Hannibal King & the Blackzilians

Christ in you, the hope of glory

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

(Ephesians 3.20-21 NIV)

By the wonderful grace of God, He has provided for us the life, the wisdom, the strength and the power of Christ.  There is nothing we can ever dream up, imagine or tweet about that will ever come close to the incomprehensible glory of Christ at work within our hearts and life.  To Him be the glory for ever and ever.

What's with style?

The past decade has seen this mushroomed infatuation with style and the appearance of "worship forms."  Dude, what's up the style?  Pastors with Nazi-youth hairdos and skinny jeans? (think Bronski Beat meets 80s skinhead with a wad of facial hair)  Say what?  Is this another over-reaction by the consumer-driven evangelical establishment of "herd mentality," Barna-dependent clergy?  I can't wait till this hipster thing blows over and folks enter rehab for silly tattoos they got "in the name of Jesus."

Bob Kauflin offers some insight regarding "style" ~ "what you win people with is what you generally win them to."  You are not Keller and you certainly don't want to be Driscoll, please stop the madness.  How sad would it be if the gospel was frozen in the 80s . . . and all your worship leaders dressed like Stryper?  Drop the act and be yourself . . . especially if the hipster within you is unwilling to release you from captivity.

Felipe Costa ~ Thoughts for the Underdog

As a BJJ Black Belt, Costa became one of the first Mundial Winners to win without ever winning any tournaments previous prior to becoming a Black Belt.  "There is hope for those other guys out there . . . stay safe, don't get hurt, and just don't give up."

Say what?

"When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean" (Leviticus 13.40).

The better question is "Who is the church?"

"We are the church. It's not a what or event, it's a who or a people. "

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 1.9 NIV).

Jeff Vanderstelt offers a good reminder to us that "[the church] is the regenerate people of God, saved by the power of God for the purposes of God in this world."

Terra Vs. Glover

Caio Terra versus one of the all-time greats Paragon's very own Jeff "The Pipelayer" Glover.

Kron Gracie ~ The Legacy

Shawn Tubbs "Doing It"

Great playing from a session guy I've been following for over 20 years now (former SoCal boy now in Nashville).

We Will Never Forget

Discipleship Nuggets

"When a church has been built on a profession of faith, rather than faith that is rooted in obedience, being baptized doesn't change much" (Bill Hull's "The Disciple-Making Church" p.27).  Yet another nugget of wisdom reminding us of the "first importance" of the gospel ~ if understood properly, it not only informs the Christian but the church as well.

*The Life of Christian Holiness ~ as a Three-Legged Stool (ala Packer)

Earlier I likened the life of Christian holiness to a three-legged stool, in which the three legs were:

• D (doctrine: truth taken into the mind and heart to live by)
• E (experience: the conscientious pursuit and conscious enjoyment of fellowship with the Father and the Son)
• P (practice: in the sense of the specific and habitual response of obedience to the doctrinal truth one has received).

The point of the illustration was that a stool cannot stand on less than its three legs. In the absence of any one of them, the stool falls down. If one leg is larger or smaller than the other two, stability is lost, and the stool is in danger of tipping over as soon as any weight is put on it. So it is only when D, E, and P are balanced together in proper proportions that the spiritual life is solid and steady.

*Excerpt from "Rediscovering Holiness" by J. I. Packer (p. 57).

Which is better? "No de faixa" or the "Super Knot"?

BJJ enthusiasts everywhere swear that their method for tying a belt is the best . . . you decide.

The GB "No de Faixa":



The ATT method (3 ways):



Another guy with a partial "super knot":



The one and only "Rener Gracie" 3 variations/slices (ala "Super Knot"):

Why is there denominationalism?

Gary Thomas, in his book "Sacred Pathways," offers one response to this question "Why is there denominationalism?"

"Instead of learning from others, Christians have often chosen to segregate themselves by starting a new church whenever worship preferences diverge.  This segregation has erected denominational walls and impoverished many Christians.  Unless you happen to be born into just the right tradition, you're brought up to feed on somebody else's diet.  Unfortunately, some Christians have a tendency to question the legitimacy of any experience that may not particularly interest them.  Instead of saying, 'That's not for me,' they proclaim, "That shouldn't be for anybody.'"

The context of Thomas' point is that different people have different spiritual temperaments (ala Meyers Brigg) hence different people will experience God differently.  He also writes that "It would be simplistic to suggest that such differences were the sole or even primary cause of many church splits and denominations, but they did have some effect."  Interesting . . . interesting . . .

The Five Church Membership Vows of the OPC

The Five Membership Vows of the OPC (Orthodox Presbyterian Church)

1. Do you believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, to be the Word of God, and its doctrine of salvation to be the perfect and only true doctrine of salvation?
2. Do you believe in one living and true God, in whom eternally there are three distinct persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – who are the same in being and equal in power and glory, and that Jesus Christ is God the Son, come in the flesh?
3. Do you confess that because of your sinfulness you abhor and humble yourself before God, that you repent of your sin, and that you trust for salvation not in yourself but in Jesus Christ alone?
4. Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your sovereign Lord, and do you promise that, in reliance on the grace of God, you will serve him with all that is in you, forsake the world, resist the devil, put to death your sinful deeds and desires, and lead a godly life?
5. Do you promise to participate faithfully in this church’s worship and service, to submit in the Lord to its government, and to heed its discipline, even in case you should be found delinquent in doctrine or life?

Apparently these are similar to those found in the PCA (Presbyterian Church of America).  Simple, concise and straight forward . . . wait there is no mention of infant baptism, does this mean I'm Presbyterian? =)

Responding to the Pluralist

Some argue for tolerance and a response which is more anti-intellectual/traditional to appease the modern skeptic schooled in pop culture . . . "In Christianity, however, the answer to bad theology can never be no theology. It must be good theology" Dr. Bruce L. Shelley (Church History in Plain Language, 3rd ed.).

Technique Conquers All

Caio Terra ("Kai-Ho Tay-Ha") is one of the new breed of the upper echelon postmodern BJJ champions . . . internet learning and all! From white belt to black belt in 3 years . . . AND the medals to boot! (some old BJJ guy is probably seriously pissed off right about here)

An Ideal And A Vision

"Where there is no vision (or revelation), the people are unrestrained" Proverbs 29.18 (NASB). According to Oswald Chambers, "There is a difference between an ideal and a vision. An ideal has no moral inspiration; a vision has." Therein lies the chasm between the idealistic motivations of a fallen humanity and the divine call to obedience from the righteous Most High God.

Dr. David Wells on "Barth & Evangelicals"

Here is Dr. David Wells offering some cautionary wisdom to evangelicals who love Barth . . .

"What Bible Should I Use?"

Three practical and insightful suggestions given by Dr. Bill Mounce:

1. Adopt one [translation] as your main Bible (e.g. NIV'84, NLT, HCSB, ESV, etc.)
2. When you are studying a passage, always check at least one other translation.  If your main Bible is dynamic, check with a formal translation, and vice versa
3. I enjoy checking a passage in several dynamic translations, telling myself that I am reading the translators' opinions of what the text means