Scott Brown Interviews with Prime Time South Florida
I had the privilage recently to do an interview with Brigitte Sylvester of Prime Time South Florida. We were able to discuss the pandemic decline in the church. Brigitte did a remarkable job with the interview. She was extremely gracious and professional. The interview highlighted some major points and also encapusulated well the vision of both the NCFIC and the upcoming Sufficiency of Scripture Conference this December. To find out more about Brigitte and her program click HERE. To listen to the interview click HERE.
If Sports Teaches Character Then Why Do 78% NFL Players Go Bankrupt?
Sports Illistrated Magazine reports that things don't go well financially with retired NFL Players. Chris Chase, sums it up on Yahoo Sports:
"Within two years of retirement, 78 percent of NFL players are bankrupt or in severe financial distress. Unlike Rocket Ismail, most of those players can't blame it on the negative karma associated with getting a bear hug from Michael Irvin.
How is this possible? The minimum salary for rookies in 2009 is $310,000. That jumps to $460,000 for two year veterans. How can men who earn so much have so little after retirement?"
Woman Dies at 99, Leaves behind 1,400 Descendants
Here is woman in Israel who had seven sons and four daughters. Married at age 19, Rachel Krishevsky "brought up her children to see children as a great joy." One of her grandchildren says with pride, "[Grandma] knew all of her descendants." Imagine a family reunion with 1400 present – and as a grandmother, you know all of them!
View the entire story HERE.
Reforming Church and Family Weekend in Wake Forest, October 24-25
Twice this year, the NCFIC and the elders of Hope Baptist will host those who would like to spend a weekend considering "Reforming Church and Family" life. The next meeting of this kind will take place Oct 24-25 in Wake Forest, NC. Attendees will spend all day Saturday talking through the issues of church and family reformation. On Sunday attendees will join in fellowship with the congregation of Hope Baptist Church. After the worship service there will be a shared meal and a special afternoon meeting with the elders of the church where they will be available to field questions and give further counsel to the attendees.
Please consider joining us. Click HERE for futher information.
Female Pastors Double in Past Decade
George Barna has reported that there has been a dramatic rise of female pastors. He begins his report stating that prior to 1990 there was virtually no growth of female pastors serving in protestant churches. Then he states, "From the early 1990s through 1999 just 5% of the Senior Pastors of Protestant churches were female. Since that time the proportion has slowly but steadily risen, doubling to 10% in 2009."
This trend is just one more marker for the loss of the conviction of the sufficiency of scripture within the church. This rising number of female pastors stands among many other contemporary trends which indicate that the church is becoming more and more a mirror of the world and is losing its distinctiveness. But why? No longer is she governed by bible doctrine, but by pragmatic considerations.
Granddaughter of P51 Pilot Flies WWII Biplane
Dream became reality for my daughter Kelly Bradrick last week when she and her husband visited friends in Colorado and were gifted with rides in a fully restored vintage WWII Stearman Biplane. Kelly, author of Coming In on a Wing and a Prayer, has spent countless hours talking to her grandfather, researching, and writing about planes during WWII and this flight was the culmination of a long held dream. Thank you Bill Brown. And thank you Ben Sollenbarger of 007 Dusting. My father, Bill Brown, trained in a plane just like this to prepare to be a WWII P51 Mustang fighter pilot. My father's story is also recorded in Doug Phillip's film, "League of Grateful Sons."
For "Those Who Love Your Name"
"Let those who love your name be joyful in You."
Psalm 5:11
John Calvin on Church Discipline
"As the saving doctrine of Christ is the soul of the church, so discipline forms ligaments which connect the members together, and keep each in its proper place. Whoever, therefore, either desire the abolition of all discipline, or obstruct its restoration, whether they act from design or inadvertency, they certainly promote the entire dissolution of the Church."
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 vols., ed. John T. McNeill (Philidelphia: The Westminister Press, 1960), p. 1,238 (Book IV, Chapter XII, Section 10).
eJournal on Church Discipline from 9 Marks
9 Marks has provided a number of helpful articles on the subject of church discipline.
The editor states, "Church discipline is just such an uncomfortable act of tough love, which is why 9Marks would like to spend two issues of the eJournal considering this important topic. In this issue, Wyman Richardson and Greg Wills help us to count the cost of practicing or not practicing church discipline. Ken Sande offers some legal counsel. And Kevin DeYoung, a pastor in mainline Protestant land, offers words of warning to evangelical land, a land where tough love increasingly has to shout to be heard."
In one of the articles by Gregory Wills, we read, "John Dagg stated, "When discipline leaves a church, Christ leaves with it." What is the answer?"
This "eJournal" offers a treasure trove on this important area of church life.
Father and Son Retreat in Washington
2009 Father and Son Retreat in Rimrock, Washington.
Eight of us* traveled to the rugged mountains of Washington State for a father and son retreat. It was delightful to see fathers with their sons, allocating time for training their sons and enjoying one another.
Retreats like this bring hope for future generations.
Using Proverbs eight as our daily devotional, the whole theme of the camp was making the Word of God your compass. Fathers and sons received instruction in land navigation from a very gifted communicator – former Army Infantry Officer Troy Hacking – and were sent into the wild to find their way via their compass.
Our teaching sessions focused on biblical fatherhood and sonship by recognizing the divine pattern for fathers and sons established in heaven by God the Father and His Son. With this as a foundation, I proposed that the purpose of fathers and sons in the world is to provide a living picture of the gospel. I identified various attacks of the devil against sons to drive them apart (in a message entitled, “The Seven Tests of David Brown”), and showed how to tell if you are winning or losing the battle for the heart of your son. Peter Bradrick connected very powerfully in a message that challenged young men to become principled and fearless warriors for Christ.
*Our team included: Scott Brown, Peter Bradrick, Ron Whittaker and his son Tyler, and NCFIC interns: Brandon Arnette, Thomas Dellinger, Jonathan Langford and Stephen Sides.
Westside Baptist Church, (This is were I spoke on Sunday)
Christian Heritage, (The host of the Father/Son Retreat)
Dad trivia…
Peter speaking…
Around the campfire…
Ron and Tyler…
The zip line…
The fathers and sons…
