for all Christians. I have never heard a sermon where the speaker said that the Great Commission was for the disciples or pastors only. Therefore, we must conclude that the command to baptize found in the same verse as the great commission applies to all true Believers...and i would hold as well that this applies to only those believers who are rightly baptized by immersion after they have professed faith in Christ. Questions? Comments? Cries of outrage?

Who want's a turn?

Soo...to start, sorry for the delay between posts. Who would have thought that summer classes, although short and to the point, would come with hours upon hours of extra reading and work?? Anyway, i have recently been pondering the subject of baptism for believers. And although i will dogmatically affirm based upon the Bible that baptism is for regenerate believers only, i do have a question on who it is that can administer the act of baptism. Is it reserved for ministers only, or can any baptized Believer biblically baptize another? Your thoughts and findings please...

The Hill

Okay, so Barley did a piece on the greatest college football entrances, and left out one of great importance. I have included it below. Not to mention it comes from one of the loudest known college football stadiums in the nation. In fact, ESPN deems Clemson's entrance into Death Valley "the most emotional entrance in college football." Enjoy:

Heavenly Treasure

Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I was able to see this principle applied the other day during a conversation with my friend...um, we'll call him Jake. Jake is around 70 years old, and is still working a good part-time job, where he travels often for his company. It is important to note here that Jake does not work out of necessity.

Jake was telling me the other day that he could not find anything in the Bible about retirement. I affirmed his conclusion, reminding him that our rest will come in heaven (of course that will not even be close to all that we as believers do in Glory). I told Jake if he ever retired, he should go on the mission field, to which he replied that he felt that the Lord constantly used him to give to fund missions. He did not know it, but giving was one of Jake's spiritual gifts and Romans 12:8 shows that giving to the body or the Lord is in fact a spiritual gift. Jake then told me that it was his goal to give 50% of his income to the Lord! Although he was not there yet, i know that he is close. This was a great blessing to me, because although I have taught this for many years, i have never actually met anybody who practiced this principle of giving.

This experience blessed me because everything that Jake is doing flies in the face of what the rest of our country would tell him to do. Some may say:

1. "you need to use that to increase your life insurance since you are old so you can leave your family a fortune."
2. "You need to invest that money!"
3. "You should travel"
4. "You should retire fully and play golf"

But regardless, all say would say to Jake; "you are a fool." To which I would hope that Jake would reply in the words of Dr. Don Wilton, "I'm a fool for God...who's fool are you!?" For Jake's treasure is in heaven, not on earth.

The church needs more believers like Jake. We need to realize that it is God who gives us the ability to gain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), not to build up our own kingdom, but to further His.

Pimp My....Life?

Xzibit would be proud. Not only has he helped to spur on the nationwide car-customization craze that started on the west coast with his TV show Pimp My Ride, this theme is starting to leak into churches as well. A church from South Carolina has recently began a sermon series entitled "Pimy My Life." Its goal is simple. To transform a person's marriage, mind, body, mouth, and relationships to be more Christ-like. Sounds pretty good, right? My prayer everyday is nearly the same (minus the pimp part), for I want all of these things to be transformed daily by the renewing of my mind. Furthermore, I'm sure that Paul meant all of these things plus some more when he stated "for me, to live is Christ" in Philippians 1:21.

So what's the problem? The problem is one of over-contextualization. Now, contextualization is basically the process of making something meaningful to a specific culture. For example, if I were preaching the Gospel in India, i would be sure to make it as relevant as possible to those in that culture, yet WITHOUT weakening the Gospel message. In America today, many churches are striving to reach a postmodern generation, and sadly, many are severely lessening the Gospel of Christ because they think the Gospel will offend those "seekers" who enter their doors. I have known churches in the past who have told their members to not bring their Bibles, for that would make the "seekers" feel out of place. I have also known the same church's worship band to play secular songs about getting drunk and hanging with the rough crowd in the service before they enter into their time of worship. Obviously, this pastor has never read Romans 3, for if he had, he would understand that no one seeks but God!

Back to my point. I understand what this church is trying to do, and I'm sure that their pastor probably has a few good points and insights to teach if he sticks to what Scripture says on each of these topics. But his methodology of life change is all wrong here. Does he know what pimp means? Let us ask the dictionary:

pimp (pimp)
noun
a man who is an agent for a prostitute or prostitutes and lives off their earnings; procurer.

pimp Synonyms
procurer, whoremonger, pander, white-slaver, runner, hustler*, flesh-peddler*; see also criminal.

Xzibit's TV show shows old, beat up cars being transformed into flashy, used-to-be old beat up cars with TVs, stereo systems, custom paint, wheels, and etc. But the old car's body and frame is still underneath. There is just a whitewashing, if you will, of the outside. Contrary to this theme, Christ does not take our old self and add new stuff to it...he destroys our old self! Paul says in Galatians 2:20 that he is "crucified with Christ." Believers are no different. Our old self is destroyed, and our new self is being constantly perfected and made holy day by day. This is sanctification...and it is glorious because of the heinousness of our sin, God would not accept our old selves with new "parts" or thoughts, language, marriage practices, etc. Sin must be destroyed and atoned for, and the only way that this happens is when Christ saves His sheep, destroys their flesh-life, and imparts His righteousness on them! This is true life transformation, and is signified by our baptism, which demonstrates that believers were buried with Jesus in death, and then raised up to walk in newness of life! To God be the glory, great things He has done!