Everything is Backwards

This endorsement of Mike Huckabee is worth a read to get more familiar with him.

There’s a little bit of a buzz growing around Mike Huckabee (not that kind of a buzz, you bonehead). Fred Thompson was a dud. Honestly, can anyone remember the last time America elected a Senator for president, anyway? Many of the supposed top tier candidates don’t seem to have much popular appeal. Clinton, Obama, Thompson, McCain: Senators. Guliani: mayor. America elects governors for president, not senators. Take a quick look at history:

GWB: Governor, Texas

Clinton: Governor, Arkansas

GHWB: Vice-President, Reagan

Reagan: Governor, California

Carter: Governor, Georgia

Ford: appointee to VP to replace Spiro Agnew, never elected to VP or Presidency

Nixon: Vice-President, Eisenhower

LBJ: Vice-President, Kennedy

Kennedy: US Senator, Massachusetts.

The last time we elected a Senator? 46 years ago. The last time we elected a governor? 3 years ago. Maybe Huckabee could catch a break. Even the media seems to like him.

I was about to compile some recent articles on Mike Huckabee, but it turns out someone else already did it.

Our wintry, left-leaning neighbors to the north have graciously given the world a few incredible Christian scholars.

I’ve never met a Canadian I didn’t like. I mean that. After befriending a few sandals-with-socks wearing brothers in Christ it seemed appropriate to give Canadians their due on this blog.  Here’s my favorite four Canadian scholars.

Willow Creek Church has recently admitted that their entire philosophy of ministry was a big mistake. While some might relish to see Goliath fall from grace, I think that this move is laying the foundation for many years of effective ministry to come. The gospel calls us to admit our weaknesses and rely on his strength. This was a ballsy move by the mega-giant church, and they should be commended for having the guts to start over from scratch and consider the spiritual well being of their people.

Way to go, Willow Creek. I admire you.

I have been thinking lately a good deal about my motivational center for doing ministry. Last night, Joel Osteen was on 60 Minutes. I also watched an expose of T.D. Jakes and “Jesus is the product” here. I couldn’t help but think, what drives these men?

To what extent is the calling of a church planter connected to personality? I recently attended an Acts 29 boot camp that also included an assessing process. This process included two personality profile tests, several questionnaires regarding doctrine and personal history, and 3 references. After the boot camp, Laura and I spent two hours in a dimly lit room in an abandoned warehouse filled with Gestapo types who asked us about our personal lives, ministry experience and whether or not we knew a certain “Morpheus.” Most importantly, they were interested in discerning a definite sense of calling.

What I found quite interesting in all of this was the notion that certain personality types make better church planters. The bar-fighting hothead who was a cheerleader dating running back in high school seems to be a good fit for church planting because these guys score high on qualities of entrepreneurship. This was the main point of emphasis in the personality profiles. When I told the assessor that I am more of an introvert, he said, “that’s rough.”

Now the question: to what extent is personality bound up in calling?

One of my favorite motivational techniques: Guilt.