PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “The final One More Move!” By: Ron Woodrum Several years ago I purchased the book The Devil by John Wesley White, Associate Evangelist to Billy Graham. Dr. White’s book on the devil is an excellent treatise of the Biblical doctrine of Satan. It is out of print, but you can still…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: Be Careful not to miss the Grand/Central Miracle of Christianity. By: Ron Woodrum In his book Whistling in the Dark, Frederick Buechner tells how one young Pastor had the real message of Christmas brought home to him in a real way. This is what Buechner says, “The lovely old carols played and replayed…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Hark the Herald Angels Sing?” By: Ron Woodrum Singing is a vital part of the Christmas celebration. Who has not joined a Church group to go from house to house singing carols to all who will listen and join in the festive occasion? Many Churches celebrate the season with a choral Christmas…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “So hallowed and gracious is the time” By: Ron Woodrum “So hallowed and gracious is the time”-those are words from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. They should be read in context. Some say that ever ‘gainst the season comes Wherein our Savior’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long;…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “The Christian Life-Hard or Easy? Egg Hatched or Bad? Happy Hypocrite? Shaping Saint? By: Ron Woodrum I love the passage in Mere Christianity where C.S. Lewis talks about whether the Christian life is hard or easy. “It’s both”, he says, “hard as death in the beginning, and then as his life begins to work…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Solving the ‘real problem’ of the Christian Life”. By: Ron Woodrum One of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century was Clive Stapes Lewis (1898-1963). After his conversion he used his brilliance to defend, illustrate, and edify the Christian faith. In his book Mere Christianity, he talks about solving the…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “THANKSLIVING: It’s better than THANKSGIVING!” By: Ron Woodrum I am not sure when, where, or who first used the term “thanksliving”. Peter Gomes, renowned preacher of Harvard University in the 20th Century, (though not one I am particularly able to embrace the theology he embraced), wrote that he had a friend who…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: Jesus-A Poached Egg? Or Perfect Essence? By: Ron Woodrum C.S. Lewis found himself confronted with the claims of Jesus Christ. After weighing the evidence about Christ he found himself giving in to those claims and with reluctance at first, turning from atheism to faith. As he tried to share his journey…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: The Church-A blood-washed hippopotamus? By: Ron Woodrum One of my favorite professors was Earl Radmacher. Dr. Radmacher was the President of Western Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary in Portland, Oregon. I was introduced to him through my Greek professor/ Mentor Dr. John A. Burns. Dr. Radmacher, as his doctoral dissertation, wrote the…
PASTOR’S PERSPECTIVE: “Unmasking the Fiend Within” By: Ron Woodrum In a few days doorbells all across America will ring and residents answering that summons will discover some of the most hideous faces, monsters, and figures standing on their doorsteps beckoning “trick or treat!” Admittedly there is much debate in the Christian realm whether this is…