Confederate Memorial Day

My college friend and my wife's cousin, Bill Heuble wrote the following note to his child's school teacher in Greenville, SC, a few years ago. We share it here with Bill's permission for today, Confederate Memorial Day in North and South Carolina, the anniversary of the death of Lieutenant General Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson, May 10, 1863.

Mary Lance V. Sisk

Mary Lance Sisk

One of the mentors who opened many doors for me was a wonderful grand lady of the South named Mary Lance V. Sisk of Charlotte, NC. She passed away unexpectedly in her sleep a year ago today.

Mary Lance was a national prayer leader and did many incredible things for the Lord's Kingdom, but she was also a friend. Mary Lance taught me how to pray with passion and to pray with dependence on the Holy Spirit's leadership.

Isla Nelson Bagbey

Five years ago today, my friend Isla Bagbey was buried at Amis Chapel Baptist Church cemetery in Oak Hill, NC. She meant a lot to me in the short time I knew her. Following is what I said at her funeral.

Isla Nelson Bagbey was not only a member of this church, she was my friend. This funeral is hard for her family. It is hard for me, too. When we came here, Mr. Floyd and Mrs. Isla had been over at Nelson Church for nearly two decades. I had heard that she continued in an Amis Chapel WMU group, but it was April of last year at a steak dinner for the community, when I met them.

Luanne King

One year ago today our friend Luanne King's funeral was held. I had the honor with Johnny Richards of Mountain Creek Baptist Church to conduct her funeral. Here is what I said about her during that service of worship. 

Luanne King that night in 2006 when she 

brought Luke his train table.

Wow, what a woman Luanne King was! Everyone who has known her or met her has remarked at an intensity in her personality, a strength, a perseverance that went beyond what they had often seen. Luanne was a fighter.

Suffering is a byproduct of this sinful old world. God is not the author of suffering. Our sin is. We often think of suffering as something to avoid, but the book of Job teaches us that suffering is used by God as a witness. God demonstrated Job’s faithfulness to Himself to the entire spiritual realm by the suffering Job endured on earth. God actually honored Job as one of His most trusted servants to entrust the suffering to him, that Job would demonstrate faithfulness to his Lord.

Job of course is a Messianic figure. His suffering prefigures and points to the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12 that Jesus “for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Heb. 12:2). The Lord saw beyond His suffering on the cross to redeem the lost souls of men and women to the glory that was to come afterwards. Hebrews 12 reminds us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” The writer encourages us to “Consider him” so that we would “not grow weary and lose heart.”

The Lord used Luanne in much the same way, from childhood Luanne suffered many things. Why did Luanne suffer so? We will never know on this side all the whys, but we do know one. The Lord could trust Luanne to honor His Name in the midst of suffering. Luanne kept trucking, kept enduring, kept the faith, kept honoring her Lord, and this evening she knows the glory that was set before her. Luanne King is an example for us of how to endure many trials with grace, to endure, to be faithful under duress. In the midst of everything, Luanne honored and praised her Lord, gave Him the glory, recognized Him as sovereign. 

And then in the short time we have, there is another thing about Luanne that bears recounting. She was generous. If Luanne knew of a need, she worked hard, despite her own pains, to comfort the pains of others. Luanne had a drive to serve others, to minimize her own discomforts and disabilities and do everything she could to secure whatever someone needed. She would often call us wanting to know what someone in the church or community might need because she was headed out or already at a store somewhere ready to bring home what was needed. When Luanne heard of the need, she gave her personal computer to a West African church planter friend of ours with Christian Revival Church Association in Liberia.

Luanne was also attentive to people’s simple wants, too. I remember when our firstborn was a toddler who was really into Thomas the train, and she showed up one day at the parsonage with a train table for Luke. He was thrilled, so much so that in the years since, the train table was an essential part of our living room décor. Hundreds of hours have been played around that train table now, and there are hundreds to go. The most used toy that our children have was purchased by Luanne King because she paid attention to what others like or need.

Luanne was a fighter. She was a giver. She was a fine example to us of how to live an overcoming life. In the days ahead as the food and people drift away and you are left with that hollow place and a lot of silence, as you mourn well, remember that example Luanne has given you, an example that points to the only true hope on this planet, Jesus Christ and his one-way salvation, and follow in her footsteps.

Alma Galloway: A mentor and friend gone

Mrs. Alma Galloway

One of my mentors is gone. Mrs. Alma Galloway. She was 102.

When I was a student at Presbyterian College, I became part of Mrs. Alma's Sunday School class for all ages which she led at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Clinton, SC. As the teacher, she decided that our only curriculum would be the Bible, and in that class I learned so much about studying the Bible and letting it speak for itself.

But her Godly influence in my life and the lives of so many others went far beyond that. Mrs. Alma taught me much concerning prayer and relying on the Holy Spirit's work.

Emma Pridgen Skinner

What I said about Mrs. Emma Skinner today at her funeral.

 

It has been my misfortune not to have known Mrs. Emma Skinner as a vibrant, active lady of faith in Jesus Christ. I really wish I had. She was dearly loved by her family as a wife, a mother, a sister, an aunt, a grandma.

Dr. Marshall Coats

Below is what I said today about Marshall Coats at his funeral.

Marshall Coats, DVM

It has become common conversation in our area in the last couple of years to hear and say something like, “Dr. Marshall Coats is a wonderful man.” It is usually followed by something like, “Through all he has endured, he has always given glory to his Lord.” What a joy and an honor that something like that can be said about a husband and father and son and brother.

Outhouse afire! (a story by Mrs. Viola Taylor)

Outhouse (Wikipedia)

Mrs. Viola Taylor was a lot of fun. I officiated her burial  today in Tarboro, NC. Here is a story from her life that I was able to tell at the funeral last night.

There was that time with her cousin Doris when they were children. Mrs. Viola took her daddy’s tobacco box out of the house and carried it outside into the outhouse with Doris to try out a cigarette. Strewn all about on the ground were dozens of stray sheets of Sears and Roebuck catalog. Yes, they really were used for more than sitting and reading.

Just about the time Viola had lit up, her mother came out of the house, and Viola and Doris threw down that cigarette and ran to the other side of the house. 

Whew. Almost got caught.

Then there arose a cry from the grown-ups. Lo and behold, the outhouse had caught afire! And baby, did it burn. Between all those Sears catalog pages (and the natural methane trapped in the building!), the outhouse was gone in two minutes. Viola and Doris never told. Their parents never found out their entire lives. The fire cleaned up all the catalog pages, but Viola’s daddy was out there before nightfall at her mother’s instruction to build another outhouse for the use of the family.

Mrs. Viola was very outgoing and loved everybody. She especially loved her Savior Jesus Christ and knew she was ready to go to her heavenly home. This past Monday, her daughter Vivian called me and said that her Mama, now 82, had taken a downward turn. When I got to Mrs. Viola’s side, there she sat in the bed with her hair fixed, her makeup on, and her bright red lipstick just perfect. She knew the time was getting close, but she had respect for herself and her visitors.

“Mrs. Viola, are you ready?” I asked her.

“Yes,” she said. “I know my Lord and I want to go. I want Him to take me. I’m looking forward to it. The only thing is that I’ll miss everyone here, but to tell you the truth, I have more people on the other side than I do here.”

She told me she had just that morning seen her brother standing at the foot of her bed dressed in white, her brother who passed away some time ago. He spoke to her and told her that everyone was waiting for her to get there.

I wanted to read her some Scripture, so I asked her what her favorite psalm was.

“John 3:16,” was the reply.

I quoted, “For God so loved the world . . .”

Mrs. Viola picked up, “that he gave his only begotten Son . . .”

I continued, “that whosoever believeth in him . . .”

She finished, “should not perish but have everlasting life.” Mrs. Viola knew her Lord. She had full confidence in her Savior. Now she celebrates with her Jesus.

Related articles

• 13 Loneliest Outhouses On Earth

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Egypt: How your church can pray

I have an Egyptian friend who serves at the largest evangelical church in Egypt. We became friends when he was doing his Ph.D. at Fuller Seminary in the mid-90s. We ate a lot of meals together out on the porch of the cafeteria at the US Center for World Mission in beautiful sunny southern California. 

Here are his recommendations for prayer for his nation now in turmoil.

"Dear Gene
Finally we have internet to respond!!! Thanks a lot for your concern. Thank you for being praying for our safety. We are OK me, my family and church. 

You were asking: How your church can pray?

• Pray for Peace and safety.
• We need you and your churches to pray that the Lord will give more wisdom to our leaders especially President Mubarak. He is an honest man but some of his previous assistants were not!
• Pray for the safety of our people, especially the youth who have been cheated by wrong information about the president because of his assistants! (It is a similar situation of your previous President when some of his assistants gave him wrong information about Iraq!!) 
• In addition, some of the TV programs (BBC and Al-Jazeera) are sharing in confusing our people and others by showing some defeated views of those who do not like Mubarak or Egypt.

I am not a political man but share by what is obvious!
Therefore, pray for a solution from God and giving the leaders the needed wisdom to discover that solution!
Every blessing, 

Ada Winn

My Cherokee prayer warrior friend, the Beloved Woman, Ada Winn, went into the presence of the Lord tonight (10/28/2010) about 8:50pm. We became friends when she came from Oklahoma to be part of the Cherokee Prayer Initiative in 1999-2000. She was a great, gentle spirit. 

She taught me how to listen. When I talked with her, she would not respond at all until you were finished. Then there was a long pause. Then she would speak. It was the Cherokee way. The First Nations people actually listen to you when you speak instead of thinking of what they want to say while they wait for you to finish. The Lord promoted Ada after the Cherokee Prayer Initiative and gave her many prayer roles and used her as one of the "old mothers in Israel." Here is a link to a chapter in a book which Ada coauthored with Mark Rodgers on the life of Nancy Ward.

Below are some pictures of that dear old lady of the Cherokees. 

Ada and I at the 2005 Irish-Cherokee Cultural Exchange, Cherokee, NC

Ada Winn (center) with Fern Noble and Jim Barefoot sitting on Cowee Mound on the Little Tennessee River, NC, as we pray 'in council.' Oct. 1999

Ada Winn and Kevin LaPlante at the site of Kulsetsiyi (Sugar Town) at the confluence of Little Tennessee and Cullasaja Rivers, October 1999

Ada Winn, Wardell Jones, and Edd Stovall joking on the hike up to the pass at Clingman's Dome, NC/TN. May 2000.

Ada praying with Roberta Pfanstiel at Hanging Maw's Town, TN. May 2000

Edd, Ada, and Wardell on Clingman's Dome, TN/NC. May 2000

Ada Winn and Fern Noble praying while Christy Lynn Poe records at Chota (underwater), chief town of the Overhills Cherokee, TN. May 2000

Ada Winn, Beloved Woman, leading a difficult prayer council time at Tellico Blockhouse, TN. May 2000.

Ada about to lead a joyful time of prophetic prayer in TN. May 2000.

Ada, our Beloved Woman, an official title in Cherokee government, leads prayer at the grave of Ada's relative and the last official Beloved Woman of the Cherokee people, Nancy Ward, in TN. May 2000. Christy Lynn Poe records the prayer.

Ada prays with a Scot-Irish woman from Northern Ireland, Chrissie Henshaw, at Long Island of the Holston at Kingsport, TN. May 2000. Christy Lynn Poe records.

Ada wraps up in the cold wind as we prepare to pray at Wayah Bald near Franklin, NC, as Henry Redding looks on. October 1999.

Ada and I repent at massacre site at Nundeyeli (Nantahala Outdoor), NC, Oct 1999.

I repent on behalf of me and my people before the Lord for the massacre at Nundeyeli in 1776 as Ada Winn, representing the Cherokee people hears the confession and repentance. Oct 1999.

Ada forgives on behalf of her and her people for the massacre of Nundeyeli Town (Nantahala, NC) by SC forces in 1776. Oct 1999

Kevin presents Ada with flowers at Kulsetsiyi (Sugar Town) near Franklin, NC. Oct 1999

Ada Winn's Obituary
Services for Ada Winn will be Tuesday, November 2, 2010, in the Chapel of The Gardens here at Rice Funeral Service. Burial will be at Little Rock Cemetery in Locust Grove. Visitation will be on Sunday, October 31, 2010 from 12 to 6 with family here from 4 to 6.

    Ada Nancy Winn was born September 15th, 1938, in Tahlequah to Jim and Lucille (Hummingbird) Ketcher.  She received her early education in her birth community before attending Bacone College where she earned an associates degree in nursing and then continued at the University of Tulsa, earning her bachelors degree qualifying her for a career in nursing with W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital in Tahlequah.  In addition to her nursing degree, Ada was an ordained minister through Morning Star Evangelistic Center where she also traveled and ministered with their Two Rivers Native American Training Center.   Functioning as an ordained minister Ada performed her first wedding ceremony when she officiated at the marriage of her youngest son, Theron and his wife, Billie.
    Her ministry work took her all over the United States as well as internationally to Cuba and Israel.  Recognized as a prayer warrior she traveled to reservations to share the word of God and headed the Native American Circle of Prayer.  She took the opportunity to walk the Trail of Tears, honoring the hardships faced by her ancestors. 
    Ada had a more light-hearted side as well; she loved good jokes and told them with relish.  Leisure activities included playing softball, bowling and shopping.  A dedicated mother and grandmother, she could frequently be found in the role of supporting fan for her grand and great grandchildren’s events.
    Beloved mother, grandmother, community leader and dear friend, Ada is survived by her children, Terry Winn of Claremore, Sheri Winn of Chelsea and Theron Winn and wife, Billie, of Tulsa; grandchildren, Joseph Winn of Tahelquah, Dana Teehee and husband, Joseph, and Kayla Chupco and husband, Travis, all of Sapulpa; great grandchildren Kaniyah Tiger, Kamille Chupco and Joseph “L.J.” Teehee, Jr. who will arrive in January, 2011; eight siblings; and a host of nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers and her neice Ahnee.

STATEMENT IN HONOR AND MEMORY OF OUR SISTER, ADA WINN, FROM THE CHEROKEE PRAYER INITIATIVE TEAM OF 1999-2000. 

To be read at her funeral

by Gene Brooks on behalf of all four CPI teams

Ada Winn served an incredible service to our nation and the Cherokee Nation through her ministry with the Cherokee Prayer Initiative in 1999-2000. It only took a few hours of prayer with Ada to realize what a special gift she was to the Body of Christ and what an incredible intercessor she was. The teams on each of the four segments of the Cherokee Prayer Initiative fell in love with our Beloved Woman, Ada Winn. 

We found that she was a descendant of the last Beloved Woman of the old unified Cherokee Nation, Nancy Ward, and therefore was a relative of Attakullakulla and Dragging Canoe, three of the most legendary of Cherokee leaders. When we finished the first segment of praying in the Cherokee Lower Towns in South Carolina, Ada realized an “increased awareness of the responsibility I have as an Intercessor for the nations.” She said that, “I must be on the wall watching continuously so Satan does not get through any crack.  [I] must speak prophetically and remind our Father of His promises, ‘That all of Oklahoma and the Carolinas will be saved.’"

Ada’s team members grew great respect for Ada Winn and came to her for advice and counsel, so much that we declared her our Beloved Woman, and she was appointed the team leader to mediate and handle any interpersonal issues that may arise on the team. At the end of our prayer segment in Western North Carolina in October of 1999, Ada reflected on her time of intercession personally by saying the following: “[I] have become more sensitive to the Lord's voice and know that He is holding me accountable for a higher level of intercession for both the Cherokees and all peoples of the land.  [I am] learn[ing]  how to accept honor and being waited on.” That great servant of our Lord, Ada Winn, was developing the gracious humility of being served just as Peter learned to let his Lord wash his feet.

At the end of the segment in East Tennessee’s Overhill Towns, Ada wrote that she was “learning to do spiritual warfare by honor,” and she was learning that “this can be implemented in our intercessory group as well as our church body.” The great respect that she had garnered among our prayer team elicited great honor for Ada. She wrote, “The honor bestowed upon me–I accept for the Cherokee Nation as a gift from God.” And she held precious the friendships she had developed on the CPI team. She wrote, “The continual growth, learning and building of relationships with others are gifts I will treasure.”

The final segment of the Cherokee Prayer Initiative in the Chickamauga Towns around metro-Chattanooga deeply affected Ada. She said, “The continuous warfare by tears and honor will forever remain in my heart and remind me of this awesome team (family) the Lord has given me. The seeds sown by this team honors God and the Cherokee Nation. I will be able to use this experience in my healing ministry.  I am ready to take up my scepter for the next assignment.” 

Indeed, Ada has now taken up a new scepter of authority in the heavenly realm, a reward for her intercessory work for her people and the nations, and if we know Ada Winn at all, we are all sure that with joy she laid that scepter immediately at the feet of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Baptism on Grassy Creek

Baptizing Cayla Crute

I'm still a little bit stunned over it, to tell the truth.

Today Amanda and I and the children went back to Granville County, NC, to baptize Cayla Crute, the daughter of Charles and Tammy Crute. Ordinarily I would not go back to a previous pastorate to do a baptism, because the people need to embrace the pastor the Lord has provided for them. For those involved in church regularly, they should look to the one the Lord has provided to them at that time. That is why I did not go back to baptize another person who had come to Christ just at the end of my tenure at Amis Chapel. That family was involved in the church. 

Family, friends at baptism

Cayla's family is a different case, and while I will not go into the delicate details for their sakes, I can say that it was appropriate to come and minister to this family when their daughter specifically requested me to baptize her. So I did that today. She had made a public profession of faith during Vacation Bible School commencement at Amis Chapel at the end of June. Amis Chapel's pastor, Terry Howard, attended today's baptism as well, and I count him a friend in Christ, and a valuable colleague.

Several years ago when I was pastoring Amis Chapel, I was at the Grassy Creek Community building for a supper. I walked out to the creek with several of those who had been baptized in that spot many years before and listened to stories of their baptisms. 

It is an historic spot, because Baptists have been baptizing in this Grassy Creek since about 1754. They came to this place just two miles from the state line into North Carolina, fleeing vicious persecution in Anglican Virginia, in order to practice what they understood from the inerrant Scripture to be the correct mode of baptism and congregational worship. 

Baptizing Cayla in Grassy Creek

And it was not just any group of Baptists. Elders Shubael Stearns and brother-in-law Daniel Marshall did the baptizing, even baptizing Grassy Creek Baptist Church's first pastor, James Reed. Stearns and Marshall were the dynamic duo who led the great Sandy Creek Revival and planted scores, no, hundreds of churches that became the backbone of the Southern Baptist Convention a century later. (Daniel Marshall also planted in 1771 the Bush River Baptist Church in Newberry County, SC, the church in which I was baptized over 200 years later.) Thousands of Southern Baptists trace their spiritual heritage to these two men.

So as I stood there on the bank of the Grassy Creek some years ago, I asked the Lord for the privilege of baptizing someone in that creek one day, in order to connect somehow with that great heritage of revival and spiritual awakening of those New Light Separates. 

Their call of repentance and revival fire lit up the Colonial American South, formed the philosophical backbone of the Regulators of North Carolina who fought for local self-government against the Royal North Carolina colonial government. When they lost the Battle of Alamance, they moved to East Tennessee not to be bothered until they received word that Patrick Ferguson was coming with an Army of American Loyalists to the British Crown to burn their homes. Then these Overmountain Men marched back across the mountains and destroyed Ferguson's army at King's Mountain, the turning point of the first War for Independence in the South.

Cayla Crute baptized

Today I baptized Cayla Crute in Grassy Creek. The Lord answered that prayer of mine from 2006. I didn't really think about it that much in the moment. It was a beautiful day with a beautiful baptism. Cayla is a sweet girl. It was a joy and honor to baptize her. She had specifically asked her mom to let me do it for her, and I am grateful. The Lord used her to answer that prayer to participate at some small level in the evangelistic mantle and revival anointing that Stearns and Marshall wore. What a blessing.

Then, almost as a sign of the mantle of evangelism at work, something unusual happened.

Baptizing Daniel McGee

As Cayla and I slowly trudged out of the water at the swimming area of the Grassy Creek Recreation Area, Tammy Crute came to me with a young man, a teenager named Daniel McGee. He asked me to baptize him. I asked him for a basis for baptizing him and shared the Gospel with him. Daniel has been living with the Crutes for about a year, and he said he had been reading the Vacation Bible School material that Cayla had brought home this summer. He wanted to make a public profession of his faith through baptism. I led him in a prayer asking forgiveness of his sin and giving control of his life over to Christ Jesus. I explained to him that baptism does nothing at all for him, but it announces his being buried with Christ in baptism and being raised from the dead through new life in the Lord.

Baptizing Daniel in Grassy Creek

So I called together the remaining witnesses to Cayla's baptism, and we headed into Grassy Creek a second time and baptized Daniel McGee. I pray that his decision to be obedient to Christ will follow in his public profession and membership in a local church very soon, and I entrusted him to Terry Howard who counseled with him during the outdoor celebration meal for Cayla.

Daniel McGee baptized

What a joy to baptize two, one of them led to the Lord there on the banks of Grassy Creek. What a blessing to perform a baptism in that historic waterway, where once nearly 250 years ago the firebrands of revival and spiritual awakening baptized many.

May the Lord do it again in our day. Oh, how we need an awakening in our land. I fear it is our only remaining hope.

Shared links from Facebook

Links I've posted on Facebook up until 8/21/2010: 
MINISTRY
Mark Driscoll on Twilight Mark Driscoll talks about the top preteen and teen books sold on Amazon and ends with his thoughts on Twilight.
Congregations Gone Wild - NYTimes.com The unspoken reason why American clergy are burned out is that their congregations want sermons that entertain rather than offer moral counsel.
Prayer really does help cure the sick

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism–the New American Religion
‘HIGH NOON’ at Church | Church Executive Tullian's challenge at Coral Ridge
Baptists see GCR Task Force promoting growth
God Save America
Young Evangelical Takes So. Baptists Back to the Gospel
Protestant Seminary Joins Hands with Jewish, Muslim Schools

Young Southern Baptists Urged Not to Walk Away Yet

How human sex trafficking spurred on a Largo church to act - Florida Baptist Witness
New staff positions to emerge this decade
Spurgeon's Worst Sermon
10 Reasons Small Churches Stay Small
Idol Worship « Videos « The Skit Guys

Air Conditioning Hell: How Liberalism Happens - AlbertMohler.com
Types of Fasting | TheResurgence
Report Finds Over 1,200 Crimes Against Churches in 2009
How Much is the pastor Working?

Reasons (why people don't come to church)

Evangelicals do some soul-searching - washingtonpost.com

Lord of the Wedding Dance

John Piper - Are You a Church or a Club?

Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why
The Toughest Test in College: Why Students are Failing to Keep Their Faith on Campus
Offering Time!! [HQ]
Many Christians have gross misunderstanding of faith

PRAYER
Prayers really can help to cure the sick

PrayerShop-More prayer guides and prayer materials to help churches grow in prayer

Leading The Way: God Save America Looking for 100K to pray for America

National Day of Prayer Observance on the Steps of the U.S. Capitol

A Call To Anguish by David Wilkerson

Without revival, U.S. will become unrecognizable - Land

MISSIONS
How Missionaries Lost Their Chariots of Fire and Why They Should Add the Gospel Back...Wall Street Journal op-ed chides Christians for divorcing service to the needy from gospel proclamation.

Baptists see task force priming growth

IMB president asks Southern Baptists, 'Are we there yet?'

So. Baptists Adopt Major Changes to Tackle 'Lostness'

DJ Horton: The Great Commission Resurgence from a Young Pastor's Perspective

A Great Commission Resurgence

Ed Stetzer - Exponential and Church Planting Trends
99 Goats - (A Must Read)

Errbody in the Church Helpin' Lottie!

Islamic Christianophobia - WSJ.com

Church Growth Exploding in China
David Platt: SBC Pastors Conference 2009

Lottie Moon: Little Woman with Big Legacy

Ralph D. Winter Remembered as 'Giant' in Mission Field

Jungle Aviation with a Flying Car – The Maverick Flying Buggy - Popular Mechanics

GCR: Merge mission boards, chairman of North American Mission Board says
Liberia, West Africa - April 2009 Update

A Man Fell in a Hole - BluefishTV

THEOLOGY
The Foundation of Biblical Zionism by Rev. Malcolm Hedding

He is not here-he is risen

Finding Meaning in the Pentateuch | Review of John Sailhamer's book on CT

FOXNews.com - When Was the Bible Really Written?
The Truth Project

Charles Stanley on Spiritual Intimacy

The Nativity According to Luke - BAR Ben Witherington

Life After Death

TrueU Promo - Is the Bible Reliable?

The New Calvinists

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia BHS free in pdf. No critical apparatus

The Great Debate: Lennox vs Shermer 9/10

Axiom 3 [HQ] Akin on the doctrine of inerrancy

FRIENDS

BUILD A BED? « Story Time Marilyn Thomas mentions me in a story from our 1999 tour group to Petra

When Oconee parks director is called to guard duty, family soldiers on My college roommate, John Gentry, Iraq and Afghanistan vetera

N.C. couple to manage New York mission house Seminary friend Barry Lawrence

Dennis Aggrey: Biographical and Visional

Steve Saunders 'miracle' recovery  //  Sheriff's lieutenant fights for life at Duke
Jeff Duncan for Congress
Hero Mom Linda Graham Haiti Earthquake//Missionary: No buildings survived quake  // Durham women deliver babies  // Triangle women take mission trip to Haiti

ncbaptist.org: Prayer Conference 2008

''Big' Gene Pinson passes away

Faithfulness: David and Judy Humphries
Meet Editor Sandy Brooks

HISTORY

Arizona, Borderlands and U.S.-Mexican Relations The immigration issue is rooted in the history of the US Mexican War.
Where America got its name How an unknown Greek scholar named America with a pithy pun.

1776 in a New Light - Science and Tech - The Atlantic Multispectral imaging now shows that Jefferson crossed out the word "subjects" and replaced it with "citizens."

Ancient hunters may have begun global warming Now global warming is the mammoth hunters' fault

Stalagmite reveals carbon footprint of early Native Americans

Dates That Destroyed America | Chuck Baldwin Live

Jesus Era House Discovered in Nazareth

Near Morganton, NC: Fort San Juan (Juan Pardo) 1567 - 1st European interior settlement
Citadel flag used in 1861 firing on Star of the West found

An Edwards-ian Thanksgiving

How Lice Thwarted Napoleon's Invasion of Russia

2,000-year-old ritual cup found in Old City of Jerusalem - Los Angeles Times
Researcher counts N.C.'s death toll in Civil War Getting an accurate count of NC's WBTS dead. An error in the article is corrected here: http://michaelchardy.blogspot.com/2010/08/no-confederate-left-behind.html

SCV National Reunion in SC, two real sons meet // Manse Jolly stories from Rev. John Weaver at SCV //

SCV opens. Mayor Terence Roberts welcomes visitors // Sons of Confederate Vets National reunion opens

145th Anniversary - 1865 Battle of Bentonville

Descendants want memorial for Immortal 600

Honest, Abe? In Bostic, NC, they say Abraham Lincoln was son of Abraham Enloe and Nancy Hanks, then sent to Kentucky with Enloe's hog-drover Thomas Lincoln.

What manner of men were these? War Between the States soldiers

Grand opening: National Civil War Chaplains Museum

Read about the Confederacy - The Times-Herald Federals do battle with naked Rebels - Washington Times

Original Citadel 'Big Red' Palmetto flag found in Iowa (10/09)

Pasquotank (NC) Guards Confederate flag remnant ends journey - News | DailyAdvance.com

Still Standing: The Stonewall Jackson Story

Remembering Last Reunion Of Civil War Veterans : NPR

A salute to Memorial Day: "Thousands died"

Lincoln’s War|Tenth Amendment Center

PARENTING

The Resurgence of Classical Education

Home schools multiply in N.C. Up 5.8% since last year to 80K NC children
Mark Dever - For Children Only - Mark 10:13-16 Children are not hindrances to be avoided, but rather blessings to be discipled
Not spanking -- is it better for kids?

Miley Cyrus presents parenting dilemma She's a bad role model for girls

The New Demography of American Motherhood - Pew Research Center

CULTURE
Home Depot fires cashier over 'God' button - Careers Articles
Two-tone twins So exactly how did we get different racial groups?
A Gavel Falls on Marriage: The Proposition 8 Decision

By the Numbers: How the Digital Revolution Changed Our World Incredible graphic on technology's reach

Black Pastor Arrested for Preaching on Public Right of Way

Al Qaeda breeds terror in Sahara - Washington Times

How Facebook Is Making Friending Obsolete - WSJ.com

Roy has fan escorted out during game against Presbyterian // Roy freaks out over heckler, asks everyone else to calm down

Woman allegedly pours grits on sleeping boyfriend: Grits - breakfast of champions and scorned women

Spiral light puts Norway in a spin | The Sun |News

Football and religion in SC

The 12 most annoying types of Facebookers - CNN.com

Facebook: An Entertaining Saboteur

POLITICS

TANCREDO: The case for impeachment - Washington Times
KUHNER: President's socialist takeover must be stopped - Washington Times

Returning to Our Roots  Our nation was not founded on human ideals, but on the truths of the Bible.

Newt Gingrich: Impeach judges

CitizenLink: What Would an Obama Presidency Look Like? Back in 2008 it looked too crazy to be true . . .

Obama Recess Appointment dangerous for the elderly

Charles Stanley Warns of Socialism, Departure from God

Charles Stanley July 4th message: Turning the Tide

Freedom of Religion: gutting our inalienable right

Former Marine ‘Stuns Crowd’ at Georgia Tea Party Event

The End of Religious Freedom in America?

Gubernatorial Candidate: ‘This is Alabama; We Speak English’

When Dictatorship Came to America by Thomas DiLorenzo

30+ States pushing Personhood legislation for unborn

Six Radioactive Elements From Coakley Collapse In Massachusetts - Watching Washington Blog : NPR
Obama’s TSA Nominee Worries About Those Who Are ‘Christian Identity Oriented'

Executive Order: International Police Granted Full Immunity in US and Not Subject to FOIA Requests

Boy Obama Statue erected in Jakarta

The Manhattan Declaration

China's top Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng vanishes as government stifles dissent

Even Babies Discriminate
Obama: Afghan war 'fundamental' to U.S. - Washington Times History teaches us that every nation which has invaded Afghanistan has fought to a bloody and costly stalemate that ended in withdrawal which appeared to be defeat. Ask the British, the Russians, the Medes and Persians, Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, the Indo-Greeks, Turks, and Mongols.

Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine
Senator DeMint Speaks Against President's Government Takeover of Health Care
Sen.DeMint (R-SC) & Dave Ramsey on DC spending out of control

"Testing" Gov't Run Health Care (Part 2 of 3)

Barack Obama's books 'too dangerous for prisoners to read'

Newsweek’s Evan Thomas: Obama Is ‘Sort of God’ | NewsBusters.org

Texan Woman Told to Remove 'Offensive' American Flag From Office

Obama to be prayer day no-show - Washington Times

Governor Says Texas Can Leave Union If It Wants

LBJ and the Great Society - WSJ.com Sound familiar?
Stimulus Package Explained in VERY Simple Terms

Star Parker : Obama's vision is far from that of Founding Fathers

Ken Blackwell : Obamanomics

LIFE

Obama recess appointment 'dangerous' for the elderly, SBC ethicist Land says

Planned Parenthood: Pro-Abortion Bill a Victory, Executive Order Meaningless

Over 30 States Push to Establish Personhood for Unborn

Even Babies Discriminate: A NurtureShock Excerpt. | Newsweek Life

Unborn babies have memories, Netherlands study says

CitizenLink: Sotomayor 'Never Thought About' Rights of the Preborn

No, Mr. President: John Piper's Response to President Obama

Births Dropped Just Before Recession

Axiom 7 [HQ] A Great Commission Resurgence means having a lot of kids

ISRAEL

Obama mum on Bush's borders for Israel - Washington Times

War may be imminent for the Middle East

Helen Thomas: Jews go back to "Germany and America"

Flotilla Choir presents: We Con the World

16-yr old "Daniel" confronts lion's den of haters to stand for the honor of Israel
What Will Happen If the World Does Not Stop Iran?
HAMAS PLAYS HOST TO PEDOPHILIA | The Last Crusade

FUN
Drink Up! The Stories Behind 11 Regional Soft Drinks

South Carolina barbeque, BBQ sauce recipes

Dad Life

Don't be a Tumbleweed.mpg
Sports Sunday: The Big Show -BluefishTV.com

To Catch a Double Dipper

Easter Invite Bundle « Videos « The Skit Guys

Love Words « Videos « The Skit Guys
Tim Hawkins Free Credit Report Dot Com Spoof
Larry Platt - Pants On The Ground

"A Charlie Brown Christmas" Full Episode

A small church shows its devotion They love their Bojangles'

"This Too Is Liberia"

Dude Perfect - Summer Camp Edition

The Lonesome Stranger - All-Monkey Western!
What if Worship was like an NBA game?

Obama Proposes Government-Funded Salvation

Tithe Rap
DROP KICK ME JESUS by BOBBY BARE

Jerry Clower ~ Knock Him Out John