Thought of the Day #2

Church leaders: Have they led, or misled us?
Think about the appalling decline in UK church attendance; a decline that only appears to be slightly slowing in recent years due to the number of immigrants coming into our country (thank God for them!).
Think about the possible extinction of men from our churches in just over 20 years' time.
Think about the lost generation of young men in the world that, frankly, church leaders don't seem to be too bothered about, possibly because it just seems like too much hard work to even try to reach out to them? After all, it would mean having to leave their comfort zone of women and children's ministries, family "Fun Days" and the like.
Think about the false teaching single Christians are subjected to with the Gift of Convenience, otherwise know as the "Gift of Singleness", and all the other newly invented doctrines such as "Wait on the Lord for a spouse", apparently ignoring the simple fact that there just aren't enough single men to go around.
Think about the single Christian women that are facing lonely, childless futures, and are then scolded for not being content about it.
Think about all the overseas jollies they go on, otherwise know as "missions/conferences/trips to encourage other church leaders" not to mention "retreats" and "sabbaticals" (no doubt on full pay), when on their doorstep only 6.3% of the population are regular church goers, and we are actually in the position of having missionaries come over to us!
Think about all the above, and then ask yourself:
What would Jesus do?
Anyone feel like overturning a few chairs, maybe? ;-)

London Bomb Plot Foiled

Captain Sensible writes: Praise God that a car bomb set to cause carnage in central London last night was disabled, apparently "by chance".
Praise God for His orchestration that led to this bomb being discovered before it could be detonated; the wisdom of the paramedics who raised the alarm, and the bravery of the bomb disposal experts that attended the scene.
We have a real and present enemy in this world.
But oh, what a greater God we have!

"I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets"

Captain Sensible writes: Hmm - tricky one this. I have been pondering this "lying spirit" business today as it came up in my daily Bible reading, and interestingly, I read this just after speaking to a Pastor that sadly is a promoter of the false doctrine of a "gift of singleness". (Yes, they do still exist, and guess what, he was also a Carolyn McCulley fan! Pray for his congregation that was recently subjected to a sermon by him on singleness!)
So what exactly is meant by this passage in 1 Kings 22: 19 - 23:

"And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee."

Now bear in mind, this "lying spirit" affected "about 400 men" who were all prophesying the same lie. So how do we reconcile this with what we know of God?
There is a suggestion put forward in this article here.
The author points out that a) The narrative is a vision that is symbolic and therefore not meant literally and b) God will allow certain things but that does not mean He actively wills them (I think I have got that right!): "There is a common idiom in sacred literature by which the permissive will of God is expressed in forceful, active jargon. For example, the Lord is said to have “deceived” His people (Jer. 4:10), or to have given them “statutes that were not good” (Ezek. 20:25). In the New Testament, God is characterized as sending a strong delusion that some might believe a lie and be condemned (2 Thes. 2:11-12). All of these passages simply indicate that when men are determined to disobey their Maker, He will allow them to follow the base inclination of their own hearts."
All of which begs the question, has God allowed a lying spirit to spread the false teaching of a "gift of singleness" and all the other associated spin-offs from it?

Debbie Maken on Men, Women and Marriage

Captain Sensible writes: Just a few extracts here from Debbie Maken's latest blog article. Telling it like it is.

"The modern trend of single men drifting in and out of churches is symptomatic of life patterns of the modern male to drift through life and not believe that he really needs to commit to anything in particular, but always keep his options open. (I do not mean this last statement to apply to all men, but a serious reflection of the afflictions facing our Christian brethren)"

"Let’s face it, twenty or more years of preaching the so-called “gift the singleness,” making those who desire marriage feel like idolaters, convincing men not to pursue marriage but wait on a cupid-like capricious God, pointing to Feminists for all evils under the sun-- have really worked well in terms of producing marriages for this generation."

"(M)ost men would feel less frustrated if they pursued women who were like them (i.e. equals), and thereby risk a lower chance of rejection...The trick is to find someone with whom to be equally yoked, and yet realize that the time to search is a relatively limited period."

"It is irrational for anyone, male or female, to believe that romantic significant others will not ask for change in some way or fashion. We should count ourselves so lucky that God allowed someone to enter our lives to help change us for the better. The only question we should be asking ourselves is if the change sought is an improvement, and then submitting in love...After all, this is what God wants from us in general — our best effort (i.e. excellence), and God has appointed a wife as a helpmeet so that we can have an invaluable assistant and be our best."

"The resistance I am hearing from a lone few bachelors out there is because someone, albeit a woman, finally had the nerve to say no longer do romantic relationships on men’s terms or women’s terms, but according to God’s objective for marriages forming during one’s youth. And for that, men and women are required not only to present themselves as marriage-ready and marriage-worthy, but to be purposeful from the inception of a relationship."

"Women by their very nature and design instinctively know that they are made for the man. During the Reformation, there was a strain of thought that suggested that women could never have been called to remain single because they were “made for the man,” (I. Cor. 11:9) and because all five characters in the Bible with lifelong celibacy produced singleness were all male. There is a loneliness, a floundering, an unexpressed longing to be whole, that is more acutely felt by women than men remaining single. Single women experience purposelessness; whereas, single men experience a crippled/ maimed life, though many seem to get accustomed to their own hobbling. Therefore, it is not extraordinary that women then are the ones usually demanding DTR (define the relationship). Adam named Eve to establish his headship and help her with her own self-understanding. When a man refuses to define, set out objectives, clarify intentions to his follower, he is ultimately refusing to lead. He is refusing to be a man."

"The dating game is brutal for both sexes, but God has ordained for you, the man, to lead a relationship into marriage. No one is exempt from this charge — fat men, bald men, stocky men, too thin men, good looking, tall dark and handsome men, regular looking average men, and even the occasionally unfairly rejected men. There is someone for every one on the spectrum."

"God has appointed the spouse as a means to bless you, to advance you in this life, and to create heirs of the Covenant. As a general rule, married people enjoy more blessings than singles, including but not limited to better health and more monetary perks. The daily struggle/joy of submitting to one another in love and dying to oneself in child-bearing/child-rearing will produce spiritual development on a scale unparalleled by any other crucible. As Martin Luther said to young men making excuses for not being married at an early age, 'Let him strike out in God’s name and get married.' So, even if you strike out as you strike out, let it be done in God’s name and for his glory."

Amen, Debbie!

Thought of the Day

'A Pastor once levelled with me: "Most Christian men don't start going to church until after they are married."'

Call For Mass Resignation Of All UK Church Leaders! (Or Should We Just Sack 'Em?)

Captain Sensible writes: Okay, maybe that is more of a Frieda Fruitcake-esque heading than a Captain Sensible one!
But you know what, I am not in a very good mood this evening.
Witnessing the resignation of a man that really should not be leaving his job, whilst hundreds, or even thousands, of others who really should be going, are staying...
I am talking of course about Tony Blair and our UK church leaders respectively.
This thought occurred to me after a conversation with one single Christian woman tonight, who turned 40 this April. She told me, rather coyly, that she was "trusting in God" for a husband, and that in fact God had actually told her who her husband was to be, and this was confirmed with a vision, no less!
The man concerned lives in America, and she first contacted him after seeing him on some satellite Christian TV channel.
That was in 1997.
Since then, she has sent him one email, one card, her mobile number and a picture. He has sent her two texts messages.
The last of which was in 2006.
They have never met, or even spoken on the phone, but apparently God has given her other visions since, where they are together and holding hands, so she actually feels like she has met him!
With a serene smile, she told me she is "trusting God" to bring them together in "His timing".
Perhaps she reads Carolyn McCulley?
She certainly is not getting any help or teaching from her church anyway, that's for sure.
An undercurrent of anger and desperation was however revealed when she confided that at her church, they tell her to forget about her desire for marriage and focus on serving God instead. (There goes that false dilemma again! Choose to serve God as a whole, content single woman and forget about worldly, idolatrous notions of marriage!) "But it's my heart's desire", she said to me, pleadingly, "and I am now 40! How can I just put my hope of marriage aside like that?"
How indeed.
So she has instead become fixated on a fantasy, and the church isn't helping her deal with the reality of the situation. She may not even have dared to tell them. Instead, they scold her for being a normal woman expressing normal, God-given hopes and desires. And with no real man pursuing her, because single men just aren't in the churches and she has absorbed the idea that it is dangerous to look outside them, all she has is her fantasy man.
Shocking, isn't it?
Our church leaders have collectively failed us all miserably.
Here in the UK, just 6.75% of the population go to church, and probably nearly 70% of those are women.
Our contemporary church leaders are presiding over continual drops in church attendance, with a statistical projection that, if nothing changes, in just over 20 years time we will be looking at the extinction of men from our churches completely.
What exactly are our church leaders achieving at the moment?
Surely, if they were directors of companies, they would all be bankrupt by now?
Yet it is seen as virtually forbidden to hold them accountable. Not one word of criticism is to be tolerated. We are not supposed to be angry at the numbers of single Christian women that are destined to remain barren spinsters, nor are we to care about the lost generation of men that we are virtually ignoring in the world.
All anyone is allowed to do is run or attend ministries for women and/or children, with occasional overseas mission trips thrown in as a bit of a distraction and to maybe give the few men something to do occasionally.
Teaching on singleness and marriage is either ignored completely, or false, and the lack of men in the Body is met with lip service at best, with complete denial not uncommon.
Shouldn't they all be sacked with immediate effect?
And maybe charged with theft for the loss of Christian women's fertile years? Or criminal neglect for the lost generation of men who are left to fend for themselves in the world, looking for fulfilment in all the wrong places?
(Hmm, yes, well, I did warn you that I wasn't in a good mood this evening!)

A personal tribute to Tony Blair: A Man of Integrity

Captain Sensible writes: Very self-indulgently, I want to offer my personal tribute to the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who resigns today; a man who in my mind has never failed to act with integrity, or in his words, aimed "to do the right thing".
Christians may differ on their views of him, but it is my personal belief that a lot of people are going to be very surprised one day.
A Christian man with integrity, grace, humility, wisdom and courage, I, the country, and the world, will miss him.
From one of the best days of my life, when I joined other Labour Party supporters in celebrating his victory a decade ago, to today when he bows out, I have never wavered in my support of him.
Excuse me while I shed a tear...
Hang on! Enough of that sentimentalism! He's now unemployed, right? I wonder if he will take up the cause of men and the church and the wrong teaching on singleness?
Now there's a thought!

"Real Men Don't Do Church?"

Captain Sensible writes: Interesting article here, written by Christian Vision for Men. The statistic that leaps out is that out of the 26 million men in the UK, only 0.9% attend church regularly.
Maybe that would explain why the leading Christian publication in the UK, Christianity magazine, is full of job advertisments with a focus on men's ministry? Oh, dream on! Out of the 67 job advertisements in the July issue, 57 of them were for youth or children's workers.
Are we completely mad?

Men believe themselves to be self-sufficient, all-capable and in no need of a crutch, so why be a Christian? That’s for wimps and women isn’t it? And nothing at all happens in church that is of any relevance to men, does it?

We need to face hard facts and then ask hard questions! Out of the 26 million men in the UK only 0.9% attend church regularly. So we need to confront this issue head on.

Most men completely by-pass church. They see it as a place that according to a BBC radio survey is for wimps, women and irrelevant! Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that when the “wheels come off” in a mans life they look to the church. A small minority might, but for most, their perception of what/who Jesus is and stands for will be quite the opposite of what they feel they need in a crisis. So what are we going to do to put hairs back on the chest of the Gospel?

Men today still look for robust and strong environments to forge friendships. They may not express it like this but men really do desire authentic relationship. Men want a “band of brothers” that they can stand shoulder to shoulder with. So, they go to the pub, the match, curry house or the lodge meeting! Being blunt about it, men don’t expect to find a band of brothers in a church, so they just don’t look there! In addition, for the most part, major male driving forces are “Money, Sex and Power.” Men will instinctively (thanks in part to the media) believe that what the church has to say about those issues, will be diametrically opposite to what they want to hear!

On top of this, consider what most men experience when they go to church. When you walk through the door you get a bit of paper shoved in your hand and a hand shake from a stranger. Nearly everyone smiles when they look at you and will expect you to smile back and engage in small talk. Then you have to sit still during a talk and sing songs about a man called Jesus being your lover and wrapping his arms around you as you surrender everything to Him. And then right after you have another small talk session.

When you consider that the verbal reasoning part of a man’s brain is smaller than a woman’s and as a result struggles with small talk and also finds expressions of emotions in front of strangers a bit tricky, it’s no wonder that 49% of men aged between 20-29 left the church over the last 20 years!

• We talk of Jesus being our lover when men want a leader and a captain.
• We talk of surrender which carries connotations of defeat (and is only mentioned in the Bible in those terms!) But, men will bend the knee and submit to a higher authority!
• Men don’t like to get too close too soon yet we think it really helpful to break into small groups or say “grace” whilst looking into each other’s eyes.
• Men want leadership whilst the church provides pastoring.
• Men love to declare objective truth about God and yet we sing about our feelings.
• Men want to be challenged yet we wrap the gospel up in fluff.

Additionally, status and success are of huge significance to many men, which is why their work is of such importance. Yet church rarely, if ever tackles workplace issues head on. You could easily attend most churches for years and come to the conclusion that God isn’t interested in what happens 9-5 at all! But where does that leave men?

Carry out an audit: Take a look at your church: when did you last hear sermon on work? When did the church last pray publicly and seriously for those at work. In general we are great at praying for the so called “caring professions” but when did you hear a prayer for a Tesco van driver, a policeman dealing with child abuse work, a solicitor handling divorce work each week or a train driver who must spot the red lights or endure the trauma of suicide attempts. We pray for those in “full time Christian” work – but we ALL are! Christian men, let alone those yet to believe, will sit under sound and tremendously accurate Bible-teaching only to wonder what’s in the service for them: the preaching deals at best with generic issues, or with churchy or touch-feely things, and the very things that absorb so much of a man’s time mid week are never mentioned. While we sit under teaching about how to pray better or give more, most men will be thinking about the challenges of the week ahead.

Men are being spiritually starved in church and they are voting with their feet! The decline in male attendance at church is almost terminal. “Believing” men are switching off to church at an incredible rate of knots. We desperately need churches to engage with men on the real issues they face.

If we don’t get real in church we won’t get men.

Christian Vision for Men

The Same Yesterday, Today and Forever: #3: "...their maidens were not given to marriage."

"For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel:
So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men;
And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand.
He gave his people over also unto the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance.
The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage.
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine."

(Psalm 78: 58 - 65 KJV)

Baby Baptised At The (Secular!) Glastonbury Music Festival!

Just because this is a nice story....

Baby baptised at Glastonbury

Debbie Maken speaking the truth in love

Captain Sensible writes: Debbie Maken really has stirred up a brood of vipers!
From crazy accusations of being a "feminist" (and that's not meant in a good way!) to accusations regarding "tone", with its implication of "un-Christlike" behaviour (as if being Christlike means avoiding conflict, turning a blind eye to false teaching and perpetuating injustices!), Debbie Maken has certainly made an impact.
The former accusation can be easily dismissed: I suspect most of the prolific comments of this nature on certain blogs come primarily from one source: a vengeful, grudge-harbouring male that has been unable to get over a rejection from a Maken supporter, and hence allowed the enemy to get a foothold. The irresponsibility of the blog owner concerned to allow this commentator to comment so prolifically and so offensively -- unchecked -- is really quite breathtaking. (You'd have thought there was a clue in the fact that the commentator posted once under the name of Legion!) I can only assume that pride over the number of comments the blog appears to attract, has blinded him to the fact that it is primarily one person posting under the cloak of anonymity or various male and female pseudonyms. These offer a range of views designed to discredit Maken, including "female" supporters with anti-male rants, to attacks of an extremely personal nature. The foolishness of the blog owner in allowing all of this to take place on what is viewed as a Christian site, thereby discrediting the name of Jesus, reveals a deeply troubled spirit that has provided an unpleasant home for all manner of hatred. Meanwhile, not content with that outlet, said hate-filled commentator continues to daily inundate this blog with comments designed to cause varying degrees of intimidation and offence, including one apparently from Beelzebub himself!
It will be interesting to see what comment(s) he chooses to send in response to this post. I have news for you Legion, Beelzebub, or whatever male/female/anonymous name you choose to call yourself at the moment: Jesus Christ is Lord and I stand firm under His Lordship and authority. Now SCRAM!
There -- just thought I would get that out into the light! Some things have been hidden in the dark for too long now.
The latter accusation regarding tone is equally troubling, but in a different way. Broadly speaking, I don't doubt the good intentions of these accusers (and I am thinking of one in particular). Rather, I think this is evidence again of wrong teaching. The idea that a robust discussion is somehow unGodly (and/or inappropriate for a woman), is part and parcel of the sugar-coating of Christianity that we are seeing today, with its "meek and mild", hippy-like Jesus at the helm. So not true of the Jesus revealed in the Gospels, or even examples of the early church!
It's interesting to me how God orchestrates certain revelations. It must be about four times in as many days, that God has brought this misrepresentation of the Christian faith to my attention now, and although I don't believe hatred -- or anything like it -- is at this accusation's core, it too is dangerous and damaging.
The Alpha course's opening session begins with a talk entitled "Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?" and that accurately sums up the overriding perception of our faith in the UK. This "meek and mild" Jesus is a cunning invention of the enemy that I believe is seeking to destroy masculinity, especially in our churches. Admonitions regarding "tone" not only serve to (innocently or deliberately) detract from the salient points of Maken's message, they also feed the idea that to be Christlike means to avoid conflict, to just "be nice" and uphold a veneer of "unity" at all costs.
Debbie Maken chose to title her ground-breaking (but really very traditionally Christian!) book: "Getting Serious About Getting Married: Rethinking the gift of singleness". But what would possibly be more accurate is: "Getting Serious About God's Plan: Ridding the church of false teaching on singleness and marriage."
God has begun a good work...

Read Debbie Maken's latest blog article here

"We Want To See Jesus Lifted High"

Captain Sensible writes: Not everyone's cup of tea maybe...but I am appreciating the lyrics to this worship song at the moment, particularly that "all men might see the truth" and "Every prayer a power weapon/Strongholds come tumbling down".
Wanna join me in praying these lyrics through today, the Lord's day?

We want to see Jesus lifted high
A banner that flies across the land
That all men might see the truth and know
He is the way to heaven

(Chorus)
We want to see, we want to see
We want to see Jesus lifted high
We want to see, we want to see
We want to see Jesus lifted high

Step by step, we're moving forward
Little by little, taking ground
Every prayer a powerful weapon
Strongholds come tumbling down and down and down and down

We're gonna see, we're gonna see
We're gonna see Jesus lifted high
We're gonna see, we're gonna see
We're gonna see Jesus lifted high

"No More Christian Nice Guy!"

Captain Sensible writes: Wow - another present theme at the moment is the awful "niceness" in our churches. Jesus wasn't "nice"! Jesus didn't avoid conflict! Jesus wasn't the "meek and mild" stereotype of certain Christmas carols!
Rather, Jesus was/is good!
Our avoidance of conflict in the name of being "Christlike" is absurd!
Interesting interview here with Paul Coughlin. Not sure I can agree with all his points, but the main one is perfectly sound, and he also brings into it the subject of why men may feel uncomfortable in church.
So let's all stop being "nice" and start being good!
(NB - Just heard this line in the intervew: "A single woman I know says that her and her girlfriends believe the ideal man to date is one who has only been in the church for two years - that way he still has some masculinity about him!" Ouch!)

"His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot"

'But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.'
(Jeremiah 20:9)

Captain Sensible writes: I like UCB's Word for Today daily reading this morning, with it's encouragement to be passionate! Here are some extracts:

"In the face of overwhelming odds, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days. How? Because of a single-minded passion to do so.

"Jeremiah said that when he tried to quit speaking about the Lord, God's Word became '...like a burning fire shut up in my bones...' (Jeremiah 20:9 NAS). You can't contain a fire that God lights. When He sets your heart ablaze you begin to see things you never saw before and get excited about them.

"But it's not likely you'll experience much of a passion for anything if you're just sitting on the sidelines waiting for something to happen. James says 'Don't just be a hearer of God's word, be a doer' (Paraphrase. see James 1:22). You'll get a passion for God's will once you begin doing it! You'll think 'this is what I was made for.' And when you have a compelling reason for doing something and know that God is watching and smiling on you, it makes all the difference."

Anyone feel like doing something about the problem of singleness and the lack of men in the church? (Hint: Watching this is a good place to start!)

UCB's Word for Today

Christianity Magazine Interview With Liz Speed And Diane-Louise Jordan

Captain Sensible writes: Following on from yesterday's post, here are some extracts from the article in Christianity magazine, which is based on the Premier TV interview flagged up below. Diane-Lousie Jordan (a well-know figure inside and outside of Christian circles here in the UK) and Liz Speed have hit the nail on the head. Thank you Lord!

Getting Married In No-Man's Land

In most churches there are many more single Christian women than men. Does that make you angry? If so – who are you angry at? Men, the church, God?

LS: I’m angry and passionate about the situation. Inevitably this means some will miss out on marriage and all it brings. We talk about setting the captives free – well we could start right here. I strongly believe God has designed marriage and has put it at the core of our society. Right at the beginning He meant for us to be in marriage, family and relationship and we have really moved away from that; Humanism is taking centre stage, marriage is no longer at the core holding everything together. It’s become a romantic notion from a bygone era. As a woman, I see most of the issue from a woman’s point of view – but I am very aware that this issue is not a woman’s issue, its not just about a few single women wanting to get married. This is a kingdom issue, a generational issue, a national issue, and a critical issue.

Diane, you are well known for presenting Songs of Praise, and must visit lots of churches every year. Some say the lack of men is the churches’ fault, that the spirituality of churches doesn’t appeal to most men.

DLJ: I love the church and I want the best for it. Saying that, even though it clearly appeals to women, it doesn’t seem to be that attractive to men. So I’m concerned. I’m concerned that we’re not giving enough attention to this imbalance. I’m concerned about our complacency. I was brought up in a Christian family but recommitted myself about 10 years ago. Becoming more serious about my faith was the catalyst (although not the only reason) for the break-up of a longterm relationship. Since then, apart from a lovely but brief relationship I have been single. In the beginning it wasn’t an issue for me. I believed at some point God would bring the right person to me. To be honest I was quite shocked when I first walked into my church to see it virtually wall to wall with stunning single women. My initial thought was to tell all my non- Christian male friends – what a great way to attract them to church! Surely they’d think they’d died and gone to heaven! However it soon became evident that a lot of these lovely ladies harboured a sadness. They had essentially put their lives on hold whilst waiting for the Christian husband they believed God would bring them. But it was clear the numbers didn’t add up and for some it might mean never having a husband… really wanted to be married, not married. Outside the church the urgency to marry seems less apparent as people tend to drift in and out of living together, and so have the longterm desire medicated with a temporary fix. What I’ve realised over the years is that singleness in the church is becoming a bigger issue. A lot of the women who were waiting 10 years ago are still waiting, with no apparent hope on the horizon. So, I have become increasingly concerned.

So we’re in this bleak situation, and as you have been saying it leaves many women very unhappy.

LS: The negative impact both on men and women is multifaceted. But it is against this bleak backdrop, that we believe God has given us a vision. A few years ago a respected Christian leader was given a vision when praying about this issue. The vision revealed that God Himself wants to release a harvest of marriages into the church for his kingdom purpose. This in itself has started a revolution in our hearts – God wants it! Since then, as a group, we have tried to pray into this and to prophetically walk this out, letting go of hurt and disappointment on the way, and as a result we have seen enough to know that this is exactly what he is doing. Five of us are now in great marriages and there have been a couple of new engagements. We have called our group ‘Debs’ after the prophetess Deborah the Old Testament judge who saw Israel oppressed and did something about it.

She was a very proactive woman.

LS: Yes, she got up and helped restore community to Israel and that’s exactly what we need now. So we’ve named ourselves ‘Debs’ and we have been on a journey of discovery over the last three years; praying and seeking God and then taking action as well – coming out of passivity and ‘waiting’. The bottom line is where are the men and how are we going to help bring them back? I believe God wants them to come back to himself. How we do that has been an exciting part of the journey. The church is currently not attracting many men to Christ, and its been my observation that the majority of men in the local church are from Christian homes – which means the secular humanists, the agnostics, the atheists and those from other faiths are not interested in the way we are doing things. We need to find ways of engaging with men who are outside the ‘church’ and help facilitate their relationship with God. We need to stop relying on the old method of bringing them to church – God is bigger than our church.


Christianity magazine article

Stop What You Are Doing! Now! :)

Captain Sensible writes: No "ifs". No "buts".
YOU, whoever you are, must watch this.
(Word of warning! It's an hour long. Make sure you have time for it all, or you'll need to pause it, or start again and fast forward, and I am not sure the fast forward is all that user-friendly!)

Diane-Louise Jordan and Liz Speed on Premier TV

Douglas Wilson on the Giving of Offense and Biblical Satire

Captain Sensible writes: I am loving Douglas Wilson's "A Serrated Edge" (Canon Press). Rather than attempt to sum up its contents (difficult anyway, as I haven't completed it yet!), here is the back cover blurb:

"Satire is a kind of preaching
Satire pervades Scripture
Satire treats the foibles of sinners with a less than perfect tenderness

"But if a Christian employs satire today, he is almost immediately called to account for his 'unbiblical' behavior. Yet Scripture shows that the central point of some religious controversies is to give offense. When Christ was confronted with ecclesiastical obstinacy and other forms of arrogance, he showed us a godly pattern for giving offense.
"In every controversy, godliness and wisdom (or the lack of them) are to be determined by careful appeal to the Scriptures and not to the fact of people having taken offense. Perhaps they ought to have taken offense, and perhaps someone ought to have endeavored to give it."

I love this example in the opening chapter: "Suppose a man were to refer to certain respected theologians dismissively as having graduated from Bag of Snakes Seminary. He would instantly be upbraided for his un-Christlike behavior. Unfortunately for the one delivering the rebuke, it was discovered shortly thereafter that the speaker was Christ. (Matthew 23:33)"

Douglas Wilson is pastor of Christ Church, Moscow, Idaho, and editor of Credenda/Agenda magazine.

"The Church" - A Self-Help Group For Women?

Captain Sensible writes: Has the church now become a self-help group for women? I write this on the back of hearing about two new courses for women run by churches in my local area. Plus I have also heard recently from someone who goes to a large church in London, saying that they seem to focus all their energies on major conferences for women.
What I am hearing from the local leaders is that "God has put these things on the hearts of the women that want to do them".
But I wonder, is that really the case?
Hasn't God also put a brain in our heads and shouldn't the leaders, at least, be using those brains to see that we really need something for the men, not yet more (self-indulgent?) stuff for the women?
These women's courses and women's prayer groups, mean that the single women have something to distract them so they don't make a nuisance of themselves by being discontent about being single, and the married women can just indulge themselves in lots of girlie support networks and glorified book clubs.
Women are supposed to be helpers and encouragers to men. Can't the church leaders motivate the married women especially to help and encourage their husbands to start some men's ministries, and put their energies into facilitating that?
I really think that we must reconsider the value of all these burgeoning women's ministries. In the UK at least, we are at a crisis point with regard to the lack of men. Is running around in groups of women really what we need from the church at the moment? Is it even -- now here's a thought! -- Biblical? Shouldn't these women, first and foremost, be showing their love for their husbands by helping them to reach the lost?
On a slightly different note, I was also discouraged to hear that one of the regular, pan-church ministries that actually does reach out to men in their 20s and 30s, had to be cancelled last week due to lack of volunteers. And on the same circular email that encouraged prayer for more volunteers, there was also a prayer request for a new "Purpose-Driven Life" course that was starting up.
Hmm, was I wrong to think there was something rather farcical about that?
That Christians are happy to sit around discussing purposeful living, but are apparently unwilling to get out there on the street and actually start putting it into action?
We really need to step up our game. In the UK, we have a situation where only around 6.7% of the population regularly goes to church. The official line is that the male/female ratio is 40/60, although it is now being suggested that is probably nearer 30/70. And how much of that "70% female" is made up of elderly ladies I wonder?
We're hardly talking about an "it ain't broke, so don't fix it" situation!
Rather, what I am seeing now is "It is broke, but we're going to pretend that it isn't, so there's really nothing to fix and oh, by the way, you're not allowed to feel angry about any of this."
Blind leading the blind, anyone?

"Not even a hint..."

Frieda Fruitcake joins the campaign to "Eradicate Sexuality From Our Lives And Our Churches"!
And although not new, this seems like a good way to start...

Boundless Writers Carolyn McCulley And Suzanne Hadley "Unite" (Along With Frieda Fruitcake!)

Frieda Fruitcake writes: Rejoice! And I say it again, dear singleness-gifted sisters and last remaining brother in the church, rejoice!
At last, Boundless recently came out clearly in unity with the Carolyn McCulley school of 'thought' regarding singleness!
And not before time too, quite frankly!
I don't mind admitting, Boundless has caused me to cry out to the Lord in distress on occasions. Not very often, particularly as there are so many wise comment contributors out there that post things unchallenged by Boundless such as Jesus agreeing with the disciples that it is better not to marry, but there have been some troubling articles in the past, particularly by the idolatrous, marriage-worshipping heathen Candice Watters!
This sinful woman recently dared to criticise some of the contemporary beliefs in the church regarding singleness that Carolyn so fervently seeks to promote, in a terribly unfortunate article entitled: Misguided Compassion.
Indeed my dear (but really quite dreadful!) brother, Captain Sensible, recently commended her on it on this very blog! (Which we still have the burden to share, it pains me to say. But I am trusting God to provide me with a blog of my own, and until then it must be His will for me to share, so I know I just need to be content and wait on the Lord and when the time is right, He will bring a blog of my own to me! Praise the Lord!)
How wonderful that the very blog that was started by this backslidden sister, is now a vehicle to promote the teaching that she herself so very recently criticised!
I now have faith for a new article by Candice Watters, entitled: "Misguided Past Articles".
And what a wonderful new prodigy Carolyn has in Suzanne Hadley! How heart-warming that we now appear to have a new generation of pro-"gift of singleness" writers, ready to scold women for being discontent with singleness or daring to speak a word of criticism against a man, and advising, as Carolyn does in her book, that if Christian women are single then it must be God's will that they are, and that all they need to do is wait on the Lord, and trust in God, and when the time is right He will bring their spouse to them. (Assuming of course that they have not been given the "gift of singleness" for their entire life, which of course they will not know for sure until they leave this world to be with the Lord.)
This remarkable new teaching that the Lord chose to suddenly reveal in the past few years, can now go on and go for many more generations to come!
And all the single and barren sisters now -- and in faith, to come -- said "Amen!"
NB: Oh, and in case anyone wonders why my humble musings are always posted by Captain Sensible, it's because I trusted in God for my education, and He has not yet chosen to give me the Gift of Literacy, so I need to trust in His timing to give me first the Gift of Literacy and then, if it is His will, the Gift of My Personal Blog. Until then I encourage myself that blogging probably won't happen in heaven, so it's a temporary gift that -- just like marriage! -- really isn't all that anyway!
Be blessed!

Encouragement

Captain Sensible writes: Everyone needs encouragement sometimes. Here is a heart-warming tale which is featured on this site. I hope it encourages someone out there to keep on going...

He was driving home one evening, on a two lane country road. Work in this small Midwestern community, was almost as slow as his beat up Pontiac, but he never quit looking. Ever since the factory closed, he'd been unemployed, and with winter raging on, the chill had finally hit home.

It was a lonely road. Not very many people had a reason to be on it, unless they were leaving town. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfill. But he stayed on. After all, this was where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and he knew the
country.

He could go down this road blind, and tell you what was on either side, and with his lights not working, which came in handy. It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. He'd better get a move on.

You know, he almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe, he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold.

He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, "I'm here to help you ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan,"

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two.

Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk.

She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past.

He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me." He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor, it didn't ring much.

Her waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get change for her hundred-dollar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something written on the napkin under which was four 100 bills.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote. It said: "You don't owe me anything, I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but she never stopped thinking about the lady. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written.

How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be all right. I love you, Bryan."

Summer of What?

Frieda Fruitcake writes: What's this? A summer of "love" if you will?
But what if a single Christian man was to find a single Christian woman at the party, and they decided to get married and raised up godly children to add to the Kingdom of God, so that their whole household served the Lord?
I bet those sinful "London Christians" heathens haven't thought of that catastrophe!
Ha!

"Stop Sugar-Coating Singleness"

Captain Sensible writes: A massive thank you to the anonymous commentator that pointed out this FANTASTIC article on Crosswalk by Lee Wilson, Family Dynamics Institute. I tried to just put a few sentences on here as extracts, but there was just so much good stuff, that was virtually impossible! So please also go to Crosswalk and read it in its entirety too! (Emphases mine)

"There comes a time in life when we need to remove the sugar coating and taste the real bitterness of the pill on our tongues. Many of us have learned that we can fool others and even ourselves by wording things in just the right way or repeating a contrived philosophy until we've heard it so many times that we accept it as 'gospel' truth. One of those sugary pills concerns the modern view of marriage versus what the Bible teaches."

"I'm sorry to say that it has become an unusual occurrence for two virgins to marry each other now days. As the average age for marriage continues to creep higher and higher, the virginity rate among singles falls lower and lower. Why is that the case? I'll tell you just as I told my sister-in-law: 'You can't fight God.' What I mean by that is that God gave human beings a powerful sexual drive. Unlike animals, humans not only were designed to have sex for procreation, but also to enjoy as intimacy, affection and openness with each other. All of that was God's idea, not Hollywood's. And the drive is so strong that the longer it is put off or delayed, the more difficult it is to control because that God-given need for intimacy, expression and vulnerability grows inside of us. Marriage is supposed to be an environment and an understanding with another person that allows for sexual needs to be fulfilled. That's why we see so much sexual confusion in single land."

"But what about the 'gift' of singleness. Doesn't the Bible tell us that being single is a gift? No, it does not. I'm sorry to say that because many of you have heard that said so many times that you accept it as 'gospel' truth, but the Bible never calls singleness a gift. Instead, if you read 1 Corinthians 7 which is the passage people use so often to claim singlehood is a gift, you'll see that the actual gift part is to be able to tolerate being single, not being single itself. The gift part is said to be had by those who don't need sexual fulfillment."

"God did not make us to be loners. He made us to desire union with the opposite sex from the very beginning."

"I'm convinced that if we taught teenagers and early twenty-somethings that they should determine their own sex drive and decide if they are 'gifted' to tolerate a life without marriage, we'd see the virginity rate among unmarrieds skyrocket and once again men and women would give each other their virginity instead of adding another partner to the list and causing feelings of regret and pain. After all, It's not something that has to be considered very long. It's a simple question, in fact. 'Do you want to live a life of celibacy or not?' If you answer 'no' then you are you just like Adam and Eve and do not have the gift of being permanently single."

"I suppose Paul's idea of 'marrying rather than burning with passion' might be considered old-fashioned to some. But it sounds very logical to me and seems to take sexual purity much more seriously than the 'wait and see' method. And if we are able to again create a culture that takes saving themselves for marriage seriously, then they will purposefully seek each other."

"So rather than sugar-coating single life as a 'gift' that should be enjoyed, perhaps we should start determining if we even have the 'gift' to tolerate that life. If we don't, let's take the sugar off the pill and get serious about finding a compatible partner with whom we can share our mind, body and soul in service to God."

"Remember that you aren't looking for a so-called 'soul mate' or a carbon copy of yourself. You are looking for someone who loves God, loves you and has similar life goals. God is a wise creator and has made us to be compatible with more than one person. So don't go looking for a Hollywood fantasy."

"The bottom line is, if you wait for it to come to you, you'll likely not find it. Remember, the Bible also says, 'seek and you shall find' (Matthew 7:7). It's time we started taking these things seriously."

Now read it all at Crosswalk.

Unity in the church at the cost of FALSE TEACHING too?

"The church I attend is in denial that anything is a 'problem', including the high number of singles in the church. We're all apparently meant to sit back and have God 'magically' do something and to challenge that approach draws criticism for not trusting in the 'Wonderful Plan' and not being sufficiently patient. At 39, frankly, I'm through with being patient. Even if the church was burning down you'd be hard-pressed to have them admit there was a problem.
The 'Gift of Singleness' teaching is completely spurious, and we are currently experiencing the consequences of this in that if you're aren't yet married we just meant to quietly accept 'it is God's will'.I find it helpful to think of this situation like finding a job. If we sit in our rooms and don't send out CVs it is highly unlikely anyone will call us out of the blue and unsolicited with our 'dream job'. Yes, God can do this - but by and large - we all know He doesn't.
I don't know whether or not God does have partners for us but I do think that in finding jobs, finding new homes that God meets our need in our proactivity. We knock on doors and He opens the right ones - but we've got to be out there knocking on doors. "

Unity in the church at THIS cost?

"I have even found myself thinking how my Christian faith and the need to exclusively meet a Christian man has hindered me and left me at times really lonely!How very sad that I have been thinking this way and I wonder whether if I wasn't a Christian then I may well have got married by now and had children (something I always wanted dearly). Sometimes it feels like there is something really wrong with the church. I feel so sad at the number of good Christian women who have remained single because of the lack of available men in the church. It is also really unhelpful when people judge or don't seem to understand how painful it can sometimes be."

Unity in the church at ALL costs?

"When Peter came to Antioch, I (Paul) opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong."
(Galatians 2:11)

"And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which (Stephen) spake."

"Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose, however...These men began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke."
(Acts 6: 8-10 NIV)

"And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Then there arose certain of the synagogue...disputing with Stephen.
And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake."
(Acts 6: 8-10 King James version)

Captain Sensible writes: It seems that some Spirit-filled Christians seem to think that being filled with the Spirit means you have been emptied out of wisdom.
Of course, Proverbs is full of entreaties to seek wisdom, and Paul even gives practical advice to Timothy regarding his stomach complaint. But some Christians seem to almost -- gloat? -- in ignoring wisdom, preferring instead to "trust God". As if there is some contradiction there!
Is this Biblical? Is this -- ahem -- wise?
I was struck by this fact this morning, as my daily reading included the passage above, where Stephen is described as speaking with both wisdom and the Spirit (I have included two versions here, as the NIV seems to be on its own in translating this section as wisdom "or" Spirit).
There is no contradiction here. Wisdom comes from the Lord, so what's the problem?
Sadly, this reminds me again of Carolyn McCulley's blog, especially in the days when she used to publish (carefully selected) comments. (I knew all those frustrating hours would come in handy one day!) All too often, either Carolyn (and she does this in her book of course too), or a commentator, would appear to throw wisdom to the wind and almost boast -- quite frankly -- about how they were trusting in God for a husband. I vividly recall one woman who commented that despite the fact she came into contact with virtually no Christians other than in her small church -- a church where there were no single Christian men -- she wasn't in the least bit concerned about this, as, although she desired to get married, as she knew nothing was impossible for God and so she was trusting in Him!
Is this really what God wants us to do? Trust in Him alone and not use the brains that He has given us? After all, He must have given us brains for a reason, right?
Again, I go back to a favourite analogy of mine, what if someone was looking for a job? What if a man was seeking to provide for his wife and kids, and maybe a large employer in his town closed down the business, leaving next to no jobs in that area. Would he be considered Godly for remaining in that place and "trusting in God" for a new job? For year after year, maybe decade after decade, during which time he would be (in effect) "trusting" in social security to put food in his hungry children's mouths? Or would he be commended for relocating to a larger town where there were jobs, and where he could find work and provide for his family?
Now, I am not necessarily saying that every single woman should relocate in order to find a husband. With all the wrong teaching in the church today, the problems go deeper than that, sadly.
But don't boast in the impossibility of your situation and refusal to even contemplate changing it! Like you are somehow "holier than thou" because you ignore wisdom!
This reminds me of the passage in Debbie Maken's "Getting Serious about Getting Married: Rethinking the gift of singleness", where she talks of the sin of presuming on God, and shows the parallels with that type of thinking and Satan tempting Jesus to throw himself off the highest point of the temple, "since God had given his angels charge over him." And what was Jesus' response to that: We must not put God to the test. Debbie goes on to say: "We are taught that the first thoughtful action directed toward finding a spouse shows we're bypassing God and refusing to trust in him. We're warned that taking matters into our own hands instead of sitting on them and waiting on God won't end well."
This all reminds me of a couple of people in church leadership that I know; one with toddler girls, and another with an early teens girl. The mother of the toddler girl has spoken publicly about "when" her daughter gets married and has kids -- despite knowing that the statistical projection is such, that when this daughter becomes of an age where she is likely to want to get married, there will be zero men in the UK church! And the father of the early teen girl has said to me personally that he is "not worried" about how his daughter is going to find a husband in about 10 years' time, when I asked him if he was concerned about any of this!
Is such an attitude really "trusting God"? Or is it actually presuming on God and putting Him to the test? Is such a refusal to use wisdom Godly, or merely foolish? Is there even a trace of arrogance or pride there -- as if such a thing as barren spinsterhood couldn't possibly happen to their beautiful daughter(s)?
God is the God of the impossible; there's not a shadow of doubt about that. But we mustn't presume that God will intervene, in a situation that actually doesn't require "impossibility" anyway.
We can prioritise outreach to men!
We can restore Biblical teaching on singleness to our churches!
Why presume on the God of impossibility, putting God to the test, when we stubbornly refuse to use the wisdom he has given us?
You decide.

Isaac and Rebekha, Boaz and Ruth, Hosea and the Immoral Woman.

Captain Sensible writes: The advocates of the "wait on the Lord" and "trust in God" for your husband, school of thought (if one can call it "thought"!) sometimes use the passage in Genesis 24 as an example of a woman -- Rebekha -- going about her daily business and being found by a husband, or more accurately, the servant of the father of the husband!
But that's the part that is missing in all the contemporary "contentment lecture" equations.
Sure, Rebekah was not actively looking for a spouse herself. But someone on her husband's side certainly was!
This is the side that we have lost today. Contemporary Rebekahs may well be acting just as she did -- but is anyone doing the job of the chief servant?
The onus is very much on proactivity on the part of the husband-to-be's side. Abraham was confident that the Lord would "send his angel before you (ie the servant) so that you can get a wife for my son". But what good would the angel do by going "before" the servant, if the servant did not himself go looking in the angel's wake?
Another example that is brought up (by Carolyn McCulley I seem to recall - who else?!?) is that of Ruth. Yes, God is sovereign and He works all things for the good. But it was Ruth's idea to go to Boaz's field, encouraged by her mother-in-law Naomi, and then Boaz himself notices Ruth and asks who she is. Naomi then becomes highly proactive on Ruth's behalf and advises her to take a very bold initiative, which would have been extremely risky. Not exactly an example to be followed, so much as an act of desperation when there is no protective male figure around!
There is nothing to indicate in either of these examples that God intends to bring spouses to people without action themselves, and in fact the rest of the Bible seems to show that God expects us to get on and marry who we want -- providing that they are "believers" (not "church-goers" necessarily note!)
In fact, I believe I am right in saying that the only other specific instruction given by God regarding whom to marry is given to Hosea, who is instructed to marry an unfaithful wife in order to illustrate God's anger.
I am not trying to minimise God's orchestration of events, of course; God is sovereign. Merely that it is unbiblical to expect God to just "provide" a spouse, without proactive pursuit on behalf of the man.
So why are Christian men, as well as women, encouraged to just "wait on the Lord"? Is it possible that God is waiting for them to act? Is it really showing "trust"? Or merely a distortion of Scripture?

Imagine If The Church Encouraged Marriage...

Captain Sensible writes: Nice little study here showing how holding the hand of their husband helps women in a stressful situation.
And also an interesting study here about how men and women think differently. Imagine how much more powerful these two brain types would be if they operated together, rather than independently! Imagine how powerful it would be if they were "united" and became "one flesh". (Genesis 2: 24) Imagine...
Oh - hang on!

The Same Yesterday, Today and Forever: #3

'Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off— for all whom the Lord our God will call."'
(Acts 2: 38 - 39)

New Treatment for Depression - Marriage!

Captain Sensible writes: Thanks to reader Vincenzo for highlighting this article.
So...seems like it's not good for man to be alone after all...

Ted Slater: Getting His Priorities Right Again!

Frieda Fruitcake writes: I am a huge fan of Boundless blog editor, Ted Slater!
Here is a man who really knows his priorities!
I am appreciative of his intervention in the Boundless comments section today, to correct a serious error posted by some imbecile!
Can you believe that someone actually thought Imagine was a Beatles song, rather than a John Lennon one?
No, I couldn't either.
I thank the Lord for Ted Slater's timely intervention to halt that serious error in its tracks without haste!
How wonderful to know that a blog aimed at Christian singles has such an eagle-eyed editor, ever on the lookout for serious errors and so keen to stop the spreading of wrong information!
Obviously, correcting errors with regard to John Lennon songs and polka dot dresses is such a time-consuming mission, that it would be unfair to expect him to intervene on a lesser subject, such as the church's teachings on singleness.
He is absolutely right to be noticeably absent on those threads!
There are only so many hours in the day, and just think how much "focus" Ted Slater brings to "the single years" by posting about pop song composers and dress styles!
I am not afraid to confess, it's going to be mighty hard to keep my customary undivided devotion to the Lord, when I think about the heroic Ted Slater!

Righteous Anger

Captain Sensible writes: Anger. It's very easy to condemn anger, and rightly so in many cases. But it's also important to acknowledge that it is one of the attributes of God, Who hates injustice. Anger is a Godly motivator to bring about change. Anger itself is neither good nor bad, but can be used as a force for both.
In some ways, it's like sex: Sex can be used to glorify God within marriage, or it can be sinfully violated.
So, next time someone tries to criticise you for being angry, maybe the correct response is to be glad, say thank you, and tell them how pleased you are not to have a lukewarm response to injustice, false teaching and the leading astray of the Body of Christ.
Here are just a few examples of righteous anger, but of course, you don't need to look far in the Old Testament to see many examples of God expressing anger...

John 2:13-18

Matthew 23

Mark 3:5

Galatians 2:11-14

'Vintage' Carolyn McCulley!

Captain Sensible writes: I had high hopes for Carolyn McCulley. I thought her new "both/and" perspective on getting married (ie. that we also need to play our part) showed encouraging signs.
But I was wrong.
On her blog, Carolyn all too predictably commends the hugely problematic sermon by John Piper on singleness by saying it was 'vintage Piper' and 'exactly what godly singles need to hear when they wonder what in the world they are to be doing until God provides a spouse'.
So there it is in a nutshell. Carolyn still thinks that singles need to find something to busy themselves with, while God gets on with His solo mission of providing spouses for people!
Where has this modern idea come from that it is wrong to proactively pursue marriage? This hasn't come from the Bible! This isn't what Christian singles have been taught for thousands of years!
It is a new mode of thought that has surfaced in this generation alone. A generation that has unprecedented numbers of singles in it.
Could there just possibly be a connection?