done twitting

I was pretty sure I didn't need to twitter anyways, but this seals the deal for sure.

Enjoy your twittering, or waiting to twiiter, folks!

respect is

"Respect .... is fundamental. Respect leads to trust, integrity, honesty and ultimately success in business and in life. Respect is earned through honest, thoughtful, and open two-way communication. Respect is demonstrated, for example, through giving your undivided attention while someone is talking to you instead of typing on your laptop or blackberry. There are many simple things we can all do that can make a big difference in how the people around us feel."

-- Dick Millman, President and CEO of Bell Helicopter in a recent article

Three great blogs

So many great blogs out here, but these three I have been visiting for quite awhile. I am thinking they are in my top three (in no particular order) because:

1. scholarly (mostly) content
2. depth of which subjects are approached
3. variety of subjects
4. the humble and sincere dialogue the authors have with their commentors (authenticity is my biggest pet peeve).
5. they are all very different

Denny Burk met Denny during Huricane Katrina relief effort, and then studied under him (and continue to) at Criswell.

Ben Witherington not sure exactly when I came across Ben's blog, but when I saw him speak in person at DTS, I was very impressed.

Scot McKnight first became familiar with Scot as he was an editor of 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels', and then came across his blog.

Early Church Fathers

I think when some people hear of the Early Church Fathers, they may be tempted to think of the dads that show up to children's church early to pick up their kids just before service lets out.

All kidding aside, the Early Church Fathers are a reference to the influential theologians and pastors of Christianity after the Apostles passed on and through the first two to five, maybe six, centuries after Jesus’ death. Guys like Augustine, Origen, Jerome, Basil the Great, Justin Martyr (to name only a very small few - and yes there were quite a few women, too). Some of these were only one friendship away from knowing the writers of the Bible.

Today we have the benefit of 2,000+ years of Christianity to guide us and learn from (and no shortage of influential and gifted modern day pastors and theologians!), so we may not be able to agree with everything these Early Church Fathers thought of in regards to Bible interpretation, doctrine, evangelism, or doing church, but we are still extremely indebted to their diligent effort and theology in these areas (and more), and how God used these gifted people to reveal Jesus and propagate Christianity through some extremely difficult first years.

Anyways, for so many reasons it does us well to become somewhat familiar with the wonderful history of our faith, and just wanted to share this simple quiz I came across to see who you might be as one of the early church fathers (I ended up being Origen): Which Church Father Are You?. The website seems very Catholic, and though you may not be Catholic (I am not except in the meaning of the term universal), I hope this can open up a door to you and see what the past may offer for you as you seek to understand and emulate Jesus in your life today.

Like all human teaching, eat the meat and spit out the bones (learned that from one of the elder saints in my life and always love the way he says it - thanks Hugh!), and read the Bible for yourself and get or stay plugged into a Bible teaching church and fellowship.

While I am in the mood of passing along websites, check out the Early Church Fathers Series on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. It's very Calvin (i.e., pretty much opposite Catholic), but some great church history stuff there.

Philippians 1:9-11

Mark