What would you do Wednesday! It is a normal day at home. Your middle-school child arrives home from school. Your child tells you they have some information for next month’s school theme. Your child – who can’t remember – then asks the difference between an Abayas and a Thobes. “An Abayas and a Thobes?” you wonder. You take a look at the paper your child just handed you about the school theme. “Please join the school staff in encouraging your child next month as we celebrate Muslim Appreciation Month. In an effort to help society become more sensitive, understanding, and tolerant of Muslims, we …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! There is a mega-church in the next town over where your neighbor attends. The church has a young, hip 35-year-old pastor whose church has grown to around 10,000 in a few years. Your neighbor has been trying to get you to visit the mega-church with him for a while. He promises you the message will be good, the people friendly, and the atmosphere worshipful. You give in and decide to attend one Sunday morning with your neighbor. The Sunday morning agenda is to attend the first of three services and then go to Sunday school. …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! This scenario is directed at Christian men. Christian women are welcome to comment and probably have just as much insight on this topic, especially, if married to one of the men at the following prayer breakfast. Men, your alarm sounds at 6 am Saturday morning. It is time for the monthly men’s prayer breakfast at church. As much as you’d like to roll over, you enjoy the much needed Christian fellowship more than the extra shut-eye. As usual, the breakfast starts with brief prayer before eating followed by a testimony or two. After testimonies are …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! A friend brought the question up on Facebook recently of marrying someone with whom you disagreed with about female pastors. I thought the subject would make an interesting WWYDW topic. You met at the local church you have both been members of for a few years. You had been courting for about a year. But the courtship is now over and you are engaged. The date set for marriage six months away. Biblical marriage counseling begins with the pastor. While the pastor explains the biblical roles of men and women in the home, the topic …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Let’s think about Christian leaders who are supposed to nationally represent the people  they serve, but don’t. This idea comes from a piece Mark Tooley wrote at The American Spectator  in response to Jonathan Merritt on immigration reform. The topic here is not specific to immigration reform (though it could be an issue). Rather, we want to consider Tooley’s idea that leadership may be out of step with the people it represents. For example, in Evangelical Grassroots versus ‘Grasstops’ Tooley writes: Perhaps there is an expectation, based on stereotypes about evangelical docility, that churchgoers will …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Today’s scenario involves a Christian friend who is thinking of getting a tattoo to help them better relate to unbelievers and share the gospel. A friend comes to you Sunday morning before worship service starts. Your friend has been doing local prison ministry lately. After visiting the prison and spending time with some of the prisoners all day Saturday, your friend gets an idea. ‘Maybe I should get a tattoo to help me relate to the prisoners so they might be more open to listening to me to help me better share the gospel?’ Your …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! I don’t write on Calvinism much anymore though I am a Southern Baptist who understands there is unnecessary tension over Calvinism among Southern Baptists. I think Southern Baptists can, should, and do work together for the gospel. The purpose of this is not to fan the theological flames, but the core of this post is based on a true story. A story I would not favor whether a non-Calvinist went into a Calvinist church to pass out tracts or vice-versa. So, let’s talk about it. An evangelist friend asks if you want to go pass …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Today’s scenario is inspired by the current negotiations of the city of Atlanta to buy Friendship Baptist Church. More information on the negotiations can be read in this article: Friendship Baptist rejects Atlanta’s $13.5 million offer for stadium site. In this scenario, you are a church board member. The board has just sat down to review an offer from the city to buy the church property including the land and building. The city wants the property to build a sports complex which will grow the area economically and bring many visitors. The church owns property …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! One year has passed since the congregation voted to affirm your pastor. He is one of five pastors who have equal authority in the church through the congregation. But he is also functions as the preaching pastor who has preached 95% of the sermons in the pastor year. Today’s sermon was different though – the preaching pastor just resigned at the end of Sunday’s sermon. Church members were called to the planned order of business after the time of worship. One of the pastors explained that issues over the last two months have caused four …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! I thought the following scenario would be interesting since the Boy Scouts of America recently changed their policy to accept openly homosexual scouts. Your son gets home from his latest Boy Scout Troop meeting. He is dropped off by the father of a fellow scout. The father calls you over to the car to say hello. He also has a concern. He explains to you the Troop tonight was introduced to two gay scouts who, in light of the policy change, decided to open up about their sexuality. They were tired of hiding their sexuality …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! There are differing views within Christianity on marriage, divorce, and re-marriage. Some are black and white on these issues while others take into account when the people involved became Christians. And there are those who question whether divorce and/or re-marriage is ever permissible for pastors. That said, I thought this would be an interesting topic for today’s scenario. The situation takes place in a Baptist church which uses a pastoral search committee. The committee has agreed upon a candidate who has accepted the nomination. The next step is for the congregation to vote to invite …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! This post is inspired by the recent Christian Post article, “Parents Upset After Middle School Girls Forced Into ‘Lesbian Kiss’ at NY School Read.” It’s a regular Friday evening. Nothing out of the ordinary until you sit down at the dinner table and your two kids begin an unbelievable story. Your son and daughter broke down – nervous and ashamed – that they each had to kiss someone of the same-sex in school! Apparently, the middle school they both attend, had all grades, 6th – 8th, go through homosexual sensitivity training. The goal was to …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! I don’t know any Christians who have faced today’s scenario of being invited to their gay son’s same-sex wedding. However, I’m sure there will be Christians who have and who will face such a dilemma. So let’s think about it…. You are a Christian who believes that marriage is something only between people of the opposite sex. You raised your three kids with this belief about marriage. This is the position on marriage from both the Bible and from a natural law perspective. Not only have you taught you kids that same-sex marriage is actually …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Today’s scenario is difficult. The dilemma puts a Christian pastor in a situation where he must decide in favor of his family or his biblical convictions. Is today’s post based on a true story? That’s for me to know and you to guess. A pastor gets a formal invite from his father in the mail. The invite is for the pastor to bring his family to his mother’s ordination; her pastoral ordination. He closes his eyes and prays for wisdom. Chills sweep across his body. The problem is this pastor is a strong complementarian. He …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! The following scenario is based on a true event. The names have been changed to protect the guilty – and the innocent! A friend of yours is the pastor of a church plant. In addition to his pastoral duties he also hosts a podcast a couple times per week. The church faithfully supports and endorses the podcast where your friend addresses theological and cultural issues. Sometimes on the podcast another man from the church will teach the Bible. Other times, another pastor or author will be a guest where they can discuss a current book, …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Today’s scenario is between two Christians who are friends and fellow church members. You catch up on each others’ lives during a regular luncheon with a church friend. You try to have lunch a couple times per month for prayer, encouragement, and fellowship. While having a spiritual conversation you ask about their spouse. Since so many marriages have spiritual struggles in this age of busyness and information overload discussions about each others prayer and devotional life within the marriage is always a topic. Today, your friend tells you that their prayer and devotional life is …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! This week’s ethics post is inspired by Dave Miller’s recent post The New Testament Standard of Giving at SBC Voices. A couple from church have been missing for a few Sundays. You wonder where your friends have been so you give them a call one Sunday afternoon. Your friends tell you that they have been struggling financially and have not been able to give 10% of their gross income; their tithe. They have fallen on financial hard times. The economy is down, the husband took a pay cut, the wife was injured in an accident …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday? Today’s scenario may be the weirdest yet! And it’s based on a true story…or is it? You are at lunch sitting in a local restaurant with a few friends one Sunday after worship service. A pastor of another local church walks by. Though you are both Baptists this pastor is adamantly opposed to your theology which leans more on the side of the Protestant Reformers. Despite disagreements you are always cordial to each other and consider each other brothers in Christ. The pastor does not see you as he walks through the restaurant so you stop …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Friends and fellow church members are contemplating putting their kid on ADHD medicine. Your pastor is very outspoken against any type of ADHD medication. In fact, the pastor has made it clear that any church member who believes their kids need ADHD medication are simply not doing their jobs as parents. Those parents lack a biblical model of discipline in the home. He has asked that any parent considering such mediation seek biblical counsel by talking to him first. Your friends explain that they decided to have their kid tested by a psychiatrist in stead …keep reading »

In July 2010, I started the Wednesday series called “What Would You Do Wednesday!” In those Wednesday posts I try to come up with real life situations faced by Christians in order to help us think through how we might react and apply biblically based ethics. Sometimes the situations are based on actual events as people started contacting me with situations in which they have been involved. Of course, I would never reveal who is submitting these situations. Often those who submit a situation are curiously seeking advice with a wider audience than they might have otherwise. The goal is …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! It is Thanksgiving morning. You stand in the front yard admiring God’s creation thinking about the gospel. There is nothing to be more thankful for – nothing more important – than the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel that saved you and shapes your worldview. It’s going to be a great day! “Good morning,” your neighbor yells from across the yard. After exchanging a few words your neighbor asks if you’d like to come help serve food to people in need for a couple of hours. He explains that his church serves food for Thanksgiving …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! A new couple moved into town two months ago and joined your church. In order to get to know you better, they invited you and your spouse over for dinner. Something unusual happened during dinner. All of the food set on the table was covered; presumably to keep it warm. Your new friend, the husband, asked that you all bow your heads to give thanks for the food. He ends his prayer reading about the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! The following situation is based on true events…. Your church recently made contact with a husband and wife missionary team who are back home in the U.S. to raise support. They have been missionaries in a poor country for five years. The couple is known for starting house churches in the poor country though not a lot organizational or procedural details are known. Your church has been promoting a missions theme during the current month. Every Sunday morning missionaries get to share what they are doing on the mission field for a few minutes before …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! A friend is told by his pastor that his weight is keeping the pastor from signing off on his seminary application. A good friend of yours approached his pastor about going to seminary and entering vocational ministry. The pastor knew of his ministry aspirations. They finally met to discuss the pastor’s approval and endorsement on the seminary application. A point in the meeting was reached where they discussed the pastoral qualifications in 1 Timothy 3. Your friend read verses 1-7 out loud. Your friend then asked the pastor if he thought there were any apparent …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! The following scenario is inspired by actual events as told by Peter Lumpkins.1 Please note that inspired by does not mean an exact, actual portrayal of said events. Rather, the scenario is loosely based on the actual event. Okay? OK! Pastor Friend calls you and tells you about an interesting conversation he just had with Pastor Blogger. Pastors Friend and Blogger just happened to be eating lunch in the same restaurant so Friend approached Blogger to challenge him on his approach to blogging. A conversation ensued. Friend tells you that the tone of the conversation …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Today, I’d like to find out what people think about pastors using sermon preparation companies like Docent Research. Docent will be used for illustrative purposes to show that a sermon preparation service actually exists and to show what they offer. Always curious about what your pastor is reading you browse the books on his desk while waiting to meet him. While shifting one of the books in order to get the title of another book an envelope falls to the floor. “Oops,” you mutter as you bend down to pick it up just as your …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! The Republican National Convention (RNC) kicks off this week. It is no secret that Mormon Mitt Romney is the Republican Presidential nominee. As with most national political events prayers will be offered. In fact, the NY Times reports that prayers at this years RNC will be given by a Jewish Rabbi, a Roman Catholic and “a Hispanic evangelical Christian, a Sikh, a Greek Orthodox archbishop and two Mormon leaders.”1 Today, think about how you would react if your Protestant pastor were invited to pray at the 2012 RNC given the above information. Your pastor has …keep reading »

A Mosque in Joplin, MO recently burned down possibly due to arson. The St. Louis Post-Dispacth reported that churches in Joplin joined together to support a Mosque that burned down.1 Not only did churches come together to support the burned Mosque, but the article states that they will participate in an Islamic spiritual practice – iftar. They’ll be taking part in an “iftar,” which is a meal to break a fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  What if a Mosque burned down in your town and your church was pressured to help? Several churches in your town, civic …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! Unfortunately, today’s scenario is inspired by true events. Consider the situation below. Explain why the pastor(s) should or should not carry out excommunication during the Sunday morning worship service on a church member who is under church discipline. Background Three months ago, a husband’s illicit affair was uncovered. The man admitted to a five year affair. He has been married for 15 years and has two kids. He has been in counseling with his pastors. Despite the counsel for the man to repent and reconcile with his wife, he has decided to leave his wife for …keep reading »

What would you do Wednesday! The characters: You are one of twenty board members of a local Christian school. You have a friend who writes an online column for a local newspaper. The situation: Your friend has recently written critically in his online column about some of the recent decisions of the Christian school. You have mostly agreed with your friend about his concerns and have worked within your capacity as a board member to correct these recent decisions. A recent board meeting discussed some of the details about one of the school’s recent decisions. You shared those confidential details …keep reading »